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The Real Heaven – Charles Stanley

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Matthew 25:14-30

I’m not sure how this misconception about heaven got started, but I can assure you that the Bible doesn’t support the idea that we’ll be lying around on clouds, strumming harps. We have been gifted, equipped, and enabled to fulfill God’s purpose in this life. And He will still have a purpose for us in the life to come.

In today’s passage, Jesus described the kingdom of heaven in the context of a wealthy man giving his servants money to invest. The men who served their master faithfully were heartily congratulated and given greater responsibility. When we reach Christ’s judgment seat, our foremost reward will be to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:23 niv). I can’t imagine words that could please me more than a commendation from the Savior I love above all.

We will also receive our new assignment in God’s heavenly kingdom. This is the part of the reward that corresponds to the words, “You were faithful in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things” (v. 23). There will be no lazing about for us! We will have a renewed heaven and earth to live in and enjoy (2 Peter 3:13). In our perfected bodies with hearts and souls attuned to the Lord, we will serve Him and each other.

God has a plan for every believer to pursue, and He has gifted each of His children specifically for that purpose. There is no place for laziness now or after we reach our eternal home. This world is our training ground for the greater life to come, so let’s prepare like good and faithful servants.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “His ways are everlasting.” / Habakkuk 3:6

What he hath done at one time, he will do yet again. Man’s ways are variable,

but God’s ways are everlasting. There are many reasons for this most

comforting truth: among them are the following–the Lord’s ways are the result

of wise deliberation; he ordereth all things according to the counsel of his

own will. Human action is frequently the hasty result of passion, or fear, and

is followed by regret and alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by

surprise, or happen otherwise than he has foreseen. His ways are the outgrowth

of an immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God

are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One himself can undergo change, his

ways, which are himself in action, must remain forever the same. Is he

eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender?–then his ways must ever be

distinguished for the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature:

when those natures change, their conduct varies also; but since God cannot

know the shadow of a turning, his ways will abide everlastingly the same.

Moreover there is no reason from without which could reverse the divine ways,

since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The earth is said, by the

prophet, to be cleft with rivers, mountains tremble, the deep lifts up its

hands, and sun and moon stand still, when Jehovah marches forth for the

salvation of his people. Who can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest

thou? But it is not might alone which gives stability; God’s ways are the

manifestation of the eternal principles of right, and therefore can never pass

away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good have

about them a vitality which ages cannot diminish.

This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence, remembering

that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him the

Lord is ever gracious to his people.

 

Evening  “They have dealt treacherously against the Lord.” / Hosea 5:7

Believer, here is a sorrowful truth! Thou art the beloved of the Lord,

redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted in the

Beloved, on thy way to heaven, and yet, “thou hast dealt treacherously” with

God, thy best friend; treacherously with Jesus, whose thou art; treacherously

with the Holy Spirit, by whom thou hast been quickened unto life eternal! How

treacherous you have been in the matter of vows and promises. Do you remember

the love of your espousals, that happy time–the springtime of your spiritual

life? Oh, how closely did you cling to your Master then! saying, “He shall

never charge me with indifference; my feet shall never grow slow in the way of

his service; I will not suffer my heart to wander after other loves; in him is

every store of sweetness ineffable. I give all up for my Lord Jesus’ sake.”

Has it been so? Alas! if conscience speak, it will say, “He who promised so

well has performed most ill. Prayer has oftentimes been slurred–it has been

short, but not sweet; brief, but not fervent. Communion with Christ has been

forgotten. Instead of a heavenly mind, there have been carnal cares, worldly

vanities and thoughts of evil. Instead of service, there has been

disobedience; instead of fervency, lukewarmness; instead of patience,

petulance; instead of faith, confidence in an arm of flesh; and as a soldier

of the cross there has been cowardice, disobedience, and desertion, to a very

shameful degree.” “Thou hast dealt treacherously.” Treachery to Jesus! what

words shall be used in denouncing it? Words little avail: let our penitent

thoughts execrate the sin which is so surely in us. Treacherous to thy wounds,

O Jesus! Forgive us, and let us not sin again! How shameful to be treacherous

to him who never forgets us, but who this day stands with our names engraven

on his breastplate before the eternal throne.

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A More Excellent Name – John MacArthur

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“He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me’?” (Heb. 1:4-5).

