Tag Archives: Jesus

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Be Careful

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Be careful with the phrase, “God led me. . .” Don’t banter it about. People have been known to justify stupidity based on a feeling! God will not lead you to lie, cheat, or hurt.

When Luke justified the writing of his gospel to Theophilus, he said, “Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus” (Lk. 1:3). Did you note his phrase, “it seemed good also to me”? These words reflect a person at the crossroads. Luke pondered his options and selected the path that “seemed good.”

God creates the ‘want to” within us. But He will never lead you to violate His Word. He will not contradict his teaching. But he will faithfully lead you through the words of his Scripture and the advice of his faithful.

From Max on Life

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Landmine of Covetousness

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Read | Ephesians 5:1-5

One of the best-concealed landmines in the life of a believer is covetousness. We tend to think the term simply describes a desire for an item belonging to another person, but it goes deeper than that. Covetousness is an intense yearning for something we do not have, coupled with the belief that we will not be happy or satisfied until we get it.

If we are driven by an insatiable longing that distracts us from our relationship with God, then we are in danger—such intense craving is really a form of idolatry. Our preoccupation with satisfying the desire translates into our placing higher priority on the object than on God. That is the very nature of idol worship.

We all have desires of the heart, and many of these are planted by the Lord Himself. Longings within the framework of God’s will are acceptable. For example, there is nothing in the Scriptures that says it is wrong to want a nice house or a reliable car. God has a purpose, plan, and time worked out to meet our needs and supply legitimate wants. However, when we choose to fulfill a God-given desire in a way that is not in keeping with the Lord’s will, we are guilty of covetousness.

The reason covetousness is so damaging is that it has no end. When we achieve one goal that we thought would satisfy, we discover that we are still not content. So we look to something else that we think will bring satisfaction. But nothing can bring peace and genuine contentment to our heart other than a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Battling Distractions

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Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. —Luke 10:42

 

Read: Luke 10:38-42
Bible in a Year: Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

Every day I drive the same highway to and from the office, and every day I see an alarming number of distracted drivers. Usually they’re talking on the phone or texting, but I have also seen people reading the newspaper, putting on makeup, and eating a bowl of cereal while trying to maneuver a car at 70+ miles per hour! In some circumstances, distractions are fleeting and harmless. In a moving vehicle, they can kill.

Sometimes distractions can be a problem in our relationship with God. In fact, that was the concern Jesus had for His friend Martha. She “was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” for a meal (Luke 10:40 niv). When she complained about her sister Mary’s lack of help (apparently due to her devotion to Christ and His teaching), Jesus told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (vv.41-42).

Martha’s distractions were well-intentioned. But she was missing the opportunity to listen to Jesus and enjoy His presence. He is deserving of our deepest devotion, and He alone can fully enable us to overcome any of life’s distractions. —Bill Crowder

Lord, I want a heart like Mary’s—that takes time to sit at Your feet to learn from You and be close to You. And I want a heart like Martha’s—that takes time to serve You, the One I love.

If you want to be miserable, look within; distracted, look around; peaceful, look up.

INSIGHT: Martha’s distractions in Luke 10 brought a loving challenge from Jesus. But after the death of her brother Lazarus (John 11:17-27), we see that she was fully focused on Him. She affirmed her confidence that Jesus had a special relationship with the Father (v.22) and then declared her belief in the coming resurrection (v.24). Ultimately, she voiced her clear conviction that Jesus is the Son of God (v.27).
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – To Lighten Our Darkness

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The Louvre began as a fortress to keep lurking enemies at bay. It is today the world’s most visited museum—home of more than 35,000 works of art—and the lurkers are mostly friendly. Though apparently, in the midst of the hype over Dan Brown’s best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, you could not stand in the museum’s grand hallways without hearing rumors of hidden messages, long-lost documents, and scandalous secrets. The Louvre had a record 7.55 million visitors that year of the book’s best-selling, and curators were bracing themselves for the release of the movie.

