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The Property of Tears – Ravi Zacharias

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Five year-old Samantha was the victim of a cruel and tragic murder, and her own tears were the evidence that sealed the case against her abductor. “[S]he solved the crime,” said her young mother. “She was her own hero.”(1) DNA in the form of teardrops was found on the passenger-side door of the killer’s car, irrevocably making their mark on the crime scene and everyone who imagines them.

It is impossible to hear stories like this, of heinous murders, of calculated school shootings, without retreating to the deepest whys and hows of life. The abrupt ending to these lives is another wretched symptom of a sick and desperate world. The problem of evil is a problem that confronts us, sometimes jarringly. The problem of pain is only intensified by the personal nature of our experience with it.

The first time I heard Samantha’s story my numbed mind was startled by this property of tears. I had no idea that our tears were so personally our own. Samantha’s tears solved the case because there were none others like hers. They were unique to the eyes they came from, intricately a part of Samantha herself. In the pains and joys that cause us to weep and to mourn, we leave marks far more intimate than I ever realized. We shed evidence of our own makeup, leaving behind a complex, yet humble message: I was here, and my pain was real. There are a lot of really bad and unhelpful things that people say in the face of tragedy and particularly to those who mourn. For me this brings new meaning to the wisdom of being silent with the grief-striken, sharing tears instead of advice.

There is no doubt something deeply necessary about the Christian hope that pain will one day be removed and tears will be no more. We are rightly comforted by the image of heaven as the place where God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the weeping. There is much hope in the promise that there will one day be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.(2) But perhaps there is first something deeply necessary about a God who has marked our tears so specifically even now, declaring that our pain is far from a generic or empty occurrence.

There is a line uttered by the psalmist that was comforting to my grandmother through many years of loss and life. To God the psalmist confesses, “You have kept count of my tossings, put my tears in your bottle” (Psalm 56:8). Tear-bottles were small urns of glass or pottery created to collect the tears of mourners at the funerals of loved ones. They were placed in the sepulchers at Rome and in Palestine where bodies were laid to rest. In some ancient tombs these bottles are found in great numbers, collecting tears that were shed with great meaning to the ones unique to them.

How assuring to know that our pain is not haphazardly viewed by the one who made tear ducts able to spill over with grief and anguish. God keeps count of our sorrowful struggling, each tear recorded and collected as pain steeped with the life of the one who wept it. Like a parent grieving at a child’s wound, God knows our laments more intimately than we realize.

But also more than a parent wiping eyes and collecting tears, God has shed tears of his own, taking on the limitations and sufferings of creation personally, declaring in body that embodiment is something God takes very seriously. In her book Creed or Chaos, Dorothy Sayers writes:

“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine… He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.”(3)

I know of no equal comfort in the midst of life’s sorrows, no other answer within the problem of pain and evil. God has sent a Son as unique and personal as the very tears we shed crying out for answers and consolation. Every tear is marked with the intricacies of a Creator, every cry heard by one who wept at the grave of Lazarus, every lament collected in his bottle until the day when tears will indeed be no more.

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

(1) “Justice for Samantha,” People, June 06, 2005, Vol. 63, No. 22, pp. 73-74.

(2) Revelation 21:4.

(3) Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos? (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1949), 4.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning    “Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.” / Ruth 1:14

Both of them had an affection for Naomi, and therefore set out with her upon

her return to the land of Judah. But the hour of test came; Naomi most

unselfishly set before each of them the trials which awaited them, and bade

them if they cared for ease and comfort to return to their Moabitish friends.

At first both of them declared that they would cast in their lot with the

Lord’s people; but upon still further consideration Orpah with much grief and

a respectful kiss left her mother in law, and her people, and her God, and

went back to her idolatrous friends, while Ruth with all her heart gave

herself up to the God of her mother in law. It is one thing to love the ways

of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to cleave to them under all

discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap

and easy, but the practical cleaving to the Lord, which must show itself in

holy decision for truth and holiness, is not so small a matter. How stands the

case with us, is our heart fixed upon Jesus, is the sacrifice bound with cords

to the horns of the altar? Have we counted the cost, and are we solemnly ready

to suffer all worldly loss for the Master’s sake? The after gain will be an

abundant recompense, for Egypt’s treasures are not to be compared with the

glory to be revealed. Orpah is heard of no more; in glorious ease and

idolatrous pleasure her life melts into the gloom of death; but Ruth lives in

history and in heaven, for grace has placed her in the noble line whence

sprung the King of kings. Blessed among women shall those be who for Christ’s

sake can renounce all; but forgotten and worse than forgotten shall those be

who in the hour of temptation do violence to conscience and turn back unto the

world. O that this morning we may not be content with the form of devotion,

which may be no better than Orpah’s kiss, but may the Holy Spirit work in us a

cleaving of our whole heart to our Lord Jesus.

 

Evening   “And lay thy foundations with sapphires.” / Isaiah 54:11

Not only that which is seen of the church of God, but that which is unseen, is

fair and precious. Foundations are out of sight, and so long as they are firm

it is not expected that they should be valuable; but in Jehovah’s work

everything is of a piece, nothing slurred, nothing mean. The deep foundations

of the work of grace are as sapphires for preciousness, no human mind is able

to measure their glory. We build upon the covenant of grace, which is firmer

than adamant, and as enduring as jewels upon which age spends itself in vain.

