|
Salvation belongs to the Lord! Jonah 2:9
Salvation is the work of God. It is He alone who quickens the soul “dead in…trespasses and sins,”1 and He it is who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both “Alpha and Omega.” “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; if I have graces, they are God’s gifts to me; if I hold on in a consistent life, it is because He upholds me with His hand. I do nothing whatever toward my own preservation, except what God Himself first does in me. Whatever I have, all my goodness is of the Lord alone. Whenever I sin, that is my own doing; but when I act correctly, that is wholly and completely of God. If I have resisted a spiritual enemy, the Lord’s strength nerved my arm. Do I live before men a consecrated life? It is not I, but Christ who lives in me. Am I sanctified? I did not cleanse myself: God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies me. Am I separated from the world? I am separated by God’s chastisements sanctified to my good. Do I grow in knowledge? The great Instructor teaches me. All my jewels were fashioned by heavenly art. I find in God all that I want; but I find in myself nothing but sin and misery. “He only is my rock and my salvation.”2 Do I feed on the Word? That Word would be no food for me unless the Lord made it food for my soul and helped me to feed upon it. Do I live on the bread that comes down from heaven? What is that bread but Jesus Christ Himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink? Am I continually receiving fresh supplies of strength? Where do I gather my might? My help comes from heaven’s hills: Without Jesus I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in Him. What Jonah learned in the ocean, let me learn this morning in my room: “Salvation belongs to the LORD.” 1) Ephesians 2:1 2) Psalm 62:2 Today’s Bible ReadingThe family reading plan for February 26, 2015
Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. |
Tag Archives: holy spirit
Charles Spurgeon – A blast of the trumpet against false peace
“Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14
Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Many of the people of London enjoy peace in their hearts, because they are ignorant of the things of God. It would positively alarm many of our sober orthodox Christians, if they could once have an idea of the utter ignorance of spiritual things that reigns throughout this land. Some of us, when moving about here and there, in all classes of society, have often been left to remark, that there is less known of the truths of religion than of any science, however obscure that science may be. Take as a lamentable instance, the ordinary effusions of the secular press, and who can avoid remarking the ignorance they manifest as to true religion. Let the papers speak on politics, it is a matter they understand, and their ability is astonishing; but, once let them touch religion, and our Sabbath-school children could convict them of entire ignorance. The statements they put forth are so crude, so remote from the fact, that we are led to imagine that the presentation of a fourpenny testament to special correspondents, should be one of the first efforts of our societies for spreading the gospel among the heathen. As to theology, some of our great writers seem to be as little versed in it as a horse or a cow. Go among all ranks and classes of men, and since the day we gave up our catechism, and old Dr Watts’ and the Assemblies’ ceased to be used, people have not a clear idea of what is meant by the gospel of Christ. I have frequently heard it asserted, by those who have judged the modern pulpit without severity, that if a man attended a course of thirteen lectures on geology, he would get a pretty clear idea of the system, but that you might hear not merely thirteen sermons, but thirteen hundred sermons and you would not have a clear idea of the system of divinity that was meant to be taught.
For meditation: The unconverted by themselves cannot understand the truths of the Gospel when they hear them unless God enlightens them (1 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4). But there are parts of the country where they would find it very hard to hear the truths of the Gospel being preached (Amos 8:11,12).
Sermon no. 301
26 February (1860)
Presidential Prayer Team; J.K – Circle of Blessing
Almost 500 years ago, Martin Luther wrote, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Author Robert Wolgemuth continues this thought: “Prayer is the glue that affixes your heart to your Heavenly Father.” It is profound reverence for God, the fear of the Lord, which causes you to hate the things that God hates and love the things that He loves…to walk in holiness.
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
Psalm 128:1
Paul exhorted the Ephesians to “look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) Walking in His ways puts the capital “W” in worship. Your actions reflect His character. Picture this wonderful circle of blessing: prayer brings you to deeper fellowship with God, leading to a loving fear of Him, giving you the wisdom of God, motivating you to obedience, manifesting itself in your praise to Him, involving you in activities that are eternally important, and giving Him glory and you the blessing.
