Tag Archives: love

Discovering God’s Design

Discovering God’s Design – Jesus Celebrates

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Luke 7:24–35

This passage and others, such as the account of the wedding feast (see Jn 2:1–11), show that Jesus, though he lived a simple life, was the “Lord of Delight.” So says theologian John R. Schneider, who goes on to propose that this is one of the ways in which Jesus embodies his prophetic role, setting “true delight in opposition to the revelry and evil of the ruling rich.” In so doing, the Lord shows a side of his character that reflects “the deeper presence of joy and celebration.”

Several episodes in Jesus’ life reveal his role as the Lord of Delight. There is the wedding feast at Cana, where the wine runs out (Jn 2:1–11). Jesus rescues the situation (at his mother’s urging) by turning the six vats of purification water into about 180 gallons of the very best [wine]. His very first public miracle, then, the beginning of the things he did to [reveal his glory] (Jn 2:11), is simply to preserve a precious moment of celebration and delight for his friends.

Author Randy Alcorn sees this celebrative Jesus as a counter-indication to asceticism (the practice of strict self-denial, voluntarily undertaken, in order to achieve a higher level of physical and spiritual discipline)—though Jesus doesn’t condemn the practice out of hand. Alcorn says that this behavior indicates Jesus’ acceptance of all God’s gifts and of all kinds of people, both rich and poor.

Our Lord lived simply, but was not an ascetic … He not only drank wine, he made wine for a wedding celebration (Jn 2:1–11). He moved with equal ease among the poor, such as John the Baptist and Bartimaeus, and the wealthy, such as Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, and Joseph of Arimathea …

Christ’s birth attracted poor shepherds and rich kings. A poor thief (on an adjacent cross) and a rich man (who donated a tomb for his burial) attended his death. His life on earth drew many—both poor and rich. And regardless of their means, he was pleased to accept into his kingdom all who would bow their knee before the Messiah.

Inclusiveness is to be a characteristic of our celebratory meals as well. And celebration is intended to be the spirit of our giving—whether we’re sharing a meal or other material resources. Expository preacher Stephen F. Olford (1918–2004) quotes the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7, and goes on to say, “Giving develops a capacity not only for fruitfulness but also for joyfulness. Misery is linked with miserliness, whereas merriment is associated with magnanimity.”

Think About It

  • What is a good balance between enjoying pleasurable things and living a life of prudence?
  • How can you as Christ’s steward imitate and reflect Jesus’ sense of joyful celebration of the Father’s gifts, his celebration of the coming of the kingdom of God and his welcome of everyone who accepts his gracious invitation to the great banquet (see Lk 14:15–24)?
  • What gifts of God could you share with others?

Pray About It

Lord, help me to imitate your joyfulness in my own life. Sometimes it is difficult to discern the difference between those things you want me to enjoy as your good gifts and those things I should set aside as self-indulgent or excessive. I ask for the wisdom to see that difference—to celebrate as you celebrated and to live simply in the spirit of the way you lived simply.

 

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis Daily – On depression

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My own idea, for what it is worth, is that all sadness which is not either arising from the repentance of a concrete sin and hastening towards concrete amendment or restitution, or else arising from pity and hastening to active assistance, is simply bad; and I think that we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to “rejoice” as by anything else. Humility, after the first shock, is a cheerful virtue: it is the high-minded unbeliever desperately trying in the teeth of repeated disillusions to retain his “faith in human nature” who is really sad.

From The Problem of Pain
Compiled in Words to Live By

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Narrow Road

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Matthew 7:13-14

Like many people today, the Israelites in Jesus’ time believed they were destined for heaven. They mistakenly thought that to join God’s family, good works and an intellectual faith were all that He required.

To help us grasp the truth about how to enter His Father’s kingdom, Jesus described two roads leading in opposite directions. One is a broad highway, where most people travel. Theirs is an easy journey, as it requires few commitments and allows all kinds of philosophies. Because just about everything is acceptable, each person is free to be self-indulgent and choose whatever seems best. The broad path promises to give us whatever we desire, but in the end, it delivers nothing of lasting value.

The other road is narrow. It has a small entrance, because there is only one way to be reconciled to God—through faith in Christ. Traveling on this path requires a commitment to the Savior and a lifestyle of dependence, sacrifice, and trust.