Like many, I am easily taken with a good mystery. There is something fantastic about lurking clues or ‘long-lost’ anything. Growing up around my mother’s antique store, I used to imagine we were harboring treasures unbeknownst to us. In every old painting was the possibility of a document hidden behind it, in every dresser drawer the possibility of a trinket that would change our lives. But I discovered something else in this antique store: the thing about treasures, theories, and mysteries sheathed in darkness is that they always seem to lose something in the light. Like a novel whose ending we’re not quite ready to discover, the obscurity of mystery enthralls us—perhaps even more than the possibility it seeing it solved.

That imaginations once caught up in The Da Vinci Code excitement seem to have fizzled is perhaps further evidence of the phenomenon. One of the raucous claims made by the book is that “almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.” Multitudes were hushed at the possibilities. These were words in the mouth of a fictional character (if Brown’s own polemic), but it was a mysterious theory that captured imaginations by storm. Beginning with a great gathering of influential bishops in the fourth century, Brown drew readers in with the shadows of controversy. At this council, he argued, two new theories were put into play, changing the church forever and making impregnable its circle of control: the divinity of Christ and the infallibility of Scripture.

In fact, this gathering of men in dark hallways of antiquity was called the Council of Nicaea, which commenced in 325 at the call of Roman Emperor Constantine. In reality, the underlying faith confessed at Nicaea was bred amidst controversy. But it was hardly the conspiracy Brown describes. It was not a gathering of men contriving words in mystery and shadow, but a gathering of men squinting at the mystery of light. How do you put into words the logistics of the Trinity? How do you describe the two natures of Christ? Was Jesus equal to God or subordinate? What do we mean when we call Christ Lord?

The Council of Nicaea was a gathering of bishops from around the world who sought to unravel the mess of conflicting schools of thought. Up until this point they had few formal means to sort through variant teachings and emerging groups, but church leaders recognized that they were at something of a theological crossroads. Presenting the most formidable challenge to New Testament teaching was a theologian named Arius of Alexandria. Arius envisioned Christ as superior to creation, yet not fully God. It is along Arian lines of thinking that Dan Brown molds his shadowy interpretation of history. Jesus, he argues, was not God; he was a prophet at best, made into something much more.

The Council of Nicaea rejected such thinking, though not on grounds of power and deception, as Brown suggests. On grounds of reason and historical belief, they acknowledged Christ as the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”(1) The Council recognized in the affirmations of the earliest Christians (including baptismal creeds that spoke in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) a distinct acknowledgement of Jesus’s divinity. If Jesus was not fully God, he was not really God at all, and to worship him was idolatry. On the contrary—as spoken from his own lips, as recorded in extra-biblical writings, as affirmed in the dark hallways of antiquity—Jesus is Lord.

In our best attempts to consider God, wrote Augustine, we are essentially asking the everlasting Light to “lighten our darkness.” The shadows of mystery and suspense are captivating, but there we are not meant to reside. May it be in a pursuit of truth and not a love of obscurity that we look to the mysteries of Christ and the decisive events of history. Light has come into the world; we need not move toward darkness to find ourselves standing in awe.

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

(1) Excerpt from the Nicene Creed.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg –  Maturity in Christ

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…mature in Christ.  Colossians 1:28

 

Do you not feel in your own soul that maturity is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear that trickles from your eye weeps “imperfection”; every harsh word that proceeds from your lip mutters “imperfection.” You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you–you are perfect or “mature in Christ.” In God’s sight you are complete in Him; even now you are “blessed in the Beloved.”1

But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, that is just as sure. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said–

With my Savior’s garments on,
Holy as the Holy One.

Then shall we know and taste and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, complete in Christ. Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus.

Does not your heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Filthy as you are, you shall be clean. Oh, it is a marvelous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a dirty and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in His glory, peerless in His beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of maturity in Christ.

