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Max Lucado – God Gets Us Through Stuff

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Whatever it is—you’ll get through this! You think you won’t. But we all do. We fear the depression will never lift, the yelling will never stop, the pain will never leave. We wonder, will this gray sky ever brighten? Will we ever exit this pit?

Yes…yes!  Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras: big, bold, and everywhere. Out of the lion’s den for Daniel, the prison for Peter, the whale’s belly for Jonah, the grave for Lazarus, and the shackles for Paul. God gets us through stuff. Through the wilderness, through the valley of the shadow of death. Through is a favorite word of God’s. Isaiah 4:32 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. . .”

You will get through this!

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Lifting the Weight of Our Burdens

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Matthew 11:28

In the 1986 movie The Mission, a guilt-ridden slave trader named Mendoza struggles to climb a treacherous mountain while carrying an overloaded pack of armor and weapons. It is a task of his own making: He purposely selected this cumbersome burden as penance for the violent sins in his past.

At the peak of a mountain and the height of his frustration, Mendoza balances precariously at an impassable ridge, his awkward bag preventing him from moving another inch. As he pulls with every ounce of his strength, a young native boy suddenly comes toward him and draws a large knife. Mendoza fears for his life, but the youth has something else in mind. He cuts the heavy pack from Mendoza’s back and lets it fall into the deep ravine.

Unable to communicate with each other, the two men embrace as Mendoza’s tears reveal his deep feelings of gratefulness and relief.

Though sin mars the life of each of us, God has not called us to carry the weight of guilt on our backs. Neither does He require us to atone for our own wrongdoings. Instead, God sent His only Son Jesus to bear the sin of the entire world. The Savior’s blood was shed to relieve us of the debt we each owed to God (John 3:16; Rom. 4:25).

What burden are you carrying right now? Psalm 55:22 says to cast it on the Lord. Will you allow Jesus to “cut the ties” and receive you into His outstretched arms?

Bible in One Year: Job 1-4

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Light in the Darkness

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Read: John 12:42-50

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 15-16; John 12:27-50

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. —John 12:46

During a trip to Peru, I visited one of the many caves found throughout that mountainous country. Our guide told us that this particular cave had already been explored to a depth of 9 miles—and it went even deeper. We saw fascinating bats, nocturnal birds, and interesting rock formations. Before long, however, the darkness of the cave became unnerving—almost suffocating. I was greatly relieved when we returned to the surface and the light of day.

That experience was a stark reminder of how oppressive darkness can be and how much we need light. We live in a world made dark by sin—a world that has turned against its Creator. And we need the Light.

Jesus, who came to restore all of creation—including humanity—to its intended place referred to Himself as that “light” (John 8:12). “I have come as a light into the world,” He said, “that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (12:46).

In Him, we not only have the light of salvation but the only light by which we can find our way—His way—through our world’s spiritual darkness. —Bill Crowder

How have you seen God’s light displayed in our broken world? In what ways have you shared His light? Tell us your answers to these questions at http://www.odb.org.

When we walk in the Light, we won’t stumble in the darkness.

INSIGHT: The imagery of Jesus as light (v. 46) is the key feature of today’s text, but it is also a key feature in the entire gospel of John. In fact, John uses the word light to describe Jesus twenty times, clustered into several key parts of the book: chapter 1 (six times), chapter 3 (five times), chapters 8-9 (three times), and chapter 12 (six times). In each instance, except for references in chapter 1, Jesus is the one speaking, using light as a self-portrait.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Our Trinity

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Not far into John’s Gospel, Jesus is gaining enemies at every turn. He uses a whip to drive men and livestock out of the temple. He breaks a religious law by choosing the Sabbath to heal a man who cannot walk. But it is because of his words that they seek all the more to kill him. To their anger over the healing, Jesus simply replies, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”(1)

To the person well versed in biting comebacks and fatal rhetoric, these words hardly seem like fighting-words. But to Jewish leaders who knew a history of combating (and failing to combat) the polytheistic influences of surrounding nations, Jesus uttered what seemed the most blasphemous notion possible. He called God his own Father.