Sapphire foundations are eternal, and the covenant abides throughout the

lifetime of the Almighty. Another foundation is the person of the Lord Jesus,

which is clear and spotless, everlasting and beautiful as the sapphire;

blending in one the deep blue of earth’s ever rolling ocean and the azure of

its all embracing sky. Once might our Lord have been likened to the ruby as he

stood covered with his own blood, but now we see him radiant with the soft

blue of love, love abounding, deep, eternal. Our eternal hopes are built upon

the justice and the faithfulness of God, which are clear and cloudless as the

sapphire. We are not saved by a compromise, by mercy defeating justice, or law

suspending its operations; no, we defy the eagle’s eye to detect a flaw in the

groundwork of our confidence–our foundation is of sapphire, and will endure

the fire.

The Lord himself has laid the foundation of his people’s hopes. It is matter

for grave enquiry whether our hopes are built upon such a basis. Good works

and ceremonies are not a foundation of sapphires, but of wood, hay, and

stubble; neither are they laid by God, but by our own conceit. Foundations

will all be tried ere long: woe unto him whose lofty tower shall come down

with a crash, because based on a quicksand. He who is built on sapphires may

await storm or fire with equanimity, for he shall abide the test.

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The Greatest Gift of All – Greg Laurie

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I heard that someone actually tried to calculate how much it would cost to give the gifts named in the classic Christmas song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The grand total came to about $15,000.

Some items were affordable, like a partridge in a pear tree for $34.99. Six turtledoves will run you somewhere around $50. Six geese-a-laying will cost around $150.

But the price soars when you add 11 pipers piping. That is $1,000 right there. Then there are the 12 drummers drumming. With current union scale for musicians, they will run you another $1,000.

The price really soars when you get 12 lords-a-leaping. We are talking $3,000 for them. Granted, I don’t know where you would find them, but they are very expensive.

But the real message of Christmas is not the gifts we give each other. Rather, it is a reminder of the gift that God has given to each of us. It is the only gift that truly keeps on giving, so I want to point out four things about it.

First, it is surprising. When Christmas rolls around, you often try to figure out if certain people have bought that gift you really wanted. Maybe you already know what they bought, because they didn’t hide it very well. Or maybe you uncovered it by accident—or maybe not. But when the day comes and you open the present, you have to pretend you’re surprised. Yet all along, you knew what it was. God’s gift to us, however, was a complete surprise. It was not expected and, as you examine it more carefully, you realize how great a gift it actually was.

Second, God’s gift came to us in the humblest of wrappings. What would you think if you saw a gift under your Christmas tree that was wrapped in newspaper and tied up with string? At first, you would probably assume that a guy wrapped it.

But think about God’s gift to us. Jesus was not born in a palace of gold; He was born in a stable. He was clothed in rags. He was laid in a feeding trough. Yet these things do not, in any way, diminish the story of Christ’s birth. If anything, they help us realize the great sacrifice God made for us. God’s gift to humanity, the ultimate gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ, came in the simplest and humblest of wrappings.

Third, we don’t deserve this gift. At Christmas, we give gifts to the people we care about, the ones who have been kind to us over the past year, or the ones who have given us a gift first. We don’t give gifts to the person who has been slandering our name, or to the angry neighbor who never has a kind word to say. Yet God gave us His gift when we were His enemies. He didn’t give this gift to us because we deserved it. In fact, it was just the opposite. The Bible tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV).

Fourth, the gift tells us something about the giver. When you want to give someone a gift, you start thinking about it ahead of time. Hopefully, you try to find what that person wants or needs. When God decided to give us the gift of eternal life, it wasn’t something that He just thought of on the fly. Long before there was a town called Bethlehem, a garden called Eden, or a planet called Earth, a decision was made in eternity that God would send forth His Son, born of a woman, to redeem those who are under the law.

The Bible says that He was slain from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8). Make no mistake about it: this gift that God has given to us was the most sacrificial thing He possibly could have offered.

So Christmas isn’t about those gifts that you have under your tree right now. All of those things will be gone one day. All that will be left after this life is the human soul, and that will live forever. We will put so much stock in what we have, but this is all going to pass away.

Life is about what happens beyond the grave. Life is about knowing the God who made you and who gave you the greatest gift you will ever receive.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “They go from strength to strength.” / Psalm 84:7

They go from strength to strength. There are various renderings of these

words, but all of them contain the idea of progress.

Our own good translation of the authorized version is enough for us this

morning. “They go from strength to strength.” That is, they grow stronger and

stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we

start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by-and-by the road is

rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside, and then again

painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim having obtained

fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and

struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant,

nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much

stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more slowly, far

more surely. Some gray-haired veterans have been as firm in their grasp of

truth, and as zealous in diffusing it, as they were in their younger days;

but, alas, it must be confessed it is often otherwise, for the love of many

waxes cold and iniquity abounds, but this is their own sin and not the fault

of the promise which still holds good: “The youths shall faint and be weary,

and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall

renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run

and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” Fretful spirits sit down

and trouble themselves about the future. “Alas!” say they, “we go from

affliction to affliction.” Very true, O thou of little faith, but then thou

goest from strength to strength also. Thou shalt never find a bundle of

affliction which has not bound up in the midst of it sufficient grace. God

will give the strength of ripe manhood with the burden allotted to full-grown

shoulders.

 

Evening   “I am crucified with Christ.” / Galatians 2:20

The Lord Jesus Christ acted in what he did as a great public representative

person, and his dying upon the cross was the virtual dying of all his people.

