Tag Archives: love

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Press On

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I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:14

You remember how God fed the Israelites with manna. Every morning they would wake up, step out of their tents, and there would be the manna just waiting for them. But this “bread from heaven” had one limiting characteristic: it wouldn’t keep overnight. God didn’t want His people to live off yesterday’s manna. The Lord wanted them to be dependent on Him on a regular basis and gather it fresh each day.

In the same way, you can’t live off the experiences of last year or twenty years ago. God wants to do something fresh and new in your life today and tomorrow. No, you can’t live off experiences, but you can learn from them.

Saul of Tarsus went out of his way to hunt down Christians. But he came to realize that he was not serving God but the Devil. Then he was transformed and went on to become the apostle Paul. He could say, “Now I press on, now I reach forward.” I wish this would be true in the lives of more believers. What a difference it would make in this world around us if we had that kind of ambition, that kind of drive to serve God as we once served ourselves.

Let’s recommit ourselves to the study of the Word of God, to prayer, and to winning at least one person to Christ in the next twelve months.

As Christians, we have unprecedented opportunities for our lives to make a difference in our world. There is so much to do. There is so much growth that needs to take place in our lives, and so much more to accomplish. It’s time to step into the future, to step into what God is doing today.

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

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Your God-Given Prayer Strength

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Max Lucado

Before you say amen—comes the power of a simple prayer! A prayer that says, “Father I need your power in my life. I face impossible circumstances and am desperate for a miracle. Would you show me your power in my life today? God, for those who have a small view of you, help them to find comfort in the knowledge of how mighty and enormous you actually are. Thank you for sending your Son. It’s in the all-powerful name of Jesus that I pray, amen.”

Here’s my invitation to you today! Release that prayer wimp self-image you have and discover confidence in your God-given prayer strength. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com—take the brief Prayer Strengths Assessment. It’ll not only encourage you—it’ll give you a simple building block for your growth in prayer!

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Breaking of Peter

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Charles Stanley

Luke 22:54-62

Peter’s pride in his own cleverness and strength got in the way of God’s purposes. Christ sought a servant-leader to guide believers after He returned to heaven. The former fisherman was an impulsive know-it-all, but the Lord saw Peter’s potential, despite the disciple’s arrogance. So the master Craftsman used a sharp tool—humiliation—to break him.

When the Lord’s words conflicted with Peter’s opinions, the disciple boldly rebuked Jesus. The Savior responded with pointed reprimands meant both to silence and to teach (Matt. 16:21-23; John 13:5-8). In fact, Jesus needed to correct the disciple in front of his peers on several occasions.

Ultimately, Peter failed in an area where he’d once felt great confidence—his commitment to die for the Lord. Instead, he ended up denying Christ three times before the rooster crowed. This final humiliation, witnessed by a group of strangers, shattered his self-assurance. It was a painful but necessary development, as Peter’s pride had distorted his view of Christ’s mission. He needed to see that Jesus came not as Israel’s deliverer from Roman oppression but as mankind’s Savior from the power and penalty of sin. Thanks to his newfound humility, Peter was now ready for the role Christ intended for him, as servant-leader (1 Pet. 5:5-6).

How are you hindering God’s work in your life? Be aware that He is determined to break you, when necessary for your good and His glory. The Lord restored Peter as a more humble yet much greater man than before. He does the same for every believer who yields to His will.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Drinking Gourd

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Our Daily Bread

Philippians 2:12-18

Shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life. —Philippians 2:15-16

Prior to the American Civil War (1861–1865), fugitive slaves found freedom by following the Underground Railroad, a term for the secret routes from the South to the North and the abolitionists who helped them along the way. Slaves would travel at night for many miles, keeping on track by following the light of the “Drinking Gourd.” This was a code name for the collection of stars known as the Big Dipper, which points to the North Star. Some believe the fugitives also used encoded directions in the lyrics of the song “Follow the Drinking Gourd” to keep them from getting lost as they traveled.

Both the abolitionists and the “drinking gourd” served as points of light directing the slaves to freedom. The apostle Paul says that believers are to shine as “lights in the world” to show the way to those seeking God’s truth, redemption, and spiritual liberation (Phil. 2:15).