The notion of God as Father was not an entirely new concept. Even to the Jews who took offense at Jesus’s words that day, God was understood as ‘Father’ in the sense that God is Creator, that God is Lord, that God is protector and forgiver. Fourteen times in the Old Testament God is spoken of as Father, and each instance depicts a glimpse of divine fatherhood.

But here, Jesus added to the notion of Father a distinct element of intimacy and uniqueness with himself. Nowhere else in Palestinian Judaism is God addressed by an individual as “My father.”(2) Jesus’s use of such a title—and elsewhere the very intimate “abba” or daddy—reveals the very basis of his communion with God. And he adds to this vision the promise of the Spirit who comes from the Father and testifies on the Son’s behalf—an invitation to commune within the Godhead itself. To the religious leaders who considered themselves guardians of the profane and the sacred, to the crowds who would have known the significance, these words would have revealed a scandalous glimpse into the mind of Jesus. All the more scandalous, Jesus later extends his communion with God the Father to his followers. “This, then, is how you should pray,” he says:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.(3)

Whether a Christian familiar with the prayer and titles of the Trinity or a secularist familiar with religious jargon, it might seem rather basic to approach the mysterious thought that Christ is Son and God is Father. “Heavenly Father,” “only Son,” and “Holy Spirit” are phrases over which our contemporary ears barely perk. Even those for whom the love of a father was absent or the love of a present father was treasured, the vast allowance of being able to call God ‘Father’ hardly seems a matter to consider. We might even lump it casually together with other generic religious tidbits. Yet it is not a quality inherent in other religions; it is, in fact, an obstruction to some, an enigma to others. The Christian confidence and comfort that God can be approached as Father is the unique and vital gift of the Son made available through the Spirit.

And such is the startling, radical message of the Christian story. As one theologian notes, “[T]his one word ‘Father,’ together with ‘Our,’ contain all these concepts [Creator, Lord, King, Lawgiver] yet at the same time reveals them as intimacy, as love, as a unique, unrepeatable and joyful union.”(4) What might it mean to you to have access to a Father who knows you by name, in whose house you are invited to be who you truly are—to live and work and play as God created you? What if there is indeed a Father who waits, who longs to gather his children together and take them into his arms? What if this is the communion for which you are made? Some will be transformed by love, some will be broken by love, some will refuse to be gathered by love. But God offers a place, positioned within the greater offer of adoption, the hope of communion, and the gift of participation in the kingdom. What if this is indeed our Father whose name is hallowed and whose kingdom we seek, whom we know through the Son and worship in the Spirit as children of the divine?

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

(1) John 5:17.

(2) See Joachim Jeremias, Jesus and the Message of the New Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002).

(3) Matthew 6:9-10.

(4) Alexander Schmemann, Our Father (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003), 19-20.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Light & Darkness

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And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:5

Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then it should be no surprise if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the sunshine of noonday, even in my soul; I must expect at times to mourn the absence of my former joys and seek my Beloved in the night. I am not alone in this, for all the Lord’s loved ones have had to sing the mingled song of judgment and mercy, of trial and deliverance, of mourning and delight. It is one of the arrangements of divine providence that day and night will not cease either in the spiritual or natural creation until we reach the land of which it is written, “there will be no night there.”1 What our heavenly Father ordains is wise and good.

What, then, my soul, is it best for you to do? Learn first to be content with this divine order and be willing, with Job, to receive evil from the hand of the Lord as well as good. Then work at beginning and ending your days with joy. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises and for the gloom of evening as it falls. There is beauty in both sunrise and sunset; sing of it, and glorify the Lord. Like the nightingale, sound your notes at all hours. Believe that the night is as useful as the day. The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine forth gloriously against the darkness of grief. Continue your service under all circumstances. If in the day your watchword is work, at night exchange it for watch. Every hour has its duty; so continue in your calling as the Lord’s servant until He shall suddenly appear in His glory.

My soul, your evening of old age and death is drawing near; do not dread it, for it is part of the day, and the Lord has said in essence, “I will cover him all the day long.”

