Lord, hear our prayer:
Father, most holy and precious Lord, we praise you for the victory of your love that triumphed over sin and death. We praise you that now and always he is our living Lord. We come to praise you now in and for him as we will praise you for all eternity. For this we exalt, magnify and praise you.
Amen.
Thinking, praying, reading, studying the Bible – when we do these things, we are reflecting on the Word of God. To reflect is to contemplate and/or consider, and God wants us to deeply reflect on His Word so that we can better understand Him.
Thursday Reflecting
“After a long time the lord . . . came and settled accounts with them.” – Matthew 25:19.
An Eastern allegory runs thus: A merchant, going abroad for a time, gave respectively to two of his friends two sacks of wheat each, to take care of against his return. Years passed: he came back, and applied for them again. The first took him into his storehouse, and showed them him; but they were mildewed and worthless. The other led him out into the open country, and pointed out field after field of waving corn, the produce of the two sacks given him. Said the merchant, “You have been a faithful friend. Give me two sacks of that wheat: the rest shall be thine.”
~ FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL
Thursday September 7, 2023
John 4:14
“The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain.”
The picture Our Lord gives is not that of a channel but a fountain. ‘Be being filled,’ and the sweetness of vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of the saint as lavishly as it is imparted to him. If you find your life is not flowing out as it should, you are to blame; something has obstructed the flow. Keep right at the Source, and—you will be blessed personally? No, out of you will flow rivers of living water, irrepressible life.
We are to be centers through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to everyone. Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out, because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive from Him, He will pour out through us, and in the measure He is not pouring out, there is a defect in our relationship to Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything that hinders your belief in Him? If not, Jesus says, out of you will flow rivers of living water. It is not a blessing passed on, not an experience stated, but a river continually flowing. Keep at the Source, guard well your belief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no deadness.
Is it not too extravagant to say that out of an individual believer, rivers are going to flow? ‘I do not see the rivers,’ you say. Never look at yourself from the standpoint of—‘Who am I?’ In the history of God’s work you will nearly always find that it has started from the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but the steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
Dr. Judson labored diligently for six years in Burma before he baptized a convert. At the end of three years he was asked what evidence he had of ultimate success. He replied, “As much as there is a God who will fulfill all His promises.” A hundred churches and thousands of converts answered his faith.
The betrayal of a loved one can shake our world. It can make us feel vulnerable and used, and if we’re not careful, it can cause us to be bitter and suspicious toward others. The psalmist in Psalm chapter 55 experiences such a betrayal from a friend who feared God: “We would take sweet counsel together in the house of God” (Psalm 55:14).
The psalmist agonizes over how he was deceived: “The buttery words of his mouth were smooth, but there was battle in his heart. His words were smoother than oil, but they were drawn swords” (Psalm 55:21). How does someone move beyond a violation of trust? Instead of growing bitter, the psalmist puts his trust in Yahweh: “Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).
Similarly, in 2 Corinthians, Paul tells the church in Corinth about his sufferings. Among Paul’s lashings, stonings, shipwrecks (three of them), and robbings, he also lists “dangers because of false brothers” (2 Corinthians 11:26). He suffered anxiety because of the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28).
Paul adds to this list by discussing a force of oppression over him. He states that he prayed for his “thorn” to be taken from him (2 Corinthians 12:8). However, the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, because the power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). This reshapes Paul’s perspective on suffering: “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in calamities, in persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). By submitting to Christ, Paul relied less on himself and more heavily on God. As a result, God’s grace and power was manifested within him.
Betrayal causes bitterness that can poison our hearts. But, like Paul, we should use trials as an opportunity to submit more fully to God, and to show others His work in us.
Paul had a rather long history in relation to Ephesus. On his second missionary journey he, together with Aquila and Priscilla, left Greece and went to Ephesus. While Paul went on to Antioch, Aquila and Priscilla remained there to continue the work (Acts 18:18–21). Paul returned on his third missionary tour (Acts 19:1), staying this time for three years (Acts 20:31). Ephesus became a center for Christian work in the area and was later associated with the apostle John and the Johannine writings.