God places amazing significance on your prayers. Do not be disheartened as you intercede for this nation and its leaders. God will work for good and bless those who fear Him.
Recommended Reading: Colossians 3:17-4:6
Greg Laurie – How to Win against Worry
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.—Philippians 4:6
Do you remember when you first got behind the wheel of a car? You had to consciously think about everything you did. Okay, let’s see . . . key in the ignition, look over your shoulder, and pull out. You had to think about it. It was challenging at first. But after a while, you got it down, and now it comes naturally. You don’t even think about driving anymore. You just get in the car and drive. It’s a conditioned reflex.
A conditioned reflex is something you learn. You teach yourself to do it, and through repetition, you find yourself doing it naturally. Then there is a normal reflex, which comes naturally. For instance, if you touch a hot iron, you will pull your hand away quickly because it’s hot. A child will do that too.
We also have normal and conditioned reflexes to fear and worry. Our natural tendency when we are in trouble is not to pray but to worry. Something happens, and we begin going through scenarios that stack up in our minds like dominoes. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if this other thing happens? The normal reflex when we are in trouble is to worry.
But what we need to teach ourselves to do is to pray. That is a conditioned reflex. It is not what we naturally want to do. When we get bad news, what should we do? We should stop and pray. That is what the Scriptures tell us to do.
Often when we are facing adversity, our first instinct is to turn to people for help. And there is no question that God can work through people. He can provide through family and friends and help us. But ultimately we should turn to God when trouble comes.
Charles Stanley – The Message in the Storm
One of the most difficult things we’re to do as Christians is to “[wait] in silence for God only” (Ps. 62:1). We tend to think of waiting as passively sitting back until something happens. However, in the midst of a stormy life event, we don’t like inactivity. Our instinct is to react quickly and force things to change.
But in this psalm, the word wait has a different meaning—it connotes “pause for further instructions.” Instead of opting for passivity, we must choose to stop our actions and listen for God’s directive. Sometimes the Lord is silent for a season, but He always has a purpose. He knows the perfect time for us to act, and until that moment, we need to wait. It takes more strength and character to be still in the midst of a storm than to frantically seek our own solution.
I can tell you that I, too, at times wait impatiently. When that happens, I can become nervous and question God or complain. But those reactions do not fit who we are as Christians. Paul tells us plainly to “be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6); he instructs us instead to pray to the Lord, who offers peace. We’re to wait in silence without complaining, which means we must have patience. In order for that to happen, we must trust in God’s wisdom, love, power, and timing. We can’t go wrong when we rely on Him.
The key to finding peace in the storm is waiting for God only. When we refuse to do so, we are more likely to make bad decisions. He hears our every prayer, but we must be willing to wait in silence and listen for His reply.
Our Daily Bread – Our Daily Bread — His Choice
|
God from the beginning chose you for salvation. —2 Thessalonians 2:13
Read: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 When our children were small, I often prayed with them after we tucked them into bed. But before I prayed, I sometimes would sit on the edge of the bed and talk with them. I remember telling our daughter Libby, “If I could line up all the 4-year-old girls in the world, I would walk down the line looking for you. After going through the entire line, I would choose you to be my daughter.” That always put a big smile on Libby’s face because she knew she was special. If that was a smile-worthy moment for her, think of the grace-filled fact that the Creator-God of the universe “from the beginning chose you for salvation” (2 Thess. 2:13). Before time began, He desired to make you His own. This is why Scripture often uses the picture of adoption to communicate the amazing reality that, through no merit or worthiness of our own, we have been chosen by Him. This is stunning news! We are “beloved by the Lord” (v.13) and enjoy the benefits of being part of His family. This glorious truth should fill our lives with humility and gratitude. “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us . . . establish you in every good word and work” (vv.16-17). —Joe Stowell I will be forever grateful that I am Your child, It’s God’s choice to love you and to make you part of His family. |
Ravi Zacharias Ministry – My Messy House
Kathleen Norris tells a story of a little boy who wrote a poem called “The Monster Who Was Sorry.” The poem begins with a confession: he doesn’t like it when his father yells at him. The monster’s response is to throw his sister down the stairs, then to destroy his room, and finally to destroy the whole town. The poem concludes: “Then I sit in my messy house and say to myself, ‘I shouldn’t have done all that.’”(1)