In our culture, the names we pick for our children don’t have much connection with the child’s character. But in the Bible, God chose specific names that related to some character quality of the individuals who bore them.

The writer of Hebrews was well aware of that when He asked this rhetorical question: “To which of the angels did [God] ever say, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee’? and again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me’?” quoting Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14. Of course, the answer is no angel.

The title Son refers to Jesus Christ in His incarnation. Though His sonship was anticipated in the Old Testament (Prov. 30:4), He did not become a Son until He was begotten into time. Prior to that He was eternal God with God. Presenting Jesus as the Son is God’s analogy to help us understand the relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity.

Christ became a Son in two different ways. First, He was not a Son until He came into the world through the virgin birth (Luke 1:35; 3:22). But second, His sonship came to full bloom in His resurrection (Rom. 1:3-4).

The Old Testament prophesied that Christ would come as a Son. In the New Testament He came as a Son in His virgin birth and was declared to be the Son by His resurrection from the dead. Don’t ever get trapped into the heresy of those who claim that Jesus Christ is eternally subservient to God. For a temporary period of time, He set aside what was rightfully His and humbled Himself to become a Son for our sakes.

Suggestion for Prayer:  Thank God for His amazing plan to redeem man through the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity.  Praise Him that He became Man to redeem you.

For Further Study: Read Acts 13:33 and Romans 1:3-4 noting the reason that Christ can be considered God’s Son.

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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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Our Heavenly Appointment – Charles Stanley

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2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Each tick of the clock brings us one second closer to our heavenly appointment with the Lord Jesus. As believers in Christ, we will stand before Him one day and give an account for our lives. At that time we will be held accountable for our actions and recompensed for the choices we made while on earth, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).

This is not a judgment of condemnation. At salvation, when we acknowledged Christ as our Savior, all blame was removed from us (Rom. 8:1). In taking our place on the cross, Jesus bore our sins and experienced the wrath of God against our iniquity (1 Peter 2:24). As a result, the penalty for our sin has been fully paid.

When we stand before our Lord, He’ll look to see which of our choices were in keeping with His will. Every act of obedient service, whether large or small, will be remembered and rewarded. At the same time, I believe there will be loss and tears when our actions of selfishness and unrighteousness are considered.

Colossians 3 gives us a picture of who we are to be and how God wants us to live: our minds should be focused on things above, not earthly matters (v. 2). And we are to get rid of anger, malice, and slander, clothing ourselves instead with compassion, kindness, and patience (vv. 8, 12).

Since the Lord holds us accountable for our actions, it is urgent that we replace ungodly patterns with righteous ways. Both inward attitudes and outward behavior matter to Him. When facing decisions each day, seek scriptural guidance and godly counsel. Then reflect on which choice would please God.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” / 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Heaven is a place where we shall never sin; where we shall cease our constant

watch against an indefatigable enemy, because there will be no tempter to

ensnare our feet. There the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at

rest. Heaven is the “undefiled inheritance;” it is the land of perfect

holiness, and therefore of complete security. But do not the saints even on

earth sometimes taste the joys of blissful security? The doctrine of God’s

word is, that all who are in union with the Lamb are safe; that all the

righteous shall hold on their way; that those who have committed their souls

to the keeping of Christ shall find him a faithful and immutable preserver.

Sustained by such a doctrine we can enjoy security even on earth; not that

high and glorious security which renders us free from every slip, but that

holy security which arises from the sure promise of Jesus that none who

believe in him shall ever perish, but shall be with him where he is. Believer,

let us often reflect with joy on the doctrine of the perseverance of the

saints, and honour the faithfulness of our God by a holy confidence in him.

May our God bring home to you a sense of your safety in Christ Jesus! May he

assure you that your name is graven on his hand; and whisper in your ear the

promise, “Fear not, I am with thee.” Look upon him, the great Surety of the

covenant, as faithful and true, and, therefore, bound and engaged to present

you, the weakest of the family, with all the chosen race, before the throne of

God; and in such a sweet contemplation you will drink the juice of the spiced

wine of the Lord’s pomegranate, and taste the dainty fruits of Paradise. You

will have an antepast of the enjoyments which ravish the souls of the perfect

saints above, if you can believe with unstaggering faith that “faithful is he

that calleth you, who also will do it.”