Once we belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit empowers us for everything that is required on the way of righteousness: loving God with our whole heart, loving our neighbors, and carrying out the Lord’s purposes. His plans are to take precedence over our own. In contrast to the disappointments on the broad road, every divine promise is guaranteed.

Each of us must choose which path to take: the wide one that ends in hopelessness and eternal separation from the Lord, or the narrow one leading to life everlasting. If you desire a relationship with God through Jesus, just ask Him.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread  – Our Daily Bread — A Consistent Life

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He knelt down on his knees . . . and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. —Daniel 6:10

 

Read: Daniel 6:1-10
Bible in a Year: Numbers 17-19; Mark 6:30-56

While studying the book of Daniel, I was struck by how easily he could have avoided being thrown into the den of lions. Daniel’s jealous rivals in the government of Babylon laid a trap based on his consistent practice of daily prayer to God (Dan. 6:1-9). Daniel was fully aware of their plot and could have decided to pray privately for a month until things settled down. But that was not the kind of person he was.

“When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (v.10). Daniel did not panic, nor bargain with God. Instead, he continued “just as he had done before” (v.10 niv). He was not intimidated by the pressure of persecution.

The lesson for me was the power of Daniel’s life of consistent devotion to the Lord. His strength came from God, whom Daniel wanted to please every day. When a crisis came, Daniel didn’t need to change his daily practice to meet it. He simply stayed committed to his God. —David McCasland

Father, I want to stand for You when persecution
comes as Daniel did. Give me that same bold
commitment to pray and not to be ashamed of
knowing You. Help me to live my faith publicly.

God empowers us to stand for Him as we bow to pray.
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Father and Child

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To Fyodor Dostoevsky, the parable of the prodigal son was a lifeline. Though an outcast in a Siberian prison, he found himself within this radical story of homecoming and a father’s heart. C.S. Lewis similarly alluded to finding himself within the parable: “Who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape?” It is a parable that unveils each of us in some way, whether we find ourselves as the prodigal asking for mercy or the jealous older brother looking for credit for good behavior. In any case, it is the image of the father that convinces us to remove the veil. He is both the subject and the point of the story Jesus tells.

The parable begins with a man who has two sons. The first half of the story focuses on the younger son who boldly requests his inheritance before his father had even died. He then ends up squandering his father’s money on the throes of his own appetite. When he has nothing left and is desperate with hunger, he turns back for home with the expectation that he can work his way back into the father’s house.

The second half of the story introduces us to the older son who did not leave the father and smugly points this out when the younger son comes wandering back home. The older son is the one who stays, who looks after the father, who works in his fields, and is disturbed by the younger son’s blatant disregard for the life their father has given them. He is angered by the celebration of his brother’s return, jealous of the father’s attention and forgiveness, envious of the celebrated position his brother is receiving. The father he loves deserved more than his brother’s selfish squandering, and so does he, as the son who stayed.

In both sons, there is good and bad, conceit and humility, selfishness and acknowledgment of the father, even if self-serving. The younger son is full of foolishness, and yet he exhibits some degree of wisdom in turning around. The older son is loyal and more conscientious, and yet he exhibits a great degree of selfishness and disregard in his reaction to the father’s character. Neither son is a clear example of the kind of person most of us want to be. Yet, both sons, in all of their major failings and minor virtues, are clearly sought out by the father. In the estimation of one of my wise professors, this parable leaves us questioning what on earth a father is going to do with two boys like that? And more importantly, what on earth is God going to do with people like us?

Yet to this wayward child who stumbles toward home, the father runs to embrace him, immediately saying to his servants: “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”(1) With every symbol of restoration, the father who was waiting embraces the son who was lost. This lavish grace of the Father is ours as prodigal children. Though we neither expect it nor deserve it, the celebration is thrown in our honor, over the return of even one lost sheep.

To the older son who fumes outside the party and accuses his father of unfairness, the father responds with patience and care, calling him to an awareness of heritage over inheritance: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” When we are the smug older children of the Father, his grace is jarring and disruptive, even as God reminds us that all God has is our own. God’s invitation to the feast is both awkward and demanding, a call to overlook the harm that our flagrant siblings cause—and their potential to cause it again. But the Father stands beside us with this request and his grace, though we are equally undeserving.

Whether we find ourselves in the shoes of the prodigal or treading the ground of the older brother, there is good reason to celebrate the unveiling and unsounded love of this Father Jesus describes. His story overturns lesser narratives: God’s unfathomable grace and mercy shatters our sense of who is worthy and bids us to see that God alone is our rescue. The Father invites us to a celebration of the kingdom regardless of where we now stand.