1) Revelation 21:25

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Indwelling sin

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“Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile.” Job 40:3,4

Suggested Further Reading: Galatians 5:13-24

When we believe in Jesus Christ all our sins are pardoned; yet the power of sin, although it is weakened and kept under by the dominion of the new-born nature which God infuses into our souls, does not cease, but still lingers in us, and will do so to our dying day. It is a doctrine held by all the orthodox, that there still dwells in the regenerate the lusts of the flesh, and that there still remains in the hearts of those who are converted by God’s mercy, the evil of carnal nature. I have found it very difficult to distinguish, in experimental matters, concerning sin. It is usual with many writers, especially with hymn writers, to confound the two natures of a Christian. Now, I hold that there is in every Christian two natures, as distinct as were the two natures of the God-Man Christ Jesus. There is one nature which cannot sin, because it is born of God—a spiritual nature, coming directly from heaven, as pure and as perfect as God himself, who is the author of it; and there is also in man that ancient nature which, by the fall of Adam, has become altogether vile, corrupt, sinful, and devilish. There remains in the heart of the Christian a nature which cannot do that which is right, any more than it could before regeneration, and which is as evil as it was before the new birth—as sinful, as altogether hostile to God’s laws, as ever it was—a nature which, as I said before, is curbed and kept under by the new nature in a great measure, but which is not removed and never will be until this tabernacle of our flesh is broken down, and we soar into that land into which there shall never enter anything that defiles.

For meditation: Are there times when you cannot understand your own behaviour? You are in good company (Romans 7:15-25). But the Christian, having received the new nature, need not and should not give in to the old nature as if he could do nothing about it.

Sermon no. 83
1 June (1856)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur –Examining Your Faith

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“Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).

God wants you to know whether your faith is genuine or not.

Our studies this month center on James 1:19-2:26, which deals with the issue of true faith—a most important consideration indeed. Knowing your faith is genuine is a wonderful assurance, but thinking you’re saved when you’re not is the most frightening deception imaginable. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus speaks of those who call Him Lord and even do miracles in His name, but aren’t redeemed. Second Timothy 3:5 speaks of those who have a form of godliness but deny its power. They’re religious but lost. Sadly, many people today are victims of the same deception. They think they’re Christians, but they’re heading for eternal damnation unless they recognize their true condition and repent.

Deception of that magnitude is a tragedy beyond description, but you need never fall prey to it because James gives a series of tests for true faith. This month we’ll be applying one of those tests: your attitude toward God’s Word. That’s an especially crucial test because the Word is the agency of both your salvation and sanctification. The Holy Spirit empowered it to save you, and He continually works through it to conform you to the image of Christ. That’s why Peter said, “You have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. . . . [Therefore] like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 1:2-2:2).

Jesus Himself characterized believers as those who abide in His Word and obey His commandments. They receive the Word with an attitude of submission and humility. However, unbelievers resist and disobey the Word (John 8:31, 43-45). Psalm 119:155 says, “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Thy statutes.”

As you study this test of true faith, ask yourself, Do I pass the test? I pray that your answer will echo the words of the psalmist: “I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end” (Ps. 119:112).

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask God for clarity and confidence about your faith in Christ.

For Further Study

Read the book of James, noting the instructions he gives regarding Christian living.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Life-giving Fruit

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“Godly men are growing a tree that bears life-giving fruit, and all who win souls are wise” (Proverbs 11-30).

“The monument I want after I am dead,” said Dwight L. Moody, “is a monument with two legs going around the world – a saved sinner telling about the salvation of Jesus Christ.”

When a young minister asked the Duke of Wellington whether he did not consider it useless to attempt to evangelize India, the Iron Duke sternly replied:

“What are your marching orders, sir?”

No doubt one of Satan’s greatest weapons of deceit in the world today is that of procrastination. Tomorrow I am going to become a soul-winner. Next month, after an evangelistic training program, I will become a great witness. As soon as I finish seminary or Bible college, I’ll begin sharing the good news of the gospel.

But “today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time,” declares the Word of God. Sensitivity to God’s Holy Spirit – dwelling within to give me supernatural ability – will enable me to tell others what Christ means to me, and what He has done for me.

In God’s economy, the truly wise person, is that one who is redeeming the time, buying up every opportunity to share his faith, refusing to put off that which he knows should become a natural, every-day, moment-by-moment part of his life. Wonder of wonders, God even promises to put the very words in our mouths, if we ask Him, as we go in His name.