Christ in His Church and the church in Christ may serve as the overall message of the letter. Some of the greatest thoughts in the New Testament on Christ in relationship to His people is found here. Christ is unequivocally the exalted head of all things as well as head of the church (Ephesians 1:22). This reality issues in the reality of oneness with God and oneness with each other, a major emphasis throughout Ephesians. The letter has a salutation, two major sections, and a conclusion. A doxology (Ephesians 3:20–21) denotes the division between the two major sections, although both sections have some common themes. However, for this teaching, I will emphasize the oneness with Christ as expressed in the first major section.
After a brief salutation, Paul praised God for what He had done in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3–14). He wrote of the security that believers have because God chose them (Ephesians 1:4, 11). Through Christ they experienced grace, forgiveness, redemption, and knowledge of the “mystery of his will” (Ephesians 1:7–9). Mystery, is a word related to the mystery religions where only those initiated knew the secrets of the religion, and it’s a word Paul adapted to special use. The mystery is really an open secret. God made plain His purposes for all to see if they will see. The mystery made known is God’s purpose to “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). This mystery has much meaning and many applications as the letter affirms, because involved in this open secret is the total revelation of God in Jesus.
Expressions of thanksgiving and prayer follow. The prayers in the readers’ behalf include petitions that they will understand the blessings they have in Christ. Christ is head (Ephesians 1:22) of the church, His body. Ancient physiology viewed both life and the thinking processes as residing in the head. Christ, therefore, as head of His body, the church, gives life and direction to the church.
Since Christ acted to give life to the church, Paul reminded his Gentile readers that they were made alive to become one with God’s people, both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:1–22). Out of diverse people, divided and hostile to one another much of the time, God made in Christ Jesus “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15). The expression “one new man” means “one new humanity.” God has made, therefore, a new people in this world, which is the church, composed of Jews and Gentiles.
Lord, hear our prayer:
Lord, we praise you that whether, like the crowds who waved their palm branches, we are passing through times of peace and rejoicing or whether it feels as if we are standing at the foot of a cross, you give us the assurance that your grace is sufficient no matter the cost. We thank you and exalt you. Be glorified in Jesus.
Amen.
Thinking, praying, reading, studying the Bible – when we do these things, we are reflecting on the Word of God. To reflect is to contemplate and/or consider, and God wants us to deeply reflect on His Word so that we can better understand Him.
Wednesday Reflecting
“For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” – Matthew 23:27.
In the olden times even the best rooms were usually of bare brick or stone, damp and moldy, but over these in great houses when the family was resident, were hung up arras or hangings of rich materials, between which and the walls persons might conceal themselves, so that literally walls had ears. It is to be feared that many a brave show of godliness is but art arras to conceal rank hypocrisy; and this accounts for some men’s religion being but occasional, since it is folded up or exposed to view as need may demand. Is there no room for conscience to pry between thy feigned profession and thy real godliness and bear witness against thee? Remember, if conscience do it not, certainly “the Watcher and the Holy One” will make a thorough search within thee.
~ SPURGEON
Wednesday September 6, 2023
Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
There is no spiritual value in depression. One bright and thankful look at the cross is worth a thousand morbid, self-condemning reflections. The longer you look at evil the more it mesmerizes and defiles you into its own likeness. Lay it down at the cross, accept the cleansing blood, reckon yourself dead to the thing that was wrong, and then rise up and count yourself as if you were another man and no longer the same person; and then, identifying yourself with the Lord Jesus, accept your standing in Him and look in your Father’s face as blameless as Jesus. Then out of your every fault will come some lesson of watchfulness or some secret of victory which will enable you some day to thank Him, even for your painful experience.
But praise is a sacrifice, for “it is acceptable to God.” It goes up to heaven sweeter than the songs of angels, “a sweet smelling savor to your Lord and King.” It should be unintermittent—“the sacrifice of praise continually.” One drop of poison will neutralize a whole cup of wine, and make it a cup of death, and one moment of gloom will defile a whole day of sunshine and gladness. Let us “rejoice evermore.”
When Senator Kefauver stated that the H-bombs could “blow the earth off its axis by 16 degrees,” scientists correctly say, “Not so!” There is no known power in nature which could so upset the earth. “A strong earthquake involves almost as much energy as would be supplied by a million atomic bombs, or about 1,000 H-bombs set off simultaneously,” says the Defense Department. And earthquakes are under God’s control.