 

Evening   “Ye serve the Lord Christ.” / Colossians 3:24

To what choice order of officials was this word spoken? To kings who proudly

boast a right divine? Ah, no! too often do they serve themselves or Satan, and

forget the God whose sufferance permits them to wear their mimic majesty for

their little hour. Speaks then the apostle to those so-called “right reverend

fathers in God,” the bishops, or “the venerable the archdeacons”? No, indeed,

Paul knew nothing of these mere inventions of man. Not even to pastors and

teachers, or to the wealthy and esteemed among believers, was this word

spoken, but to servants, aye, and to slaves. Among the toiling multitudes, the

journeymen, the day labourers, the domestic servants, the drudges of the

kitchen, the apostle found, as we find still, some of the Lord’s chosen, and

to them he says, “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not

unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the

inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” This saying ennobles the weary

routine of earthly employments, and sheds a halo around the most humble

occupations. To wash feet may be servile, but to wash his feet is royal work.

To unloose the shoe-latchet is poor employ, but to unloose the great Master’s

shoe is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy

become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then “divine

service” is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes

holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the

tabernacle and its golden candlestick.

“Teach me, my God and King, in all things thee to see;

And what I do in anything to do it as to thee.

All may of thee partake, nothing can be so mean,

Which with this tincture, for thy sake, will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause makes drudgery divine;

Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, makes that and the action fine.”

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“Having become . . . much better than the angels” (Heb. 1:4). – John MacArthur

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Man is a wonderful and amazing creation–higher than plants, animals, and any other material creation in this world. But there are created beings even higher than man–angels.

Hebrews 2:9 shows this to be the case because when Jesus became a man, He was “made for a little while lower than the angels.” After the fall of the rebellious angels under Lucifer, the angels in heaven were no longer subject to sin. These angels are holy, powerful, and wise. They are special beings created by God before He created man.

The Jewish people understood the exalted position of angels because they knew that the Old Covenant was brought to men and maintained by angelic mediation. Galatians 3:19 says, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made.”

Because of this high regard for angels by his readers, the writer of Hebrews was faced with a problem. If he was to show that Christ was the mediator of a better covenant, he would have to prove that Christ is better than angels. To do so, he used seven Old Testament passages to verify his claim.

If he had tried to prove from Christian writings that Christ is a better mediator, his unbelieving Jewish readers would have said, “We don’t accept these writings as being from God.” So in effect he wisely replies, “Open up your own Scriptures and I’ll prove my claim from them.” It results in a powerful and irresistible argument.

For the next several days, we’ll see in what ways Christ is superior to angels and how He could mediate a better covenant for us.

Suggestion for Prayer:  Because much of our understanding of the New Testament is based on the writings of the Old Testament, thank God for how He has brought His complete Word to us intact throughout the centuries.

For Further Study:  Read Galatians 3:8, Romans 9:15, and Matthew 4:4.

What Old Testament verses to those passages quote?

What truth does each of them verify?

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What’s Jesus Doing Now? – Charles Stanley

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Hebrews 1:1-3

The New Testament tells us what Jesus did while He was on earth, but what is He doing now that He has ascended to the Father in heaven? His physical absence does not mean that He has abandoned us. Though we cannot presently see Him, His Word assures us that He is always acting on our behalf to empower, lead, and complete us.

He gives us abundant life (John 10:10). Christ enables us to live with peace, joy, and the strength and determination to persist in accomplishing whatever He calls us to do.

The Lord makes intercession for us (Rom. 8:34). Jesus hears our every prayer and is seated at His Father’s right hand, presenting our requests to Him.

Christ reveals the Father. By seeing God through the Son’s eyes, we understand that He’s our loving heavenly Father, who is personally interested in every aspect of our lives. Scripture invites us to follow Jesus’ example of ongoing intimate conversation with God.

He’s preparing a place for us and will one day come to take us home to heaven so we can be with Him forever (John 14:2-3).

The Lord Jesus is also preparing for His return to rule and reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

“Out of sight, out of mind” is definitely not a phrase that describes Christ’s relationship with us. He never forgets us and is continually working to complete His plans for both our lives and the entire world. His constant care should motivate us to make sure that He’s not out of our sight and mind.