1) Ephesians 1:6

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 28, 2015
* Genesis 29
* Matthew 28

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The heart—a den of evil

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‘For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.’ Matthew 15:19

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 58:1–6

Your child will have evil thoughts without your sending him to a diabolical infant school; children who have been brought up in the midst of honesty, will be found guilty of little thefts early enough in life. False witness, which is one form of lying, is so common, that perhaps to find a tongue which never did bear false witness would be to find a tongue that never spoke. Is this caused by education or by nature? It is so common a thing that even when the ear has heard nothing but the most rigid truth, children learn to lie and men commonly do lie and love to tell an evil tale against their fellow men whether it be true or not, bearing false witness with an avidity which is perfectly shocking. Is this a matter of education, or is it a depraved heart? Some men will wilfully invent a slanderous lie, knowing that they need not take any special care of their offspring, for they may lay it in the street and the first passer-by will take it up and nurse it, and the lie will be carried in triumph round the world; whereas a piece of truth which would have done honour to a good man’s character, will be left to be forgotten till God shall remember it at the day of judgment. You never need educate any man into sin. The serpent is scarcely born before it rears itself and begins to hiss. The young lion may be nurtured in your parlour, but it will develop ere long the same thirst for blood as if it were in the forest. So is it with man; he sins as naturally as the young lion seeks for blood, or the young serpent stores up venom.

For meditation: Adam and Eve were created sinless in God’s image (Genesis 1:27; 5:1); they became sinners and as the result of disobedience Adam’s children were born sinful in his image (Genesis 5:3). Everybody since has sinned as the result of being born a sinner—except for the Son of God who was born in the likeness of sinful flesh i.e. in real, but sinless, flesh. Are you trusting in him alone as the one who was punished in his own flesh for your sin (Romans 8:3)?

Sermon no. 732

27 January (1867)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Striving According to God’s Power

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“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of [God’s] might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead” (Eph. 1:19-20).

In Christ you have all the power you will ever need.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the great hope of believers. Because He lives, we will live also (John 14:19). Peter said we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away” (1 Pet. 1:3-4). We and what we have are protected by God’s power (v. 5).

In Ephesians 1:19-20 Paul draws two comparisons. The first is between the power God demonstrated in the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the power He demonstrates on behalf of every believer. That power is described as God’s “working,” “strength,” and “might.” Together those synonyms emphasize the greatness of God’s power, which not only secures our salvation, but also enables us to live godly lives.

The second comparison is between our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, and ours. The grave couldn’t hold Him, nor can it hold us (1 Cor. 15:54-57). Satan himself couldn’t prevent Christ’s exaltation, nor can he prevent us from gaining our eternal inheritance.

In Christ you have all the power you will ever need. For evangelism you have the gospel itself, which “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). For difficult times you have the assurance that the surpassing greatness of God’s power is at work in you (2 Cor. 4:7). For holy living you have God Himself at work in you “both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

No matter how weak or ill-equipped you may at times feel, realize God “is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that [you] ask or think, according to the power that works within [you]” (Eph. 3:20). So keep striving according to that power (Col. 1:29), but do so with the confidence that ultimately God will accomplish His good in your life.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God that He can and will accomplish His purposes in your life (Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:24).
  • Pray for wisdom in how you might best serve Him today.

For Further Study

Read Psalm 145, noting every mention of God’s power David makes. Allow those examples to fill your heart with confidence and praise.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Stand Strong Against the Adversary

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For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.—1 Corinthians 16:9

It is true that whenever you do anything for God, the adversary will oppose you. But you must remember that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (see 1 John 4:4).

You should not have to spend your life struggling against the devil in order to serve God. Instead of wearing yourself out trying to fight spiritual enemies, you should learn to stand strong in the authority given to you by Jesus.

The best way to overcome the devil and his demons is simply to stay in God’s will by obeying His Word and allowing Him to work things out according to His divine plan and purpose.

Campus Crusade for Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:11-17

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

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Adoption Opportunity

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Eddie the Terrible needs a new home. The two-year old Chihuahua is known for being bad with kids and awful with other dogs. It is noted he has mood swings and can go from “zero to Cujo” in 0.5 seconds. Does all this make Eddie unadoptable? Absolutely not, according to the Humane Society in Silicon Valley, and they are giving him a second chance. They contend, “Somewhere out there is someone whose life will be better with Eddie in it.”

