"If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free...So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed!" (John 8:31-32,36)

Fresh as the Sunrise

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“I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Psalm 59:16).
“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You” (Psalm 143:8).

The poet J. E. Raneim wrote:

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Have you sins that to men’s eyes are hidden?
Do you fear the gathering clouds of sorrow?
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
For Christ’s coming Kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that’s well known.
You’ve no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.

We would do well, when we rise in the morning and look into the mirror, to ask ourselves, “In whom is my trust this morning?”

If we look within, we’ll be distressed. If we look back, we’ll be defeated. If we look around, we’ll be distracted. We would do well to have a higher view of life. To be dismayed, we should look before. To be delivered, we should look to Christ. To be delighted, we should look up… up to the Face of our Lord Jesus Christ for:

  1. Salvation from our sins: “Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).
  2. Forgiveness for our many offenses: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
  3. Knowledge of God’s working in us: “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
  4. Assurance of God’s presence with us: “For He Himself said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
  5. The supply of everything we need: “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
  6. Protection until Christ returns: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
  7. Receiving us to Himself and our home in Heaven: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Let each of us, every morning, say with our whole heart;
 
When the sun rises over the hills, I will look to You (Matthew 28:20).
When my spirit seems void Your presence, I will speak to You (John 16:24).
When my prayers seem unheard, I will know You are listening (Jeremiah 33:3).
When temptations try to lure me, I will seek Your aid to resist (James 4:7-8).
When bad memories persist, I will know You can cleanse my memory (Heb. 9:14).
When my faith seems weaker, I will ask You for stronger faith (Luke 17:5).
When my weakness plagues my efforts, I will ask for Your grace (2 Cor. 12:9).
When I feel alone, I will know You are with me (John 14:18).
When I seem defeated, You will give me victory (Philippians 4:13).

The old German hymn, if we let it, will cause us to praise like this:

When morning guilds the skies, my heart awaking cries,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Alike at work and prayer… to Jesus I repair …
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When evil thoughts molest…with this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Does sadness fill my mind, a solace here I find,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Or fades my earthly bliss, my comfort still is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
In heaven’s eternal bliss, the loveliest strain is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
The powers of darkness fear, when this sweet chant they hear,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this the eternal song, through all the ages on,
May Jesus Christ be praised.

Will we ever learn to rise in the morning and look beyond our mirror to see the living Christ of the Universe waiting for us to come to Him in prayer? Will we lift our spirits to the presence of the Father where Christ is waiting as our intercessor—our attorney—to plead our cause and give to us the mercy and grace to bountifully supply for us our deepest needs?

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews. 4:15-16).

To Ponder:

  1. Are you struggling to find God’s help with trials that seem to surround you?
  2. Do you lack the spiritual strength to rise above and beyond your trials?
  3. Are you searching in God’s Word to gain the strength you need from Him?
  4. Are you memorizing and trusting His promises to you?
  5. Will you commit to being totally yielded to His will for every hour of your life?

To Pray:

Father in Heaven, every morning please convict me, give me the grace to repent and turn from my many weaknesses and sins; please cleanse me, fill me, and by Your Spirit’s grace and power use me today to reach others with Your wonderful Gospel of salvation. I ask this for Your glory in Jesus’ Name.

To Remember:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, for Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

The Morning Hour

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“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

I sometimes wonder why we insist on rising in the morning, getting dressed and hurrying into the day, quite often without much thought of God. It’s a habit of our flesh to be undisciplined and slothful in truly important spiritual duties and opportunities. The Tempter likes that; the Spirit grieves about it.
John Bunyan, that amazing preacher of righteousness, was quite convicting when he wrote,

“He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day!”

I’m not sure he wrote that during a pastor’s busy day or whether in Bedford Jail, where he was incarcerated for preaching the Gospel; but it really makes serious, convicting sense to anyone wondering whether prayer is a valid way of communicating with God. And I love the words of the poet Ralph Spaulding Cushman who said,

“I met God in the morning when the day was at its best,
And His presence came like sunrise, like a glory in my breast.
All day long the Presence lingered, all day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness o’er a very troubled sea.
Other ships were blown and battered, other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them brought to me a peace and rest.
Then I thought of other mornings, with a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings, with the Presence left behind,
So I think I’ve found the secret, learned from many a troubled way,
You must seek Him in the morning if you want Him through the day!”

In my latter years my sleep habits find me in my recliner in the early morning, with a cup of decaf, reading and praying as I thumb though my prayer journal, looking into the pictures of so many friends and loved ones. What a deep spiritual joy it is to spend morning hours with my Savior, who intercedes for me at God’s Throne; and also to know the Holy Spirit is aiding my spirit in praise and requests to our Father in Heaven.

Yes, one secret to a truly joy-filled day, no matter what circumstances arise, is to:

“Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone;
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.”

Oh, to take that time, to be that individual!

Tomorrow I have lunch with two friends. One is a Vietnam Veteran, a U.S. Marine and Roman Catholic; the other is a professed atheist and nihilist. I’ve been witnessing to them for almost five years. How I need prayer for these two!

Try it! I urge you to remember that our ability to live for God outside the prayer closet will be determined by our discipline to live with the Triune God in those secret times, hopefully in the morning before the sun rises to heat our day with busyness.

A closing thought from Leonard Ravenhill: “No man is greater than his prayer life; The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying!”

And from Samuel Chadwick, “Prayer is the acid test of devotion.”

Be Bold

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“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask,
and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.”
(John 16:24)

When I was growing up in a Baptist church in Richmond, California, we always had a Bible study and prayer meeting on Wednesday night. When pastoring, I always had a Bible study and prayer time in the same manner. After feasting on the Word, I would name specific things we should pray for and also ask for prayer requests to be shared. We would split up into groups of two or three individuals throughout the sanctuary. That way visitors could be welcomed and everyone could share more personal requests and everyone could pray.

Today, in the vast majority of Protestant churches, prayer meetings have been abandoned. It appears that we are too busy, personally or corporately to take time to pray. What’s it like at your church? Are there good reasons why we should gather for prayer? Here are a few reasons why I think we should.

Jesus Christ has provided our access to God’s Throne of Grace. The writer of Hebrews put it this way:

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefor draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:15-16)

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Unspeakable Joy

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“You too now have sorrow; but I will see you again; and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you. And in that day you will ask Me no question. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name. Until now, you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.”
(John 15:22-24)

It had been a three-year struggle following the Master. In these hours before His arrest, trial, betrayal, and crucifixion, Jesus endeavors to encourage His disciples. They were alone with Him now. It would not be long before He would be taken from them. I wonder if they understood His encouraging words. I wonder if we understand them now.

There are three things that sort of leap out to me, as I read these words. They are stark realities about which we should be enlightened and encouraged.

The reality of sorrow: Whether personally or in relation to those around us, we find ourselves perpetually in a struggle with “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” We see loved ones struggling with health issues, financial setbacks, family dysfunction, and work-related challenges. We ask ourselves, “Will life ever be free from trials and troubles?” Somehow we know the answer is NO. After all, didn’t Jesus say, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Like it or not, from waking in the morning to dropping off to sleep at night, we live in a world of personal, filial, and whole-world experiences that sometimes overwhelm us with sorrow. Christ’s disciples would soon experience this, when they observed their Master hanging on a gibbet on Golgotha. [Read more…]