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Image and Incarnation – Ravi Zacharias

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Malcolm Muggeridge is remembered as one of the most notable figures of the twentieth century. The wit and style of the self-dubbed “fatally fluent” journalist made him as endearing as he was controversial. His presence was a decipherable entity in print, over the radio, and on television. With over fifty years in the public eye, Muggeridge knew well the effect of publicity on the human ego. In the words of one biographer, Muggeridge was troubled by “the strange metamorphosis that turns an individual into an image.”(1) He once confessed, “There is something very terrible in becoming an image… You see yourself on a screen, walking, talking, moving about, posturing, and it is not you.  Or is it you, and the you looking at you, someone else? […] Once, sleeping before a television screen, I woke up to find myself on it. The experience was quite terrifying—like some awful nightmare to which only someone like Edgar Allan Poe or Dostoevsky could do justice.”(2)

In our media-saturated, celebrity-producing culture, the warning may well be appropriate. Though I do not think it is only the televised that find themselves in danger of becoming an image.

Of course, some of the images we may have of ourselves obviously come with the territories. New parents learn to see themselves as parents; a journalist sees herself as a journalist. Muggeridge was speaking of images beyond this—namely, a journalist who starts to see herself as an icon, the father who starts to see himself as an image of success or humility, or the woman who sees herself as the image grief or helpfulness. This is perhaps where many of us can relate.

God once asked the prophet Habakkuk, “Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.”(3) The most dangerous thing about becoming an image is that we start to believe that we created that image: I am the maker of my success in this company. I am the one who has molded myself to be this flourishing employee, parent, or Christian. But such images only teach lies. Interestingly, God spoke these words to the prophet after Habakkuk had uttered a complaint, questioning the image and identity of God: “O Lord, are you not from everlasting? … Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”(4) God replied by asking Habakkuk to look again at the images he had fashioned and the Image before him.

For the images we create, even our images of God, must be crushed by the creative God who moves and speaks, the one who spoke creation itself into existence. We are not the images we think we are.

But we are being made into the image of one who is. Thankfully, though sometimes painfully, God is continually at work shattering the images we fashion of ourselves and of God. The Incarnation is the greatest example. This is not the Messiah those who were waiting for him expected. It’s not the Messiah we would expect either. This is not at all what we imagined he would ask of us. Yet this man who wept at the grave of Lazarus and sweat in blood at Gethsemane stands and asks us to consider it. Coming as an infant, Jesus brings us more of what it means to be human than we are yet able to emulate. Coming as God, he silences our questions of who God is—with a face, a hand, a Cross. We can no more mold ourselves into lasting icons than we can mold a lump of clay into a god that speaks. But we can be molded into the image of the God who lives, when shaped at the hands of the God who sent him.

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

(1) Gregory Wolfe, Malcolm Muggeridge: A Biography (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), xi.

(2) Ibid., xi.

(3) Habakkuk 2:18.

(4) Habakkuk 1:12-14.

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The Sacrifice and Exaltation of Christ – John MacArthur

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“When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3).

The Bible makes it perfectly clear that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus Christ went to the cross, died the death we deserved, and consequently freed us from the penalty of sin by our faith in Him.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that Christ “does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself” (Heb. 7:27). In the Old Testament, the priests had to make continual sacrifices, but Jesus made only one. And not only was He the priest, but also the sacrifice! He made a tremendously potent sacrifice, for He forever purged our sins–something the Old Testament sacrifices could never do.

When His sacrifice was complete, “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3, emphasis added). That is significant because the Old Testament priests never sat down–there were no seats in the sanctuary because they offered sacrifices day in and day out. But Jesus offered one sacrifice, finished it, and then went to the Father and sat down. What the Old Testament sacrifices couldn’t accomplish Christ’s did for all time.

As a result, God exalted Him to His right hand, the seat of honor and rule and rest. But perhaps most important, it is the place where Christ intercedes to the Father on our behalf (Rom 8:34).

Don’t ever forget what Jesus accomplished for us–and what He still does for us: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

Suggestions for Prayer:  Thank Jesus for His sacrifice on your behalf. Also thank Him for the salvation He has given you and the access you now have to God.

For Further Study:  Read Hebrews 9:1–10:18 to gain a deeper understanding of Christ’s ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament priestly system. In what specific ways did He fulfill it?