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

(1) Luke 15:22-25.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Our Quiet Dwelling Place

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You have made the Lord your dwelling place – the Most High, who is my refuge.   Psalm 91:9

 

The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar of cloud stopped, the tents were pitched; but the next day the morning sun arose, the trumpet sounded, the ark was in motion, and the fiery, cloudy pillar was leading the way through the narrow mountain passes, up the hillsides, or along the arid wastes of the wilderness. They scarcely had time to rest a little before they heard the sound of “Onward! this is not your rest; you must keep journeying onward toward Canaan!” They never stayed for long in one place. Even wells and palm trees could not detain them.

They had an abiding home in their God; His cloudy pillar was their roof, and its flame by night their fireplace. They must go onward from place to place, continually changing, never having time to settle or to say, “Now we are secure; we will stay in this place.” Moses says, “Though we are always changing, Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.”1

The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich today and poor tomorrow; he may be sick today and well tomorrow; he may be happy today and sad tomorrow–but there is no change regarding his relationship to God. If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today.

My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Even when prospects are few and hopes are squashed and joy is waning, I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is “my refuge” to which I continually return. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet dwelling place.

1) Psalm 90:1

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 27, 2015
* Exodus 10
* Luke 13

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

Charles Spurgeon – Prayer answered, love nourished

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“I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplication.” Psalm 116:1

Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 6:18-24

If a beggar comes to your house, and you give him alms, you will be greatly annoyed if within a month he shall come again; and if you then discover that he has made it a rule to wait upon you monthly for a contribution, you will say to him, “I gave you something once, but I did not mean to establish it as a rule.” Suppose, however, that the beggar should be so impudent and impertinent that he should say, “But I intend sir, to wait upon you every morning and every evening,” then you would say, “I intend to keep my gate locked that you shall not trouble me.” And suppose he should then look you in the face and add still more, “Sir, I intend waiting upon you every hour, nor can I promise that I won’t come to you sixty times in an hour; but I just vow and declare that as often as I want anything so often will I come to you: if I only have a wish I will come and tell it to you; the least thing and the greatest thing shall drive me to you; I will always be at the post of your door.” You would soon be tired of such importunity as that, and wish the beggar anywhere, rather than that he should come and tease you so. Yet recollect, this is just what you have done to God, and he has never complained of you for doing it; but rather he has complained of you the other way. He has said, “Thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob.” He has never murmured at the frequency of your prayers, but has complained that you have not come to him enough.

For meditation: In his unchanging willingness and desire to hear his childrens’ requests, God is unlike any person we know. Jesus had to teach this lesson by contrast, rather than by comparison (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8).

Sermon no. 240
27 February (1859)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Attaining Spiritual Stability

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“Strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience” (Col. 1:11).

God always empowers you to do what He commands you to do.

An alarming number of Christians seem to lack spiritual stability. Many are “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Others lack moral purity. Many are driven by their emotions rather than sound thinking. Increasingly, therapists and psychologists are replacing pastors and biblical teachers as the heroes of the faith. While we still proclaim a sovereign, all- powerful God, our conduct often belies our creed.

Despite our inconsistences, the power for spiritual stability is ours in Christ as we allow the knowledge of His will to control our lives. Paul describes the working of that power in Colossians 1:11. There the Greek words translated “strengthened” and “power” speak of inherent power that gives one the ability to do something.

The phrase “according to” indicates that the power for spiritual stability is proportional to God’s abundant supply—and it is inexhaustible! The literal Greek says you are being “empowered with all power according to the might of His glory.” That thought is akin to Philippians 2:12-13, where Paul says that the power for working out your salvation comes from God, who is at work in you to will and to work for His good pleasure.

In Colossians 1:11 the result of God’s enabling is “the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.” “Steadfastness” speaks of endurance regarding people; “patience” speaks of endurance regarding things or circumstances. When you are steadfast and patient, you are spiritually stable. Your responses are biblical, thoughtful, and calculated; not worldly, emotional, or uncontrolled. You bear up under trials because you understand God’s purposes and trust His promises.

Paul said, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might” (Eph. 6:10). That is possible when you trust God and rely on the infinite power that is yours in Christ.

Suggestions for Prayer

Perhaps you know someone who is struggling with spiritual instability. Pray for him or her and ask God to use you as a source of encouragement.

