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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Attending To Our Words

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 66:10-20

Certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. —Psalm 66:19

A week after C. S. Lewis died in 1963, colleagues and friends gathered in the chapel of Magdalen College, Oxford, England, to pay tribute to the man whose writings had fanned the flames of faith and imagination in children and scholars alike.

During the memorial service, Lewis’ close friend Austin Farrer noted that Lewis always sent a handwritten personal reply to every letter he received from readers all over the world. “His characteristic attitude to people in general was one of consideration and respect,” Farrer said. “He paid you the compliment of attending to your words.”

In that way, Lewis mirrored God’s remarkable attention to what we say to Him in prayer. During a time of great difficulty, the writer of Psalm 66 cried out to God (vv.10-14). Later, he praised the Lord for His help, saying, “Certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer” (v.19).

When we pray, the Lord hears our words and knows our hearts. Truly we can say with the psalmist, “Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!” (v.20). Our prayers become the avenue to a deeper relationship with Him. At all times, even in our hours of deepest need, He attends to our words. —David McCasland

My Savior hears me when I pray,

Upon His Word I calmly rest;

In His own time, in His own way,

I know He’ll give me what is best. —Hewitt

We always have God’s attention.

Bible in a year: Ezekiel 37-39; 2 Peter 2

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Loves Us Enough to Change Us

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He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

—Psalm 91:15

God uses His refining fire to change us and make us into the people He wants us to be. I realize that it isn’t easy to change. I have been studying God’s Word for more than thirty years, and I still have to work at many things and allow God to change me in certain ways. I’m still not where I need to be, but I thank God I’m not where I used to be.

If we become stubborn or unwilling to repent when God’s refining fire comes to reveal a behavior that needs to be changed in us, then love gets stubborn. Let me explain. We know that God is love, and He is a jealous God. He doesn’t want anything in us to occupy the place that belongs to Him. And love, God Himself, will be jealous enough and stubborn enough to stick with us until He gets His way. Love (God) will show us things we don’t want to see in order to help us be what we need to be.

Fire devours all impurities and leaves all that remains ablaze for God’s glory. A lot of the old Joyce Meyer has been burned up in God’s refining fire over the years. It definitely has not been easy, but it definitely has been worth it.

God’s refining fire may come to you in different ways. You may have a nudge in your heart to stop doing something and start doing something else; you may feel convicted as He speaks to you through His Word; or you may hear from His Spirit directly in your spirit. However it comes, God will bring His refining fire to your life. When it comes, don’t resist it, but trust God and let the fire work.

God’s word for you today: God is changing you daily and today you are better than you were yesterday.

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — First Impressions

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Our Daily Bread

1 Samuel 16:1-7

For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. —1 Samuel 16:7

As I shopped for groceries one day, I was perceived as a thief by one person and a hero by another.

As I exited the supermarket, an employee said, “Excuse me, Sir. There are too many unbagged items in your cart.” This is evidently a strategy used by shoplifters. When he saw that they were products too big to be bagged, he apologized and sent me on my way.

In the parking lot, a woman glanced at my gold embroidered sportsman’s cap. Mistaking it for a military hat, she said, “Thank you for defending our country!” Then she walked away.

The supermarket employee and the woman in the parking lot had each formed hasty conclusions about me. It’s easy to form opinions of others based on first impressions.

When Samuel was to select the next king of Israel from the sons of Jesse, he too made a judgment based on first impressions. However, God’s chosen was not any of the older sons. The Spirit told Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature” (1 Sam. 16:7). God chose David, the youngest, who looked least like a king.

God can help us view people through His eyes, for “the Lord does not see as man sees; . . . the LORD looks at the heart” (v.7). —Dennis Fisher

If we could view through eyes of faith

The people we meet each day

We’d quickly see God’s gracious hand

In all who come our way. —D. DeHaan

First impressions can often lead to wrong conclusions.