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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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Principles for Effective Prayer – Charles Stanley

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Each of us has prayed about situations and for other people without seeing results. When that happens, it’s easy to become discouraged. Rather than give up, we should review our lives to see if we need to alter something.

1. Our prayers must flow from a heart that is in step with God. If we want our prayers to be effective, we must be open to His Spirit and be compassionate, forgiving, and sincere as we intercede. Therefore, pray that you will have His love and compassion for others and that you will forgive fully—just as He has forgiven you (Eph. 4:32).

2. Our prayers are a link between our needs and God’s inexhaustible resources. Ask the Lord to reveal your or your loved one’s true needs and His power to meet those needs so that you can intercede in faith.

3. Identify with the need of the other person. To be truly compassionate in our supplication, we must see others through Jesus’ eyes. When we realize that people are truly hurting on the inside, our mercy for them is released, and we can intercede for them with greater zeal, understanding, and emotion.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you.” / Isaiah

30:18

God often delays in answering prayer. We have several instances of this in

sacred Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel until near the

dawn of day–he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor woman of

Syrophoenicia was answered not a word for a long while. Paul besought the Lord

thrice that “the thorn in the flesh” might be taken from him, and he received

no assurance that it should be taken away, but instead thereof a promise that

God’s grace should be sufficient for him. If thou hast been knocking at the

gate of mercy, and hast received no answer, shall I tell thee why the mighty

Maker hath not opened the door and let thee in? Our Father has reasons

peculiar to himself for thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his

power and his sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give

or to withhold. More frequently the delay is for our profit. Thou art perhaps

kept waiting in order that thy desires may be more fervent. God knows that

delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if he keeps thee waiting thou

wilt see thy necessity more clearly, and wilt seek more earnestly; and that

thou wilt prize the mercy all the more for its long tarrying. There may also

be something wrong in thee which has need to be removed, before the joy of the

Lord is given. Perhaps thy views of the Gospel plan are confused, or thou

mayest be placing some little reliance on thyself, instead of trusting simply

and entirely to the Lord Jesus. Or, God makes thee tarry awhile that he may

the more fully display the riches of his grace to thee at last. Thy prayers

are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly

not forgotten, but in a little while shall be fulfilled to thy delight and

satisfaction. Let not despair make thee silent, but continue instant in

earnest supplication.

 

Evening  “My people shall dwell in quiet resting places.” / Isaiah 32:18

Peace and rest belong not to the unregenerate, they are the peculiar

possession of the Lord’s people, and of them only. The God of Peace gives

perfect peace to those whose hearts are stayed upon him. When man was

unfallen, his God gave him the flowery bowers of Eden as his quiet resting

places; alas! how soon sin blighted the fair abode of innocence. In the day of

universal wrath when the flood swept away a guilty race, the chosen family

were quietly secured in the resting-place of the ark, which floated them from

the old condemned world into the new earth of the rainbow and the covenant,

herein typifying Jesus, the ark of our salvation. Israel rested safely beneath

the blood-besprinkled habitations of Egypt when the destroying angel smote the

first-born; and in the wilderness the shadow of the pillar of cloud, and the

flowing rock, gave the weary pilgrims sweet repose. At this hour we rest in

the promises of our faithful God, knowing that his words are full of truth and

power; we rest in the doctrines of his word, which are consolation itself; we

rest in the covenant of his grace, which is a haven of delight. More highly

favoured are we than David in Adullam, or Jonah beneath his gourd, for none

can invade or destroy our shelter. The person of Jesus is the quiet

resting-place of his people, and when we draw near to him in the breaking of

the bread, in the hearing of the word, the searching of the Scriptures,

prayer, or praise, we find any form of approach to him to be the return of

peace to our spirits.

“I hear the words of love, I gaze upon the blood,

I see the mighty sacrifice, and I have peace with God.

‘Tis everlasting peace, sure as Jehovah’s name,

‘Tis stable as his steadfast throne, for evermore the same:

The clouds may go and come, and storms may sweep my sky,

This blood-sealed friendship changes not, the cross is ever nigh.”

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The Sustaining Power ofChrist – John MacArthur

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“[Christ] upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3).