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

Who are the “Terrible Eddie’s” in your life? You know – those people with inflated opinions and awful social skills that irritate and annoy you? Wouldn’t it be great if you could run an advertisement and adopt them right into someone else’s life?

America will be blessed as God’s people invite His presence into their messy everyday relationships. Today, pray for a new beginning in His mercy, and ask for the grace to forgive those that snarl and bite at you. Humbly acknowledge that you were once the recipient of Christ’s forgiveness, without reservation. As you dispense grace, God will make a provision for both you and America, even if the Terrible Eddie’s are still barking.

Recommended Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A New Paradigm

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Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. —Romans 12:4–5

We have a tendency to want to build our own private universe where the world revolves around us. We are the main characters in our own little movies, and everyone else is a member of the supporting cast. We think it is all about us.

There is just one problem, however. There are other people in our universe, and a lot of them really bother us. But here is something to consider. You might be someone who really bothers another person. We always think that another person is really an irritant. I hate to break this to you, but you might be an irritant to some other people.

However, as followers of Jesus, we need to remember this isn’t a solo effort where we only hang out with the kind of people we personally like. Some Christians may think this way when it comes to church: Well, I only want to be around people who are cool, like me. . . . I only want to be around people who are my age. . . . I only want to be around people I can relate to.

Newsflash: It is not about you. God puts all kinds of different people together. Sometimes they are people we never would have hung out with before. Yet God puts these people in our lives and tells us to love them. And He puts you in others’ lives and tells them to love you. That is because we are a family. And sometimes in a family, you find yourself related to people you don’t always understand. But when the day is done, they are still family.

God says that we need a new paradigm. The way to success, according to the Bible, is through humility. The way to self-fulfillment is thinking of others first.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Unceasing Prayer

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Unceasing prayer may sound complicated, but it needn’t be that way. Do this. Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. As you stand in line to register your car, think, “Thank you, Lord, for being here.” In the grocery store as you shop, think, “Your presence, my King, I welcome.” As you wash the dishes, worship your Maker.

Brother Lawrence called himself the “lord of all pots and pans.” He wrote, “The time of busy-ness does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon knees at the blessed sacrament.”

So talk to God, always. Besides, it makes more sense to talk to God than mumble to yourself!

From Max on Life

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Making of an Encourager

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Read | 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

People love encouragers, and the Lord intends for each of His children to be one. An encourager is able to stand beside someone else to give hope and the motivation to persevere through difficult times. We are not born with this ability fully developed, but we can follow several essential steps to become capable of supporting and empathizing with a hurting friend.

First, we must be willing to experience pain. The apostle Paul was an encourager; in verse 4 of today’s passage, he urges us to reach out to others with the “comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” To experience comfort and have it flow through us, we must suffer some heartache. There’s power in the touch of a person who has been in the valley. Someone who experiences pain does not offer empty words, but hope.

Second, we need to learn the principles that are available to us in our suffering. If we can view our heartache as a class in God’s university, where our enrollment will produce a degree in encouragement, much of the sting will dissipate. The Lord teaches us to place our trust in Him alone, and then we can pass that wisdom on to others.

The most effective encouragers are those who say, “There was nothing I could do but cry out to God. Let me tell you what the Lord did in response.” If we try to escape pain, we will miss out on the principles that can be learned only from suffering; then we cannot be useful to others. Our loving Father builds encouragers from the material of a life willing to be broken.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – The Hand of God

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My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. —Psalm 63:8

 

Read: Psalm 63: 1-8
Bible in a Year: Exodus 16-17; Matthew 18:1-20

When NASA began using a new kind of space telescope to capture different spectrums of light, researchers were surprised at one of the photos. It shows what looks like fingers, a thumb, and an open palm showered with spectacular colors of blue, purple, green, and gold. Some have called it “The Hand of God.”

