Tag Archives: Jesus

Charles Spurgeon – Turn or burn

December 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.” Psalm 7:12

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

God has a sword, and he will punish man on account of his iniquity. This evil generation has laboured to take away from God the sword of his justice; they have endeavoured to prove to themselves that God will “clear the guilty,” and will by no means “punish iniquity, transgression and sin.” Two hundred years ago the predominant strain of the pulpit was one of terror: it was like Mount Sinai, it thundered forth the dreadful wrath of God, and from the lips of a Baxter or a Bunyan, you heard most terrible sermons, full to the brim with warnings of judgment to come. Perhaps some of the Puritan fathers may have gone too far, and have given too great a prominence to the terrors of the Lord in their ministry: but the age in which we live has sought to forget those terrors altogether, and if we dare to tell men that God will punish them for their sins, it is charged upon us that we want to bully them into religion, and if we faithfully and honestly tell our hearers that sin must bring after it certain destruction, it is said that we are attempting to frighten them into goodness. Now we care not what men mockingly impute to us; we feel it our duty, when men sin, to tell them they shall be punished, and so long as the world will not give up its sin we feel we must not cease our warnings. But the cry of the age is, that God is merciful, that God is love. Who said he was not? But remember, it is equally true, God is just, severely and inflexibly just. He were not God, if he were not just; he could not be merciful if he were not just.

For meditation: The “meek and lowly” Lord Jesus Christ spoke often of judgment because of his care for the souls of men and his longing for them to repent and find rest (Matthew 11:20-30).

Sermon no. 106

7 December (1856)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Creator of the World

December 7, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son . . . through whom also He made the world” (Heb. 1:2).

Christ is the agent through whom God created the world.

John 1:3 testifies, “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Jesus has the ability to create something out of nothing (cf. Rom. 4:17), and that sets Him apart from mere creatures. Only God can create like that; we can’t. If you could create, you’d live in a different house, drive a different car, and probably have a different job—if you had any job at all. You could just sit in your backyard and make money. Fortunately, God didn’t give depraved men and women the right to be creators.

The ability to create ex nihilo belongs to God alone and the fact that Jesus creates like that indicates He is God and establishes His absolute superiority over everything. He created everything material and spiritual. Though man has stained His work with sin, Christ originally made it good, and the very creation itself longs to be restored to what it was in the beginning (Rom. 8:22).

The common Greek word for “world” is kosmos, but that’s not the one used in Hebrews 1:2. The word here is aionas, which does not refer to the material world but to “the ages,” as it is often translated. Jesus Christ is responsible for creating not only the physical earth, but also time, space, energy, and matter. The writer of Hebrews does not restrict Christ’s creation to this earth; he shows us that Christ is the Creator of the entire universe and of existence itself. And He made it all without effort.

What about you? If you don’t recognize God as the Creator, you’ll have difficulty explaining how this universe came into being. Where did it all come from? Who conceived it? Who made it? It cannot be an accident. Someone made it, and the Bible tells us who He is: Jesus Christ.

Suggestion for Prayer; Praise God for the wonder of His creation, which we can so easily take for granted.

For Further Study; Read Colossians 1:16-23 to discover the relationship between the creation and your salvation.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Let God Be God

December 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Why, when I came, was there no man? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert. —Isaiah 50:2

We can worry about hundreds of different things—from what people think of us to what will happen to us as we age. How long will we be able to work? Who will take care of us when we get old if we are not able to care for ourselves? What happens if the stock market crashes? What if gas prices go up? What if I lose my job? Quite often, worry does not even have a basis or a nugget of truth to it. There is no known reason to even think about the things that worry and then frighten us. Worry can even become a bad habit. It is just what we do! Some people fret over something all the time. If they don’t have problems of their own, they worry about other people and their problems.

The only answer is to “stop worrying and place your trust in God.” He has the future all planned, and He knows the answer to everything. His Word promises us that He will take care of us if we trust in Him.

Lord, my future is in Your hands. In reality, I can’t truly control anything. I humble myself before You and cast my cares into Your hands. Thank You for Your care. Amen.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Entirely by Faith

December 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14,15, KJV).

A friend who had participated in one of our lay institutes a few years ago shared with me his experience when he first realized the practical benefits of the biblical concepts which I like to call “spiritual breathing” – exhale by confession and inhale by claiming the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith in accordance with the promise of 1 John 5:14,15.

This friend had agreed to teach a Sunday school class of young students. But there was one problem: he was apprehensive about the assignment because he had never taught studies (of the age)?