We live in a dark world that desperately needs to see the light of Jesus Christ. Our calling is to shine forth God’s truth so that others can be directed to the One who redeems and is the path to liberty and life. We point the way to Jesus, the One who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). —Dennis Fisher

Dear Lord, thank You for redeeming me and giving

me new life. Give me compassion for those who are

still lost in spiritual darkness. Use me to be a light

that points others to You, the Light of the world.

Light up your world by reflecting the light of Jesus.

Bible in a year: Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8

Insight

Paul tells the followers of Christ in Philippi that they are lights among a “crooked and perverse generation” (Phil. 2:15). But the progression of Paul’s thought should be noted. When we live our lives in harmony and concern for others “without complaining and disputing” (v.14), we become blameless and harmless and shine in the world (v.15). Christ is made known in the world through us when our lives reflect the humility and love of our Lord.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Practice of Grace

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Ravi Z

I have always been mesmerized by dancers. I suspect it is because of the nearly annual visit to the theater to see the Nutcracker as a child. The fluid movement, the spinning on toes, arms floating around as if in flight, the dancers made the most difficult technical movements seem natural and easy. I remember one friend speaking of the dancers’ expertise as being filled with grace. The dancers had taken complicated and physically demanding choreography and infused it with simple elegance and refinement.

The concept of grace has a long history within the Christian tradition. In theological terms, grace is described as God’s unmerited favor toward human beings and our not getting what we deserve—both in terms of God’s wrath against us for our sin, and in terms of the abundance of God’s blessing towards us. Grace is also understood as a way of life towards others. Since God gives grace freely, humans ought to extend grace towards one another. Like the well-seasoned dancer, the grace extended toward others should be characterized with an elegance and refinement.

Easier said than done. For one like me, who is by nature clumsy and lacking in balance, extending grace to another can often feel like the most excruciating physical practice. What often results is not a refined and elegant performance, but the proverbial dancer with two left feet. So how does one, like the dancers in the Bolshoi Ballet, live in ways that are full of grace?

I asked this question to a friend as we conversed about living in ways that were permeated with graciousness. He shared a story with me about his children’s karate instructor. The instructor was a black-belt in karate and very skilled in his movements and technique. Like the dancers I saw in the Nutcracker, my friend marveled at both the fluidity and gracefulness of his movements as he demonstrated karate. Afterwards, my friend asked the instructor if he always moved with such grace and ease—was that something that just came naturally and that one had to possess inherently in order to succeed at karate? The instructor laughed and took him into his office. He took out a video tape. The tape was recorded when the instructor was a student. My friend was amazed by what he saw: jerky, clumsy kicks and punches, falling down as he missed his target, defeat against one opponent after another. Was it really the same person he saw before him? Indeed, it was. So what was the instructor’s secret?

Becoming a black-belt in karate didn’t happen instantaneously; becoming anything in life doesn’t happen instantly! Instead, each day offers multiple opportunities to practice whatever it is we want to become. Those dancers who move with an elegance that would almost seem commonplace were it not so extraordinary generally spend over ten years practicing and then several more years laboring in the ranks of a company. Days are spent dancing 10 to 12 hours per day, six days a week.(1) And while fame and prestige are certainly motivators in this rigor, the grace of movement and the ability to make art with one’s body surely ground the need for this kind of disciplined practice.

If the grace-full life of Christ is the intended goal for those who claim to follow him, each day presents the opportunity to practice—to grow in the very grace Christ embodies. Instead of fear, there is empathy and hope. Instead of pride, there is humility and hospitality. Instead of bitterness and resentment, there is forgiveness and laying down one’s life. There is always a choice. And thankfully, there is always one who extends flawlessly the very grace we need ourselves.

For only those who see their own need can grow in grace themselves. In Jesus’s day, ironically, those who saw themselves as the most religious were often the very ones who missed out on grace. When a woman of questionable reputation came and anointed Jesus’s feet with perfume, the Pharisees criticized both the woman and Jesus. How could he allow this sort of woman—a sinner—to touch him, especially as he claimed to be the Son of God? Jesus’s reply is instructive for all who seek grace: “Her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). Without recognition of the human need for a forgiveness and the sort of grace that reaches far beyond anything we can offer, there is a failure to practice grace-full living with others.