The idea of God reaching out His hand to help us in our time of need is a central theme of Scripture. In Psalm 63 we read: “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me” (vv.7-8). The psalmist felt God’s divine help like a hand of support. Some Bible teachers believe that King David wrote this psalm in the wilderness of Judah during the terrible time of his son Absalom’s rebellion. Absalom had conspired to dethrone his father, and David fled to the wilderness (2 Sam. 15–16). Even during this difficult time, God was present and David trusted in Him. He said, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You” (Ps. 63:3).

Life can be painful at times, yet God offers His comforting hand in the midst of it. We are not beyond His reach.
—Dennis Fisher

Beneath His watchful eye
His saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guard His children well. —Doddridge

God bears the world’s weight on His shoulder, yet holds His children in the palm of His hand.

INSIGHT: The superscription to this psalm indicates that David was a refugee in the wilderness when he wrote it, either at the time when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 23:14-15; 24:1) or fleeing from his own son Absalom (2 Sam. 15:14,23,28). Because David addresses himself as “king” (Ps. 63:11), some Bible teachers believe that he was fleeing from his son. His life in danger (vv.9-10), David sought out and trusted God for protection and safety (vv.1-2). Instead of allowing his troubles to overwhelm him, David sang of God’s lovingkindness (v.3), meditated on His presence (v.6), and rejoiced in His deliverance (vv.9-11).
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry –  The Trail and the Cross

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Mention the word ‘immigration’ in conversation, and you are likely to get an earful from a variety of perspectives. Political debates notwithstanding, the topic has sprung up again in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo and Jewish hostages being killed in Paris. Once a colonial power France’s colonized peoples have often come ‘home’ to try to find a better life. The influx of immigrants has brought both opportunity and challenge. Sadly, some immigrant communities report being marginalized from the opportunities a city like Paris affords. Kept on the sidelines a deep frustration and futility festers.

In the United States, a refuge for immigrants from its beginning, the indigenous people of this land often suffered by being pushed to the margins. One tragic episode of marginalization was “The Trail of Tears.” This ‘trail’ was the forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation from their home among the mountains of North Georgia to the plains of Oklahoma.(1) In one of the saddest episodes of the fledgling democracy of the United States, men, women, and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts with minimal facilities and food, and then forced to march a thousand miles. Human loss for the first groups of Cherokee removed from North Georgia was extremely high. While records reflect differing accounts of casualties, some estimate that about 4000 Cherokee died as a result of the removal.

The story of Native American relocation is now a part of the history of the developing United States, where the North Georgia story is not unique. Activists for Native American causes remind those who have ears to hear that other trails of tears were forged in the land from east to west. While there have always been minority voices protesting against these federal government policies concerning relocation, including Davy Crockett (better known for his failed stand at the Texas Alamo), they were few and far between.(2) The country that had swelled on a tide of freedom also had an undertow of injustice toward its indigenous peoples.

In human terms, the death of Jesus by crucifixion demonstrates a horrible injustice committed against him. While Christians believe that God was at work even in the midst of this act of injustice, Jesus had committed no crime deserving this form of execution reserved for the worst criminals. He was betrayed by one closest to him, falsely accused, tortured, and nailed to the cross. Formal theology looks at the “injustice” of the crucifixion and seeks to explain the meaning of the event. Some theologians suggest that the atonement stands as the preeminent example of a sacrificial life in the face of injustice—an example which followers of Jesus are called to model in their own lives. Others see the Cross as the ultimate symbol of divine love or a demonstration of God’s divine justice against sin as the violation of his perfect law. Still others suggest the Cross overcame the forces of sin and evil, restored God’s honor in relation to God’s holiness and righteousness, and served as a substitution for the death we all deserved because of sin.(3)

While the meaning of the atonement may include a portion of all of these theories, I wonder about how the atonement might bring meaning to events like those suffered by Native peoples. And I wonder about how the atonement speaks to the personal injustices we all suffer, or commit against one another. Does the reality of the atonement give present meaning to the injustices experienced and felt by many in today’s world?