My friend planned to arrive at church early in order to make proper preparation for the arrival of his new class. He had asked his family to be ready to leave the house early on that Sunday morning.

As sometimes happens, the family was late in getting ready and, as he sat in the car in the hot sun, he began to resent his family’s tardiness. He began to fume and fuss while waiting for them. The longer he waited, the more tense and irritated he became.

Finally, his family loaded into the car – and he was ready to explode with anger. Before he went very far, the Holy Spirit reminded him that his attitude and actions were not honoring to the Lord.

Furthermore, he knew that he would be sharing with the children in Sunday school about God’s love, forgiveness and patience. Applying the principle of “spiritual breathing,” he exhaled by confessing his sin and inhaled by appropriating the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith. Filled with the Holy Spirit and overflowing with God’s love, he introduced several young men to Christ that morning.

Bible Reading: Romans 1:8-16

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Whenever the need arises, I will practice “spiritual breathing” to help me experience spiritual victory and live a supernatural life. I will tell other Christians about the concept of “spiritual breathing.”

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Sweet Aroma

December 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Pearl Harbor: in 1941, the scene of a surprise attack by Japan that helped lead America into World War II. On that day, acrid, choking smoke filled the air. If you have been fortunate enough to visit that scene more recently, you cannot help but inhale the wafting sweetness of tuberose, jasmine, and hibiscus. The fragrances spread freely – a sensory gift from the islands.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ…spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

II Corinthians 2:14

In 2015, when the rotting stench of terrorism and authoritarianism cover much of the world, and religious freedoms are at global peril, consider that God has called America…and, in particular, American Christians…to sweetly represent Him in such a way that knowledge of the Lord permeates from distant villages to near metropolises. Too big an undertaking, you say?

Pass these sniff tests. Rather than being consumed with the “sweet smell of success,” let your life be fragrant with sincerity, sacrifice, and service. God doesn’t require great things from you. A cup of cold water in my name, Jesus said (Mark 9:41). To the one who receives it, it’s as glorious as a lei of tuberoses.

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 2:15-3:3

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Praying in the Spirit

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii 2 Comments

John 14:16-21

I am convinced that if Christians truly understood what takes place during prayer, they would call upon the Lord more often and with greater results. The believer’s prayer isn’t simply spoken into empty space; the Holy Spirit is there to guide us in offering God-centered requests, to fill in words we fail to say, and to carry our needs before the Lord.

The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, so He knows the mind of God intimately (1 Cor. 2:11). Since He, like the Father, is omniscient and omnipotent, He fully grasps the circumstance we are praying over—even the parts that remain unseen or utterly confusing to us. Also, the Spirit dwells within every believer and knows each one’s mind and heart. With this full knowledge, the Holy Spirit can carry out His responsibility to make our petitions match God’s desires. To that end, He speaks in our spirit and opens our mind to Scripture.

The fact that God gives His Spirit to all believers reveals the value He places on communication between Him and His children. Our Father provides the best possible Helper to ensure that we can be prayer warriors—wise, strong in faith, and fully yielded to Him. But we are none of those things unless we are habitually talking with the Lord.

Christians never have to feel guilty for being uncertain about how to pray. The indwelling Holy Spirit knows our needs and desires—as well as the mind of the Father and the details of every situation. He speaks to God on our behalf while teaching us to pray in accordance with the Father’s will.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Better Than Before

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

2 Kings 5:1-15

[Naaman’s] flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child. —2 Kings 5:14

As infants, my children had nearly perfect skin. Their flesh was soft—they had no dry elbows or rough patches on their feet. Smooth and new, it contrasted with mine, which was marked by years of various scars and callouses.

As a mighty warrior and the commander of the Syrian army, Naaman may have had scuffed skin and battle scars, but he also had a serious skin disease—leprosy. When a servant suggested that the prophet Elisha could heal him, Naaman visited him. He followed Elisha’s instructions, and his diseased flesh became “like the flesh of a little child” (2 Kings 5:14). This cure left Naaman better off both physically and spiritually. After being healed, he proclaimed, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel” (v.15). Through this miraculous experience, he learned that there is only one true God (1 Cor. 8:6).

Like Naaman, we can learn important lessons about God as a result of our life experiences. Receiving a blessing may show us about His mercy and goodness (Matt. 7:11). Surviving or enduring a trial may help us see God’s sufficiency and care. Growing in knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18) will always leave us better off spiritually than we were before. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Father, help me to learn more about You

as I travel through this world. Let this

knowledge inspire fresh praise in my heart

and a desire to become more like You.