Mercifully and demandingly, the sort of grace offered in the person of Christ is both a startling, necessary gift and the remarkable, difficult invitation to go and do likewise.

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

(1)”Those Undulating Swan Arms? Not So Easy to Do,” by Julie Bloom. The New York Times Online, November 26, 2010.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Best of You

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Alistair Begg

He chose our heritage for us.  Psalm 47:4

Believer, if your inheritance is meager, you should be satisfied with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured that it is best for you. Unerring wisdom ordained your lot and selected for you the safest and best condition. When a ship of large tonnage is to be brought up a river that has a large sandbank, if someone should ask, “Why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line?” his answer would be, “Because I could not get my ship into harbor at all if I did not keep to the deep channel.”

In the same way you would run aground and suffer shipwreck if your divine Captain did not steer you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble follow each other in quick succession. Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get only a little, but you are put there by the loving Farmer because only in that situation will you produce fruit unto perfection.

Remember this: If any other condition had been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you could choose your lot, you would soon cry, “Lord, choose my heritage for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows.” Be content with the things you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God. Busy self and proud impatience must be put down; it is not for them to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

Trials must and will befall—

But with humble faith to see

Love inscribed upon them all,

This is happiness to me.

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The family reading plan for November 11, 2014 * Joel 3 * Psalm 143

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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 – Healing for the wounded

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“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 57:15-21

Poor sinner, breathe thy wish to him, let thy sigh come before him, for “he healeth the broken in heart.” There thou liest wounded on the plain. “Is there no physician?” thou criest; “Is there none?” Around thee lie thy fellow-sufferers, but they are as helpless as thyself. Thy mournful cry cometh back without an answer, and space alone hears thy groan. Ah! The battle-field of sin has one kind visitor; it is not abandoned to the vultures of remorse and despair. I hear footsteps approaching; they are the gentle footsteps of Jehovah. With a heart full of mercy, he is hasting to his repenting child. In his hands there are no thunders, in his eyes no anger, on his lips no threatening. See how he bows himself over the mangled heart! Hear how he speaks! “Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” And if the patient dreads to look in the face of the mighty being who addresses him, the same loving mouth whispers, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my name’s sake.” See how he washes every wound with sacred water from the side of Jesus; mark how he spreads the ointment of forgiving grace, and binds around each wound the fair white linen, which is the righteousness of saints. Does the mourner faint under the operation? He puts medicine to his lips, exclaiming, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Yes, it is true—most true—neither dream nor fiction, “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” How condescending is the Lord of heaven, thus to visit poor forsaken man.

For meditation: Physical health is desirable, but short-lived; spiritual health is far more to be desired and will last for ever (3 John 2). We can live for a while with physical illness, but the unbeliever will die eternally with spiritual disease.

Sermon no. 53

11 November (1855)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Believing in God

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John MacArthur

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is” (Hebrews 11:6).

Nothing you do can please God apart from faith.

Throughout history, people have tried everything imaginable to gain favor with God. Most turn to religion, but religion apart from Christ is merely a satanic counterfeit of the truth.

Many trust in their own good works, not realizing that even their best efforts are offensive to God (Isa. 64:6; Phil. 3:8). And the more we try to justify ourselves, the more we offend God, because “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Rom. 3:20).

Some trust in their family heritage or nationality. The Jewish people thought they were pleasing to God simply because they were descendants of Abraham. But John the Baptist warned them, saying, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matt. 3:7-9).

Apart from faith, man cannot please God. And the first step of faith is simply believing God exists. That isn’t enough to save a person—even the demons have that level of faith (James 2:19)—but it’s a start, and by God’s grace can blossom into full saving faith.

God has given ample evidence of His existence. Romans 1:20 says, “Since the creation of the world [God’s] invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made.” David said, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Ps. 19:1).

Creation itself proclaims the existence, power, and glory of God, yet most people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18) by rejecting the Creator and denying their accountability to Him. Rather than bowing to the true God, they pay homage to “Mother Nature” or evolution. How foolish!

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Praise God for the beauty of His creation.
  • Worship Him as the giver of every good gift (James 1:17).