Then all his saints rendered unto justice what was due, and made an expiation

to divine vengeance for all their sins. The apostle of the Gentiles delighted

to think that as one of Christ’s chosen people, he died upon the cross in

Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally, he accepted it confidently,

resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Christ’s death, he had

satisfied divine justice, and found reconciliation with God. Beloved, what a

blessed thing it is when the soul can, as it were, stretch itself upon the

cross of Christ, and feel, “I am dead; the law has slain me, and I am

therefore free from its power, because in my Surety I have borne the curse,

and in the person of my Substitute the whole that the law could do, by way of

condemnation, has been executed upon me, for I am crucified with Christ.”

 

But Paul meant even more than this. He not only believed in Christ’s death,

and trusted in it, but he actually felt its power in himself in causing the

crucifixion of his old corrupt nature. When he saw the pleasures of sin, he

said, “I cannot enjoy these: I am dead to them.” Such is the experience of

every true Christian. Having received Christ, he is to this world as one who

is utterly dead. Yet, while conscious of death to the world, he can, at the

same time, exclaim with the apostle, “Nevertheless I live.” He is fully alive

unto God. The Christian’s life is a matchless riddle. No worldling can

comprehend it; even the believer himself cannot understand it. Dead, yet

alive! crucified with Christ, and yet at the same time risen with Christ in

newness of life! Union with the suffering, bleeding Saviour, and death to the

world and sin, are soul-cheering things. O for more enjoyment of them!

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Entrusted with the Gospel – Charles Stanley

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1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Imagine standing by a pool, watching your children get ready to swim. The youngest asks you to hold something—a dirty plastic pail. The oldest makes a similar request, and then hands you an heirloom opal necklace that had been her grandmother’s. Most likely, you wouldn’t worry too much about protecting the toy, but you’d probably guard the jewelry with great care. The way we handle a possession reveals the value we attach to it.

We see this principle in Jesus’ parable about the master who, before going away, entrusted his workers with various sums of money. The two who invested theirs were later commended for wise use of the funds. Their efforts showed that they valued both the treasure and their master. A third worker, however, simply buried his portion in the ground, and all he “earned” was a harsh rebuke and loss of what little treasure he had.

Like these men, we are responsible for something of great worth—far greater, in fact, than money. God has placed in our keeping the most powerful and precious message in existence, the gospel of Jesus. And we are accountable for what we do with it. Our “investment” involves both how we apply its truth to our own life and whether we share it with others.

Do you feed on God’s Word daily, and are you obeying all that He says? He has commanded us to share His life-saving message with a hurting and needy world—and to make disciples in every part of the globe. Whether we listen and obey reveals how much we value the gospel.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “Salt without prescribing how much.” / Ezra 7:22

Salt was used in every offering made by fire unto the Lord, and from its

preserving and purifying properties it was the grateful emblem of divine grace

in the soul. It is worthy of our attentive regard that, when Artaxerxes gave

salt to Ezra the priest, he set no limit to the quantity, and we may be quite

certain that when the King of kings distributes grace among his royal

priesthood, the supply is not cut short by him. Often are we straitened in

ourselves, but never in the Lord. He who chooses to gather much manna will

find that he may have as much as he desires. There is no such famine in

Jerusalem that the citizens should eat their bread by weight and drink their

water by measure. Some things in the economy of grace are measured; for

instance our vinegar and gall are given us with such exactness that we never

have a single drop too much, but of the salt of grace no stint is made, “Ask

what thou wilt and it shall be given unto thee.” Parents need to lock up the

fruit cupboard, and the sweet jars, but there is no need to keep the salt-box

under lock and key, for few children will eat too greedily from that. A man

may have too much money, or too much honour, but he cannot have too much

grace. When Jeshurun waxed fat in the flesh, he kicked against God, but there

is no fear of a man’s becoming too full of grace: a plethora of grace is

impossible. More wealth brings more care, but more grace brings more joy.

Increased wisdom is increased sorrow, but abundance of the Spirit is fulness

of joy. Believer, go to the throne for a large supply of heavenly salt. It

will season thine afflictions, which are unsavoury without salt; it will

preserve thy heart which corrupts if salt be absent, and it will kill thy sins

even as salt kills reptiles. Thou needest much; seek much, and have much.

 

Evening   “I will make thy windows of agates.” / Isaiah 54:12

The church is most instructively symbolized by a building erected by heavenly

power, and designed by divine skill. Such a spiritual house must not be dark,

for the Israelites had light in their dwellings; there must therefore be

windows to let the light in and to allow the inhabitants to gaze abroad. These

windows are precious as agates: the ways in which the church beholds her Lord

and heaven, and spiritual truth in general, are to be had in the highest

esteem. Agates are not the most transparent of gems, they are but

semi-pellucid at the best:

“Our knowledge of that life is small,

Our eye of faith is dim.”

Faith is one of these precious agate windows, but alas! it is often so misty

and beclouded, that we see but darkly, and mistake much that we do see. Yet if

we cannot gaze through windows of diamonds and know even as we are known, it

is a glorious thing to behold the altogether lovely One, even though the glass

be hazy as the agate. Experience is another of these dim but precious windows,

yielding to us a subdued religious light, in which we see the sufferings of

the Man of Sorrows, through our own afflictions. Our weak eyes could not

endure windows of transparent glass to let in the Master’s glory, but when

they are dimmed with weeping, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are

tempered, and shine through the windows of agate with a soft radiance

inexpressibly soothing to tempted souls. Sanctification, as it conforms us to

our Lord, is another agate window. Only as we become heavenly can we

comprehend heavenly things. The pure in heart see a pure God. Those who are

like Jesus see him as he is. Because we are so little like him, the window is

but agate; because we are somewhat like him, it is agate. We thank God for

what we have, and long for more. When shall we see God and Jesus, and heaven

and truth, face to face?