Bible in a year: Ezekiel 35-36; 2 Peter 1

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Indescribable and Incredible

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It’s that time of year when you probably concern yourself with selecting just the right Christmas gifts to give to the special people in your lives. Catalogs have come regularly to your mailbox, and merchants haven’t hesitated to remind you that today is Black Friday…so named because it is the day of the year when many retailers’ balance sheets are no longer in the red! Come and buy! You’re urged to be extravagant!

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

II Corinthians 9:15

You know incredible gifts when you see them. Nieman Marcus offers flamboyant and unique holiday presents. Oprah would regularly surprise her audience with goodies they didn’t know they needed from among her favorite things. Literature abounds with tear-rendering classics of the Little Match Girl or O Henry’s Gift of the Magi.

Unfortunately, amidst all the hustle and bustle, the tinsel and lights, the most inexpressible gift of all is too often just an oh-by-the-way “reason for the season.” Why not make this Christmas your time to contemplate the extravagant, unique, indescribable, incredible Gift that has been given you by the Father of Lights…who has given you every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Thank Him! Generously tell your family, friends and strangers of this wonderful Gift. Pray for all to receive Him with gladness.

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 9:6-15

 

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Antidote to Wandering

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Remembering to Say Thanks

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way . . . — Isaiah 53:6

King David stands as the prime example of someone who lost their first love. We remember him rightfully as the man after God’s own heart—but we also remember David as a murderer and an adulterer.

We may ask the question, how could one who was known for his devotion to God fall so horribly? What were the steps that led to his demise?

David’s steps to losing his first love were subtle—but very real. When David sat on his rooftop watching Bathsheba bathe on that fateful night, he was not walking with the Lord as he once had.

We read earlier in the psalms how David possessed this great devotion and passion for God. But at this particular point in his life, we don’t read of him worshipping or singing love songs to God. David was spiritually idle.

The Bible says that “at the time when kings go out to battle” (2 Samuel 11:1), King David was sitting on his housetop. He was resting on his laurels.

When you stop progressing spiritually, you will soon be a train wreck waiting to happen. We must recognize that deep in our nature we all have a natural tendency to wander.

It is no coincidence that God compares us to wandering sheep. That is our natural tendency. And as an old hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” We are prone to wander.

So the first love Jesus speaks of in Revelation 2:5 is the very thing that will counteract our wandering. Our first love exists as the antidote to the wandering spirit we have. That passion is what keeps us engaged in our relationship with God.

If you make Jesus your first love, everything else will fall into its proper balance.

 

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Overflowing with Gratitude

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Charles Stanley

Colossians 2:6-8

The meaning of Thanksgiving has changed over the years. The name was given to our national holiday dedicated to thanking God for His protection and provision. More recently, though, ithas become synonymous with feasting, football, and family. In most homes, God probably isn’t even mentioned. But for believers, Thanksgiving is not simply a day; it’s a lifestyle. In fact, a godly person should be characterized by gratitude.

The apostle Paul teaches how we can become people who overflow with gratefulness in any circumstance. The first step is to appreciate our relationship with Christ. He chose each believer before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) and wants us to “walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). This means acknowledging Jesus as Lord of our life and relying on Him to empower us to obey.

Next, we are to be firmly rooted in Him. This can happen only when we tap into His Word and draw nourishment from it. Then we’ll be like a tree whose roots reach down so deep that even storms cannot topple it. With this foundation, we can be built up in Christ and increasingly display His character in our attitudes, conduct, and conversation.

Finally, our faith needs to be firmly established. Then we won’t fall prey to worldly philosophies and deceptions.

Do you have a grateful spirit, or do you say “thanks” only when things are going your way? Thankfulness in all situations is possible only when you focus on the truths and promises of God’s Word. As you learn to see life from His perspective and acknowledge His loving lordship, you’ll overflow with appreciation.

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — How To Enjoy Things

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Our Daily Bread

Ecclesiastes 5:13-20

As for every man . . . to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. —Ecclesiastes 5:19

In his book Daring To Draw Near, Dr. John White writes that several years earlier God had made it possible for him to acquire a lovely home with many luxuries. His feelings about the house fluctuated dramatically.

