"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).

East-West Separation

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“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-14)

If you take a few moments to Google the idea of the universe expanding, this is what you will find:

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble made the observations in 1925 and was the first to prove that the universe is expanding. He proved that there is a direct relationship between the speeds of distant galaxies and their distances from Earth. This is now known as Hubble’s Law.

The galaxies outside of our own are moving away from us, and the ones that are farthest away are moving the fastest. This means that no matter what galaxy you happen to be in, all the other galaxies are moving away from you. However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else.

There is no separation in a person’s life like the separation from the companionship of a loved one. Different causes produce the anguish from such a separation: military service, emotional estrangement, divorce, incarceration, and death. These and others can cause a sadness and almost unbearable, crushing depression.

If we were only animals, separation would most likely not produce severe sadness. Some animal species are deeply affected by separation. The study of the African Elephant, as an example, indicates that the memories of these huge beasts are deeply affected by the death of one of their herd. But we are quite different from any of the animals God created.

We humans were created for a unique fellowship and communion with our Creator. The fact of sin—disobedience to God’s law by our first parents, produced a progeny of lawbreakers who through history have illustrated alienation from God. We have been alienated from that common-union for which we were created—the union of God’s Spirit in our spirit. That’s what originally made Eden perfect.

It is the Christian religion that teaches reconciliation of man with his Creator by means of a mediator. The Scripture says,

“God wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:4-5).

You know, I think that David the King knew this long before Edwin Hubble made his discovery. After his sins of adultery and murder, the Psalmist was granted to learn the spiritual principle that God’s forgiveness of our sins is easily depicted as being removed from us by His grace further and further from those acts whereby we sinned against God and our fellow friends. The records of our sins and failures might be kept in the memory of friends—especially those against whom we sinned heniously. They may be kept in the records held by civil authorities. With todays computer technology they can pull up every speeding ticket, every act of tax evasion, and display it right in front of us or others. Look how the investigating agencies are digging into the political machinations of our political parties. Emails….telephone conversations, you name it. You are on record.

But that’s not so with your moral transgressions against the God of the Universe, if you have repented and asked forgiveness from Him. Look what King David says:

  1. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
  2. The Lord does not always scold us; He doesn’t keep His anger forever.
  3. He doesn’t always deal with us in accordance with our sins.
  4. He doesn’t always give us the penalty we really deserve.
  5. If we truly fear Him and repent of our sins He will show us mercy.
  6. God treats us like a loving human father would treat us.
  7. God knows everything about us—He knows every secret we keep.
  8. God knows every weakness, every character flaw, and every evil motive.
  9. And in spite of all that we have done to deserve His displeasure…
  10. God is willing to forgive us and separate our sins from us “As far as the east is from the west.”

Think of it! Meditate on the fact. If the universe as we know it is expanding, then the distance between our past sins and failures are drifting further and further away from us. We may be tempted to hold onto our past failures; but God has removed and is continually removing our confessed and forsaken sins away from us. He does this in order that we might serve Him every day with a clear conscience and a desire to allow Him in His power and grace to live through us toward others for His glory and the benefit they might receive by our positive witness to His grace in forgiveness. Now that is the mercy of God! Learn it. Grasp it. Cling to it, and rejoice that you are His forgiven child.

God’s Relation To The Unregenerate World

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“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”(Romans 1:18 NASV)

Where is God? He is where He has always been, creator of and ruler over His creation.

God’s wrath is an exercise of his justice and abhorrence of man’s rebellion. God’s wrath hangs like Cicero’s Sword of Damocles over every man and woman walking on the face of this earth. Our lives hang by less than horsehair. Indeed, the very breath of God suspends them.

But why is God so angry and wrathful, you ask. Was the Psalmist correct when he said, “God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11)

 Romans chapter 1 gives us the reasons why God sits in wrathful judgment over mankind.

Mankind suppresses the knowledge God has given regarding Himself. “That which is known about God is evident with them for God made it evident to them.” (v. 19).

