Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2

John Killinger told of a baseball manager who grew disgusted with his center fielder, threw him out of the game, and took the position himself. The first time a ball came toward him, it took a hop and hit him in the mouth. The second ball hit him in the head, and the third flew between his hands and struck his eye. Throwing down his glove, the manager stormed to the dugout and shouted to the center fielder, “You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!”1

Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:12-18

How easy to blame our problems on others. That’s essentially what we’re doing whenever we grumble and complain. The Israelites murmured from the time they left Egypt until they arrived in the Promised Land—and they often blamed Moses for their problems.

This year, resolve to practice patience and complain less. Patience comes from trusting God with the things about which we want to complain. A good new year’s resolution comes from Philippians 2:14-15: “Do all things without complaining and disputing…children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.”

A person who has a negative attitude toward himself will also be quite critical of others.

Paul Meier

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Exodus 17 – 23

“Let’s Illustrate,” Leadership Journal, Fall, 1989, 51.

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Colossians 1:9

How do you pray for family members? Our families are our greatest blessings—and sometimes our greatest burdens. When we have tension in our marriages or homes, we suffer deep pain, anger, or anxiety. When we’re worried about a loved one, the distress can become obsessive.

Recommended Reading: Colossians 1:9-11

There are four things we can do in every circumstance: (1) Love unconditionally. Remember, loving someone doesn’t mean endorsing his or her behavior. (2) Model the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). When you’re loving, joyful, peaceful and patient, it always improves the climate. (3) As much as possible, keep open the lines of communication. (4) Pray. Convert the prayers of Paul into prayers for your family. For example, the churches in the Colossian region were troubled, but Paul prayed: “…that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord” (Colossians 1:9-10).

Our families are precious blessings that should be treated with prayer. Remember, God can do more with them than we can.

Jesus…is infinitely concerned about those we love and for whom we pray, and he wants to pray with us for them.

Jill Briscoe in “Prayer That Works”

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Acts 18 – 21

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But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Philippians 3:7

Recommended Reading

Philippians 3:1-11

When Harold Russell’s hands were blown off in an accident, he sank into depression. One day Charley McGonegal, who had lost his own hands in war, told Russell, “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else.”

Russell rallied and went on to become an ambassador for the disabled. He won an Oscar for his role in the movie, The Best Years of Our Lives. He wrote, “My weakness… has turned out to be my greatest strength. I didn’t think so at the time it happened and I don’t think I’d ever willingly lose my hands, if I had it to do all over again. But having lost them I feel perhaps I have gained many fine things…. It is not what you have lost, but what you have left that counts.”1

When we look at past losses, it provides an opportunity to recalibrate for future service. The Lord can leverage our losses for ministry. Don’t give up. Your best years are now, and your best days are ahead.

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1Lillian Eichler Watson, Light From Many Lamps (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1951), 88-94.

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 16 – 17

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And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9a

Recommended Reading

1 Corinthians 2:3-5

Somewhere, sometime, someone said, “You gotta dance with the girl who brought you.” It is used today as a caution against switching priorities, values, methods, strategies, or goals. It is a call to remembrance, a warning against giving in.

And it applies to the Christian life. The “girl” who brought us to the dance of salvation is named Grace. Christians are committed to the idea that we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) but sometimes forget that we must live by grace as well. This was a serious problem in the early churches of Galatia. Paul took the believers to task for “turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). They had begun with the Spirit of grace but were reverting to the laws of flesh. It’s an easy temptation to which many succumb. We find ourselves thinking it is all up to us when God doesn’t come through on our timetable.

The Protestant reformers in the sixteenth century said it best: sola gratia—by grace alone. Don’t abandon the grace of God in midstream. His grace is always sufficient.

Let no excess of suffering drive us away from the throne of grace, but rather let it drive us closer to it.

Charles H. Spurgeon

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 14 – 15

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Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.

Romans 1:1

Recommended Reading

Romans 1:1-7 The late Charles Colson was a profoundly changed man. He went from being one of the most powerful and feared men in Washington, D.C., to a guilty prisoner to a redeemed servant of Jesus Christ. His transformation was much like that of the apostle Paul who went from being a rising star in Judaism to a servant of Christ.

When radical transformations occur, it is because people understand the nature of servanthood and stewardship. A servant gives up all he has and depends on his master for everything. As a steward, his only responsibility is to be a faithful and obedient servant who carries out his master’s will (1 Corinthians 4:2). Paul put it this way: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7). And “having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8). The joy of total dependence on Christ as Lord and Master comes from the humility of servanthood.