When he reminded himself that it was a gracious gift from God, he felt joy and thanksgiving. But when he would begin to compare it with those of his friends, he would feel proud because he had such a fine house and his joy would evaporate. His home would actually become a burden. All he could see were the many hedges and trees to care for and the endless odd jobs to do. White said, “While vanity clouds my eyes and burdens my heart, gratitude clears my vision and lightens my load.”

The writer of Ecclesiastes saw God at every turn in the enjoyment of material things. The power to eat the fruits of our labors and even the strength to receive and rejoice in them is from Him (5:18-19).

From beginning to end, all of life is a continuous gift-giving by God. We deserve nothing. He owes us nothing. Yet He gives us everything. If we remember this, we need not feel selfish or guilty. Whatever material blessings we have are a gift from our gracious God. —Dennis J. DeHaan

Ten thousand thousand precious gifts

My daily thanks employ;

Nor is the least a cheerful heart,

That tastes those gifts with joy. —Addison

God, who has given so much to us, gives one more thing—a grateful heart. —Herbert

Bible in a year: Ezekiel 33-34; 1 Peter 5

 

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Indignity of Giving Thanks

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The spirit of thanksgiving runs against the temptation we face as human beings to assert our self-sufficiency. Few of us enjoy the feeling of indebtedness; a fact easily demonstrated by our oft-unsolicited readiness to return a favor once someone has expressed kindness to us. I owe you one, I will return the favor, and I am in your debt are some of the ways in which we express this attitude. Such responses, together with the more modest one, please let me know what I can do for you, allow us to express gratitude without acknowledging the chronic shadow of dependence that so rudely dogs our entire threescore and ten.

Not only does this inability to express gratitude without our own autonomy stealing the show sometimes rob of us of the joy of affirming the contribution of others to our wellbeing, it also shrivels up our desire to worship God. An unexamined sense of self-sufficiency instills in us a subtle but false attitude of entitlement, thus making it difficult for us to accept the sense of vulnerability that is part of true gratitude. Ever since the tempter said to Adam and Eve in the Garden, “You will be like God,” human beings have never given up the temptation to either elevate ourselves to the level of God or pull God down to our level, so we can deal with God as equals. We are always looking for a chance to say to God, “I can take it from here.”

Such an attitude of entitlement, I believe, occupies a central role in the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17.  While all ten are healed by Jesus, only one of them returns to express gratitude. In his editorial comment, Luke informs us that the one who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan, and Jesus refers to him as a foreigner. Undoubtedly, this implies that the other nine were Jews. Could it be that the Jewish lepers felt entitled to the services of this Jewish prophet and their God? If God were to begin to right wrongs in the world, wouldn’t the most logical place to begin be among his own chosen people? Judging by Jesus’s expression of surprise in the passage, it seems the only words one would have expected from the mouths of the nine lepers would have been, “It’s about time!” Without a clear sense of how little we are entitled to, we cannot really come to terms with the need for gratitude—for an attitude of entitlement is an effective impediment to gratitude.

But everything we know about ourselves and our world speaks loudly against this tendency to self-sufficiency. As human babies, we all begin our lives at the highest level of dependence, and none of us really outgrows all degrees of dependence. We depend on parents, teachers, peers, coaches, and others to open doors for us in life. Even in places where commitment to personal autonomy is likely to produce more martyrs than religious conviction, dependence on others is still a living reality whose attempted concealment is gradually unveiled by the onset of old age. From the inventions that give us comfort in this world to the young soldiers who give their lives in the battlefields to protect our livelihoods, an unobstructed view of our lives reveals the fact that we all owe debts that we can never repay. We will never begin to worship God until we recognize that we are bankrupt debtors, for an attitude of gratitude is an indispensable impetus to worship.