For Further Study

Read Romans 1:18-32. Is there a connection between denying God, practicing idolatry, and committing gross immoralities? Explain.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Power Source

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And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. —Ephesians 1:19 NKJV

In today’s Scripture Paul prayed that we would know the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward us. God is powerful, and anyone who believes in God surely believes that, but the question is: Do we believe His power is available to us and that it exists for us? Being able to live power-filled lives starts when we believe that power is available for us.

God’s power is greater than any other power in the universe, and it is limitless. This power, which is “toward us,” has already been given. In Luke, Jesus said, “Behold I have given you power…” We do not need to strive for power or hope to have power someday; we have power now! The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us (see Rom. 8:11) and we can be quickened (filled with life) by that power.

This is not a onetime filling that slowly drains out of us as the days go by, but we can be filled day-by-day and even moment by moment. We can constantly and continually experience God’s presence and power in our lives. When we belong to Him, there is never a time when His power is not accessible to us.

Just think: If your local power company called and said you were chosen to receive free power for the rest of your life, you would prob¬ably get so excited! This is the way life is when we are connected by faith to God’s power. You have to pay for the power that comes into your home, but your power for life has been paid for by Jesus Christ.

Love God Today: Think about this: You are never, ever in a powerless position, because God makes His power available to you at all times.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Living the Godly Life

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“As God’s messenger I give each of you God’s warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).

A newly appointed director of affairs for our ministry came to me for counsel after being given his assignment. “Tell me,” he inquired, “what are the biggest problems that I will encounter in my new area of responsibility?”

“Three major ones,” I responded. “First, pride, the problem that causes Satan to seek a place of authority over God Himself, resulting in his expulsion from the heavenly kingdom. Since creation, man’s greatest problem has been pride – thinking more highly of oneself than one ought to think.

“Your second problem will be materialism – the desire to accumulate wealth, to live the good life, to keep up with the Joneses with better houses, cars, clothes, and security.

“And the third problem will be sex, the temptation to immorality. Man’s second greatest drive after self-perservation is sex. In the marriage bond, sex is one of the most beautiful of the God-given privileges. But out of marriage, it results in grieving and quenching the Spirit and, ultimately, in the discipline of God. Therefore, be faithful to the wife that God has given you and love her as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

“Keep yourself humble by God’s power. Seek the simple life and be motivated and constrained by the love of God for the souls of men, rather than for the good things of this world.”

This is my counsel to all of our staff. It is my message to all Christian leaders and to all who seek to live godly lives.

The highways and byways of the world are littered with men and women of great talent and ability who are no longer being used of God. The fire has gone out of their hearts; the smile is gone from their faces. They harvest no fruit for the kingdom. They have fallen, thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to think, after the example of Satan, the author of pride.

God’s Word admonishes us to think soberly, wisely, prudently and modestly. The faith which we each have is a gift from God, measure by Him. That fact alone should produce in you and me a true, humility, changing any feeling of pride to one of gratitude. The truly humble person regards God as the source of all blessings.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: When the temptation comes to think more highly of myself than I ought to think, with God’s help I will remember that everything I have is a gift of His grace. I will humble myself before God and man and, by faith, live a supernatural, godly life, dedicated to the extension of His kingdom

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K.- Peace

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Fighting in World War I ceased when the armistice began the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day as one to be commemorated with reflections “filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

You killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.

Acts 3:15

Congress later resolved that that day should be one of “thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.” It is a day “to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.” (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website) And so it should be!

There was another who sacrificed His life for all people…the Lord Jesus Christ. Give thanks and honor to Him as well. The Author of life died but rose again victorious! He freed you from sin and death. May you know Him. Believing, you will have peace in your soul.

Recommended Reading: Acts 2:23-28, 36-39

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Don’t Look Back   

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I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. —Philippians 3:12–14

The end of a year is a time of reflecting and remembering what God has done. But there comes a point where I say, “That was then; this is now.” And I put the past behind me. Paul says he is forgetting the past, the things that are behind. The word forget doesn’t mean to fail to remember. What it means is that Paul no longer will be influenced or affected by what happened before. To forget, then, means that we break the power of the past by living for the future.