The word atonement itself indicates that the willing offer by Jesus to bear the injustices of the world creates the possibility to be at one, set right with God, and with one another. The apostle Paul indicates this in his second letter to the Corinthian Christians: “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Christians believe that the enactment of reconciliation by God even through the human injustice perpetrated against Jesus, enjoins them to a ministry of reconciliation and justice. And the word of reconciliation—namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world—frees all who would receive this forgiveness to offer the ministry of reconciling forgiveness to one another. Forgiveness, then, creates the possibility for justice.

While at a local church gathering, I was introduced to a ministry that works with urban-dwelling Native Americans. Most are homeless and many struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Even today, many dwell on the margins. Like me, these individuals are far removed from the Trail of Tears. But like me, this organization wonders what meaning to assign to a tragic past. Clearly, all of us carry the events of our past into our present lives. In some cases, painful hurts and histories have ongoing repercussions. Cycles of violence, addiction, and despair are shaped, in part, by the meaning assigned to these past events. Therefore, this ministry seeks to reassign new meaning to difficult pasts through reconciliation and forgiveness.

In the same way, Christians who affirm the atonement of Jesus also affirm a God who enjoins them to do justice on behalf of others. The atonement creates meaning for the past that is redemptive for the present. Those who recognize both the need for forgiveness and the need to offer forgiveness, give meaning to all who need atonement today. Seen this way, the crucifixion is not simply another act of injustice perpetrated against Jesus, the atonement brings life, as surely as it binds us to give life to others.

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

(1) “The Trail of Tears,” About North Georgia, http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html, accessed February 16, 2010.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Theories of the atonement as highlighted in Millard Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1983), 781-823.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg –  A Fullness in Christ

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And from his fullness we have all received.  John 1:16

 These words tell us that there is a fullness in Christ. There is a fullness of essential Deity, for “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”1 There is a fullness of perfect manhood, for in Him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fullness of atoning efficacy in His blood, for “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”2 There is a fullness of justifying righteousness in His life, for “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”3 There is a fullness of divine prevalence in His plea, for “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”4 There is a fullness of victory in His death, for through death He destroyed him that had the power of death–that is, the devil. There is a fullness of efficacy in His resurrection from the dead, for by it “he has caused us to be born again to a living hope.”5 There is a fullness of triumph in His ascension, for “when he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”6 There is a fullness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fullness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fullness at all times; a fullness of comfort in affliction, a fullness of guidance in prosperity. A fullness of every divine attribute–of wisdom, of power, of love; a fullness that it is impossible to survey, much less to explore. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”7

Oh, what a fullness must this be of which all receive! Fullness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all your need supplied; ask largely, and you will receive largely, for this “fullness” is inexhaustible and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel–God with us.

1) Colossians 2:9    2) 1 John 1:7  3) Romans 8:1   4) Hebrews 7:25   5) 1 Peter 1:3    6) Ephesians 4:8    7) Colossians 1:19

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 27, 2015
* Genesis 28
* Matthew 27

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Christ of Patmos

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“… one like unto the Son of man,… His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow… And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.” Revelation 1:12-18

Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 22:41-46

“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow.” When the Church described him in the Canticles she said “His locks are bushy and black as a raven’s.” How do we understand this apparent discrepancy? My brethren, the Church in the Canticles looked forward, she looked forward to days and ages that were to come, and she perceived his perpetual youth; she pictured him as one who would never grow old, whose hair would ever have the blackness of youth. And do we not bless God that her view of him was true? We can say of Jesus, “Thou hast the dew of thy youth;” but the Church of to-day looks backward to his work as complete; we see him now as the ancient of eternal days. We believe that he is not the Christ of 1800 years ago merely, but, before the day-star knew its place, he was one with the Eternal Father. When we see in the picture his head and his hair white as snow, we understand the antiquity of his reign. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When all these things were not, when the old mountains had not lifted their hoary heads into the clouds, when the yet more hoary sea had never roared in tempest; ere the lamps of heaven had been lit, when God dwelt alone in his immensity, and the unnavigated waves of ether, if there were such, had never been fanned by the wings of seraphim, and the solemnity of silence had never been startled by the song of cherubim, Jesus was of old in eternity with God. We know how he was despised and rejected of men, but we understand, too, what he meant when he said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” We know how he who died, when but a little more than thirty years of age, was verily the Father of the everlasting ages, having neither beginning of days nor end of years.