For Further Study

Psalm 18 is a psalm of victory that David wrote after God delivered him from Saul. Read it, then answer these questions:

  • What characteristics of God did David mention?
  • How might those characteristics apply to situations you are facing?
Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Tests and Trials

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For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] . . . [has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

Hard times can bring the temptation to give up and become negative, depressed, and angry with God. Life can be difficult, but God will always intervene and His help will always arrive on time. Tonight, purpose in your heart to keep pressing on and rest in His presence.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The End Will Come

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“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

I applaud every effort to warn Christians and nonbelievers to be ready for our Lord’s return, as Scripture clearly teaches that He will come again and has delayed His return in order that more people might have a chance to hear the gospel. To this end, we must give priority to taking the gospel to all men everywhere throughout the world.

However, we dare not wrongly interpret the Scriptures, as so many in previous generations have done, resulting in a lack of concern for the souls of men and a failure to correct the evils of society.

God expects us as His children to be His representatives here on earth. We are to love with His love, sharing the message of salvation with all who will listen and helping to meet the needs of widows, orphans and prisoners in His name.

True believers in previous generations have always been at the forefront of moral and social reforms as well as being active in evangelism. Child labor laws, women’s suffrage and abolition of slavery, for example, grew out of a mighty spiritual awakening that swept England through the ministry of John Wesley, George Whitefield and their colleagues.

We in our generation must be no less concerned about injustice wherever we find it. The most important way to solve our social ills, however, is to change the hearts of men by introducing them to our Lord Jesus Christ. Our priority commitment as Christians must be to disciple and evangelize in obedience to our Lord’s command.

Then we should instruct new believers that “loving our neighbors as ourselves” includes helping them where they hurt. But remember, the Lord cares more about the soul than He does about the body. The body will soon perish but the soul will live forever.

Bible Reading: Matthew 24:7-13

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will keep my priorities straight – first sharing the good news of salvation to as many as possible, but at the same time demonstrating love and compassion to widows, orphans, prisoners and all who are in need, in obedience to our Lord’s command.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Value His Views

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Bill Gates’ ideas transformed the world of communication. Oprah’s opinion is vastly influential. A speech by President Obama gives rise to strong emotions from left to right of the political range. Whose opinion do you value?

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:17

Today’s verse calls God’s thoughts precious and of great worth. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

Let your prayer echo the psalmist, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14) Seek insight from God’s Word with the enthusiasm of a pirate after buried treasure. Value His views greater than any others. Then pray that the citizens and leaders of this nation will respect His Word and that freedoms concerning the Bible will remain intact.

Recommended Reading: I Corinthians 1:20-31

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Pray about It

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Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. —Luke 18:1

Even if prayer were a difficult thing to do, which it is not, or an unpleasant thing to do, which it is not, we should pray because we are commanded in the Scriptures to do so. Prayer is God’s appointed way for us to obtain things. This doesn’t mean that God is like some big Santa in heaven. The fact is that the Bible tells us we should go to God with our needs. And we all have needs.

Jesus said, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9–11). Jesus taught that we are to approach God with our needs.

Do you have needs right now? Pray about it. Do you need His provision? Pray about it. Do you need His healing touch? Pray about it. Go to God with your request, and your Heavenly Father, who knows you need these things, will hear you.

James 4:2 tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Think about that. You may wonder, Why is it that I never know what the will of God is for my life?

Answer: You do not have because you do not ask.

You might say, “Why is it that I never have the opportunity to lead people to the Lord?”

Answer: You do not have because you do not ask.

I wonder how many answers to prayer would be waiting for us if we were to just pray about it, if we just said, “Lord, I’ve never actually brought this before You, but I’m praying about it now.” The worst-case scenario is that God will say no. But what if God says yes?

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – On-and-Off Salvation

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On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then re-saved, then lost again. Where there is no assurance of salvation, there is no peace; no joy. Is this the life God creates? God’s grace creates a confident soul who declares, I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

1 John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Trust God’s hold on you! His faithfulness does not depend on yours. His performance is not predicated on yours. His love is not contingent on your own. Your candle may flicker—but it will not expire!

From GRACE

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Forgiveness: An Act of Love

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 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Forgiving those who have wronged us is a tough command to follow. Our human nature finds it easier and more satisfying to hold onto our anger. But as vessels of God’s love, Christians no longer live according to the impulses of the flesh. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, when someone mistreats us, we can not only forgive but also show love to that person.