Bible Reading: II Corinthians 5:11-17

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will do what God leads me to do this day to bear life-giving fruit.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – A Matter of Identity

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When the Jews of Holland were forced to wear the Star of David, Corrie Ten Boom’s father, Casper, lined up for one. He wore it because he wanted to identify himself with the people he and his family had been praying for and working with for many years. He chose to be completely identified with the Jews, to wear their “sign of shame” and suffer persecution for the people he loved.

And behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:17

At the incarnation, Jesus took on humanity, ready to be identified as completely one with mankind. Like Casper Ten Boom, Jesus was ready for the indignities and shame of His human nature. At His baptism, the Father revealed to all assembled on the banks of the Jordan the further identity of Jesus: “my beloved Son.” And in Him, all the fullness of God was made present.

Through Jesus’ redemptive work on Calvary, Christians around the world have a new identity in Him. That more should come to join His family was Jesus’ instruction to His followers – an instruction which remains. Pray for a closer identification with Christ for yourself. Then intercede for those in authority in America to recognize God’s beloved Son for themselves.

Recommended Reading: Colossians 1:15-23

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Not the Bait but the Bite

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“No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” —Genesis 39:9

Sometimes after we have had a little success, after we have come through the adversity, after we have climbed the social ladder, we are more vulnerable than we were before. There was a time we trusted in God because we had to. We trusted in God because if He didn’t come through, we weren’t eating that night. We trusted in God because if He didn’t come through, the rent wouldn’t get paid. If God didn’t come through, we weren’t going to make it through the week.

But now maybe we have a nice amount of money in savings and investments. Maybe we have done very well at work. Maybe we’re not as dependent upon God. Maybe we’ve lowered our guard just a little bit. Know this: greater success leads to greater times of vulnerability.

We see this in the life of Joseph. He was a total success in Potiphar’s house. And then came the temptation. Along came Potiphar’s wife. It must have been very flattering for her to pay attention to him and talk to him about how attractive he was. He had, for a time, been saturated with Egyptian values, and those values that came from his parents might have seemed very worn-out and archaic. He could have rationalized it and said, “Well, if I give in to her, I will move to the top more quickly.” But here is what Joseph knew: God was there, and God was watching. So Joseph refused her advances.

Joseph recognized that temptation isn’t a sin; it is a call to battle. He wasn’t made of stone. He was vulnerable in this area. Yet he resisted her.

You may think that if you’re really spiritual, you won’t be tempted. But it is not the bait that constitutes the temptation. It is the bite.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Never Give Up

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How do we flourish in the midst of tragedy? Remember Joseph? Genesis records his story. It says his brothers “hated him.” They put him into a pit, leaving him for dead. And then they covered up what they’d done. Joseph’s story got worse before it got better. Abandonment led to enslavement, then entrapment, and finally imprisonment. He was sold out. Mistreated. Yet he never gave up. His heart never hardened; his resolve never vanished.

He not only survived—he thrived! Speaking years later to the brothers who had betrayed him he said, “As for you…you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result” (Genesis 50:20).

In God’s hands intended evil becomes eventual good!

From You’ll Get Through This

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples – No Fault?

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“Anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Matthew 19:9

One reason divorce has become so common today is the advent of “no‐fault” divorce laws, first introduced in California in 1969. Over the following fifteen years, every state in America adopted some form of no‐fault legislation. And to what result? According to the Statistical Abstract of the United States, since these laws began taking effect the number of divorces in this country has increased 279 percent.

In essence, no‐fault divorce has nullified the sacredness of marriage in the eyes of the law, making it an unenforceable contract. A man and woman can abandon their family more easily than they can abrogate almost any other agreement that bears their signature. In terms of the law, it matters not that they’ve made a solemn promise before God, friends, relatives, a member of the clergy, or a licensed representative of the state.

However, no matter how easy the laws make it to get a divorce, it will always remain infinitely difficult to repair the damage.

Just between us…

  • What would you say to the couple who insist, “Our divorce is nobody’s fault. We just didn’t get along, so we’re going our separate ways”?
  • Do we know anyone who has sought a divorce, only to regret the move?
  • Are we committed to staying together, even through tough times?