We base our entire lives on the constancy of physical laws. When something like an earthquake disrupts the normal condition or operation of things even a little, the consequences are often disastrous. Can you imagine what would happen if Jesus Christ relinquished His sustaining power over the laws of the universe for it is He in whom “all things hold together” (Col. 1:17)? We would go out of existence, our atoms scattering throughout the galaxy.

If He suspended the laws of gravity only for a brief moment, we would lose all points of reference. If any of the physical laws varied slightly, we could not exist. Our food could turn to poison; we ourselves could drift out into space or get flooded by the ocean tides. Countless other horrible things could happen.

But the universe remains in balance because Jesus Christ sustains and monitors all its movements and interworkings. He is the principle of cohesion. He is not the deist’s “watchmaker” creator, who made the world, set it in motion, and has not bothered with it since. The reason the universe is a cosmos instead of chaos–an ordered and reliable system instead of an erratic and unpredictable muddle–is the upholding power of Jesus Christ.

The entire universe hangs on the arm of Jesus. His unsearchable wisdom and boundless power are manifested in governing the universe. And He upholds it all by the word of His power. The key to the Genesis creation is in two words: “God said.” God spoke and it happened.

When I contemplate Christ’s power to uphold the universe, I’m drawn to the wonderful promise of Philippians 1:6: “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” When Christ begins a work in your heart, He doesn’t end there. He continually sustains it until the day He will take you into God’s very presence. A life, just as a universe, that is not sustained by Christ is chaos.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Ask God to remind you of Christ’s sustaining power when you endure your next trial.

For Further Study:  Read Job 38-39 for a greater appreciation of what Christ does to uphold the universe.

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Who Is This Jesus? – Charles Stanley

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Matthew 16:13-16

Throughout history, no one has made a greater impact on this world than Jesus Christ, yet many people simply do not understand who He is. Some believe that His life began in a manger in the ancient town of Bethlehem, but in reality, He existed long before that (Micah 5:2). As a member of the Trinity, Jesus is the eternal Son of God, which means He has no beginning or end (John 1:1). His birth in Bethlehem was merely His physical entrance into the world that He created.

Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, who came to earth to carry out the mission given to Him by His Father. At one point, He asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). This is the question each of us must answer. There is no middle ground when it comes to deciding who Jesus is, because He claimed that He was the only way to the Father (John 14:6). Either He is the Son of God, or He’s a fraud.

In Matthew 16:16, when Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus told Him that the Father had revealed this truth to him (v. 17). We, too, need the Lord’s help to comprehend who Jesus is. The best way to understand Him is to examine His birth, life, and ministry as recorded in the Scriptures.

Simply learning to know what the Bible says about Jesus is not enough. Once you’ve heard who He is and what He came to do, you must respond. What will you do with Jesus? To hear the truth and reject it is spiritual suicide, but those who believe and accept Christ receive eternal life.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments;

and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.” / Revelation 3:4

We may understand this to refer to justification. “They shall walk in white;”

that is, they shall enjoy a constant sense of their own justification by

faith; they shall understand that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to

them, that they have all been washed and made whiter than the newly-fallen

snow.

Again, it refers to joy and gladness: for white robes were holiday dresses

among the Jews. They who have not defiled their garments shall have their

faces always bright; they shall understand what Solomon meant when he said “Go

thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. Let

thy garments be always white, for God hath accepted thy works.” He who is

accepted of God shall wear white garments of joy and gladness, while he walks

in sweet communion with the Lord Jesus. Whence so many doubts, so much misery,

and mourning? It is because so many believers defile their garments with sin

and error, and hence they lose the joy of their salvation, and the comfortable

fellowship of the Lord Jesus, they do not here below walk in white.

The promise also refers to walking in white before the throne of God. Those

who have not defiled their garments here shall most certainly walk in white up

yonder, where the white-robed hosts sing perpetual hallelujahs to the Most

High. They shall possess joys inconceivable, happiness beyond a dream, bliss

which imagination knoweth not, blessedness which even the stretch of desire

hath not reached. The “undefiled in the way” shall have all this–not of

merit, nor of works, but of grace. They shall walk with Christ in white, for

he has made them “worthy.” In his sweet company they shall drink of the living

fountains of waters.