First Corinthians 13:5 tells us that . . .

  • Love does not seek its own. Many people are preoccupied with their “rights.” Yet the idea of entitlements is a worldly construct, not a biblical mandate. That’s not to say we should allow others to take advantage of us; rather, the Bible teaches that our primary concern should be something other than our own interests—namely, we’re to be focused on showing God’s love to our enemy (Matt. 5:44).
  • Love is not provoked. Maintaining a peaceful spirit when we are irritated is difficult. But the moments when we are persecuted or wronged are precisely the times we most need to be mindful of God’s love flowing through us. Think how often Jesus had to face religious leaders who deliberately provoked Him, and yet, on the cross, He sought the Father’s forgiveness for them, too.
  • Love does not take into account a wrong suffered. God’s love flowing through us can carry away a hurt done by another person. But we must allow this to happen instead of holding onto pain.

People will wrong us. But if we have a caring attitude and refuse to be provoked or preoccupied with rights, then we will be able to let go of bitterness and forgive with love.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread  – Changed Perspective

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Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. —Acts 17:16

 

Read: Acts 17:16-23
Bible in a Year: Numbers 15-16; Mark 6:1-29

As an early riser, my wife enjoys the quiet moments before the house wakes up and uses it to read the Bible and pray. Recently she settled into her favorite chair, only to be confronted by a rather messy couch left there by “someone” watching a football game the night before. The mess distracted her at first, and her frustration with me interrupted the warmth of the moment.

Then a thought hit her, and she moved to the couch. From there, she could look out our front windows to the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean. The beauty of the scene God painted that morning changed her perspective.

As she told me the story, we both recognized the lesson of the morning. While we can’t always control the things of life that impact our day, we do have a choice. We can continue to brood over the “mess,” or we can change our perspective. When Paul was in Athens, “he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16 niv). But when he changed his perspective, he used their interest in religion as an opportunity to proclaim the true God, Jesus Christ (vv.22-23).

As my wife left for work, it was time for someone else to change his perspective—for me to let the Lord help me to see my messes through her eyes and His. —Randy Kilgore

Dear Lord, grant us the wisdom to change
our perspective rather than linger over messes.
Help us to see—and fix—the “messes”
we make for others.

Wisdom is seeing things from God’s perspective.
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Free Fall

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Amusement parks had always been destinations of choice for my family while I was growing up. It didn’t matter the vacation spot, we would, if there was an amusement park nearby, make it a priority visit. The reason for this priority was that we loved roller-coasters. The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disney Land; Space Mountain at Disney World, and all the various roller-coasters at Six Flags theme parks called to us to ride them over and over again to our sheer delight.

There was one exception: The Free Fall ride. I do not know if it is still in existence, but when I knew it at my local Six Flags it was a ride like an elevator without a door. Only a seatbelt harness held us in. Up six stories it climbed while our stomachs fell. Climbing higher and higher, the expanse of the park and the surrounding communities became like miniature-versions of themselves. It seemed the ride would climb as high as the heights of heaven. Then suddenly, the ascent ended. The car would tilt forward ever so slightly, so that all you could see below was the drop back to earth. For maximum thrill or terror, the car wouldn’t plunge down immediately. Riders sat for what seemed to be an eternity of waiting; suddenly, the mechanical support drew back and the elevator-like car would make its free fall back down to the ground at speeds as high as 90 mph. I only ever went on the Free Fall once. I hated that ride.

“Sometimes suffering feels like a free fall,” writes J. Todd Billings in his book Rejoicing in Lament.(1) It is a free-fall away from all that was normal and routine in one’s life down into what seems to be a spiraling abyss of chaos and despair. After receiving the phone call in the early morning hours that my husband had suffered sudden cardiac arrest, I fell into my own free-fall. While sitting in the airport waiting for my flight home, I remember saying to my mother, “My life will never be the same again.” I would free-fall into another world never to return to the world I had inhabited for seventeen years with my husband. There would be no return to what was ‘normal.’ There would only be a steadying of my legs, like I had to do after the free-fall ride at the amusement park, landing in the strange new world of grief and loss that was mine.