Every Christian is called to follow Christ as a servant (Revelation 1:1). That means a new mindset: All I am and have is for the glory and joy of following Christ. I joyfully humble myself before Him.

The only freedom that man ever has is when he becomes a slave to Jesus Christ.

1. C. Sproul

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 12 – 13

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Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.

1 Peter 5:2

Recommended Reading

1 Peter 5:1-5

The famous American evangelist Dwight L. Moody collapsed in Kansas City and returned by train to his home in Massachusetts. There in the upstairs bedroom, he drifted in and out of consciousness, talking to his family as he was dying. At one point, looking at those around him, he said, “I have always been an ambitious man, ambitious to leave no wealth or possessions, but to leave lots of work for you to do.” A few minutes later he said, “This is my triumph; this is my coronation day! I have been looking forward to it for years.” Shortly afterward, he passed into the presence of Christ.

The Lord wants us to be ambitious, not for fame or fortune, but for doing His will and leaving work for others. We are to take the work from those who preceded us and hand it off to those who follow. God uses us like links in a chain stretching from His resurrection to His return.

Effective ministry begins with a heartfelt concern for other Christians and a consecration to sharing the Gospel with others. It cannot be for personal notice or gain if it’s to be effective for God’s glory.

I want to live as long as I’m useful, but when my work is done I want to be up and off.

Dwight L. Moody, on his deathbed

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 10 – 11

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So I said, “What shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to me, “Arise and go….”

Acts 22:10

Recommended Reading

Acts 22:6-16

In his autobiography, Our Incredible Journey, Word of Life co-founder Harry Bollback and his wife, Millie, wrote about their years of missionary service in Brazil, where they lived in very primitive circumstances. “Living under these conditions was truly difficult,” Harry wrote. “But neither of us thought of it as being hard at the time. We had made a decision to serve the Lord, and we were just doing what we thought the Lord would have us do. We were enjoying the good hand of God’s blessings.”

In Acts 22, the apostle Paul recounted his conversion for the Jewish Ruling Counsel. He told them of the light that blinded him on the Damascus Road, and he recounted the two questions he asked God: “Who are You, Lord?” (verse 8) and “What shall I do, Lord?” (verse 10)

When we come to Christ for salvation, we then ask, “What do You want me to do?” We just need to have a submissive spirit to His guidance, and He’ll use us in ways beyond our expectation.

I’m convinced that when you are serving the Lord, there is never a question of sacrifice. It’s just doing what we are supposed to be doing for His glory. You don’t think of the sacrifice—you think of your mission.

Harry Bollback

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 8 – 9

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Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious.

1 Peter 2:7

The word “precious” crops up in unusual places, like in investment portfolios containing precious metals or jewelry stores dealing in precious stones. Or in the Bible—particularly in the writings of Peter, who used this word repeatedly while writing to “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1).

Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 2:4-10

According to Peter, our faith is “more precious than gold” (1 Peter 1:7), for we’ve been redeemed by “the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19). Jesus was “chosen by God and precious” (1 Peter 2:4), and He is our precious cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6). To us who believe He is precious (1 Peter 2:7), and when we display a gentle and quiet spirit, it’s “very precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4). On top of it all, the Lord has given us His “exceedingly great and precious promises” through which we may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:4).

How blessed we are! How precious our faith!

Precious Jesus, that is the name which calms my fears, and bids my sorrows cease.

Charles H. Spurgeon, in his sermon “Christ Precious to Believers”

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Acts 4 – 7

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Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.

Romans 12:11

Recommended Reading

Romans 12:9-13

Last summer, the mayor of the Italian town of Boscotrecase had to close down city hall because 23 of his staff were arrested for absenteeism. Staff members learned to scam the system by swiping one another’s passes when clocking into their jobs. Thirty people were involved in the scheme, and among those arrested was the head of the local traffic police.

We’re living in a world where people cut corners whenever they can. After a while, scamming the system becomes a way of life. That doesn’t work on the spiritual level. There aren’t any shortcuts to spiritual growth. The Bible uses the word “diligent” to describe how we should go about our Christian lives. According to Hebrews 11:6, God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Peter told us to be diligent to make our call and election sure. “Be diligent,” he wrote, “to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (2 Peter 1:10 and 3:14).