Faith is not just about being faithful; it’s also about trusting in God’s faithfulness.
For years God dealt with the confused and waning nature of His people while they were in the wilderness. They wondered, “Will God actually do what Moses has told us?” They had seen God repeatedly act on their behalf, but they continued to grow frightened and faithless. In return, the first generation that left Egypt never saw the promises of God. Instead, a later generation witnessed His faithfulness.
In Joshua 14:1–15:63, we see God fulfilling His words. Caleb and Joshua get a chance to witness this faithfulness, but the Hebrews who doubted that God would act on their behalf did not (Joshua 14:6–15; also see Numbers 13:25–14:45). This is an incredible moment: these two men had watched the failures of their elders and led their peers and people younger than them so that they could witness the faithfulness of God together. You can almost hear them singing, “It is well with my soul.”
Faith is a two-way street. We are to be faithful, but we must also have faith in God’s faithfulness. God will do what He has told us He will do. He will act upon His word like He did with Joshua and Caleb.
We will be able to look back upon the events in our lives and say, as the psalmist does, “I will freely sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Yahweh, because it is good. Because he has delivered me from all trouble” (Psalm 54:6–7).
Since we know that day will come, why should we not freely sacrifice to Him now? He will overcome our opposition. Why should we not boldly proclaim, as the old hymn says, “I am bound for the promised land,” and use it as leverage to say, “God will be faithful, so there is no reason why we shouldn’t be”?
God has bound us to His faithfulness; Christ’s death and resurrection shows that He blesses us beyond measure. So let’s be bound to God with the knowledge that we are bound for the heavens that He has promised.
Prayer is not mentioned as a part of the armor; but I would not be overrating its importance if I stated that it is the atmosphere in which the soldier must live and breathe. It is the spirit in which he must don the armor and face the foe. Prayer should be continual, as Paul wrote in Thessalonians, without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), not sporadic; a habit, not an isolated act. Then too the soldier should use all kinds of prayer: public and private; deliberate and spontaneous; supplication and intercession; confession and humiliation; praise and thanksgiving.
And prayer most assuredly should be in the Spirit, that is, inspired and led by Him. Formal prayers recited merely by rote (without giving thought to their meaning), of what value are they in combat against the hosts of hell? There must be vigilance in prayer: watchful to this end. We must watch against drowsiness, mind-wandering, and preoccupation with other things. Prayer, Spirit-led prayer, requires spiritual keenness, alertness, and concentration. And there must be perseverance in prayer. We must keep on asking, seeking, knocking (Luke 11:9). Supplication should be made for all the saints. They are engaged in the conflict too, and need to be supported in prayer by their fellow soldiers. That is exactly how we protect one another’s backs in conflict.
Regarding Paul’s personal request, and for me, remember Paul was writing from prison. Yet he did not ask prayer for his early release. Rather he asked for utterance in opening his mouth boldly to declare the mystery of the gospel. This is Paul’s final mention of the mystery in Ephesians. Here it is presented as the reason for his bonds. Yet he shows that he has no regrets. Quite the contrary! He wants to broadcast it more and more.
Ambassadors are generally granted diplomatic immunity from arrest and imprisonment. But men will tolerate almost anything better than they will tolerate the gospel. No other subject stirs such emotion, arouses such hostility and suspicion, and provokes such persecution. So Paul, as Christ’s representative was an ambassador in chains. John Eadie, in his commentary on Ephesians, states it well:
A legate from the mightiest Sovereignty, charged with an embassy of unparalleled nobleness and urgency, and bearing with him credentials of unmistakable authenticity, is detained in captivity. 2
The particular part of Paul’s message that stirred the hostility of narrow religionists was the announcement that believing Jews and believing Gentiles are now formed into one new society, sharing equal privileges, and acknowledging Christ as Head.
Today, we are the beneficiaries of that truth. Thanks to Paul’s boldness of speech, we are united as one Body, soldiers rightly outfitted in the company of Christ Jesus.
Lord, hear our prayer:
Heavenly Father, our Lord, we praise you that even when the world and our neighbor have, like the crowds of Palm Sunday, stopped praising him, he is still Lord; that even when those around us, like the mob who cried ‘Crucify!’, turn their backs on you and reject your Son and your purpose of grace for a lost world, still you cannot be defeated. We praise you in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Thinking, praying, reading, studying the Bible – when we do these things, we are reflecting on the Word of God. To reflect is to contemplate and/or consider, and God wants us to deeply reflect on His Word so that we can better understand Him.