Fortunately for me, I was not the first person to ever experience a loss like this, just as surely as I was not the first to ride the Free Fall, nor the last to experience its terror. There were many who reached out to me from similar experiences in person; and others who reached out to me through the pages of articles and books chronicling this shared journey. Of course, Christianity affirms a God who joins us in this journey, not as a fellow rider on a free-fall, but as the foundation on which we might find our footing again. For author and theologian Todd Billings, this foundation has been tested in his own journey of grief and suffering as a result of a terminal cancer diagnosis. Yet, he writes:

“In a deeply paradoxical way, full of a mystery that blinds by its brightness, Jesus Christ, the God-human, displays the love of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—by taking on our human suffering and terror. Christ, the God-human, takes on the path of human suffering so that we are not pioneers in the darkness, so that we are not in free-fall. Instead, even when our suffering seems senseless, even when we feel like we are in free-fall, we can look to Christ to see, hear, and taste that we are still in the ever-faithful, ever-loving hands of God.”(2)

The ‘Man of sorrows’ and the one ‘acquainted with grief’ is the reason why Christians can affirm that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God…not even death. Jesus Christ offers those who experience the free-fall of suffering a firm foundation on which to land. Becoming fully human, Jesus is made the “high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.” And it is here, Billings notes, in the mystery of the Incarnation “that in Christ, the impassible God becomes one with suffering flesh in order to heal it.”(3) God is not caught off-guard because of human suffering and misery, even as God in Christ identifies with all that it means to be human. “We hope because in Christ, God has taken on human suffering and death so that they are emptied of their ultimate sting.”(4)

But this is not a truth easily gained. In my own free-fall into grief, despair, and pain, I needed the space to fall; if only to see and to know that there was a foundation on which I could depend, and which could sustain the weightiness of my pain. I needed to scream all the way down as I fell—screams of desperation, abandonment, anger, and loss. And it was necessary for me to lose all those supports that were, in reality, flimsy and faulty. It was only then, after this long, hard fall that I could begin to feel steady again, strengthen my legs, and stand up.

In the psalms of lament, the anguished cries of the prophets, and in the life and ministry of Jesus, there are pioneers who have gone before all who grieve and suffer. They have experienced the terror of all the twists and turns, the drops and descents of human life. They gave voice to their lament. Perhaps like myself, Dr. Billings, and all those who would wish for a different way, who would wish they didn’t have to ride the free-fall of grief and loss, the paradox of the Incarnation—that God is in Christ enveloping human suffering—will yet invite sufferers to stand on this firm foundation.

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

(1) J. Todd Billings, Rejoicing In Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015), 151. For more information visit http://www.rejoicinginlament.com.

(2) Ibid., 157.

(3) Ibid., 163

(4) Ibid., 163.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – God’s Work in Salvation

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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 Reading

The family reading plan for February 26, 2015
* Exodus 9
* Luke 12

 

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

Charles Spurgeon – A blast of the trumpet against false peace

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“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)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Enjoying a Bountiful Harvest

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“Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).

Your fruitfulness is directly related to your knowledge of divine truth.

Every farmer who enjoys a plentiful harvest does so only after diligent effort on his part. He must cultivate the soil, plant the seed, then nurture it to maturity. Each step is thoughtful, disciplined, and orderly.

Similarly, bearing spiritual fruit is not an unthinking or haphazard process. It requires us to be diligent in pursuing the knowledge of God’s will, which is revealed in His Word. That is Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9, which he reiterates in verse 10.

The phrase “increasing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10) can be translated, “increasing by the knowledge of God.” Both renderings are acceptable. The first emphasizes the need to grow; the second emphasizes the role that knowledge plays in your spiritual growth.

As your knowledge of God’s Word increases, the Holy Spirit renews your mind and transforms your thinking. As you gaze into the glory of the Lord as revealed in Scripture, you “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). You have “put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Col. 3:10).

One of Satan’s ploys to retard spiritual productivity is getting Christians preoccupied with humanistic philosophy and other bankrupt substitutes for God’s truth. That’s why he planted false teachers at Colosse to teach that knowing God’s will is inadequate for true spirituality. Paul refuted that claim by affirming that Christ is the fullness of deity in bodily form (Col. 2:9). In Him are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). He is all you need!

Scripture commands you to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18). Is that characteristic of your life? Are you looking forward to a bountiful spiritual harvest?

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God for the privilege of knowing His will and studying His Word.
  • Prayerfully guard your mind from sinful influences. Saturate it with God’s truth.

For Further Study

Read the following passages, noting the effects of God’s Word: Psalms 119:9, 105; Acts 20:32; Romans 10:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; 1 John 2:14.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – How to Win against Worry

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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.