As Christians we need to take responsibility for our walk with God, seeking to be more like Him, sharing our faith and serving others. Don’t try to scam the system. Be diligent to serve the Savior.

I could never have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence.

Charles Dickens

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 1 – 3

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Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Recommended Reading

Matthew 5:14-16

When hikers are lost in a vast wilderness, completely turned around with no sense of direction, they look for one thing at night: light! If they can climb a tree or get to the top of a mountain, they look far into the distance to search for a glimpse of light—any kind of light. Light means electricity; electricity means people; people means help; help means survival.

Our world today has become a vast, trackless wilderness enveloped in darkness. People are lost; people are wandering through life without a sense of direction and without hope of being found. It is no surprise how frequently the Bible uses “light” as a symbol for spiritual awakening and salvation. Jesus said He was “the light of the world” (John 8:12); and when He left earth, He designated His followers to be that light: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). The purpose of the light is to draw mankind out of the wilderness to a place where they can be rescued and saved.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are the light of the world! Let your life be a source of light—what Jesus called “your good works”—so the lost will be drawn to Christ in you.

The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight.

1. W. Tozer

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 20 – 21

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Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:3

Recommended Reading

Acts 1:12-26

Trouble threatens unity. It happens in families and in churches. When the first church in Jerusalem was under intense pressure, immediately after Christ’s ascension to heaven, they let the pressure drive them closer together instead of breaking them apart.

Their first task after Christ’s ascension was to choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Peter led the group of 120 in an orderly process of nominating two candidates (Acts 1:15). They prayed that God would guide the casting of lots and Matthias was chosen. (Casting lots was the Old Testament means of finding God’s leading [Proverbs 16:33]. Lots are not mentioned again in the New Testament once the Holy Spirit came as the Church’s Guide and Helper.) What could have been a contentious process, with factions uniting around the two candidates, appears to have been simple, unified, submissive, and united.

From that example of unity has sprung two millennia of debate and division within the Church. In this day of criticism and antagonism against Christians, we need each other more than ever. Be a source of unity and mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21) wherever you worship.

In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.

Richard Baxter

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 18 – 19

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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

Recommended Reading

Mark 10:35-45

Entrepreneur Josh Linkner wrote a column for Forbes under the title: “Great Startup CEOs Are Servants, Not Kings.” Over the course of his investing career, he said the duds in his portfolios had been led by grandiose personalities who talked big and acted like kings. The companies that performed best, he said, were led by servants—men and women who kept their heads down, their hands to the work, and who labored for the best interests of their employers and investors.1

Servant leadership originated with Christ. While ministering on earth He provided a clear example of how to treat others. He came to serve rather than to be served.

It’s the little things—returning the shopping cart to its rack, smiling at the clerk behind the counter, picking up the phone to discuss a disagreement rather than sending an email, emptying the dishwasher, letting the other person have the last word, suppressing an exclamation of complaint—that make a difference.

Start filling your day with servant actions, and you’ll fill your life with blessings.

Being coachable and open to new ideas, with a bright outlook toward the future, will make you a servant leader.

Josh Linkner

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 16 – 17

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If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

1 Peter 4:14

Recommended Reading

1 Peter 4:12-19

A Turning Points reader recently posted an interesting question on social media: “What is it about the Name of Christ? Why does the world so hate it?” Russian history books are stained with the blood of believers, savagely tortured and killed by the thousands in Soviet days. Those days changed with the fall of the Iron Curtain, or so we thought. But earlier this year, Vladimir Putin turned back the clock, passing a new law forbidding Christians from sharing their faith anywhere but within the walls of official church buildings. Even speaking of Christ in private homes is forbidden. Online sharing of the Gospel is forbidden.

In America, secularists seek to restrict freedom of Christian expression in public life, but it’s far worse now in Russia and in many other parts of the world. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron was correct when he called Christians the “most persecuted group in the world today.”

Why do skeptics fear the Name of Jesus? What is it about that Name? As Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote, “Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there’s something about that Name.”

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall; / Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.

Edward Perronet

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 13 – 15

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Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

James 1:27

Recommended Reading

1 Peter 2:11-12

Last summer, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow spent time ministering to children in an orphanage in the Philippines. It was a personal mission for Tim because he was born in the Philippines to missionary parents, and the orphanage had been started by his father, Bob Tebow.

Critics may blast Tim Tebow for his vocal faith, but it’s hard for them to criticize him when his Christianity goes to work caring for orphans in the Philippines.