The confession of Saint Paul bears a fine resemblance: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but I do what I hate.” Regret has a way of shining the floodlights on the mess we sense within. Norris further expounds the faithful candor of the child describing his own muddled story: “‘My messy house’ says it all: with more honesty than most adults could have mustered, the boy made a metaphor for himself that admitted the depth of his rage and also gave him a way out. If that boy had been a novice in the fourth-century monastic desert, his elders might have told him that he was well on the way toward repentance.”(2)
The journey of a Christian through the many rooms of faith posits countless opportunities to peer at the monster within. There are days in the life of faith when I question whether I am living up to the title of Christian or disciple—or even casual acquaintance. In certain rooms of awareness I find there is no question: I am not. Yet, as G.K. Chesterton wrote in his autobiography, I have only ever found one religion that “dared to go down with me into the depth of myself.”(3) This is assuredly the invitation of Christianity. Christ will leave no corner untouched. What we find are messy houses, filled with hidden staircases built of excuses, and idols of good deeds atop mantels of false security—in short, the home of Christ in disarray at our own hands.
If we were to remain shut up in this place alone, we might begin to wonder why we should ever hope for anything other than mess and wreckage. Paul’s confession marks the futility of our own efforts to clean the house. But we do not make any journey to the depths of ourselves alone. In fact, we should not have discovered the messes had they not been shown to us in the first place. We are guided to these places in our consciences, to images of ourselves unadorned, and finally to broken and contrite hearts. Life in Christ is the loving invitation to be drawn into a bigger story, to be remade by the Spirit of truth, enfolded into the vicarious humanity of the Son of God who maneuvers us through messy rooms and sin-stained walls and mercifully exposes monstrous ways for the sake of communion. It would indeed be a futile journey if we walked this path alone.
Instead, the very Spirit who shows us the monster in a messy house shows us the one who removes the masks, clears the wreckage, and brings us into his house to make us human again. In a scene from C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, Aslan the lion is seen tearing the costume off the child in front of him.(4) The child writhes in pain from the razor sharp claws that feel as though they pierce his very being. With mounting intensity, Aslan rips away layer after layer, until the child is absolutely certain he will die from the agony. But when it is all over and every last layer has been removed, the child delights in the new found freedom, having long forgotten the weight of the costume he carried.
The journey of a soul through its messiest rooms is not a drive-by glimpse of the depths of our sin and our need for repentance; it is not a journey for the sake of guilt or even right-living. It is true that we are shown the weight of our masks and the extent of our messes, that we are handed the great encumbrance of our own failures, but all so we can be shown again the one who asks to take them all from us—all so we can be made new by the one who remembers what it means to be fully human. “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows… But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:4-5). Quite thankfully, it is through the dingy windows of a messy house that one has the clearest view of the cross.
Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace (New York: Riverhead, 1998), 69.
(2) Ibid., 70.
(3) G.K. Chesterton, The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006), 334.
(4) Story told in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), 115-117.
Charles Spurgeon – The people’s Christ
“I have exalted one chosen out of the people.” Psalm 89:19
Suggested Further Reading: Acts 1:1-11
How exalted was he in his ascension! He went out from the city to the top of the hill, his disciples attending him while he waited the appointed moment. Mark his ascension! Bidding farewell to the whole circle, up he went gradually ascending, like the exaltation of a mist from the lake, or the cloud from the streaming river. Aloft he soared; by his own mighty buoyancy and elasticity he ascended up on high—not like Elijah, carried up by fiery horses; nor like Enoch of old, of whom it could be said he was not, for God took him. He went himself; and as he went, I think I see the angels looking down from heaven’s battlements, and crying, “See the conquering hero comes!” while at his nearer approach again they shouted, “See the conquering hero comes!” So his journey through the plains of ether is complete—he nears the gates of heaven—attending angels shout, “Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors!” The glorious hosts within scarce ask the question, “Who is this king of glory?” when from ten thousand thousand tongues there rolls an ocean of harmony, beating in mighty waves of music on the pearly gates and opening them at once, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Lo! heaven’s barriers are thrown wide open and cherubim are hastening to meet their monarch,
“They brought his chariot from afar,
To bear him to his throne;
Clapp’d their triumphant wings and said,
“The Saviour’s work is done.”