Now that’s wonderful when we think of sin. Because when we sin and then come to God and repent of it, and He forgives us, we can trust in God’s promise: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). God isn’t suggesting that He will experience a lapse in His memory concerning your sins. What He’s saying is that our sins no longer will affect our standing with Him or influence His attitude toward us. So if you have sinned, if you have failed this last year, you can put it behind you. You can forget the things that are behind.

Remember, to be His disciple, Jesus said we must take up the cross daily and follow Him (see Luke 9:23). Let’s not be satisfied with what has happened in the past. Forget about it and move forward.

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

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Goal is Wholeness

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Max Lucado

Afflictions can sideline the sufferer. Everyone else has a place in the parade. You’d join them if only the tumor would stop growing. You have mood swings as wide and wild as the African Serengeti. And you’ve wondered, “What am I do to with this ailment?”

The blind and the suffering brought their concerns to Jesus. They didn’t ask for Peter or John. They made no request of the disciples or followers. They went straight to the top. They cried out to Jesus. Persistently, personally, passionately. “I need help. Heal me!” You need to do the same. God’s goal for you is wholeness. Your whole self—spirit, soul, and body!

Before you say amen—comes the power of a simple prayer! Sign on at BeforeAmen.com and take the brief Prayer Strengths Assessment.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Problem of Unmet Needs

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Charles Stanley

Psalm 84:11-12

If God has promised to provide and is able, we might wonder why He doesn’t always meet our needs when we ask. But since He is faithful to His Word, we can know that the problem is never with Him.

Notice that in today’s passage, God’s promise to provide has a condition—it is given to “those who walk uprightly” (v. 11). So if God isn’t meeting our needs as we think He should, either He may have a different plan, or something in our life may be a hindrance.

  • Sin. One reason our prayers may not be answered is because there’s sin in our life and we are not living righteously. If God ignored disobedience and granted our requests, He would be affirming an unrighteous lifestyle.
  • Laziness. Although the Lord is the ultimate source of all we have, He has given us the responsibility of working in order to provide for our basic necessities (2 Thess. 3:10-11). If you’re a capable, able-bodied person who’s unwilling to work and wants something for nothing, God won’t reinforce your laziness.
  • Desires. It’s possible that the Lord hasn’t provided as you expected because your “needs” are really desires. If He sees that what you want won’t fulfill His plans for your life, He may be saying “no” because He has a “yes” that’s even better.

To avoid disappointment with God, understand that His actions and character always align. He won’t reward rebellion or laziness, and His answers to prayer fit with His goal of conforming us to Christ’s image. So if He hasn’t provided what you deem essential, He’s working to bestow a better blessing.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Honor Of Following

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Our Daily Bread

Matthew 4:18-22

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Follow Me.” —Matthew 4:19

While visiting Jerusalem, a friend of mine saw an old rabbi walking past the Wailing Wall. The interesting thing about the aged rabbi was the five young men walking behind him. They too were walking bent over, limping—just like their rabbi. An Orthodox Jew watching them would know exactly why they were imitating their teacher. They were “followers.”

Throughout the history of Judaism, one of the most honored positions for a Jewish man was the privilege of becoming a “follower” of the local rabbi. Followers sat at the rabbi’s feet as he taught. They would study his words and watch how he acted and reacted to life and others. A follower would count it the highest honor to serve his rabbi in even the most menial tasks. And, because they admired their rabbi, they were determined to become like him.

When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him (Matt. 4:19), it was an invitation to be changed by Him, to become like Him, and to share His passion for those who need a Savior. The high honor of being His follower should show in our lives as well. We too have been called to catch the attention of the watching world as we talk, think, and act just like Jesus—the rabbi, the teacher, of our souls. —Joe Stowell

Thank You, Lord, for the high honor of being

called to follow You. May my life so imitate

You that others will know that You are the

pursuit of my life and the rabbi of my soul.

Follow Jesus and let the world know He is your rabbi.