Lessons about God are embedded in life experiences.

Bible in a year: Daniel 3-4; 1 John 5

Insight

Naaman’s journey of faith started with humility. It was only when he listened to his young slave girl (2 Kings 5:2-4), followed the instructions of Elisha’s servant and his own servants, and humbled himself by washing in the Jordan River that he received healing (vv.8-14).

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – A Golden Sash

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

…with a golden sash around his chest. Revelation 1:13

One like “a son of man” appeared to John in Patmos, and the beloved disciple noticed that He wore “a golden sash.” A sash, for Jesus was never unprepared while on earth, but always stood ready for service; and now before the eternal throne He continues His ministry as our great High Priest. It is good for us that He has not ceased to fulfill His offices of love, since it is one of our choicest safeguards that He ever lives to make intercession for us. Jesus is never lazy; His garments are never loose as though His offices were ended; He diligently carries on the cause of His people. A golden sash, to declare the superiority of His service, the royalty of His person, the dignity of His state, the glory of His reward. He no longer cries out of the dust, but He pleads with authority, a King as well as a Priest. Our cause is safe enough in the hands of our enthroned Redeemer.

Our Lord presents all His people with an example. We must never unbind our sashes. This is not the time for lying down to rest; it is the season of service and warfare. We need to bind the sash of truth more and more tightly around us. It is a golden sash, and as such it will be our richest ornament. And we greatly need it, for a heart that is not well braced up with the truth as it is in Jesus and with the faithfulness that is fashioned by the Spirit will be easily entangled with the things of this life and tripped up by the snares of temptation. We possess the Scriptures in vain unless we bind them around us like a sash, surrounding our entire nature, keeping each part of our character in order, and giving compactness to our whole being. If in heaven Jesus does not remove the sash, neither should we upon earth. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.

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The family reading plan for December 6, 2014 * Habakkuk 1 * Luke 20

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Destroyer destroyed

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Hebrews 2:14

Suggested Further Reading: Genesis 3:1-15

At last the day arrived; it was telegraphed to the court of hell that at last Christ would die. They rung their bells with hellish mirth and joy. “He will die now,” said he; “Judas has taken the thirty pieces of silver. Let those scribes and Pharisees get him, they will no more let him go than the spider will a poor unfortunate fly. He is safe now.” And the devil laughed for very glee, when he saw the Saviour stand before Pilate’s bar. And when it was said, “Let him be crucified,” then his joy knew no bounds, except that bound which his own misery must ever set to it. As far as he could, he revelled in what was to him a delightful thought, that the Lord of glory was about to die. In death, as Christ was seen of angels, he was seen of devils too; and that dreary march from Pilate’s palace to the cross was one which devils saw with extraordinary interest. And when they saw him on the cross, there stood the exulting fiend, smiling to himself. “Ah! I have the King of Glory now in my dominions; I have the power of death, and I have the power over the Lord Jesus.” He exerted that power, till the Lord Jesus had to cry out in bitter anguish, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But, how short-lived was hellish victory! How brief was the Satanic triumph! He died; and “It is finished!” shook the gates of hell. Down from the cross the conqueror leaped, pursued the fiend with thunder-bolts of wrath; swift to the shades of hell the fiend did fly, and swift descending went the conqueror after him.

For meditation: The powers of darkness enjoyed only an hour of apparent victory over the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:53), but it resulted in his victory procession with them on public display as his captives (Colossians 2:15).

Sermon no. 166

6 December (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur –The Heir of All Things

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things” (Heb. 1:2).

Since Jesus is the Son of God, He is the heir of all that God possesses.

When Christ first came to earth He became poor for our sakes, that we, through His poverty, might be made rich (2 Cor. 8:9). He had nothing for Himself—He had “nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). Even His clothes were taken from Him when He died, and He was buried in a tomb that belonged to someone else.

It is beyond our understanding to imagine that the Galilean carpenter who was crucified like a common criminal, naked and bleeding on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem, is the King of kings and Lord of lords. But He is!

As the Son of God, Jesus is the heir of all that God possesses. The apostle Paul explains that all things not only were created by Christ but also for Him (Col. 1:16). Everything that exists will find its true meaning only when it comes under the final control of Christ.

The psalms predicted that Christ would one day be the heir to all that God possesses. The Father, speaking to the Son, says, “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession'” (Ps. 2:8). God also declared, “I also shall make Him My first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27; cf. Col. 1:15). “First-born” refers to legal rights—especially those of inheritance and authority.