Like skilled gourmet chefs spicing up their delicacies, Scripture writers sprinkle their words with admonitions and exaltations regarding gratitude, frequently tying it together with worship. For example, in the midst of a dark catalogue of humanity’s journey away from God, the apostle Paul lays the blame on our unwillingness to glorify God or give thanks to God. Similarly, the author of Hebrews grounds our worship of God in gratitude. He writes, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). It is impossible to worship God without gratitude, and it is impossible to be grateful while clinging to self-sufficiency and entitlement at the same time. Yes, there is some vulnerability in gratitude sincerely expressed, but that is because we are relational beings whose deepest needs can only be met in partnership with others and ultimately with God. While an attitude of entitlement is an impediment to gratitude, an attitude of gratitude is an indispensable impetus to worship. Show me a person whose life is characterized by gratitude, and I will show you a person whose soul is poised to worship God.

J.M. Njoroge is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Satan’s banquet

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“The governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” John 2:9-10

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 55:12-23

The governor of the feast said more than he intended to say, or rather, there is more truth in what he said than he himself imagined. This is the established rule all the world over: “the good wine first, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse.” It is the rule with men; and have not hundreds of disappointed hearts bewailed it? Friendship first—the oily tongue, the words softer than butter, and afterwards the drawn sword. Ahitophel first presents the lordly dish of love and kindness to David, then afterwards that which is worse, for he forsakes his master, and becomes the counsellor of his rebel son. Judas presents first of all the dish of fair speech and of kindness; the Saviour partook thereof, he walked to the house of God in company with him, and took sweet counsel with him; but afterwards there came the dregs of the wine—“He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.” Judas the thief betrayed his Master, bringing forth afterwards “that which is worse.” You have found it so with many whom you thought your friends. In the heyday of prosperity, when the sun was shining, and the birds were singing, and all was fair and cheerful with you, they brought forth the good wine; but there came a chilling frost, and nipped your flowers, and the leaves fell from the trees, and your streams were frosted with ice, and then they brought forth that which is worse, they forsook you and fled; they left you in your hour of peril, and taught you that great truth, that “Cursed is he that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.”

For meditation: Has someone you trusted let you down badly, albeit unintentionally? Christ’s first miracle reminds us that man’s ways are not God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8); the Christian has a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) and is assured that the best is still to come (Hebrews 10:34).

Sermon no. 225

28 November (1858)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Accepting God’s Provisions

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John MacArthur

“By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned” (Heb. 11:28-29).

When the time came for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, everything on the human level said it couldn’t be done. Pharaoh wasn’t about to let two to three million slaves just pack up and leave. His formidable army was ready to insure that no such exodus occurred.

But when God devises a plan, He always makes the necessary provisions for carrying it out. On this occasion, His provision came in the form of ten terrifying plagues designed to change Pharaoh’s mind.

The tenth and worst plague was the death of all the first- born (Ex. 11:5). To protect themselves from this plague, the Israelites sprinkled the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. When the angel of death saw the blood, he passed over that house. Thus the Passover was instituted.

The blood from those first Passover lambs had no intrinsic power to stave off the death angel, but its presence demonstrated faith and obedience, thus symbolizing the future sacrifice of Christ (cf. John 1:29).

Pharaoh got the message and allowed the Israelites to leave. But soon afterward he changed his mind and commanded his army to pursue them. Again God intervened by parting the Red Sea, allowing His people to walk across on dry land. He then drowned the entire Egyptian army when it followed the Israelites into the sea.

That was a graphic demonstration of a lesson every believer must learn: God’s provisions are always best. They may sometimes seem foolish to the human intellect–just as “the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18)– but the man or woman of faith trusts God and receives His provisions gratefully.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for the wise and gracious provisions He has made for your salvation and ongoing Christian walk.

For Further Study:

Read the account of the Passover and the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 11-14.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Does the Work

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“And I am sure the God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns” (Philippians 1:6).

Howard was adamant in his conviction. “I would never lead anyone to Christ that I could not personally follow up to be sure he matures and grows and becomes all that God wants him to be.”

“Since when did you assume the responsibility of the Holy Spirit?” I asked.