Lord, the courts have made it so easy to tear apart that which You have bound

together. Forgive us, forgive our land, and bring us to repentance. Help us keep Your commands as the ultimate law of our marriage and family. Amen.

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Reaching Your Full Potential

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The world may not recognize your potential, but the Lord does. He loves you unconditionally and wants you to discover His unique purpose for your life. God’s process of perfection has two facets:

  1. Teaching and Guiding

“Tutoring” is one aspect of the Father’s perfecting process. In many ways, the Holy Spirit is your teacher, and the Bible is His textbook.

Before Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, the law was in effect. God designed it to instruct mankind—to provide a moral boundary and to serve as a “tutor to lead us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24).

Our goal should be total reliance upon the Holy Spirit for guidance in our lives.

Furthermore, we were all given an additional gift: the conscience. Romans 2:14-15 tells us that the Lord created the conscience to teach each person what’s right and wrong. In this way, even those without access to God’s commands would be “a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”

But after a person becomes a Christian and starts growing in faith and knowledge of the Word, God applies the law to his heart. The Holy Spirit will call to remembrance what the Bible says, or He will send people to teach or bring God’s commandments to mind. He also helps the believer understand scriptural principles and reveals the Father’s purpose and desires. You will never outgrow your need for the Spirit.

The law tells you that you must obey. And the Holy Spirit gives you the desire to do so. He works in your life continually to nudge you in the right direction. And like any good educator, He will test you to reveal areas of weakness and growth. The Spirit already knows your heart and how you will respond. The test is for your sake. God wants you to know yourself better.

  1. Discipline

Another way God leads us to our full potential is through failures and struggles. In allowing free will, the Lord gave you the freedom to fall short of His purpose for your life—to fail, make mistakes, or sin. But through these shortcomings, the Holy Spirit can mold you into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Many people set unrealistic goals and, when they fall short, have a sense of worthlessness. Others decide on objectives but then never put them into a workable plan. When their goals aren’t met, they can feel frustration and self-doubt. God, however, has no responsibility to help people reach man-made targets. If you and I don’t allow Him to help us set goals, the Holy Spirit may rebuke us so that we choose to be guided by His will rather than our own.

Through teaching and discipline, the Lord molds and perfects us for His purposes.

Mistakes are innocent wrongdoings. In making a blunder, we have not willfully chosen to do wrong, although our actions may have terrible consequences. This does not diminish the pain mistakes cause. The Lord allows these types of errors as part of the teaching process. Ultimately, our goal should be total reliance upon the Holy Spirit for guidance in our lives.

Sin, on the other hand, is a willful act of disobedience against the Father, and it separates us from fellowship with Him. The Holy Spirit will prick our conscience with an ever-sharp needle until we acknowledge our rebellion. He will convict us repeatedly and with increasing fervor so that we might turn from wrongdoing and back to the Father.

Falling short of our potential means missing God’s unique destiny for our lives. Perhaps we don’t recognize what the Lord has created us to be, or maybe we resist cooperating with His plan—through neglect, lack of effort, or outright rebellion. The Holy Spirit is never satisfied with human preference for the status quo. He draws us to the full perfection of Jesus Christ and the hope of a bright tomorrow.

Your True Destiny

So, how do you reach your full potential? The answer is simple—it must begin with handing your life over to Christ. Through teaching and discipline, the Lord molds and perfects us for His purposes. The Holy Spirit works in our lives, changing us so we will accept and follow God’s will.

When you truly grasp the Lord’s commitment to helping you fulfill your destiny, hope is inevitable. Rekindle your passion today by regaining sight of your God-given capacities, as well as His promise to develop them. Our heavenly Father is in charge of fulfilling the potential He has given you—trust Him to do exactly that.

Adapted from “Discover Your Destiny” (1997).

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Blame Game

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Read: Leviticus 16:5-22

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 13-14; John 12:1-26

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! —John 1:29

I’ve been blamed for a lot of things, and rightly so. My sin, failure, and incompetence have caused grief, anxiety, and inconvenience for friends and family (and probably even for strangers). I’ve also been blamed for things that were not my fault, things I was powerless to change.