For meditation: Glory in the paradoxes of Christ—seen as old, yet young; God and man; A.D. yet B.C.; David’s Son, yet David’s Lord; a Shepherd, yet a Lamb; the Master, yet a Servant; the Great High Priest, yet the Sacrifice; the Immortal who died and rose again!

Sermon no. 357

27 January (1861)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Trusting in God’s Power

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“I pray that … you may know … the surpassing greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19).

The same divine power that created, sustains, and controls the universe secures your salvation.

God’s power is awesome! David wrote, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name” (1 Chron.29:11-13).

In Ephesians 1:19 Paul focuses on one key feature of God’s power: His ability to secure the salvation of His people. And he prays for you to understand the surpassing greatness of that truth.

The Greek word translated “power” is dunamis, from which we get dynamite and dynamo. This power is active, dynamic, and compelling—and it is mightily at work on your behalf. You might not always sense it, but it’s there nonetheless.

Peter expresses the same thought in 1 Peter 1:5, where he says you are “protected by the power of God through faith” in Christ. In that verse “protected” means “to keep or guard” and reflects Peter’s confidence that salvation is inviolable.

The same limitless power that created, sustains, and controls the universe saved you and keeps you saved. That’s why Jesus said no one can snatch you out of the Father’s hand (John 10:29). Not even Satan has the power to do that. Paul confidently added that nothing therefore can separate you from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39). That’s the confidence you should have as you live each day.

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray for greater spiritual enlightenment and a clearer understanding of your security in Christ. Nothing will rob you of your assurance quicker than unconfessed sin. If that has happened to you, confess it immediately and turn from it. Then ask God to restore to you the joy of your salvation.

For Further Study

Read 1 Chronicles 29:11-13.

  • What prerogatives did David attribute to God (vv. 11-12)?
  • What was David’s response to God’s power (v. 13)?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Love God First

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Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! —Psalm 66:5 NIV

We give attention to whatever we love the most. God wants to be first in our life (see Exodus 20:3). Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37–38 NIV).

What might happen in your life if you became so intent on seeking God that you hired a babysitter to watch your children, or used a vacation day, in order to spend time with the Lord? You can’t afford not to spend time with God. Give Him your full attention, and make a point to observe all He is doing for you.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Orders Your Steps

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“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:23, KJV).

Miriam Booth – a beautiful, brilliant, cultured woman – daughter of the Salvation Army founder, began her Christian work with great promise. She had unusual success. Before long, however, disease struck her and brought her to the point of death. A friend visiting her one day said it seemed a pity that a woman so capable should be hindered by illness from doing the Lord’s work. “It is great to do the Lord’s work,” she replied with gentle grace, “but it is greater to do the Lord’s will.”

Are you looking for direction, for purpose, for meaning to your life?

The psalmist wanted to make it very plain that the person who is “good,” the one who is clothed with the righteousness, the goodness of Christ, can have the absolute assurance that His steps, one by one, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, are ordered by the Lord (planned and directed by Him).

That wonderful truth is made even more meaningful by the reminder that our “stops” as well are directed by the Lord. He knows when we need to slow down, to wait on Him. As a Christian leader once said, after several weeks of being bedridden: “I needed to be flat on my back so that the only way I could look was up.”

Finding the will of God has been difficult for many people – for most of us at one time or another. But the truth remains that He promises to give wisdom to any who ask, and we have that privilege when we belong to Him by virtue of having received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

If you are facing a crossroad in your life, wait on Him and avoid the usual rush to a decision that might be disastrous. “He is faithful who promised.” Depend upon Him to make the way clear as you lay the decision prayerfully before Him.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 58:9-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: When I need wisdom for a specific decision today, I will breathe an earnest prayer for direction. Then I will thank God for the clear leading which He promises and for enabling me to continue living the supernatural life, as He directs my steps.