Obviously, we are to do everything we can to help a new believer grow to maturity in Christ – by teaching him to trust God, study His word, pray, live a holy life, and share his faith with others. But no matter how much we do, it is the Holy Spirit who helps the new believer come to Christ, and who illumines his heart with the Word. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray and empowers us to witness. In fact, there would be no supernatural life apart from the Holy Spirit.

Paradoxically, you and I can be confident, yet humble, when we think of all that we are, and all that we have in Christ, and realize that we are not responsible for any of it, but it is something which God has given us according to His grace. My only boast is in God, His Son Jesus Christ and His indwelling Holy Spirit. How can I boast of my abilities and achievements, when it is the Giver alone who is worthy of all honor and praise? The apostle Paul had the strong conviction that the work God had begun in the believer would be permanent. All events that transpire in our lives, all influences, heartaches, testings and sorrows, as well as all of the blessings, are designed to conform us to the image of Christ.

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: God, who saved me, continues to work in my life, conforming me to the image of Christ. Therefore, I will continue to trust and obey Him, as I draw upon His supernatural resources

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Matter to God

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Max Lucado

What matters to you—matters to God! You probably think that’s true when it comes to the big stuff like death, disease, sin, and disaster. But what about the smaller things?  What about grouchy bosses or flat tires?  What about broken dishes, late flights, toothaches, or a crashed hard drive? Do these matter to God?

Let me tell you who you are! In fact, let me proclaim who you are. The Bible says you are an “heir of God and a co-heir with Christ” (Romans 8:17). You have “a crown that will last forever” (1 Cor. 9:25). You were “chosen before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

But more than anything else is the simple fact—you are God’s child. 1 John 3:1 says “we are called children of God.  And we really are His children.” I love that:  we really are His children!

If something is important to you—it’s important to God!

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Place Of Water

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 42:1-5

The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. —John 4:14

East Africa is one of the driest places on earth, which is what makes “Nairobi” such a significant name for a city in that region. The name comes from a Masai phrase meaning “cold water,” and it literally means “the place of water.”

Throughout history, the presence of water has been both life-giving and strategic. Whether a person lives in a dry climate or a rainforest, water is a nonnegotiable necessity. In a dry and barren climate, knowing where to find the place of water can mean the difference between life and death.

Our spiritual life also has certain nonnegotiable elements. That is why Jesus, upon encountering a spiritually thirsty woman at a well, declared to her that He alone could provide living water. He told her, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

Like the deer mentioned in Psalm 42:1-2 who pants for water, our souls thirst for God and long for Him (63:1). We desperately need the sustenance that comes only from Jesus Christ. He is the source of living water that refreshes our hearts. —Bill Crowder

Rivers of living water,

Rivers of life so free,

Flowing from Thee, my Savior,

Send now the rivers through me. —Wood

Jesus is the fountain of living water.

Bible in a year: Ezekiel 30-32; 1 Peter 4

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Saved From Trouble

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“Yes, the Lord hears the good man when he calls to Him for help, and saves him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:17).

You and I have one of the greatest privileges ever known to mankind – that of calling on God with the assurance that He will hear and answer us.

No trouble we face today will be too great for us to bring God, who has promised to save us out of all our troubles.

True, He suggests certain conditions that must be met for such praying to be effective, but these conditions are not grievous. They are attainable by “whosoever will.”

One of these conditions is referred to by the psalmist, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18, KJV). According to God’s Word, that means I must not even allow wrong feelings and critical attitudes against others to fester in my heart and mind, but rather I must confess them the moment they arise and then trust God for the forgiveness He promises.

Another condition is suggested in the well-known verse on revival: “If my people…will humble themselves, and pray…” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV). Even before that time of intercession with the Lord, I must be sure to humble myself, to recognize God as my Lord and Master, and His Holy Spirit as one who sits and rules and reigns on the throne of my life.

As a result, God will produce in my life those qualities of the supernatural life.