Behold he marches through the streets. See how kingdoms and powers fall down before him! Crowns are laid at his feet, and his Father says, “Well done, my Son, well done!” while heaven echoes with the shout, “Well done! Well done!” Up he climbs to that high throne, side by side with the Paternal Deity. “I have exalted one chosen out of the people.”
For meditation: Our ascended Lord Jesus Christ—his principal posture (he sits), his persistent pleading (he intercedes), his patient preparation (he waits to return)—Hebrews 10:11-13.
Sermon no. 11
25 February (1855)
John MacArthur – Living in a Worthy Manner
“So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects” (Col. 1:10).
Your manner of life should be consistent with Christ’s.
In Colossians 1:9 Paul speaks of being controlled by the knowledge of God’s will. In verse 10 he speaks of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. There is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between those verses. When you are controlled by the knowledge of God’s will, you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
The Greek word translated “walk” means “to order one’s behavior.” It’s a common New Testament metaphor for one’s lifestyle. Paul made a similar plea to the Thessalonians: “Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:12).
The thought of being worthy of the Lord might raise some eyebrows because we usually relate worthiness to merit or something deserved. But that isn’t Paul’s point at all. The Greek word translated “worthy” in Colossians 1:10 speaks of something that weighs as much or carries the same value as something else. He isn’t saying we deserve Christ, but that our conduct should be consistent with His.
That is Peter’s point in 1 Peter 2:21: “You have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” John said, “The one who says he abides in [Christ] ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). He added in 2 John 6, “Walk according to His commandments.” That’s how you demonstrate your love for Christ (John 14:15) and please Him in every respect.
As a word of encouragement, a worthy walk is not a walk of sinless perfection. That won’t happen until you are fully glorified. But each day you are growing in godliness as a result of the Spirit’s transforming work in you (2 Cor. 3:18). Be faithful to that process. Set your affections on Christ, look to His Word, and rejoice in the privilege of becoming more like Him today.
Suggestions for Prayer
- Thank God for the power and guidance of His Spirit in your life.
- Be diligent to confess your sin when you stray from a worthy walk.
For Further Study
Read Ephesians 4:1-3 and Philippians 1:27-30.
- What specific attitudes are involved in a worthy walk?
- Does a worthy walk eliminate the possibility of suffering or persecution? Explain.
Joyce Meyer – How to Win the Battle
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.- Ephesians 6:14–15 NIV
The Bible says that if we meet our battles with peace and respond to the upsets in life with peace, we will experience victory. It’s a paradox; it doesn’t make any sense. How can we win if we stop fighting?
My husband used to make me mad because he would not fight with me. I was upset and angry, and I wanted him to say just one thing so I could rail on and on. But when Dave saw that I was just looking for an argument, he would be quiet and tell me, “I am not going to fight with you.” Sometimes he would even get in the car and leave for a while, infuriating me even more, but I could not fight with someone who would not fight back.
Moses told the Israelites not to fight when they found the Red Sea facing them on one side and the Egyptian army chasing them on the other. They became frightened, and he told them, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest (Exodus 14:13–14).
Notice that Moses told the Israelites to “hold [their] peace and remain at rest.” Why? They were at war, and it was necessary for them to respond with peace in order to win the battle. God would fight for them if they would show their confidence in Him by being peaceful. If you hold on to your peace, He will do the same for you.
Trust in Him Are you fighting a battle when you should be holding your peace? Choose to stop fighting and trust God to fight for you. That is how to win a battle.
Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Anything You Ask
“You can get anything – anything you ask for in prayer – if you believe” (Matthew 21:22).
God’s Word reminds us that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). Jesus said, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7, KJV).
A godly widow with six children was facing great stress. The family had eaten their last loaf of bread at the evening meal. The next morning, with no food in the house, the trusting mother set seven plates on the table.