 

Evening   “Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.” / Psalm 68:10

All God’s gifts are prepared gifts laid up in store for wants foreseen. He

anticipates our needs; and out of the fulness which he has treasured up in

Christ Jesus, he provides of his goodness for the poor. You may trust him for

all the necessities that can occur, for he has infallibly foreknown every one

of them. He can say of us in all conditions, “I knew that thou wouldst be this

and that.” A man goes a journey across the desert, and when he has made a

day’s advance, and pitched his tent, he discovers that he wants many comforts

and necessaries which he has not brought in his baggage. “Ah!” says he, “I did

not foresee this: if I had this journey to go again, I should bring these

things with me, so necessary to my comfort.” But God has marked with prescient

eye all the requirements of his poor wandering children, and when those needs

occur, supplies are ready. It is goodness which he has prepared for the poor

in heart, goodness and goodness only. “My grace is sufficient for thee.” “As

thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

Reader, is your heart heavy this evening? God knew it would be; the comfort

which your heart wants is treasured in the sweet assurance of the text. You

are poor and needy, but he has thought upon you, and has the exact blessing

which you require in store for you. Plead the promise, believe it and obtain

its fulfilment. Do you feel that you never were so consciously vile as you are

now? Behold, the crimson fountain is open still, with all its former efficacy,

to wash your sin away. Never shall you come into such a position that Christ

cannot aid you. No pinch shall ever arrive in your spiritual affairs in which

Jesus Christ shall not be equal to the emergency, for your history has all

been foreknown and provided for in Jesus.

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It’s All About Him – Greg Laurie

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A little girl noticed that her mom was getting really stressed out around Christmas. Everything was bothering her mom, and she was very irritable.

Evening came and the mom bathed the little girl, got her ready for bed, put her under the covers, and had her say her prayers. She would usually pray the Lord’s Prayer, but on this particular evening, she amended it a little bit.

Her petition went something like this, “Father, forgive us our Christmases, as we forgive those who Christmas against us.”

That is what happens when we lose focus of the real meaning of Christmas, isn’t it? We get so caught up in the busyness of the season that sometimes we forget the wonder of it all: that deity took on humanity, that God became a man.

Scripture sums it up well in 2 Corinthians 8:9, which says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (NKJV). Jesus literally went from the throne of heaven to a simple little cave or stable.

Can you imagine what must have gone through Mary’s mind that day when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she would be the mother of the Messiah? Her head must have been swimming. “What about Joseph? What are people going to say?”

But God had it all put together, because the time was just right in every way.

There was one small detail: the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, as Scripture prophesied (see Micah 5:2). But Mary and her husband-to-be Joseph lived in Nazareth. So the Lord touched a little man who was big in his own mind.

His name was Caesar, and at this particular time in history, he was the most powerful man on Earth. One day, Caesar gave a decree that all of the world should be taxed.

In reality, he was nothing more than a pawn in the hand of God. The Lord needed Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, so He moved events.

Mary and Joseph made the difficult journey to Bethlehem, which was especially perilous for a woman who was as far along in her pregnancy as Mary was. But they did make it, and there, the miraculous birth of Christ took place, just as Scripture said it would.

This little baby grew up quickly, and although we would love to know more about his boyhood, the Bible offers only a few details.

But we do read of one day in the synagogue in Nazareth when, as the custom was, the time had come for Jesus to read. He walked to the front of the synagogue, opened up the scroll, and began to read from Isaiah: ” ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’ ” (Luke 4:18-19 NLT).

When He had finished, He sat down and said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (verse 21). He had declared himself the Messiah. His public ministry had begun.

This One who was sent from God was always in perfect sync with the Father. While He spoke with the learned spiritual leaders, He always had time for the outcasts of society—people like the woman at the well and the tax collector, Zacchaeus. People like you. People like me.

His ministry on Earth was only a few years, and then He was crucified. You can be sure that as He hung there on the cross, where all of the sin of humanity was placed upon Him, that this was God’s most painful moment.

But then it was finished. He rose again from the dead, and after a time, ascended back into heaven, promising to come back to this earth. And we eagerly await that day.

This Jesus who was born in a manger, who walked this earth, who was crucified, and who rose again, is not some mere historical figure, although He was that. He is alive, and He is still in the business of changing lives.

That is the reason He came: to put us in touch with God, to forgive us of all of our sins, and to give our lives purpose and meaning.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Base things of the world hath God chosen.” / 1 Corinthians 1:28

Walk the streets by moonlight, if you dare, and you will see sinners then.