But I have stood on the other side of the fence hurling accusations at others. If they had just done something different, I tell myself, I would not be in the mess I’m in. Blame hurts. So whether guilty or not, we waste lots of time and mental energy trying to find someone else to carry it for us.

Jesus offers us a better way to deal with blame. Even though He was blameless, He took upon Himself the sin of the world and carried it away (John 1:29). We often refer to Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, but He was also the final scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the world (Lev. 16:10).

Once we acknowledge our sin and accept Christ’s offer to take it away, we no longer have to carry the weight of our guilt. We can stop looking for someone to blame for what’s wrong with us, and we can stop accepting blame from others trying to do the same.

Thanks to Jesus, we can stop playing the blame game. —Julie Ackerman Link

Help me, Lord, to be honest when I am at fault and to confess that to You—instead of looking for someone else to blame. Thank You for taking my blame on Yourself.

Honesty about our sin brings forgiveness.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Courage and Triumphs

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And the king crossed the brook Kidron. 2 Samuel 15:23

David passed that gloomy brook when fleeing with his sorry company from his traitorous son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble; in fact, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed and the Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow’s gates the noblest of our race have waited with ashes on their heads. Why then should we complain as though some strange thing had happened unto us?

The King of kings Himself was not favored with a more cheerful or royal road. He passed over the filthy ditch of Kidron, through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed. God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without the rod. It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points just as we are.

What is our Kidron this morning? Is it a faithless friend, a sad bereavement, a slanderous reproach, a dark foreboding? The King has passed over all these. Is it bodily pain, poverty, persecution, or contempt? Over each of these Kidrons the King has gone before us. “In all their affliction he was afflicted.”1 The idea that trials are an unusual experience should be banished at once and forever, for He who is the Head of all saints knows by experience the grief that we consider so peculiar. All the citizens of Zion must be free of the Honorable Company of Mourners, of which the Prince Immanuel is Head and Captain.

Although David was abased, yet he returned in triumph to his city, and David’s Lord rose victorious from the grave; so let us then be of good courage, for we also shall win the day. We will joyfully draw water out of the wells of salvation, even though we are presently faced with the harmful streams of sin and sorrow. Courage, soldiers of the Cross, the King himself triumphed after going over Kidron, and so will you.

1) Isaiah 63:9

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Elijah’s appeal to the undecided

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“How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

Suggested Further Reading: John 13:12-19

I insist that it is your bounden duty, if you believe in God, simply because he is God, to serve him and obey him. I do not tell you it is for your advantage—it may be, I believe it is—but that I put aside from the question; I demand of you that you follow God, if you believe him to be God. If you do not think he is God; if you really think that the devil is God, then follow him; his pretended godhead shall be your plea, and you shall be consistent; but if God be God, if he made you, I demand that you serve him; if it is he who puts the breath into your nostrils, I demand that you obey him. If God be really worthy of worship, and you really think so, I demand that you either follow him, or else deny that he is God at all. Now, professor, if thou sayest that Christ’s gospel is the only gospel, if thou believest in the divinity of the gospel, and puttest thy trust in Christ, I demand of thee to follow out the gospel, not merely because it will be to thy advantage, but because the gospel is divine. If thou makest a profession of being a child of God, if thou art a believer, and thinkest and believest religion is the best, the service of God most desirable, I do not come to plead with thee because of any advantage thou wouldst get by being holy; it is on this ground that I put it, that the Lord is God; and if he be God, it is thy business to serve him. If his gospel be true, and thou believest it to be true, it is thy duty to carry it out.

For meditation: Four things God will not accept—hypocrisy (Luke 6:46), half-heartedness (Luke 9:59-62), double-mindedness (James 1:6-8) and lukewarmness (Revelation 3:15,16).

Sermon no. 134
31 May (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Making Worthless Things Valuable

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“The names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him” (Matt. 10:2-4).

In God’s hands you can be a precious and effective instrument.

The story is told of a great concert violinist who wanted to prove a point, so he rented a music hall and announced that he would play a concert on a $20,000 violin. On concert night the music hall was filled to capacity with music lovers anxious to hear such an expensive instrument played. The violinist stepped onto the stage, gave an exquisite performance, and received a thunderous standing ovation. When the applause subsided, he suddenly threw the violin to the ground, stomped it to pieces, and walked off the stage. The audience gasped, then sat in stunned silence.