“Now, children,” she said, gathering them around her, “we must ask God to supply our need.”
Just as she finished her prayer, one of the children shouted, “There’s the baker at the door.”
“I was stalled in the snow,” the baker said, after entering the house,” and I just stopped by to get warm. Do you need any bread this morning?”
“Yes,” said the mother, “but we have no money.”
“Do you mean to say you have no bread for these children?” he asked.
“Not a bit,” said the mother.
“Well,” said the baker, “you will soon have some.” Whereupon he returned to his wagon, picked up seven loaves and brought them into the house. Then he laid one on each plate.
“Mama!” one of the children cried out. “I prayed for bread, and God heard me and sent me bread.”
“And me!” chorused each of the children, feeling that God had answered personally.
God does not require us to have great faith. We are simply to have faith in a great God.
Bible Reading: Mark 11:20-26
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will continue to abide in Christ and have His Word abide in my heart, so that when needs arise today – whether large or small; physical, material or spiritual – I will choose to place my simple faith in God, knowing that He is willing and able to hear and answer prayer. I will also encourage others to join me in the great adventure of prayer.
Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Find Your Focus
Research out of Sweden shows that digital billboards can distract drivers for two to three seconds; in that amount of time, accidents can happen.
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
Psalm 123:1
As important as it is to keep your eyes on the road as you drive, it’s imperative in life to focus on the Lord to avoid pitfalls that can hurt or even destroy you. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” Jesus said in John 14:6. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” As you look to Him, “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12: 1-2)
As God instructs and, at times, corrects you, remember to keep your eyes on the Lord. Honor His Spirit within you by spending time in the Word of God and listening with spiritual ears. Set aside time each day to worship Him through singing, journaling, or even poetry. Then pray for the country’s leaders and citizens to place their focus on the King of Kings who is enthroned in the heavens. He is worthy!
Recommended Reading: Hebrews 12:1-14
Greg Laurie – Enough for Today
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” —Matthew 6:34
Have you ever been gripped by fear? You know the feeling. Your blood goes cold. You get that shiver down your spine. Your hair stands on end. (In my case, that is singular, not plural.) Your stomach sinks. Your mouth goes dry.
Then there is the other emotion that is often coupled with fear, and that is worry. There are a lot of things people can worry about today. The state of our country. Our economy. Terrorism. The threat of a war. We are a nation filled with worry.
But there is nothing productive about it. In fact, the word worry comes from an old German word that means “to choke” or “to strangle.” And that is exactly what worry does. It chokes you spiritually. It creates an emotional and mental stranglehold on your life. It doesn’t ever make anything better. In fact, it makes things worse. That is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34).
Paul tackled this problem in Philippians 4 when he wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (verse 6). Where was Paul when he wrote those words? He was incarcerated in Rome. He didn’t know what was going to happen to him. So there was Paul in a difficult situation, and what did he say? “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.”
What happens with worry is that our hopes pull us in one direction while our fears pull us in another. When you worry about the future, you cripple yourself in the present. Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.
Max Lucado – Stop the Frenzy
Attempts at self-salvation guarantee nothing but exhaustion! We scamper and scurry, trying to please God, collecting merit badges and brownie points, and scowling at anyone who questions our accomplishments. Call us the church of hound-dog faces and slumped shoulders.
Stop it! Once and for all, enough of this frenzy. Hebrews 13:9 says, “Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules.”
Jesus doesn’t say, “Come to me, all you who are perfect and sinless.” Just the opposite. He says, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
There is no fine print. God’s promise has no hidden language. Let grace happen, for heaven’s sake. No more performing for God. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection isn’t one of them. You have it! You can rest now.
From GRACE
Charles Stanley – Responding to Our Trials
What is your usual response when you face times of trouble? Are you inclined to stand and fight? Perhaps you are convinced that you’re strong enough to handle any obstacle. Or maybe you do what so many others do: run as far and as fast as you can.
Trials are unavoidable in life. Instead of deciding how best to avoid them, we should instead focus on the way to respond to them. There are several things for the Christian to do when confronted with conflict.