Bible Reading: Psalm 35:1-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Confession and humbling will precede prayer in my life this day, so that I may be sure God hears and will answer

Campus Crusade for Christ

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – When God Whispers

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October 2, 2004, Laura Hatch went missing. Her family, friends and church searched and prayed. The night of October 9, Sha Nohr, the mom of one of Laura’s friends, dreamed of a wooded area. The next morning, with insistent urges heard by her spirit to “keep going,” she found Laura down a deep ravine, her car hidden in undergrowth. Despite no food and water and multiple injuries, Laura survived.

Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.

II Corinthians 8:16

A similar thing happened to Paul. The Holy Spirit dissuaded him and his missionary team from going to Asia and Bithynia, but in Troas, Paul had a dream of a Macedonian man requesting his help. Paul and his men went immediately and preached, resulting in many conversions, and after getting in trouble for delivering a girl from a demon, he testified to the whole city of Philippi.

What Christian hasn’t been going about their day when a name popped into their mind? Do not get too busy to follow God-given urges. He puts thoughts into your heart like He did for Sha Nohr – thoughts that can save lives. When you’re concerned for the country, pray…and remember to thank the Lord for all the times He moved someone else’s spirit on your behalf.

Recommended Reading: I John 3:11-24

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Patience of God

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Charles Stanley

2 Peter 3:3-9

More than likely, you heard the gospel several times before you trusted Jesus as your Savior. Sometimes even though we know the truth, we decide to continue with our life as it is. Why does the Lord tolerate this deliberate sin?

Patience is an attribute of God; it can be seen through His goodness in withholding punishment from those involved in long-term sin. He has a motivation and purpose for His patience. God places a high value on us as His created beings. He waits patiently because He desires to see each one of us come to a saving knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ. That is His primary purpose.

The Father’s secondary reasons for being patient apply to us as believers. He understands our innate carnality and the sinful tendencies that result from it. He also recognizes our weakness and imma- turity in the Christian life. We have much to learn once we are saved, and God does not expect us to know everything at once.

We can, however, abuse God’s patience by misinterpreting it (Ps. 50:21). Have you ever done something you knew was wrong? Sometimes when nothing happens as a result of a particular sin, we think God has overlooked it. We may decide to continue in that behavior, which further abuses the Lord’s patience. But God is very clear that He will not strive with us forever (103:9). That is to say, we cannot continue in our disobedience consequence-free. Has God been convicting you of a sin that you are ignoring? Confess (agree with Him that it is wrong), repent (turn away from the sin), and thank Him for His patience with you.

 

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – With All Your Might

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Alistair Begg

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Whatever your hand finds to do” refers to works that are possible. There are many things that our heart finds to do that we will never do. It is good for it to be in our heart; but if we would be eminently useful, we must not be content with forming schemes in our heart and talking of them; we must practically carry out “whatever your hand finds to do.”

One good deed is worth more than a thousand brilliant theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities or for a different kind of work, but just do the things we “find to do” day by day.

We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we will never have any time but now. So do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God.

Endeavor now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful about the way in which you perform what you find to do-“do it with your might.”

Do it promptly; do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow as if that could repay today’s laziness.

No one ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we honor Christ and are blessed, it is by the things that we do today.

Whatever you do for Christ, throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little halfhearted labor, done as a matter of course every now and then; but when you serve Him, do it with heart and soul and strength.

But where is the power of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His power lies in the Lord of Hosts. Let us then seek His help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our “hand finds to do,” let us wait upon the Lord for His blessing. What we do in this way will be well done and will not fail in its effect.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Preaching! Man’s privilege and God’s power!

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“For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.” Mark 6:20.

Suggested Further Reading: James 1:19-25.