Within seconds the stage manager approached the microphone and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, to put you at ease, the violin that was just destroyed was a $20 violin. The master will now return to play the remainder of his concert on the $20,000 instrument.” At the conclusion of his concert he received another standing ovation. Few people could tell the difference between the two violins. His point was obvious: it isn’t the violin that makes the music; it’s the violinist.

The disciples were like $20 violins that Jesus transformed into priceless instruments for His glory. I trust you’ve been encouraged to see how God used them despite their weakness, and I pray you’ve been challenged by their strengths. You may not be dynamic like Peter or zealous like James and Simon, but you can be faithful like Andrew and courageous like Thaddaeus. Remember, God will take the raw material of your life and expose you to the experiences and teachings that will shape you into the servant He wants you to be.

Trust Him to complete what He has begun in you, and commit each day to the goal of becoming a more qualified and effective disciple.

Suggestions for Prayer

Make a list of the character traits you most admire in the disciples. Ask the Lord to increase those traits in your own life.

For Further Study

Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17, noting Paul’s perspective on his own calling.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Letting Go of Offenses

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[You should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, so that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Understand that every time you are tempted to be offended and upset, your faith is being tried. Peter was saying, “Don’t be amazed at the fiery trials that you go through, because they are taking place to test your quality.” Every relationship test is an opportunity to glorify the work of God in you as a testimony to those watching you endure the offense.

There is a right and a wrong way to handle the storms of life. But until I was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to learn about the power that is available to me as a believer to do the right thing, I never handled offenses right.

Jesus’ economy is upside down from what the world teaches us. He says that we can have peace in the midst of the storm. Now just think about how awesome that would be, if no matter what happened, you could remain full of peace.

Jesus said that He gives us power even “to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses].” (Luke 10:19) He promised that nothing will harm us in any way. If we have the power over the enemy, surely we can overlook the offenses of others. He gives us the energy we need to treat people right.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – How to Stay Pure

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“How can a young man stay pure? By reading Your Word and following its rules” (Psalm 119:9).

I can live a pure life if I follow God’s Word. That seems to be the clear import of the psalmist’s message in this verse. And if that is true – and I have no doubt it is – then certain things surely should follow.

I will begin today by determining to know His Word and to obey it. Simple logic would dictate that I cannot and will not obey His Word if I am not familiar with it.

In a day when immorality is rampant and divorce is becoming commonplace even among Christians, how important it is that I seek to keep my life pure. Surely I cannot expect to be used of God in a supernatural way to help fulfill the Great Commission unless I am pure. And there seems to be no better way to accomplish that desired end than by reading, studying – even memorizing – His Word, and then, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, by claiming God’s promises and obeying His commandments.

Earlier (Day 18) we mentioned the importance of hiding God’s Word in our hearts, that we might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). Again I would emphasize the value of committing to memory many verses – and even chapters – from the Word of God. In that way, we will have them stored in our minds so that God can bring them to our minds in time of special need and can use them to enable us to live supernaturally.

Basic to living the supernatural life is this matter of spending time in God’s Word, which is quick and powerful.

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:10-16

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will spend quality time in the Word of God and begin to memorize favorite passages, especially Psalm 119.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – God of the Big Picture

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It’s easy to get in a dither thinking about all of the bad things happening in the world. People do unspeakable things to other people. As a parent it takes faith just to let your children walk out the door.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

Genesis 50:20

Jacob’s heart was grieved to lose his son Joseph. He thought he was devoured by an animal. That may have actually been easier to handle than the truth; his own sons sold him into slavery to a foreign land. Of course, you know it worked out in the end, with Joseph saving many people from his high position in Egypt. Joseph forgave his brothers by speaking today’s verse, one of the most memorable in Scripture.

There’s a similar promise in the New Testament. “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) No matter what is going on in your life, trust God. He hears your prayers, sees the big picture, and works all things out for the best. Pray, too, that He will move in this nation to turn hearts to Him.

Recommended Reading: Matthew 6:25-34