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Is There a Cure? – Ravi Zacharias

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The “doorknob phenomenon” is an occurrence many physicians know well. Doctors can proceed meticulously through complete examinations and medical histories, taking care to hear a patient’s questions and concerns, but it is often in the last thirty seconds of the appointment that the most helpful information is revealed. When a doctor’s hand is on the doorknob, body halfway out the door, vital inquiries are often made; when a patient is nearly outside the office, crucial information is shared almost in passing. Many have speculated as to the reasons behind the doorknob phenomenon (which is perhaps not limited to the field of medicine), though a cure seems unlikely. Until then, words uttered on the threshold remain a valuable entity to the physician.

If I were to speak on behalf of patients (and perhaps I’ve been a perpetrator of the phenomenon myself), I would note that the doorknob marks our last chance to be heard. Whatever the reason for not speaking up until that point—fear, discomfort, shame, denial—we know the criticalness of that moment. In thirty seconds, we will no longer be in the presence of one who offers healing or hope. At the threshold between doctor’s office and daily life, the right words are imperative; time is of the essence.

One of the many names for God used by the writers of Scripture is the Great Physician. It is curious to think of how the doorknob phenomenon might apply. Perhaps there are times in prayer when the prayer feels as if we are moving down sterile lists of conditions and information. Work. Finances. Mom. Jack. Future. Of course, where bringing to God in prayer a laundry list of concerns with repeated perseverance is both necessary and helpful, perhaps there are times when we have silenced the greater diagnosis with the words we have chosen to leave unspoken. Can a physician heal wounds we will not show, symptoms we will not mention?

Thankfully, yes. The Great Physician can heal wounds one cannot even articulate. The Scripture writers speak of a God who hears groanings too deep for words. On the other hand, choosing to leave out certain toxic symptoms is hardly helpful before any doctor. Can God begin the work that needs to be done if we refuse to come near as a patient? Is there a cure for those who do not seek it?

The prophet Jeremiah once cried, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? No healing for the wound of my people?” Jeremiah lived during one of the most troublesome periods of Hebrew history. He stood on the threshold between a people sick with rebellion and the great Physician to whom they refused to cry out in honesty.

“I have listened attentively,” the LORD declared, “but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle” (Jeremiah 8:6). His words are weighted with behavior a doctor might recognize. A patient who complains of a cough while a fatal wound is bleeding will neither find respite for the cough nor her unspoken pain, and of course, a good physician would not treat the cough until the bleeding has been stopped.

In Jeremiah’s day as in our own, the promise of a painless remedy was not left unspoken. Of these prophets of deceit God uttered, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (8:11). Their promises are easy to stand beside but crumble under the weight of us. To stand in honesty before the Great Physician is more difficult. It is to admit we need to be made well, however painful the remedy or costly the cure.

The great Christmas hymn places before us a powerful resolution:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make His blessing flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found.

The woundedness of humanity is serious. It cannot be bandaged as anything less than a mortal wound. Let us not wait until we have reached the threshold of life and death to address the indications of our illness. But let us in hope and honesty come into the presence of one who imparts healing. In the coming of Christ, God offers a cure that extends as far as the wound has festered.

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

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An Undeserved Gift – Greg Laurie

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But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8

Who is on your gift list this Christmas? Usually, we give gifts to family and friends. We want to buy gifts for people we love and people we care about. We tend to give gifts to those who treat us well, people who are kind and considerate to us. And often we will give gifts in return for gifts that we have received. Some of us will even buy gifts for our pets.

However, we generally don’t buy gifts for our enemies, do we? We don’t give a gift to the person who has slandered us in the past year. We don’t give a gift to the irate neighbor who never has a kind word to say. We don’t give a gift to someone who has tried to run us out of business. Nor do we send a gift to the thief who stole the car stereo last month.

But think about this: when God sent Jesus Christ, His Son, and gave us this ultimate gift, He gave it to us while we were still His enemies. The Bible tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We did nothing whatsoever to merit or deserve this gift. In fact, what we really deserve is judgment, because we all have sinned against God. We all have deliberately crossed that line.

The amazing truth of Christmas is that, in spite of our sins, God sent His Son to save us. In that tiny manger in Bethlehem, He gave us an undeserved gift.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “So shall we ever be with the Lord.” / 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Even the sweetest visits from Christ, how short they are–and how transitory!

One moment our eyes see him, and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of

glory, but again a little time and we do not see him, for our beloved

withdraws himself from us; like a roe or a young hart he leaps over the

mountains of division; he is gone to the land of spices, and feeds no more

among the lilies.

“If today he deigns to bless us

With a sense of pardoned sin,

He to-morrow may distress us,

Make us feel the plague within.”

Oh, how sweet the prospect of the time when we shall not behold him at a

distance, but see him face to face: when he shall not be as a wayfaring man

tarrying but for a night, but shall eternally enfold us in the bosom of his

glory. We shall not see him for a little season, but

“Millions of years our wondering eyes,

Shall o’er our Saviour’s beauties rove;

And myriad ages we’ll adore,

The wonders of his love.”