Following Christ isn’t a popular path in today’s culture, and the world is quick to criticize us for being vocal or for our slightest faults or failures. But the world falls silent as we care for orphans, visit widows, feed the poor, rebuild communities after disasters, promote literacy, and provide clean drinking water for impoverished villages. Peter wrote, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12, NIV).

Our authenticity as a follower of Christ is often judged more by our actions than our words.

The greatest thing a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to… His other children.

Henry Drummond

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 7 – 8

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And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.

John 14:16

Recommended Reading

John 14:15-17

Why do future pastors and missionaries study New Testament Greek when preparing for ministry? For reasons best illustrated by the Greek word Jesus used to describe the Spirit whom God would send to the disciples after Jesus’ departure from earth.

Four times Jesus referred to the Spirit by the Greek word parakletos (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Understanding parakletos reveals the role the Spirit would play in the Church. Parakletos is a compound word. Para means along, alongside, among, beside, in the sight of, and more. Kaleo means to call or summon. Put the two together and you have parakletos—someone who is called alongside or among others. For what purpose? To help (NKJV), to counsel (ESV notes), to intercede (NASB notes), to befriend (MSG), to comfort (AMP), to advocate (NLT, second edition), and more. As modern translations reveal, it is hard to choose one English word that captures everything the Holy Spirit came to be and do.

In short, the Holy Spirit came to be to us what Jesus was to His disciples (John 14:26). When we are full of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), we are full of Christ Himself.

The Holy Spirit is the heavenly Lover’s engagement ring given to us.

Michael Green

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 5 – 6

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Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Hebrews 5:8

Recommended Reading

Hebrews 12:1-11

Young people are often surprised when they hear an elderly person say, “I learn something new every day.” Even more surprising is when young Christians discover Hebrews 5:8—that Jesus Christ had to learn obedience. We have the impression that because Jesus was God He didn’t need to learn anything. We forget that as Man, He identified with us in learning to trust God in times of difficulty. His learning could be thought of as “perfecting,” as Hebrews 5:9 suggests. In His suffering, Christ didn’t learn something new. Rather, He proved (perfected) His obedience to God the Father.

The same path Christ took has been laid out for all who follow Him. James 1:2 doesn’t say to be joyful “if” we encounter trials but “when.” The apostle Paul wrote that difficulties are part of the road we take to being conformed to the image of Christ, our ultimate glorification in Him (Romans 8:28-30). If Christ had to prove His commitment to the Father by obedience and trust, and if we are on the same path, we must surely do the same.

Don’t resist the trials in your life. Embrace them as opportunities to prove your faithfulness to God in all things.

The Christian is more formed from his trials than from his enjoyments.

William Jay

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 3 – 4

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And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.

Philippians 1:9

Recommended Reading

Psalm 133:1-3

Phi Beta Kappa, the national scholarship fraternity, is recognized as the first Greek-letter collegiate fraternal organization. One fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, co-founded in 1856 by a committed Christian, incorporates the words of Psalm 133:1 into its guiding principles: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

The values of brotherhood and sisterhood, community, friendship, strong bonds, and caring—at the heart of modern fraternal organizations—are biblically based. Indeed, the New Testament uses the image of body (1 Corinthians 12:27) and family (Romans 8:12-17) to describe the close-knit relationships Christians should have with one another. Nowhere is that better illustrated than in the life of the first church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47). So great was their care for each other that “there [wasn’t] anyone among them who lacked;” for they were “of one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32-35).

Are you participating in that kind of caring Christian community? To care, and be cared for, is what distinguishes the followers of Jesus in this world (John 13:35).

Caring is the ultimate measure of a congregation’s size.

Carl S. Dudley

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 1 – 2

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Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Recommended Reading

Philippians 1:3-11

A single blow; the boxer crumples to the ground. The rules dictate that no one can help him get up. He is alone in his struggle—the silence of the crowd is palpable—the referee slowly counts to ten. Although we may not be knocked out in a boxing ring, unexpected situations can give our hearts and souls a beating: work stress, relocation, conflict, loss of a loved one, or unfulfilled and shattered dreams.

Professional athletes know the importance of having a coach or team who help equip them for success. Many of us treat the verse above like a cliché instead of a timely reminder. This is more than simply making a list of people we like. Who are the people who encourage our faith? It’s never too late to ask God for friends and to intentionally become a better friend.

We should recognize rather that such fellowship is a spiritual necessity; for God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with Himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow Christians.

1. I. Packer

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Luke 23 – 24

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