When Christ comes to earth again, He will completely and eternally inherit all things (Rev. 11:15). And because we have trusted in Him, we are to be “fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17). When we enter into His eternal kingdom, we will jointly possess all that He possesses. We will not be joint Christs or joint Lords, but will be joint heirs. His marvelous inheritance will be ours as well.

Suggestions for Prayer; Thank God for making you a joint heir with Christ. Thank your Lord for allowing that to happen through His death on the cross.

For Further Study; Read Revelation 5:1-14 and 11:15-18, noting how the inhabitants of heaven respond to Christ.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – He Wants to Be Involved in Everything

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. —Romans 8:14

Being led by the Holy Spirit means allowing Him to be involved in every decision we make, both major and minor. He leads us by peace and by wisdom, as well as by the Word of God. He speaks in a still, small voice in our hearts, or what we often call “the inward witness.” Those of us who desire to be led by the Holy Spirit must learn to follow the inward witness and respond quickly.

For example, if we are engaged in a conversation, and we begin to feel uncomfortable inside, it may be the Holy Spirit signaling us that we need to turn the conversation in another direction or be quiet. If we are about to purchase something, as we feel uncomfortable inside, we should wait and discern why we are uncomfortable. Perhaps we don’t need the item, or we may find it on sale somewhere else, or it may be the wrong time to buy it. We don’t always have to know why; we simply need to obey.

I remember being in a shoe store one time. I had chosen several pairs of shoes to try on when I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. This discomfort increased until I finally heard the Holy Spirit say, “Get out of this store.” I told Dave we had to go, and out we went. I never knew why, and I do not need to know. Maybe God saved me from some harm that was coming my way, or perhaps the people in the store were involved in something unethical. Maybe it was just a test of obedience. As I have said, we don’t always have to know why God leads us in certain ways. Our part is simply to obey His voice.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Way to Wisdom

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler for them that walk uprightly” (Proverbs 2:6,7, KJV).

One of my brothers and a sister and I recently stood at the bedside of our 93-year-old mother. The doctor and nurses had just left the room after informing her that she needed a pacemaker for her heart.

After the doctor left, she called us around her. “Now I want you to join with me in prayer,” she said. She began to pray, her countenance radiant from the joyful assurance that God was listening and would answer:

“Father in heaven, I need Your help. I do not know if I need a pacemaker, but You do. Tell me what to do, because You know what is best for me.”

She replied, “God will tell me what to do as He always does.” Later in the day she informed the doctor that she would not need a pacemaker. The doctor was disappointed, and he encouraged her to reconsider.

After he left, I inquired, “Mother, how do you know that you’re not to have a pacemaker?”

“Well,” she replied, “before I prayed I had an impression that this was the right thing to do because the doctor and nurses felt so strongly, but as I prayed God seemed to take away the desire.” Months later we all agreed that she had made the right decision as her health was greatly improved.

For more than 75 years this beloved saint has known the faithfulness of this promise for wisdom. “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He is a buckler for them that walk uprightly.”

Is Christ real? Does He give answers to practical problems of life? Inquire of one who has walked with Him for more than three-quarters of a century and you will have no doubts. To achieve this wisdom, you must seek it with all your heart. The world’s wisdom, great as it may be cannot begin to measure up to the divine wisdom available to one who faithfully reads, studies, and meditates upon God’s Word and who has a close intimate relationship with Him in prayer.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 2:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will seek God’s supernatural wisdom by diligently studying God’s Word, through prayer and through fellowship with others who walk with God.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H.- A Plan for Hope

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the words to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” he was grieving deeply. His wife had died three years earlier and his country was in the depths of the Civil War – brother against brother. The poet wrote, “And in despair I bowed my head; ‘There is no peace on Earth,’ I said; For hate is strong, and mocks the song; Of peace on Earth, good will to men!”

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21

However, the hope in today’s verse caused Wadsworth to continue writing. “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail; With peace on Earth, good will to men.” While many in America are suffering this Christmas, there is healing. The birth of Jesus brought hope to a hurt and dying world.

God’s great plan for humanity was to send His son. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Pray for all in America – both leaders and citizens – to find and experience His love and salvation this Christmas.

Greg Laurie – Time Does Tell

December 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? —Mark 8:36–37

A while ago, I ran into a guy that I once hung out with in school. I hadn’t seen him in about twenty-five years. He had called to say that he was coming to hear me speak, so we arranged to meet beforehand.