First, we should trust God, based on His holy Word. Scripture assures us that the Lord knows our limits and will therefore never allow us to be pushed or tempted beyond our ability to persevere (1 Cor. 10:13).
Second, we must trust in His faithfulness. In times of trouble, take time to reflect on previous hardships. Did God help you then? What was the result of that trial? How has He shown Himself to be faithful at other times? (See Ps. 37:23-24.)
Third, we must make a conscious decision to persevere. Romans 5:3-5 reveals that persistence is a vital part of a healthy growing Christian life. Our encouragement is that perseverance in the face of trials leads to the hope which “does not disappoint” (v. 5).
Finally, it is important to acknowledge the sovereignty of almighty God. Our heavenly Father is never surprised by the tragedies in our lives. Rather, He stands ready to work in us (Phil. 2:13), through us (1 John 4:4), and for us (Rom. 8:31) to bring us to the point of victory in His Son Jesus Christ.
Our Daily Bread – Longing For Rescue
|
She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. —Matthew 1:21
Read: Matthew 1:18-25 The movie Man of Steel, released in 2013, is a fresh imagining of the Superman story. Filled with breathtaking special effects and nonstop action, it drew crowds to movie theaters around the world. Some said that the film’s appeal was rooted in its amazing technology. Others pointed to the enduring appeal of the “Superman mythology.” Amy Adams, the actress who plays Lois Lane in the movie, has a different view of Superman’s appeal. She says it is about a basic human longing: “Who doesn’t want to believe that there’s one person who could come and save us from ourselves?” That’s a great question. And the answer is that someone has already come to save us from ourselves, and that someone is Jesus. Several announcements were made regarding the birth of Jesus. One of them was from the angel Gabriel to Joseph: “She [Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus came—He did so to save us from our sin and from ourselves. His name means “the Lord saves”—and our salvation was His mission. The longing for rescue that fills the human heart ultimately is met by Jesus.—Bill Crowder Shout salvation full and free, Highest hills and deepest caves; This our song of victory—Jesus saves! Jesus saves! —Owens Jesus’ name and mission are the same— He came to save us. INSIGHT: When the angel spoke to Joseph about Mary’s baby, he said that the child’s name would be a clue to His identity: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus would also be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (v.23). Jesus came to rescue us. |
Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Remedy for Control
In the January 2, 2015 issue of Science magazine, I read a troubling article. Two researchers—one a cancer geneticist and the other a biostatistician—found that approximately two-thirds of all cancers are the result of “biological bad luck.”(1) The ‘bad luck’ they describe is simply the random genetic mutations that happen as a result of healthy cells dividing. Utilizing a statistical model to analyze historical literature on cancer, they examined the rates of cell division in 31 types of bodily tissue. Focusing specifically on stem cells—the specialized population of cells within each organ tissue that provide replacements when cells wear out—they found that the higher the rate of stem-cell division the more increased the risk of cancer. The reason why? Dividing cells must make copies of their DNA. The more they divide (over time), the higher the risk that errors in the copying process could set off the uncontrolled growth that leads to cancer.(2)
These findings are troubling because they create doubt as to whether preventative controls matter at all in the fight against cancer. They are troubling especially as I thought of all those who have come face to face with the ‘randomness’ of cancer. They are more than just statistics; they are family members, friends, and colleagues who struggle with this often deadly disease. Even more troubling is the way in which studies like this one erode confidence in any sense of control over life or destiny.
As I read studies like this, or simply look out on the world around me, it is sometimes difficult not to collapse under the weight of what appears to be random catastrophic events. Mistaken identity, for example, was the ‘reason’ a recent college graduate was murdered. He was a classmate, a dear friend of my brother, and not two-weeks into his new marriage when he was murdered at the front door of a home in which he was coming to share his Christian faith. Those inside mistook him for someone who had done harm to them in the past. In another seemingly random event, two wilderness experts/enthusiasts river-rafting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge awoke in their campsite to find a grizzly bear. They were mauled and killed by the bear. Apparently, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can get one killed. But the ‘wrong’ place often seems to be as arbitrary as a roll of the die.