Tuesday Reflecting
“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” – Matthew 21:22.
Prayer is the bow, the promise is the arrow: faith is the hand which draws the bow, and sends the arrow with the heart’s message to heaven. The bow without the arrow is of no use; and the arrow without the bow is of little worth; and both, without the strength of the hand, to no purpose. Neither the promise without prayer, nor prayer without the promise, nor both without faith, avail the Christian anything. What was said of the Israelites, “They could not enter in, because of unbelief,” the same may be said of many of our prayers: they cannot enter heaven, because they are not put up in faith.
~ SALTER
Tuesday September 5, 2023
Ezekiel 36:26
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart
of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
The promise is that he will give us new hearts and right spirits. Human nature is too far gone ever to be mended. It is not a house that is a little out of repair, with here and there a slate blown from the roof, and here and there a piece of plaster broken down from the ceiling. No, it is rotten throughout, the very foundations have been eroded; there is not a single timber in it which has not been eaten by the worm, from its uppermost roof to its lowest foundation; there is no soundness in it; it is all rottenness and ready to fall. God does not attempt to mend; he does not shore up the walls, and repaint the door; he does not garnish and beautify, but he determines that the old house shall be entirely swept away, and that he will build a new one. It is too far gone, I say, to be mended. If it were only a little out of repair, it might be mended. If only a wheel or two of that great thing called “manhood” were out of repair, then he who made man might put the whole to rights; he might put a new cog where it had been broken off, and another wheel where it had gone to ruin and the machine might work anew. But no, the whole of it is out of repair; there is not one lever which is not broken; not one axle which is not disturbed; not one of the wheels which act upon the others. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot, to the crown of the head, it is all wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. The Lord, therefore, does not attempt the repairing of this thing.
David Livingstone had spent sixteen years in Africa but had not faced such peril. The white man was surrounded by hostile, angry natives in the heart of Africa. He was in danger of losing his life and contemplated fleeing in the night. But something happened that changed his mind and gave him peace in his perilous situation. He recorded it in his diary that January 14, 1856:
Felt much turmoil of spirit in prospect of having all my plans for the welfare of this great region and this teeming population knocked on the head by savages tomorrow. But I read that Jesus said: “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” It is the word of a gentleman of the most strict and sacred honor, so there’s an end to it! I will not cross furtively tonight as I intended. Should such a man as I flee? Nay, verily, I shall take observations for latitude and longitude tonight, though they may be the last. I feel quite calm now, thank God!
I’d like to skip over the description of the “mighty man” in Psalm chapter 52. Of all of his destructive influences, the mighty man is most judged for his use of words. The psalmist’s words burn because I’ve set more than a few forests ablaze with careless words (James 3:5). So how should someone like me respond to the psalmist’s judgment?
“Why do you boast about evil, O mighty man? The loyal love of God endures continually. Your tongue plans destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit. You love evil more than good, a lie more than speaking what is right. You love all devouring words, O deceitful tongue” (Psalm 52:1–4).
Prideful self-reliance is at the root of the evil man’s devouring, razor-sharp tongue. He boasts to make himself appear mighty. He takes “refuge in his destructiveness” (Psalm 52:7). In contrast, the psalmist finds refuge in God, in the sanctuary of His loyal love: “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God. I trust in the loyal love of God forever and ever” (Psalm 52:8).
On my own, I’m more like the mighty man than the stable and prosperous olive tree. I can try to manage my words, fabricating my sense of security on the basis of good behavior. But efforts born out of self-reliance—the root problem of my flippant speech—always fail me. Unless I recognize the foolishness of my pride, I cannot see my desperate need for God. Without hope in Jesus, who provided refuge through His sacrifice, I’ll never resemble the psalmist’s prosperous olive tree.
Oftentimes, the places where we fail so miserably, where we need the most grace, are also the places we see God’s work all the more. His Spirit changes us into people who bear the fruit of thankfulness. It makes us ever more eager to say with the psalmist: “I will give thanks to you forever, because of what you have done” (Psalm 52:9).