In heaven there shall be no interruptions from care or sin; no weeping shall

dim our eyes; no earthly business shall distract our happy thoughts; we shall

have nothing to hinder us from gazing forever on the Sun of Righteousness with

unwearied eyes. Oh, if it be so sweet to see him now and then, how sweet to

gaze on that blessed face for aye, and never have a cloud rolling between, and

never have to turn one’s eyes away to look on a world of weariness and woe!

Blest day, when wilt thou dawn? Rise, O unsetting sun! The joys of sense may

leave us as soon as they will, for this shall make glorious amends. If to die

is but to enter into uninterrupted communion with Jesus, then death is indeed

gain, and the black drop is swallowed up in a sea of victory.

 

Evening   “Whose heart the Lord opened.” / Acts 16:14

In Lydia’s conversion there are many points of interest. It was brought about

by providential circumstances. She was a seller of purple, of the city of

Thyatira, but just at the right time for hearing Paul we find her at Philippi;

providence, which is the handmaid of grace, led her to the right spot. Again,

grace was preparing her soul for the blessing–grace preparing for grace. She

did not know the Saviour, but as a Jewess, she knew many truths which were

excellent stepping-stones to a knowledge of Jesus. Her conversion took place

in the use of the means. On the Sabbath she went when prayer was wont to be

made, and there prayer was heard. Never neglect the means of grace; God may

bless us when we are not in his house, but we have the greater reason to hope

that he will when we are in communion with his saints. Observe the words,

“Whose heart the Lord opened.” She did not open her own heart. Her prayers did

not do it; Paul did not do it. The Lord himself must open the heart, to

receive the things which make for our peace. He alone can put the key into the

hole of the door and open it, and get admittance for himself. He is the

heart’s master as he is the heart’s maker. The first outward evidence of the

opened heart was obedience. As soon as Lydia had believed in Jesus, she was

baptized. It is a sweet sign of a humble and broken heart, when the child of

God is willing to obey a command which is not essential to his salvation,

which is not forced upon him by a selfish fear of condemnation, but is a

simple act of obedience and of communion with his Master. The next evidence

was love, manifesting itself in acts of grateful kindness to the apostles.

Love to the saints has ever been a mark of the true convert. Those who do

nothing for Christ or his church, give but sorry evidence of an “opened”

heart. Lord, evermore give me an opened heart.

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Why Did Jesus Come? – Greg Laurie

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I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.—John 10:10

This has been a busy time of year for almost everyone. For us as Christians, it’s been a joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus. We marvel at the fact that God humbled Himself and was born in a cave. But why did He come?

First, Jesus Christ came to proclaim good news to the spiritually hurting, to preach the good news to us.

He came to heal the broken-hearted. Medical science has found ways to reduce and even remove pain. But there is no cure for a broken heart.

Jesus came to set people free who are bound by sin. Jesus came to open our spiritual eyes to our spiritual need.

He came to lift up those who are crushed by life. He came to give us abundant life. Jesus came to lift us from the physical realm of the senses to the spiritual realm to show us that there is more to life.

He came to give His life for us. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He came to die. Jesus Christ came to this earth to seek and save those of us who are lost, just as a shepherd seeks a lost sheep.

So in all of this hustle and bustle, wrapping paper, mistletoe, and brightly colored lights, let’s get down to the bottom line. Christmas is about God sending His Son to die on a cross. He was born to die, to give us abundant life, to give us a life that is worth living.

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Christ’s Radiance and Representation – John MacArthur

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“He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).

Just as the rays of the sun give light, warmth, life, and growth to the earth, so Jesus Christ is the glorious light of God shining into the hearts of men and women. As “the radiance of God’s glory,” Jesus expresses God to us. No one can see God in HIs full glory; no one ever will. The radiance of that glory that reaches us from God appears in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Just as the sun was never without and can never be separated from its brightness, so God was never without and cannot be separated from the glory of Christ. Never was God without Him or He without God, and never in any way can He be separated from God. Yet the brightness of the sun is not the sun, and neither is Jesus exactly the same as God in that sense. He is fully and absolutely God, yet as a distinct Person within the triune Godhead.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). As the radiance of God’s glory, Christ can transmit that light into your life and mine so that we can radiate the glory of God to a dark world.

In using the term “exact representation” to describe Christ’s relationship to God’s nature, the writer employs terminology usually associated with an impression reproduced on a seal by a die or stamp. Jesus Christ is the reproduction of God–the perfect, personal imprint of God in time and space.

How wonderful to realize that Jesus Christ, who is both the full expression of God and exact reproduction of God’s nature in human history, can come into our lives and give us light to see and to know God! His light is the source of our spiritual life. And His light gives us purpose, meaning, happiness, peace, joy, fellowship, everything–for all eternity.

Suggestion for Prayer:  Thank God that He determined to become a man so we could know what He is like.

For Further Study:  Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 and note who allows people to see or not see spiritually.

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A World Asleep – Ravi Zacharias

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In a major newspaper, full, as newspapers are, of active images, lively debate, and the steady buzz of daily life, a seemingly out of place essay brought my own morning routine to an introspective halt. It was a short article found in the editorial section, though it seemed out of place even there. It did not suggest a refutable opinion, or a thought to stir action, but a silent picture of our frail existence—a quiet look at sleep-needing humans. The writer described the nightly scene on a commuter train, after workday armor has been mentally laid aside, and one “can see pajamas in homebound eyes.” The author’s conclusion was as unassuming as the passengers he described: “As long as I’ve been riding trains into New York—some 25 years by now—I’m still struck by the collective intimacy of a passenger car full of sleeping strangers.”

