Where Have you Been?
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Posted:Jan 24, 2014 4:09 pm
Last Updated:May 4, 2024 3:29 pm 23691 Views
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Read: Romans 10:11-15
How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? —Romans 10:14
Bible in a Year:
Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39
Missionary Egerton Ryerson Young served the Salteaux tribe in Canada in the 1700s. The chief of the tribe thanked Young for bringing the good news of Christ to them, noting that he was hearing it for the first time in his old age. Since he knew that God was Young’s heavenly Father, the chief asked, “Does that mean He is my Father too?” When the missionary answered, “Yes,” the crowd that had gathered around burst into cheers.
The chief was not finished, however. “Well,” said the chief, “I do not want to be rude, but it does seem to me . . . that it took a long time for you to . . . tell it to your brother in the woods.” It was a remark that Young never forgot.
Many times I’ve been frustrated by the zigs and zags of my life, thinking of the people I could reach if only. Then God reminds me to look around right where I am, and I discover many who have never heard of Jesus. In that moment, I’m reminded that I have a story to tell wherever I go, “for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ ” (Rom. 10:12-13).
Remember, we don’t have just any story to tell—it’s the best story that has ever been told.
I love to tell the story,
For some have never heard
The message of salvation
From God’s own holy Word.
Sharing the good news is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
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Load Line
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Posted:Jan 23, 2014 5:01 am
Last Updated:May 4, 2024 3:29 pm 22858 Views
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Read: 1 Peter 5:5-9
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
—1 Peter 5:6-7
Bible in a Year:
Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20
In the 19th century, ships were often recklessly overloaded, resulting in those ships going down and the crews being lost at sea. In 1875, to remedy this negligent practice, British politician Samuel Plimsoll led the charge for legislation to create a line on the side of a ship to show if it was carrying too much cargo. That “load line” became known as the Plimsoll Line, and it continues to mark the hulls of ships today.
Sometimes, like those ships, our lives can seem overloaded with fears, struggles, and heartaches. We can even feel that we are in danger of going under. In those times, however, it is reassuring to remember that we have a remarkable resource. We have a heavenly Father who stands ready to help us carry that load. The apostle Peter said, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). He is capable of handling the cares that overwhelm us.
Though the testings of life may feel like a burden too heavy to bear, we can have full assurance that our heavenly Father loves us deeply and knows our load limits. Whatever we face, He will help us to bear it.
Heavenly Father, I sometimes feel as if I can’t go
on. I am tired, I am weak, and I am worn. Thank You
that You know my limits better than I do. And that, in
Your strength, I can find the enablement to endure.
God may lead us into troubled waters to deepen our trust in Him.
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Bricks Without Straw
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Posted:Jan 22, 2014 4:53 am
Last Updated:May 4, 2024 3:29 pm 25283 Views
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Read: Exodus 6:1-13
I will rescue you . . . , and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. —Exodus 6:6
Bible in a Year:
Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36
Many of us face the challenge of working with limited resources. Equipped with less money, less time, dwindling energy, and fewer helpers, our workload may remain the same. Sometimes, it even increases. There’s a saying that sums up this predicament: “More bricks, less straw.”
This phrase refers to the Israelites’ hardship as slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh decided to stop supplying them with straw, yet he required them to make the same number of bricks each day. They scoured the land to find supplies, while Pharaoh’s overseers beat them and pressured them to work harder (Ex. 5:13). The Israelites became so discouraged that they didn’t listen when God said through Moses, “I will rescue you . . . , and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm” (6:6).
Although the Israelites refused to hear God’s message, God was still guiding and directing Moses, preparing him to speak to Pharaoh. God remained firmly on Israel’s side—at work behind the scenes. Like the Israelites, we can become so downhearted that we ignore encouragement. In dark times, it’s comforting to remember that God is our deliverer (Ps. 40:17). He is always at work on our behalf, even if we can’t see what He is doing.
Lord, please help me to trust You despite my
discouragement. I invite You to fill me with
hope through the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Let my life testify of Your faithfulness.
Times of trouble are times for trust.