Bible in a year: Jeremiah 48-49; Hebrews 7

Insight

In the region surrounding the Sea of Galilee in the first century, fishing was one of the primary industries. This fishing normally took place at night, with the laborious task of casting weighted fishing nets and then hauling them back in. Fishing was not an easy occupation, but it did provide a decent living and, as seen in today’s text, was often operated as a family business. Here, two brothers, Peter and Andrew, worked together (v.18), as did James, John, and their father (v.21). In this case, however, these two families also had a partnership in their fishing business, as recorded in Luke 5:10. Jesus used this partnership to His advantage in calling these four men as disciples.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry –   Too Many Gods

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Ravi Z

“I am a former Christian minister who is now an agnostic—not an atheist, not a theist, not a sceptic, and certainly not indifferent.(1) So begins the story of Charles Templeton, one time rousing evangelist, friend and counterpart of Billy Graham, turned renounced believer, professed agnostic. He is quick to clarify the meaning of such a title. “The agnostic does not say, as is commonly believed, ‘I do not know whether or not there is a God.’ He says, ‘I cannot know… He asserts that a combination of historic circumstances has made Christianity the dominant religion of the Western world but that it is not unique, there being a host of other religions and a variety of other deities worshipped or revered by millions of men and women in various parts of the world.”(2)

In his final book, Farewell to God, Templeton describes the unraveling of more than twenty years of ministry and a faith that was steadily besieged by doubt. His objections range from scathing frustrations with biblical stories to pained confusions with the ways of the world and the God who supposedly cares for it. One question in particular remained with me throughout the book: “If God is a loving Father, why does he so seldom answer his needy children’s prayers?” he asks. The question isn’t new to me, and like Templeton, I can rattle off an explanation based on a scriptures I know by heart. But the picture that comes to life within this question is far more personal than any routine answer would satisfy. Many wrestle through this question similar to the way we had to wrestle with the presence and absence of our own parents.

Elsewhere, Templeton critiques the world and what he sees as its “abundance of gods,” though he treats each one with the curious requirement of unquestioning obedience as if it was the only god that mattered. He describes it a point of contention—even a point of absurdity—that in the vast sea of divine beings on this planet, Christianity proposes the idea that there is only one God. Across history, there are more gods than any of us can keep track of, and they seem to come with as many descriptions as the people who created them. On top of this, he argues, a great number of these gods come with qualities that leave much to be desired in the first place; they are jealous, hierarchical, vengeful, and demanding—and very much a product of our predecessors.

Many of these observations are troublingly undeniable. I was listening recently to a collection of interviews on the subject of spirituality. They asked hundreds of people the same question: simply, “Who is God?” But the answers were as diverse as the patches on a quilt, and the finished product was not at all a comforting blanket of great divinity, but little more than a mat of troubled chaos, gapping holes, and contradiction. Coming to the end of that message, I sighed deeply—how can anyone muddle through such a mess? We seem to make gods in our own images as fast as we can get them off the assembly line.

Templeton and the many who echo him are absolutely right to point out as troubling the sheer number and seeming characters of these divinities, who “hate every people but their own…[who] are jealous, vengeful…utter egotists and insist on frequent praise and flattery.”(3) In fact, the prophet Jeremiah made a similar point. He called it a “discipline of delusion” to chase after these gods and their demands, but particularly as if it were all a matter of preference and not a matter pertaining to what is real. “They are altogether stupid and foolish,” he wrote of these individuals. “In their discipline of delusion—their idol is wood” (Jeremiah 10:8). The world of gods is indeed a chaotic place. And yet, isn’t it somewhat hasty to reject every divinity in the room simply because there is more than one? In doing so, it would seem we use our own complaint against Christianity (it is arrogant to say there is only one God) as the reason to reject it (it is ridiculous that there is more than one god).

But the description of angry gods in abundance brings me back to the question raised at the beginning. “If God is a loving Father, why does he so seldom answer his needy children’s prayers?” The reason this question demands more than a pat answer is because it deals with disappointment, neglect, silence, and heartache. The question pulls on the very shirtsleeve of a vital relationship. Perhaps it is subtle, but the question itself seems to point to something inherently different about this God—something that sets this Father significantly apart from the sea of divine and impersonal chaos. The gods Templeton and many others describe do not at all seem like gods we would miss if they were far away. They are not the kind of gods we would be saddened by if they were silent, or dare to be angry with if they disappointed us. Like all children with parents that we do not always understand, sometimes we ask questions that aren’t entirely fair (or even sensible). And sometimes we ask questions that give away the relational presence of the one we wrestle with under the surface.

I believe it is more than helpful to recognize the human capacity to create gods and chase after delusion. But so I think it is vital to recognize that not all gods are created equal, and there is reason to believe there might be one who isn’t created at all.