As we talked, he told me he had been married twice and was presently divorced. Then he said, “I basically drank my marriages away.” He went on to explain that he had fallen prey to alcoholism and had never gotten free of it. It had ruined his life.

I told him, “You know, in the Bible, God says, ‘You will seek Me and find Me. . . .’ ”

“You can quote your book, and I’ll quote mine,” he said. “I’m in fellowship too—I’m in a twelve-step program.”

We used to hang out and party together, but although I left that lifestyle at age seventeen, he never did. As I look at the course his life has taken and the course my life has taken, it’s clear who really gave up the most.

There might be times as a Christian when you look at unbelievers and think, I don’t know. Maybe they’re having the good time, and I’m not. It might look as though they are having fun today, but there is a price for sin. You will reap what you sow.

If you live for Christ, if you determine to do things God’s way, you won’t regret it. You won’t find happiness or fulfillment through sex, drugs, or drinking. You won’t find it through relationships, success, possessions, or accomplishments. You will find happiness and fulfillment by walking in your Creator’s true purpose for your life: a living, dynamic relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Our Helper in Prayer

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Romans 8:26-27

Christians need the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer. At times in our journey of faith, we’ll find that we cannot . . .

Find the right words
Discern God’s will
Recognize what He is doing, or
Grasp the complexity of a situation.

Periods of struggle in prayer are normal for believers. Few of us are as eloquent as the psalmist David—especially when we are confused, distressed, or weary. So let’s look at two biblical examples of prayer in challenging situations.

First, notice that in today’s reading, the apostle Paul admits to feeling weak in his prayer life. His well-known request was for God to remove a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). Paul pleaded desperately—and probably with great effort—for relief. With the Spirit’s help, he came to understand the Lord’s call to endure in spite of pain.

A second example is Jesus Christ’s agonized prayer the night before His crucifixion. Although He was committed to doing His Father’s will, He dreaded the immeasurable spiritual suffering that lay ahead. Crying out to God from Gethsemane, the Savior uttered this urgent sentence: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39).

God knew we’d need help in prayer. With our limited human perspective, we cannot know all aspects of the situations facing us. But the Holy Spirit understands our needs and burdens—as well as the big picture. He carries our requests to God even when we can’t adequately express them.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Human Chess

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. —1 John 4:7

Chess is an ancient game of strategy. Each player begins with 16 pieces on the chessboard with the goal of cornering his opponent’s king. It has taken different forms over the years. One form is human chess, which was introduced around AD 735 by Charles Martel, duke of Austrasia. Martel would play the game on giant boards with real people as the pieces. The human pieces were costumed to reflect their status on the board and moved at the whim of the players—manipulating them to their own ends.

Could this human version of the game of Chess be one that we sometimes play? We can easily become so driven by our goals that people become just one more pawn that we use to achieve them. The Scriptures, however, call us to a different view of those around us. We are to see people as created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). They are objects of God’s love (John 3:16) and deserving of ours as well.

The apostle John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). Because God first loved us, we are to respond by loving Him and the people He created in His image. —Bill Crowder

Open my eyes, Lord, to people around me,

Help me to see them as You do above;

Give me the wisdom and strength to take action,

So others may see the depth of Your love. —Kurt DeHaan

People are to be loved, not used.

Bible in a year: Daniel 1-2; 1 John 4

Insight

The apostle John wrote today’s memorable words about love to a church struggling with the influences of false teachers. The words of verses 7-12 follow his instructions in verses 1-6 about identifying false teachers and false teaching (mainly by their view of Jesus). These verses indicate that love for God and for others is a key test for identifying those who truly follow Christ. Therefore, it is no surprise that John emphasizes the Christian characteristic of love. In today’s passage, he says that we ought to love one another, and in his gospel he records Jesus’ words, “By this, all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). How we treat one another is a demonstration of our love for God.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Like a Thief

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The alarm of discovering your house has been broken into is one I imagine stays with you long after the thief has gone home. Though most are not eyewitnesses to the looming figure that wrongfully entered, victims of such crimes often report seeing shadows in every corner and silhouettes peering through their windows. Signs that someone had been there are enough to call them to alertness.