It was for me a picture worth many words. Something in this scene that easily transported me beside napping strangers also brought me to my own weakness that morning, to life’s frailty, to my need. Something as simple as our bodies demand for sleep is a bold reminder that we are but creatures. “I am poor and needy,” says the psalmist.  “Remind me that my days are fleeting.”

The human condition is inescapable; it is something we all share. Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who devoted his life to tracking down those responsible for the mass murdering of Jews in World War II, announced at age 94, that he has ended his search. In an interview, he told reporters, “If there’s a few I didn’t look for, they are now too old and too fragile to stand trial.” What a bold indication of our days. “All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, minutes before incarnate Christ would be in the grip of those who would hand him over to die, the disciples were sleeping. He was sweating blood, but they felt the heaviness of their eyes instead of the heaviness of the moment—or perhaps because they felt the heaviness of the moment they could not escape the heaviness of their eyes. He asked them to stay awake and pray, but they could not. It’s a sincere look at humanity, not unlike sleeping commuters and dying regimes: weak and unaware, asleep, unseeing, and in need.

The Christian calendar is patterned in such a way that we remember this condition throughout our days and counter-culturally declare it to the world. The ashes of Ash Wednesday unmistakably remind us of the dust we came from and the dust to which we will return. The expectant waiting of Advent comes with the cry of John the Baptist to stay alert in our sleeping world for a God who takes our embodiment quite seriously. And the crushing weight of Holy Week pleads us to seek a hope far beyond ourselves and our weakness. “Day by day,” instructs the Rule of Saint Benedict, “remind yourself that you are going to die.” Within a culture generally terrified of aging, uncomfortable with death, and desperate for accomplishments to distract us, the instruction would likely be unpopular. And yet, to keep this reality of our weakness in mind need not be a source of despair, but a means of seeking and seeing God. “As for me,” the psalmist writes, “I am poor and needy, but the Lord remembers me.” The apostle Paul cries likewise: “‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”(1) Our condition is fatal, but it is far from without hope.

It might seem odd to think of death in a season remembering the birth of the Christ child. But from the beginning, it was apparent that this birth was accompanied by death. The young couple was forced to flee at Herod’s edict to slaughter all the boys in and around Bethlehem two years old and under. Elsewhere, an aging prophet told the young mother that the child cradled in her arms would cause the falling and rising of many, and that a sword would pierce her own heart too—and at simply seeing this sleeping infant he himself was ready to die. The darker side of Christmas is as real as the parts we hold close.

Minutes before his last breath in this life, Jesus was asked by the criminal beside him to remember him. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” There are perhaps no words more human, no prayer by the dying that can be more sincerely uttered—however close to that last breath we might be. Remember me. As Christ responded to the one beside him, so he responds to the needy, sleeping soul, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” To a sleeping world, Advent calls us to wakefulness. It also thankfully introduces the one who neither sleeps nor slumbers.

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

(1) Psalm 40:17, Ephesians 5:13-14.

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Discovering God’s Will – Charles Stanley

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Psalm 119:105-106

Life involves both small daily choices and large consequential ones. Including God in our decision-making is always the wisest course of action. The Scripture that we have memorized is something the Holy Spirit uses to help us discover God’s will.

The pattern I have found beneficial in making decisions can also help you with choices regarding relationships, finances, health, employment, or other important areas. The first step involves assessing the heart, mind, and will. To receive the Lord’s direction, we need a clean heart, a clear mind, and a surrendered will. Sinful habits can cloud thinking and keep us from understanding His plan. Confessing our sins and turning from them brings cleansing and clarity (1 John 1:9). A stubborn will that says, “I want my way” prevents us from heeding God’s instruction. Instead, we need to surrender our desires and commit ourselves to saying yes to His plan.

The second step is to wait patiently on the Lord for His answer. It takes courage to stand firm, especially when others are telling us what they think we should do. Our own emotions may be pushing us to act now, but we must resist moving ahead of God. To be patient means trusting the Lord while we wait to learn His answer and discover His timing.

Discerning God’s plan requires preparation of our heart, mind, and will. It also often requires patience. During our time of waiting, we are to follow His known will—to be a faithful servant in His kingdom, loving Him with our whole heart, and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39).

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Let’s Worship – Greg Laurie

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“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”   —Matthew 2:2

The very word “Christmas” has been emptied of its meaning, drug through the gutter, and given back to us, minus its power. Some prefer to use the more politically correct terminology at this time of year, like “Happy Holidays,” “Merry Xmas,” or even “Happy Winter Solstice.” But I actually think those things are not as bad as the person who says, “Merry Christmas” with no idea whatsoever of what Christmas really means.

I think we should cancel the version of Christmas that is filled with hype and endless activity leading to exhaustion, the version that gives little to any thought of Christ. We should cancel Christmas and instead celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I still believe in Christmas, but not in the holiday as our culture celebrates it. I believe in the real message of Christmas, which is the birth of our Lord.

Maybe you are bracing yourself for a tough Christmas. Maybe you think Christmas won’t be as good this year as it was before. But what if this Christmas were better than any Christmas you have ever experienced, because you have been freed from the pressure of having to get stuff? That could be a really good Christmas. It could actually be the most wonderful Christmas of your life.

The primary message of Christmas is this: God is with us. Isaiah 7:14 tells us, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Immanuel means, “God is with us.”

So the message of the season is not, “Let it snow” or even, “Let us shop.” The real message of Christmas is, “Let us worship.” That is what the wise men came to do. And that is what we should be doing as well.