From last lesson: We must take up the whole armor of God, that we may be able to withstand when the conflict reaches its fiercest intensity, and still be found standing when the smoke of battle has cleared away.
The first piece of armor mentioned is the belt of truth. Certainly we must be faithful in holding the truth of God’s word, but it is also necessary for the truth to hold us. We must apply it to our daily lives. As we test everything by the truth, we find strength and protection in the combat.
The second piece is the breastplate of righteousness. Every believer is clothed with the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), but he must also manifest integrity and uprightness in his personal life. Someone once said, “When a man is clothed in practical righteousness, he is impregnable. Words are no defense against accusation, but a good life is.” If our conscience is void of offense toward God and man, the devil has nothing to shoot at. David put on the breastplate of righteousness as revealed in Psalm 7:3–5. The Lord Jesus wore it at all times (Isaiah 59:17).
The soldier must have his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This implies and suggests a readiness to go out with the good news of peace, and therefore an invasion into enemy territory. When we relax in our tents, we are in deadly peril. Our safety is to be found in following the beautiful feet of the Savior on the mountains, bearing glad tidings and publishing peace (Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15).
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee
~ Frances Ridley Havergal
In addition, the soldier must take the shield of faith so that when the fiery darts of the wicked one come zooming at him, they will hit the shield and fall harmlessly to the ground. Faith here is firm confidence in the Lord and in His word. When temptations burn, when circumstances are adverse, when doubts assail, when shipwreck threatens, faith looks up and says, “I believe God and His eternal Word.”
The helmet God provides is salvation (Isaiah 59:17). No matter how hot the battle, the Christian is not daunted, since he knows that ultimate victory is sure. Assurance of eventual deliverance preserves him from retreat or surrender. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
Finally, the soldier takes the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The classic illustration of this is our Lord’s use of this sword in His encounter with Satan. Three times He quoted the word of God, not just random verses but the appropriate verses which the Holy Spirit gave Him for that occasion (Luke 4:1–13). A sword is almost useless if it isn’t sharp. We need to stay sharp in the Word. The word of God here does not mean the whole Bible, but the particular portion of the Bible which best suits the occasion.
Evangelist David Watson wrote:
God gives us all the protection that we need. We must see that there is a “ring of truth” about our walk with the Lord, that our lives are right (“righteous”) with God and with one another, that we seek to make peace wherever we go, that we lift up that shield of faith together to quench the flaming darts of the evil one, that we protect our minds from fears and anxieties that easily assail, and that we use God’s word to good effect in the power of the Spirit. Remember it was by the repeated sword thrusts of God’s word that Jesus overcame his adversary in the wilderness. 1
Lord, hear our prayer:
Heavenly Father, we praise you that in his coming you have demonstrated your commitment to us but your total rejection of all that is evil; for the utter determination of your love to touch our hearts, to change our lives and to gently but firmly call us to follow your Son. Through Christ Jesus, our Savior.
Amen.
Thinking, praying, reading, studying the Bible – when we do these things, we are reflecting on the Word of God. To reflect is to contemplate and/or consider, and God wants us to deeply reflect on His Word so that we can better understand Him.
Monday Reflecting
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem.” – Matthew 20:18.
Never had there been such a going up to Jerusalem as that which Jesus here proposes to His disciples. Jesus goes up voluntarily. The act was not enforced by any external compulsion. Jerusalem might at this time have been avoided. It was deliberately sought. Jesus was hereby fulfilling the Father’s will, executing the mission on which He had been sent. It was after this journey that He said, “I have finished the work Thou gavest Me to do.” His going up was a part of that work. Hence it was right for Him to go up, although He knew that betrayal, arrest, condemnation and crucifixion awaited Him. It was a going up to a triumph to be reached through defeat, a coronation to be attained through ignominy and humiliation.
O believer, in your walk through the world to-day, be strengthened, be comforted, be inspired, by the spectacle of the Captain of your salvation thus going up to Jerusalem! And remember in all those apparently downward passages of life, where sorrow and it may be death, lie before you, that all such descents, made or endured in the spirit of Jesus, are really up-goings, steps leading you to the mount of God and the resurrection glory.
~ JOSEPH B. STRATTON
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