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

(1) Charles Templeton, Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1996), 18.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid., 22-23.

A note from Ravi Zacharias

Dear Friend,

 

Hello to all our friends and supporters. I have a special prayer request for two programs I have been invited to do with commentator and broadcaster Glenn Beck at his studios in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, November 10. I met with Glenn recently, and he is a delightful person to know and talk with. He is on his own spiritual journey. He would like to interview me on my latest book, Why Suffering?, and also on my spiritual journey.

I am grateful for this unique opportunity, but it will be a tough one. I am a deeply committed evangelical Christian. Glenn is a member of the LDS church. So in that sense we have deep distinctives. I firmly believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ and his exclusive claim to be the way, the truth, and the life. I believe in the Old and the New Testament as the sufficient and final word for faith and conduct. So any addition or detraction from those truths would be in contravention of our Lord’s words.

Therefore, the challenge when I am speaking with another from a different belief (a situation I find myself in often) is to navigate carefully and wisely. At the same time, as a Christian apologist, I must be in arenas where there are counter-perspectives and clearly present what I believe. That is our field of calling, whether talking to skeptics or those of other beliefs. Unfortunately, in this day of mass communication, my words and my presence can be taken out of context or misrepresented. So please pray for me as I handle a worthy opportunity with wisdom to present the truth and the book that touches on the most painful malady facing all of humanity: “Why Suffering?”

One of the most important purposes in such interviews is to talk to people about the slow moral death of our culture. A moral soil is needed for anything worthy to flourish. With that goal in mind I talk with those who share that common concern. Moral soil and truths in our worldview are not the same. But that moral soil is indispensable for truth to stand a chance. It is that soil that I seek to prepare so that the truth of the gospel may be planted.

Thank you for your prayers. Need I say that a lot of conversations in such settings are very private? I will honor that and pray that the truth will triumph and that which was come to terms with in private will come to public fruition. I will never compromise my belief in the final and sufficient work of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. May every conversation bring others to that same conviction. Only the Holy Spirit of God can bring that change in any heart.

As RZIM celebrates our 30th year as a ministry, we are reminded that our goal must always be the glory of God. Please do pray for wisdom for me and for our team as we navigate these challenging times in our culture. We are grateful for your continued support as we seek to articulate the beauty and credibility of the gospel of Jesus Christ in influential settings across this country and around the world.

With gratitude,

 

 

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias will be interviewed by Glenn Beck on Monday, November 10, at The Blaze studios in Dallas, Texas.  You can listen to Ravi on The Glenn Beck Radio Program from 10:00am-11:00am CST.  Check your local listings or listen online at: http://www.glennbeck.com/.  You can watch Ravi on Glenn Beck’s TV show at 5:00 p.m. CST on various cable networks and online at:  http://www.theblaze.com/tv/.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Expect Persecution

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Alistair Begg

It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher.  Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would not be proper for the pupil to be exalted above his Teacher. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment He received? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His perfections worshiped by those whom He came to bless? No. “He was despised and rejected by men.”1 His place was outside the city: Cross-bearing was His occupation. Did the world provide Him with comfort and rest? “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.”2 This inhospitable country provided Him no shelter: It cast Him out and crucified Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus and maintain a consistent, Christlike walk and behavior, you must expect to experience persecution and rejection also. Your Christian testimony will be scrutinized and criticized. People will treat it as they treated the Savior—they will despise it. Do not imagine that pagans will admire you or that the more holy and the more Christlike you are, the more peaceably people will act toward you. If they did not prize the polished gem, do you think that they will esteem the rough cut jewel? If they have referred to Jesus as Satan, how much more will they denigrate the teacher’s disciples? If we were more like Christ, we would be more hated by His enemies.

It is a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a very bad omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character and wonder whether he has been doing wrong when the unrighteous give him their approval. Let us be true to our Master and have no friendship with a blind and base world that scorns and rejects Him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found only a crown of thorns.

1) Isaiah 53:3  2) Matthew 8:20

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The family reading plan for November 10, 2014 * Joel 2 * Psalm 142

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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 – Heavenly love-sickness!