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Like a Thief in the Night – Ravi Zacharias

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

Whether you have experienced the shock of burglary and its lasting effects or not, the portrayal of Christ as one who will come like a thief in the night is a startling image.  The description is one that seems uncouth amongst the reassuring images that will soon be upon us—a young mother and father beside a quiet baby in a manger, a star that guides wise men in the obscurity of night. How could one who came as a child of hope return like a looming, unwanted figure? Yet this is the counsel from Jesus himself:  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:42-44).

The cry of Advent, the sounds of which are just starting to stir, is the cry of wakeful vigilance. One of the key figures in celebrating the season, John the Baptist brings the probing message that continues to cry in urgency: “Are you ready?” Are you ready to respond to the infant that came to dwell in the midst of night and suffering? Are you ready to hear his invasive message? Are you ready to recognize God among you, the hunter, the thief, the King? During the season of Advent, we are called to keep alert, to read again the disruptive signs that someone has been here moving about the places in which we dwell. And we are called to stay awake to the startling possibility of his nearness in this place even now. “I say to all: ‘Stay awake,’” says Christ in Mark 13:37.

The owner of a house who has been disturbed once by a thief lives with the wakefulness that this thief will come again, however persuasively she is urged to see otherwise. She remembers the signs of a presence other than her own—prints left behind, a door left open, the memory of a life turned upside down—and she vows to keep watch, knowing the thief will be back. In the same way, but with a thanksgiving that knows every ordinary moment to be expectant, we are called to be ready.

The child who was born in Bethlehem came quietly in the night, unbeknownst to many who dwelled near him. Yet he left prints behind in Jerusalem, and signs upon lives ever since. Like a thief, he shattered myths that proposed we were autonomous and invaded hearts we thought were shielded. Yet Jesus came not to steal and destroy, but to dwell in all that overwhelms us, to live in a world groaning in death, fear, and suffering. He became human as we are that he might show us what it means to be truly human. “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”(1) Though the signs that Christ has been here are enough to call us to alertness, the season that reminds us to stay awake is now upon us. Like a whimper in the night, his presence in the ordinary may go unnoticed. He is gently near and knocking. Let us therefore keep watch!

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

(1) Isaiah 53:5.

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God Would Have Us Use Money – Charles Stanley

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Charles Stanley

1 Timothy 6:6-11

The world attaches far more significance to money than God ever intended it to have. Instead of simply being a means of exchange for goods and services, it has become an object of greed, a source of power and prestige, and a means of achieving status, happiness, and security. With so many false hopes pinned to wealth, we must be careful not to fall for the lies. God’s Word warns us of the dangers of giving money too much importance in our lives and advises us how to use it according to His purposes.

For personal needs: God wants the able-bodied to earn money to meet their own personal and family needs (2 Thess. 3:10). Christians should live within their means so they won’t be a burden to others.

For God’s work: Since everything we have comes from the Lord, He commanded us to give the first part of our income to Him as an act of obedience and gratitude (Prov. 3:9). Our contributions allow the gospel to be proclaimed both locally and internationally, changing the eternal destiny of countless people.

For helping others: When someone experiences a financial crisis and is truly in need, the Lord commands us to help by sharing what we have (Prov. 19:17). He never overlooks generosity and promises to repay us.

The important thing isn’t how much money we have but whether we’re using it as God commands. Acquiring more is never the way to achieve happiness and security. Yet as we obey the Lord’s instructions about finances, we’ll find the joy and contentment our hearts truly desire.

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Simply Wrapped – Greg Laurie

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And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. —Luke 2:12

Some people will go to great lengths to wrap a Christmas gift. They will create beautiful, ornate packages. I have no wrapping ability whatsoever. My wrapped packages look horrible. For men, wrapping paper is merely an obstacle to keep us from what we really want. We don’t care about wrapping paper. We just want to know what’s inside the package.

God’s gift did not come to us in elaborate wrapping; it came in simple wrapping. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a very humble environment. Think how difficult the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was for Mary and Joseph. Then when they arrived, they had to stay in a little stable or cave where the animals were kept. The manger was just a feeding trough for the animals. And I think that place was very cold that night. I think it smelled like any other stable. It was a very unsanitary environment in which to bring a child into the world.

I don’t say that to detract from the beauty of Christmas. Rather, I say it to add to the beauty of what God did for us. The Creator of the universe, the Almighty God who spoke creation into existence, came and humbled himself to become a little baby, born in a stable in Bethlehem.

He was not laid in the manger in satin sheets, but in rags. He was not laid in a bed of gold, befitting a king, but in a feeding trough for animals. There He was—the greatest gift of all—in simple wrapping. Jesus took His place in a manger so that we might have a home in heaven.

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Christmas Triumphant – Ravi Zacharias

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Ravi Z

Triumph, this time of year, seems to come in many shades of success. Try as we may to keep a perspective of cheer or charity or readiness for the coming of Christ, many of us feel most ready for Christmas when we have met every shipping deadline, reciprocated every Christmas card, and averted every scheduling conflict. Victories that we might otherwise find slight seem to become great feats during the holidays—finding a parking spot, getting the last box of Christmas lights in stock, beating the mailman to the mailbox. Other battles continue to brew over the accepting or rejecting of manger scenes, messiahs, and “Merry Christmases” in the face of less specific holiday tales and greetings. Though we may oscillate between who or what we are fighting against—the clock, the perfect hostess, the family stressors, the agendas of others—we seem to work toward Christmas one small feat at a time.