  1. Mankind has deliberately failed to honor God as the God of the universe. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God.” (v. 21)
  2. Mankind fails to “give thanks to God” for who He is. (v. 21)
  3. Mankind has become “futile in their speculations; and their foolish heart was darkened.” (v. 21)
  4. Mankind professes to be wise, but “they became fools.” (v. 22)
  5. Mankind is idolatrous. “They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (v. 23)
  6. Mankind is enslaved physiologically and psychologically by the lusts of their thoroughly depraved nature. (v. 24)
  7. Mankind has elevated the philosophy of humanism denying theism. (v. 25)
  8. Mankind has turned to the acceptance and practice of the LGBT lifestyle. (vs. 26-27)
  9. Mankind has been self-subjected to every form of evil, contrary to the laws and nature of the righteous, holy nature of the Creator. (vs. 28-31).
  10. Mankind practices and gives approval to the evil actions of other men. (v. 32)
  11. Mankind ridicules any idea of future judgment by God. (v. 32)

There are a dozen divinely revealed reasons why God’s relation to man puts man in danger of eternal damnation in hell. [Read more…]

Yes There is Hope

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“These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)

In a chapter in the recently published book, Why Suffering, co-author Vince Vitale talks about how:
“We try to convince ourselves with hopeful phrases:

The world is your oyster.
The sky is the limit.
The only thing to fear is fear itself.
You can to anything if you just put your mind to it.
Things can only get better.
Such nice phrases. But here’s the thing: They’re all lies. Everyone of them. They are simply false.”[1]

Jesus was right! Our lives are filled with tribulation. Hymn writer Isaac Watts asked the questions, “Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?”[2] The Apostle John gave us the answer,

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”
(I John 2:16-17)

Every day of our lives we are confronted by the world, our own flesh, and Satan – the arch-enemy of our souls. We may be getting older, but not necessarily wiser. We may be eating healthier, but our bodies are still in the process of dying. We may have made some preparations for the future, but only God knows the future. And that’s where our hope resides – in the very words of Jesus. “In Me you may have peace…I have overcome the world.” Hope for tomorrow resides in our relationship with the Living Christ. Paul told us the answer to our physical, emotional, spiritual dilemma:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Last week I lost a dear friend of over thirty years. He was ten years younger than me. As I stood by his bed in the hospital, I hoped he could hear me speak to him. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the fact that we must be asking, thinking, and realizing that the Holy Spirit of God has invaded our human spirit to produce the life of Christ in wisdom, power and grace – divine sufficiency – to enable us to be overcomers in this world where we have been placed to represent the God of Heaven. As the Father sent the son, so the Son has sent us to a lost and dying world.

Yes, there is hope! Grasp it. Rejoice in it. Revel in God’s call to you in Christ!

[1] Zacharias & Vitale, Why Suffering? (New York: Faith Words, 2014), p.165

[2] From “Am I A Soldier Of The Cross.”

Separation for a Purpose

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“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.”

(Galatians 1:15-16 – NASB)

We get so busy we often fail to look back. We are such forward-looking people nowadays. Our culture breeds it in us. In olden days, before our time, a horse was a horse. Oh, the saddle or the carriage might have been improved; but the horse was still a horse. Today, next year’s auto models are in the showrooms before Halloween rolls around. But I think, like the Apostle Paul, we need to take time to look back.

When were we converted? What were the circumstances? Were we in high school, in college, or were we much younger? When did we fall in love and get married? Who or what were the purposes leading us in decisions we made. Did we seek and sense God’s leading, or has our life mirrored, like James declared, “just a vapor, that appears for a little while and then vanishes away?”

The Apostle, as he looked back, had the answer to life’s essence. He saw God’s purpose and stated clearly to the Galatian Christians: “God separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me.” He knew God’s purpose for his existence and he lived it out, until he was beheaded by the Romans. He had a total grasp upon the timing of his conversion and calling. He never strayed from it. Neither should we.

I think we would do well to ask ourselves, “Has anyone ever seen Jesus Christ revealed in my life?” Isn’t that what Jesus meant when He said to his disciples, “And you also shall bear witness…As my father has sent me, even so, send I you?” (John 15:27; 20:21.) It’s evident He still calls individuals for this purpose. And many, convinced of His call, faithfully witness to those who are spiritually dead, lost, and already condemned because of their unbelief.

Another, perhaps deeper question should haunt us. Have we ever desired and asked the Father and the Holy Spirit to display Jesus Christ through our mortal being to others? As we look back, to whom has Christ been revealed, as we’ve lived our lives at school, the family, the neighborhood, at work? Can anyone say one day, “Yes, it was you who showed me Jesus. I saw Him in you!”

What an awesome responsibility! What a life thrilling experience to have someone who can look back and say, “I saw Jesus in you!” Now, that deeply convicts and challenges me. If you ask God to use you as a witness for Christ, be ready to live Him before them, answer their questions, bear their burdens, and love them with the love that the Father gave you in Christ before you were ever conceived. I challenge you to think about that for a while.

And I challenge you because I know that each blood-bought saint of God may be asked this question: “I called you and sent you. What did you do?”

“Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill,
Living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
C. T. Studd