Part of the human strategy in the face of apparent random events such as these involves assigning meaning. Humans seek to find a purpose, a cause, someone or something to blame. Sometimes this strategy is a feeble grasping after control of all that seems chaotic and random in the human experience. Perhaps this strategy is what motivated those who inquired of Jesus about the collapse of the Tower of Siloam. The collapse of this tower killed eighteen people and stirred up all the same attempts to find meaning or assign blame. Jesus’s response likely left more questions than answers. “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you no, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2).
In Jesus’s day, people were quick to assign a moral failure or sin as the cause of the tragedy, suffering or physical ailment. But Jesus does not affirm this assessment. Furthermore, Jesus does not conjecture as to the meaning of the event—in the sense they were asking—and he leaves its apparent randomness unexplained.
Of course, Jesus does affirm a God who is not far off even from apparently random events. “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, and they have no storeroom nor barn; and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!” (Luke 12:24) Indeed, in Jesus’s own suffering and death the love of God is on full display. As author and theologian J. Todd Billings notes, the gospel on display in the cross of Jesus Christ “is big enough to incorporate and envelop our dying and deaths, even when death seems senseless.”(3) In the cross, God envelops all that seems random and senseless and seeks to overwhelm.
At the same time, the existential realities Jesus acknowledged as he lived his life should give pause to hurrying towards quick and easy comfort. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus wrestled in prayer over God’s will for his life. He did not face his suffering with a stoic, nerveless compliance in the face of God’s control. He begged God to take this cup from him. Jesus—the human Son of God wrestling with the Father in prayer and later crying out from the cross—shows that sometimes the only response to the seeming random suffering of life is to wonder if we have been forsaken, crying out in lament at a world that is not as it should be. Jesus also shows a God willing to be subjected to these chaotic forces of this world. This God is not aloof, but a God who was “willingly stripped…of all defenses to show us how humanity is ‘done.’”(4)
Jesus, while not answering the ‘why’ questions regarding the seemingly random fate of the eighteen Galileans, asks for a different response. He calls for change of heart for all who pondered the event at Siloam. He calls for a reorientation of the will towards repentance—perhaps even a repentance of longing to control life and meaning so tightly. Indeed, as Jesus himself wrestled with God over his own fate, he demonstrates a “willed acceptance….’Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet, not what I will, but what you will.’”(5)
In an age marked by fear of terror, chaos, and the seeming randomness of events, Jesus offers a heart at rest. It is a rest not found in stoic submission to a determined destiny, but a rest forged from listening for the whisperer in the whirlwind. Not a static surety, but a dynamic trust in the God who declares, “I AM WHAT I AM” and “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.”
Margaret Manning Shull is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bellingham, Washington.
(1) Jennifer Couzin-Frankle, “The Bad Luck of Cancer,” Science, January 2, 2015, 12.
(2) Denise Grady, “Cancer’s Random Assault,” New York Times, January 5, 2015.
(3) J. Todd Billings, Rejoicing In Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Books, 2015), 109.
(4) William J. O’Malley, Help My Unbelief (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,2008), 141.
(5) Ibid., 143. See Mark 14:36.
Alistair Begg – Showers of Blessing
I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26
Here is sovereign mercy–“I will send down the showers in their season.” Is it not sovereign, divine mercy? For who can say, “I will send down showers” except God? There is only one voice that can speak to the clouds and bid them send the rain. “Who sends down the rain upon the earth? Who scatters the showers upon the green herb? Do not I, the Lord?” So grace is the gift of God and is not to be created by man.
It is also needed grace. What would the ground do without showers? You may break the clods, you may sow your seeds, but what can you do without the rain? Just as absolutely needful is the divine blessing; you work in vain until God then bestows the shower and sends salvation down.
Then, it is plenteous grace. “I will send down the showers.” It does not say, “I will send down drops,” but “showers.” So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing, He usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it. Plenteous grace! We need plenteous grace to keep us humble, to make us prayerful, to make us holy; plenteous grace to make us zealous, to preserve us through this life, and at last to land us in heaven. We cannot do without saturating showers of grace.