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In Harmony
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Posted:Jan 21, 2014 10:22 am
Last Updated:Jan 22, 2014 4:53 am 21294 Views
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Read: 1 Peter 4.7-11
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. —1 Peter 4:10
Bible in a Year:
Exodus 1-3; Matthew 14:1-21
I love playing the 5-string banjo. But it has one drawback. The fifth string will harmonize with only a limited number of simple chords. When other musicians want to play more complicated music, the banjoist has to adapt. He can lend marvelous melodic tones to a jam session only by making the right adjustments.
Just as musicians adjust with their instruments, we as believers also need to make adjustments with our spiritual gifts if we want to harmonize with others to serve God. For instance, those who have the gift of teaching must coordinate with those who have the gift of organizing meetings and with those who make sure meeting rooms are set up and cleaned. All of us have spiritual gifts, and we must work together if God’s work is to get done.
The apostle Peter said, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). Stewardship requires cooperation. Think about your spiritual gifts (Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; 1 Peter 4). Now reflect on how you can dovetail their use with the gifts of other believers. When our talents are used in a complementary way, the result is harmony and glory to God.
Without a note we sing in tune,
An anthem loud we bring,
When willingly we give our gifts
Of labor to our King.
Keeping in tune with Christ keeps harmony in the church.
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In His Grip
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Posted:Dec 31, 2013 9:35 am
Last Updated:May 4, 2024 3:29 pm 18169 Views
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Read: Romans 8:31-39
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12
Bible in a Year:
Malachi 1-4; Revelation 22
When we cross a busy street with small in tow, we put out our hand and say, “Hold on tight,” and our little ones grasp our hand as tightly as they can. But we would never depend on their grasp. It is our grip on their hand that holds them and keeps them secure. So Paul insists, “Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Phil. 3:12). Or more exactly, “Christ has a grip on me!”
One thing is certain: It is not our grip on God that keeps us safe, but the power of Jesus’ grasp. No one can take us out of His grasp—not the devil, not even ourselves. Once we’re in His hands, He will not let go.
We have this assurance: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).
Doubly safe: Our Father on one side and our Lord and Savior on the other, clasping us in a viselike grip. These are the hands that shaped the mountains and oceans and flung the stars into space. Nothing in this life or the next “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).
Father, I thank You for the nail-pierced hands
that reached out in love and took me by my hand.
You have led me by Your right hand throughout life.
I trust You to hold me and keep me safe to the end.
The One who saved us is the One who keeps us.
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Mixed Emotions
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Posted:Dec 30, 2013 3:57 am
Last Updated:Dec 31, 2013 9:36 am 17868 Views
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Read: Revelation 21:1-7
Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief. —Proverbs 14:13
Bible in a Year:
Zechariah 13-14; Revelation 21
For Marlene and me, “mixed emotions” precisely describes our wedding. Don’t take that the wrong way. It was a wonderful event that we continue to celebrate more than 35 years later. The wedding celebration, however, was dampened because Marlene’s mom died of cancer just weeks before. Marlene’s aunt was a wonderful stand-in as the “mother of the bride,” but, in the midst of our happiness, something clearly wasn’t right. Mom was missing, and that affected everything.
That experience typifies life in a broken world. Our experiences here are a mixed bag of good and bad, joy and pain—a reality that Solomon expressed when he wrote, “Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief” (Prov. 14:13). The merry heart often does grieve, for that is what this life sometimes demands.
Thankfully, however, this life is not all there is. And in the life that is to come, those who know Christ have a promise: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). In that great day, there will be no mixed emotions—only hearts filled with the presence of God!
Peace! peace! wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above,
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.
For the Christian, the dark sorrows of earth will one day be changed into the bright songs of heaven
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The Challenge Of Confinement
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Posted:Dec 27, 2013 5:17 am
Last Updated:Dec 30, 2013 3:57 am 17731 Views
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Read: Jeremiah 29:4-14
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. —2 Peter 3:18
Bible in a Year:
Zechariah 1-4; Revelation 18
At the age of 86, Ken Deal concluded more than 3 decades of volunteer jail and prison ministry with a final Sunday sermon. His message to the inmates was about serving the Lord while incarcerated. Many of the examples he used came from prisoners, some serving life sentences. In a place everyone wants to leave, he encouraged them to grow and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.
After the people of Judah were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and deported to Babylon because of their disobedience to God, the prophet Jeremiah sent them this message from the Lord: “Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands . . . that you may be increased there, and not diminished” (Jer. 29:5-6).