If you would hear the word to profit, you must hear it obediently. You must hear it as James and John did, when the master said “Follow me,” and they left their nets and their boats and they followed him. You must do the word as well as hear it, yielding up your hearts to its sway, being willing to walk in the road which it maps, to follow the path which it lays before you. Hearing it obediently, you must also hear it personally for yourselves, not for others, but for yourselves alone. You must be as Zaccheus, who was in the sycamore tree, and the Master said, “Zaccheus, make haste and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.” The word will never bless you till it comes home directly to yourself. You must be as Mary, who when the Master spoke to her she did not know his voice, till he said unto her, “Mary”, and she said, “Rabboni.” There must be an individual hearing of the truth, and a reception of it for yourself in your own heart. Then, too, you must hear the truth penitently. You must be as that Mary, who when she listened to the word, must needs go and wash the feet of Jesus with her tears, and wipe them with the hairs of her head. There must be tears for your many sins, a true confession of your guilt before God. But above all you must hear it believingly. The word must not be unto you as mere sound, but as matter of fact. You must be as Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened; or as the trembling gaoler, who believed on the Lord Jesus with all his house and was baptized immediately. You must be as the thief, who could pray, “Lord, remember me,” and who could believe the precious promise given, “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”

For meditation: To want to hear the preaching of God’s Word and to enjoy hearing it are good things as far as they go, but by themselves they do not go far enough (Ezekiel 33:30-32).

Sermon no. 347

26 November (Preached 25 November 1860)

 

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Liberty from Captivity

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Alistair Begg

. . . To proclaim liberty to the captives.

Luke 4:18

No one but Jesus can give deliverance to captives. Real liberty comes from Him alone. It is a liberty rightly granted; for the Son, who is Heir of all things, has a right to make men free.

The saints honor the justice of God, which now secures their salvation. It is a liberty that has been dearly purchased. Christ reveals it by His power, but He bought it by His blood. He makes you free, but it is by His own bonds.

You go clear because He bore your burden for you: You are set at liberty because He has suffered in your place.

Although the purchase price was great, Jesus gives it freely. He asks nothing of us as a preparation for this liberty. He finds us sitting in sackcloth and ashes and invites us to wear the fitting garment of freedom; He saves us just as we are and without any help from us.

When Jesus sets us free, the liberty is perpetually enjoyed; no chains can bind again. Let the Master say to me, “Captive, I have delivered you,” and it is done forever.

Satan may plot to enslave us, but if the Lord is on our side, whom shall we fear? The world, with its temptations, may seek to ensnare us, but He who is for us is mightier than all those who are against us. The movements of our own deceitful hearts may harass and annoy us, but He who has begun the good work in us will bring it to completion in the end. The enemies of God and the antagonists of man may gather their forces together and come with concentrated fury against us, but if God acquits, who is he that condemns?

The eagle that flies to its rocky perch and afterwards soars above the clouds is no more free than the soul delivered by Christ. If we are no longer under the law but free from its curse, let our liberty be practically displayed as we serve God with gratitude and delight. “I am your servant; the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.”1

1 Psalm 116:16

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The character of Christ’s people

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CharlesSpurgeon

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” John 17:16

Suggested Further Reading: Leviticus 19:35-37

Look at Jesus’ character; how different from every other man’s—pure, perfect, spotless, even such should be the life of the believer. I plead not for the possibility of sinless conduct in Christians, but I must hold that grace makes men to differ, and that God’s people will be very different from other kinds of people. A servant of God will be God’s man everywhere. As a chemist, he could not indulge in any tricks that such men might play with their drugs; as a grocer—if indeed it be not a phantom that such things are done—he could not mix aloe leaves with tea or red lead in the pepper; if he practised any other kind of business, he could not for a moment condescend to the little petty shifts, called “methods of business.” To him it is nothing what is called “business;” it is what is called God’s law, he feels that he is not of the world, consequently, he goes against its fashions and its maxims. A singular story is told of a certain Quaker. One day he was bathing in the Thames, and a waterman called out to him, “Ha! there goes the Quaker.” “How do you know I’m a Quaker?” “Because you swim against the stream; it is the way the Quakers always do.” That is the way Christians always ought to do—to swim against the stream. The Lord’s people should not go along with the rest in their worldliness. Their characters should be visibly different. You should be such men that your fellows can recognise you without any difficulty, and say, “Such a man is a Christian.”

For meditation: When the Christian thinks to himself “But everybody else does it”, he is thinking of denying Christ (Ephesians 4:17,20).

Sermon no. 78

24 November (Preached 22 November 1855)