Whether you have experienced the shock of burglary and its lasting effects or the violating despair of personal loss, the portrayal of Christ as one who will come like a thief in the night is a startling image. The description is one that seems uncouth amongst the less taxing images that will soon be sentimentally upon us—a peaceful mother and father beside a quiet baby in a manger, a bright star that guides wise men in the obscurity of night. How can the gospel juxtapose these images of one who comes as a child of hope and yet returns like a looming, unwanted figure? But this is the counsel from Jesus himself: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”(1)

The cry of the Christian season of Advent, the sounds of which are just starting to stir, is the cry not of sentiment but of disrupted vigilance. One of the key figures in celebrating the season, John the Baptist brings the probing message that continues to cry in urgency: “Are you ready?” Are you ready to discover this infant who came to dwell in the midst of night and suffering? Are you ready to hear his invasive message? Are you ready to discover God among you, the hunter, the thief, the King, the human? During the season of Advent, the church calls the world to look again at stories that have somehow become comfortably innocuous, to rediscover the disruptive signs that someone has been here moving about these places we call home, to stay awake to the startling possibility of his nearness in this place even now. “I say to all: ‘Stay awake,’” says Christ in Mark 13:37.

The owner of a house who has been disturbed once by a thief lives with the wakefulness that this thief will come again, however persuasively she is urged to see otherwise. She remembers the signs of a presence other than her own—prints left behind, a door left open, the memory of life disturbed—and she vows to keep watch, knowing, even against odds, that the thief will be back. In the same way, yet without fear, the season of Advent cries for our alertness to the vicariously human savior whose breaking into our world has charged every ordinary moment with expectation.

The child who was born in Bethlehem came quietly in the night, unbeknownst to many who dwelled near him. Like a thief, he shattered myths that proposed we were autonomous; he disrupted systems and powers and lives we thought were shielded. Yet Jesus came not to steal and destroy, but to dwell in all that overwhelms us, to live in a world groaning in death, fear, injustice, and suffering. His humanity shows us what it means to be truly human, overturning the categories we make for ourselves. Like a whimper in the night, his presence in the ordinary may go unnoticed. But he is near and knocking. Fear not and keep watch.

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

(1) Matthew 24:42-44.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – God’s Resourcefulness

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. Zechariah 1:20

In the vision described in this chapter, the prophet saw four terrible horns. They were pushing this way and that way, dashing down the strongest and the mightiest; and the prophet asked, “What are these?” The answer was, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah.” He saw before him a representation of those powers that had oppressed the Church of God. There were four horns, for the church is attacked from all quarters. The prophet had good reason to feel dismayed; but suddenly there appeared before him “four craftsmen.” He asked, “What are these coming to do?” These were the men whom God had found to break those horns in pieces.

God will always find men for His work, and He will find them at the right time. The prophet did not see the craftsmen at first, when there was nothing to do, but first the “horns” and then the “craftsmen.” The Lord always finds enough men. He did not find three craftsmen, but four; there were four horns, and there must be four workmen.

God finds the right men—not four men with pens to write, not four architects to draw plans, but four craftsmen to do the work. Rest assured, you who tremble for the Church of God, that when the “horns” grow troublesome, the “craftsmen” will be found. You need not worry about the weakness of the Church of God at any moment; there may be growing up in obscurity the valiant reformer who will shake the nations.

Chrysostoms may come forth from our Ragged Schools, and Augustines from the thickest darkness of London’s poverty. The Lord knows where to find His servants. He has in ambush a multitude of mighty men, and at His word they will take to the battle; “for the battle is the Lord’s,”1 and He will get to Himself the victory. So let us remain faithful to Christ, and He, in the right time, will raise up for us a defense, whether it be in the day of our personal need or in the season of peril to His Church.

1) 1 Samuel 17:47

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The family reading plan for December 5, 2014 * Nahum 3 * Luke 19

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Compel them to come in

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Compel them to come in.” Luke 14:23

John MacArthur – God’s Final Revelation

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

Jesus not only brought but in fact was God’s full and final revelation.

A Samaritan woman declared, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, affirms that to be true: “God . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

The Old Testament had given divine revelation in bits and pieces. Every piece was true, yet incomplete. But When Jesus came, the whole picture became clear, and though rejected by His own people, He was, in fact, the fulfillment of the messianic hope they had cherished for so many centuries.

The Old Testament age of promise ended when Jesus arrived. He is God’s final word: “As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20).

God fully expressed Himself in His Son. That’s why John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18). Paul added that in Christ “all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).

The practical implications of that truth are staggering. Since Christ is the fullness of divine revelation, you need nothing more. In Him you have been made complete (Col. 2:10), and have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). His Word is sufficient, needing no additions or amendments.

Suggestion for Prayer; Ask God to teach you how to rely more fully on your resources in Christ.

For Further Study; Read John 1:1-18 as a reminder of the fullness of God’s revelation in His Son.

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