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CharlesSpurgeon

‘I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him that I am sick of love.’ Song of Solomon 5:8

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 107:17–22

Certain sicknesses are peculiar to the saints: the ungodly are never visited with them. Strange to say, these sicknesses are signs of vigorous health. Who but the beloved of the Lord ever experience that sin-sickness in which the soul loathes the very name of transgression, is unmoved by the enchantments of the tempter, finds no sweetness in its besetting sins, but turns with detestation and abhorrence from the very thought of iniquity? Not less is it for these, and these alone, to feel that self-sickness whereby the heart revolts from all creature-confidence and strength, having been made sick of self, self-exalting, self-reliance, and self of every sort. The Lord afflicts us more and more with such self-sickness till we are dead to self and its unsanctified desires. Then there is a twofold love-sickness. Of the one kind is that love-sickness which comes upon the Christian when he is transported with the full enjoyment of Jesus, even as the bride, elated by the favour, melted by the tenderness of her Lord, says in the fifth verse of the second chapter of the Song, ‘Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.’ The soul overjoyed with the divine communications of happiness and bliss which came from Christ, the body scarcely able to bear the excessive delirium of delight which the soul possessed, she was so glad to be in the embraces of her Lord, that she needed to be stayed under the overpowering weight of joy. Another kind of love-sickness widely different from the first, is that in which the soul is sick, not because it has too much of Christ’s love, but because it has not enough present consciousness of it; sick, not of the enjoyment, but of the longing for it; sick, not because of excess of delight, but because of sorrow for an absent lover.

For meditation: Do you suffer from spiritual sickness? Christ came to call those who are prepared to admit to him that they are spiritually sick (Mark 2:17). As he said of his physically sick friend Lazarus, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God’ (John 11:4).

Sermon no. 539

7 November (Preached 8 November 1863)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Walking with God

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John MacArthur

“Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24).

Walking with God includes reconciliation, obedience from the heart, and ongoing faith.

When Scripture speaks of walking with God, it’s referring to one’s manner of life. For example, Paul prayed that the Colossian believers (and us) would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so they could walk (live) in a manner worthy of the Lord (Col. 1:9-10). To the Ephesians he said, “Walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind . . . [but] be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you” (Eph. 4:17; 5:1-2).

The Old Testament describes Enoch as a man who walked with God. Though relatively little is said about this special man, we can derive implications from his life that will help us better understand what it means to walk with God.

First, Enoch’s walk with God implies reconciliation. Amos 3:3 says, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (NIV). Two people can’t have intimate fellowship unless they agree. Obviously Enoch wasn’t rebellious toward God, but had been reconciled with Him through faith.

Second, walking with God implies loving service. Second John 6 says, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.” We obey Christ, but our obedience is motivated by love, not legalism or fear of punishment.

Third, a godly walk implies continuing faith, “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Colossians 2:6-7 adds, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith.” By grace Enoch believed God and pleased Him all his life.

Do those who know you best see you as one who walks with God? I trust so. After all, that’s the distinguishing mark of a true believer: “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

Suggestions for Prayer;  Praise God for granting the reconciliation, faith, and love that enables you to walk with Him day by day.

For Further Study; What do the following verses teach about your Christian walk: Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; and 1 John 1:7?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Trust God’s Grace

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Joyce meyer

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

—Galatians 2:21 NKJV

I discovered years ago that every time I became frustrated it was because I was trying to do something myself, in my own strength, instead of putting my faith in God and receiving His grace (help). Receiving a revelation of God’s grace was a major breakthrough for me. I was always “trying” to do something and leaving God out of the loop. I tried to change myself and my husband and children, tried to get healed, tried to prosper, tried to make my ministry grow, and tried to change every circumstance in my life that I did not like. I was frustrated because none of my trying was producing any good results.

God will not permit us to succeed without Him. If He did, we would take the credit that is due Him. If we could change people, we would be changing them to suit our purposes, which would steal their freedom to make their own choices. I finally learned to pray for what I thought needed to be changed and let God do it His way in His timing. When I began trusting His grace, I entered His rest. Grace is always flowing to us in every situation, but it must be received by faith.

Lord, give me the understanding of Your grace that frees me from doing things in my own strength. Help me to do my part and rest in the fact that You will do the rest. Amen.