But as I sang the lyrics to a song during the lighting of the first Advent candle, I was silenced by the image of a victory we need do nothing but join.

Joyful, all ye nations rise,

Join the triumph of the skies;

With th’angelic host proclaim,

“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

The triumph we are invited to join as we celebrate Christmas is far bigger than our best Christmases and more real than our worst. There are generations of believers offering the same cries of victory shouted on the very first Christmas night: Christ was born! God came near. God is with us! The birth of Jesus was orchestrated at the hands of God long before the inn would be full or the shepherds would be in their fields by night, long before my traditions would seem etched in stone, or my culture would remove the Nativity from the public arena.

While there are perhaps some victories to rightfully seek this season, many others can likely be forsaken; for the triumph of a God who came near to bridge a separation forged long ago in the garden is a victory already won.  The triumph Christians ask the world to join as we celebrate Christ’s birth is a triumph known from the beginning, foreseen by the prophets, heralded by John the Baptist, and cherished by witnesses whose voices still cry out the incredible news of the Christmas story:

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:

‘Glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”

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

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning “There is no spot in thee.” / Song of Solomon 4:7

Having pronounced his Church positively full of beauty, our Lord confirms his

praise by a precious negative, “There is no spot in thee.” As if the thought

occurred to the Bridegroom that the carping world would insinuate that he had

only mentioned her comely parts, and had purposely omitted those features

which were deformed or defiled, he sums up all by declaring her universally

and entirely fair, and utterly devoid of stain. A spot may soon be removed,

and is the very least thing that can disfigure beauty, but even from this

little blemish the believer is delivered in his Lord’s sight. If he had said

there is no hideous scar, no horrible deformity, no deadly ulcer, we might

even then have marvelled; but when he testifies that she is free from the

slightest spot, all these other forms of defilement are included, and the

depth of wonder is increased. If he had but promised to remove all spots

by-and-by, we should have had eternal reason for joy; but when he speaks of it

as already done, who can restrain the most intense emotions of satisfaction

and delight? O my soul, here is marrow and fatness for thee; eat thy full, and

be satisfied with royal dainties.

Christ Jesus has no quarrel with his spouse. She often wanders from him, and

grieves his Holy Spirit, but he does not allow her faults to affect his love.

He sometimes chides, but it is always in the tenderest manner, with the

kindest intentions: it is “my love” even then. There is no remembrance of our

follies, he does not cherish ill thoughts of us, but he pardons and loves as

well after the offence as before it. It is well for us it is so, for if Jesus

were as mindful of injuries as we are, how could he commune with us? Many a

time a believer will put himself out of humour with the Lord for some slight

turn in providence, but our precious Husband knows our silly hearts too well

to take any offence at our ill manners.

 

Evening   “The Lord mighty in battle.” / Psalm 24:8

Well may our God be glorious in the eyes of his people, seeing that he has

wrought such wonders for them, in them, and by them. For them, the Lord Jesus

upon Calvary routed every foe, breaking all the weapons of the enemy in pieces

by his finished work of satisfactory obedience; by his triumphant resurrection

and ascension he completely overturned the hopes of hell, leading captivity

captive, making a show of our enemies openly, triumphing over them by his

cross. Every arrow of guilt which Satan might have shot at us is broken, for

who can lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Vain are the sharp swords

of infernal malice, and the perpetual battles of the serpent’s seed, for in

the midst of the church the lame take the prey, and the feeblest warriors are

crowned.

The saved may well adore their Lord for his conquests in them, since the

arrows of their natural hatred are snapped, and the weapons of their rebellion

broken. What victories has grace won in our evil hearts! How glorious is Jesus

when the will is subdued, and sin dethroned! As for our remaining corruptions,

they shall sustain an equally sure defeat, and every temptation, and doubt,

and fear, shall be utterly destroyed. In the Salem of our peaceful hearts, the

name of Jesus is great beyond compare: he has won our love, and he shall wear

it. Even thus securely may we look for victories by us. We are more than

conquerors through him that loved us. We shall cast down the powers of

darkness which are in the world, by our faith, and zeal, and holiness; we

shall win sinners to Jesus, we shall overturn false systems, we shall convert

nations, for God is with us, and none shall stand before us. This evening let

the Christian warrior chant the war song, and prepare for to-morrow’s fight.

Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

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Penetrating the Box – John MacArthur

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John MacArthur

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

Since the beginning of time, man has deceived himself by thinking he can discover God through various religions. But in reality, man lives in a box enclosed within the walls of time and space. God is outside the box, and man senses He’s there but can’t get to Him. Each new religion is but another futile attempt to penetrate the walls of the box and catch a glimpse of God.

Man’s only hope is for God to enter the box, which Hebrews 1:1-2 declares He did: first by letter (the Old Testament), then in person (in Jesus Christ). Regarding God’s Word David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2). Jeremiah added, “The Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth'” (Jer. 1:9). Of Christ, the apostle John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18).

The irony of people thinking they can discover God on their own is that apart from the Holy Spirit’s leading, no one really wants to find Him. They merely want to add a cosmic good luck charm to their lives or satiate their guilty consciences. Paul said, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God” (Rom. 3:10-11, emphasis added).

God could have left us in our sin and ignorance, but He penetrated the box and revealed everything we need to know for redemption and fellowship with Him. What a privilege we have to study His Word and live by its principles! Be diligent to do so each day.

Suggestion for Prayer: Praise God for granting you the ability to appreciate His Word.

For Further Study: Read 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, noting how natural (unregenerate) people respond to divine revelation.