We may face some limiting circumstance today. Whether it is the result of our failure, or through no fault of our own, we can “go” through it or seek God’s strength to “grow” through it. The challenge of every confinement is to increase rather than decrease; to grow and not diminish. The Lord’s goal is to give us “a future and a hope” (v.11).
I know, Lord, that You can use the circumstances
I am in for my good. Change me, and grow
me in my knowledge of You and intimacy
with You. Give me Your strength.
A limited situation may afford the soul a chance to grow.
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Be Present
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Posted:Dec 26, 2013 4:25 am
Last Updated:Dec 26, 2013 11:28 am 17713 Views
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Read: Job 2:3-13
They sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. —Job 2:13
Bible in a Year:
Haggai 1-2; Revelation 17
After 20 and 6 staff members were murdered in a Connecticut school, the entire nation was stunned that such a horrific thing could happen. Everyone focused on the tragedy and the questions surrounding it: What kind of person would do such a thing, and why? How can we prevent it from happening again? How can we help the survivors? Amid the chaos, an unlikely group moved in and made a difference.
From Chicago came dogs— specially trained golden retrievers that offered nothing except affection. Dogs don’t speak; they simply offer their presence. traumatized by the violence opened up to them, expressing fears and emotions they had not spoken to any adult. Tim Hetzner of Lutheran Church Charities said, “The biggest part of their training is just learning to be quiet.”
As we learn from the book of Job, people in grief do not always need words. Sometimes they need someone to sit silently with them, to listen when they need to speak, and to hug them when their sorrow turns to sobs.
God may not intervene to change circumstances and He may not explain suffering, but He comforts us through the presence of other believers (Col. 4
He’s with us in the valley,
Amid the darkest night
He tells us in our sorrow;
Faith will give way to sight.
Listening may be the most loving and Christlike thing you do today.
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Christingle
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Posted:Dec 25, 2013 5:44 am
Last Updated:Dec 26, 2013 4:25 am 17600 Views
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Read: 1 John 1:1-7
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. —John 1:9
Bible in a Year:
Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16
In the Czech Republic and other places, the Christmas celebration includes “Christingles.” A Christingle is an orange, representing the world, with a candle placed in the top of it to symbolize Christ the light of the world. A red ribbon encircles the orange, symbolizing the blood of Jesus. Four toothpicks with dried fruits are placed through the ribbon into the sides of the orange, representing the fruits of the earth.
This simple visual aid vividly represents the purpose behind Christ’s coming—to bring light into the darkness and to redeem a broken world by shedding His blood.
In John’s account of Christ’s life, the disciple describes Jesus as the Light of the world. He wrote of Christ: “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9). Not only did Christ the Light come to penetrate our world’s darkness, but He is also “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (v.29).
Think of it! The baby of Bethlehem became the living, risen Christ who has rescued us from our sin. And so John instructs us to “walk in the light as He is in the light” 1 John 1.7. May all who have experienced His rescue find in Jesus the peace of walking in His light.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in Thee tonight.
The newborn Christ- became the Light of the world and the Lamb of God.
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One Silent Night
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Posted:Dec 24, 2013 5:44 am
Last Updated:Dec 25, 2013 5:44 am 17021 Views
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Read: Luke 2:1-14
Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
—Luke 2:10
Bible in a Year:
Habakkuk 1-3; Revelation 15
Simon had emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States. His wife, Kay, and all three of their had been born in the US. Then Jenny married Roberto from Panama. Bill married Vania from Portugal. And Lucas married Bora from South Korea.
On Christmas Eve, as the family gathered for a celebration, they began singing “Silent Night” in their native tongues—a sweet sound indeed for the Lord of the earth to hear as they celebrated the birth of His .
Two thousand years ago, the silence of a quiet night ended abruptly when an angel told the shepherds a baby had been born: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10). Then a multitude of angels began praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (v.14). Christ the Lord, the Savior of the world, was born!
God’s gracious gift, His , which was announced on that long-ago silent night, is still available to everyone—“every tribe and nation” (Titus 2:11-14; Rev. 5:9-10). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten , that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Silent night! holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia—
Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born!
Heaven’s choir came down to sing when heaven’s King came down to save.
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