Watch when the night is dark, and the wind is howling, and the picklock is

grating in the door, and you will see sinners then. Go to yon jail, and walk

through the wards, and mark the men with heavy over-hanging brows, men whom

you would not like to meet at night, and there are sinners there. Go to the

Reformatories, and note those who have betrayed a rampant juvenile depravity,

and you will see sinners there. Go across the seas to the place where a man

will gnaw a bone upon which is reeking human flesh, and there is a sinner

there. Go where you will, you need not ransack earth to find sinners, for they

are common enough; you may find them in every lane and street of every city,

and town, and village, and hamlet. It is for such that Jesus died. If you will

select me the grossest specimen of humanity, if he be but born of woman, I

will have hope of him yet, because Jesus Christ is come to seek and to save

sinners. Electing love has selected some of the worst to be made the best.

Pebbles of the brook grace turns into jewels for the crown-royal. Worthless

dross he transforms into pure gold. Redeeming love has set apart many of the

worst of mankind to be the reward of the Saviour’s passion. Effectual grace

calls forth many of the vilest of the vile to sit at the table of mercy, and

therefore let none despair.

Reader, by that love looking out of Jesus’ tearful eyes, by that love

streaming from those bleeding wounds, by that faithful love, that strong love,

that pure, disinterested, and abiding love; by the heart and by the bowels of

the Saviour’s compassion, we conjure you turn not away as though it were

nothing to you; but believe on him and you shall be saved. Trust your soul

with him and he will bring you to his Father’s right hand in glory

everlasting.

 

Evening  “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” / 1

Corinthians 9:22

Paul’s great object was not merely to instruct and to improve, but to save.

Anything short of this would have disappointed him; he would have men renewed

in heart, forgiven, sanctified, in fact, saved. Have our Christian labours

been aimed at anything below this great point? Then let us amend our ways, for

of what avail will it be at the last great day to have taught and moralized

men if they appear before God unsaved? Blood-red will our skirts be if through

life we have sought inferior objects, and forgotten that men needed to be

saved. Paul knew the ruin of man’s natural state, and did not try to educate

him, but to save him; he saw men sinking to hell, and did not talk of refining

them, but of saving from the wrath to come. To compass their salvation, he

gave himself up with untiring zeal to telling abroad the gospel, to warning

and beseeching men to be reconciled to God. His prayers were importunate and

his labours incessant. To save souls was his consuming passion, his ambition,

his calling. He became a servant to all men, toiling for his race, feeling a

woe within him if he preached not the gospel. He laid aside his preferences to

prevent prejudice; he submitted his will in things indifferent, and if men

would but receive the gospel, he raised no questions about forms or

ceremonies: the gospel was the one all-important business with him. If he

might save some he would be content. This was the crown for which he strove,

the sole and sufficient reward of all his labours and self-denials. Dear

reader, have you and I lived to win souls at this noble rate? Are we possessed

with the same all-absorbing desire? If not, why not? Jesus died for sinners,

cannot we live for them? Where is our tenderness? Where our love to Christ, if

we seek not his honour in the salvation of men? O that the Lord would saturate

us through and through with an undying zeal for the souls of men.

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The Creator of the World – John MacArthur

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Let’s Worship – Greg Laurie

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“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”  — Luke 1:68

Immanuel: God is with us—God came to us. What a staggering thought. It is really the essence of the Christian faith and the Christian life. All other religious ideologies essentially tell you that you must do something: Do this, and you will find inner peace. . . . Do this, and you will reach nirvana. . . . Do this, and maybe you will make it to heaven. But Christianity says it is done—done for you at the Cross, paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Being a Christian is not merely following a creed; it is having Christ himself live in you and through you, giving you the strength to be the man or woman He has called you to be. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20) and “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

The message of Christmas is God with us. That is important to know, especially during those times when we are going through great difficulty. The psalmist said, “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:9–10). It is great to know that God is with you wherever you go.

The Bible never teaches that we will have problem-free lives as followers of Christ. But the Bible does teach that we never will be alone. And because of that, we don’t have to be afraid. As Ray Stedman said, “The chief mark of the Christian ought to be the absence of fear and the presence of joy.”

That is the message that this sin-sick world needs to hear: Immanuel—God is with us