Again, it is seasonable grace. “I will cause the shower to come down in their season.” What is your season this morning? Is it the season of drought? Then that is the season for showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the season for showers. “As your days, so shall your strength be.”1
And here is a varied blessing. “I will give you showers of blessing.” The word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings God will send. All God’s blessings go together, like links in a golden chain. If He gives converting grace, He will also give comforting grace. He will send “showers of blessing.” Look up today, O parched plant, and open your leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering.
1) Deuteronomy 33:25
Today’s Bible Reading
The family reading plan for February 24, 2015
* Exodus 7
* Luke 10
Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.
Charles Spurgeon – The glorious right hand of the Lord
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” Numbers 11:23
Suggested Further Reading: Luke 12:22-31
Which of his people have found the riches of his grace drained dry? Which of his children has had to mourn that the unsearchable riches of Christ had failed to supply his need? In grace, as well as in providence and nature, the unanimous verdict is that God is still Almighty, that he does as he wills, and fulfils all his promises and his counsels. How is it, then, that such a question as this ever came from the lips of God himself? Who suggested it? What suggested it? What could there have been that should lead him or any of his creatures to say,“Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” We answer, there is but one creature that God has made that ever doubts him. The little birds doubt not: though they have no barn nor field, yet they sweetly sing at night as they go to their roosts, though they know not where tomorrow’s meal shall be found. The very cattle trust him; and even in days of drought, ye have seen them when they pant for thirst, how they expect the water; how the very first token of it makes them show in their very animal frame, by some dumb language, that they felt that God would not leave them to perish. The angels never doubt him, nor the devils either: devils believe and tremble. But it was left for man, the most favoured of all creatures, to mistrust his God. This high, this black, this infamous sin, of doubting the power and faithfulness of Jehovah, was reserved for the fallen race of rebellious Adam, and we alone, out of all the beings that God has ever fashioned, dishonour him by unbelief, and tarnish his honour by mistrust.
For meditation: Man is good at taming and training animals (James 3:7) but they still have a thing or two to teach him about God (2 Peter 2:15-16; Luke 12:24).
Sermon no. 363
24 February (1861)
John MacArthur – Understanding God’s Will
“We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9).
Godly living results from being controlled by the principles of God’s Word.
Paul’s prayer for the Philippians (Phil. 1:9-11) is closely paralleled by his prayer for the Colossians (Col. 1:9-12). Both epistles were written from the same Roman prison at about the same time in Paul’s life. Both prayers focus on godly living, but each approaches it from a slightly different perspective.
The Philippians were gracious people who needed to exercise greater knowledge and discernment in their love. The Colossians also were gracious but their devotion to Christ was being challenged by heretics who taught that Christ is insufficient for salvation and godly living. True spirituality, the false teachers said, is found in Christ plus human philosophy, religious legalism, mysticism, or asceticism. Paul encouraged the Colossian believers and refuted the false teachers by showing the utter sufficiency of Christ.
At the outset of his prayer Paul stressed the importance of being controlled by the knowledge of God’s will (which is revealed in His Word). That’s the meaning of the Greek word translated “filled” in verse 9. “Knowledge” translates a word that speaks of a deep, penetrating knowledge that results in behavioral change. “Spiritual wisdom and understanding” refers to knowledge that cannot be known through human reasoning or philosophy. It is imparted by the Holy Spirit Himself.
In effect Paul was saying, “I pray that you will be continually controlled by the life-transforming knowledge of God’s will, which the Holy Spirit imparts as you prayerfully study and meditate on God’s Word.”
Scripture supplies the principles you need to live a godly life. The Spirit gives you the power to do so. Many false teachers will try to divert you from the simplicity of devotion to Christ by offering you philosophy, psychology, and a myriad of other hopeless alternatives. Don’t be victimized. In Christ you have everything you need!
Suggestions for Prayer
- Thank God for His all-sufficient Son and for the resources that are yours in Him.
- Ask for wisdom to apply those resources to every situation you face today.
For Further Study
Read Colossians 1:15—2:23.
- What was Christ’s role in creation?
- What was Paul’s goal as a minister?
- What warnings and commands did Paul give?
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 