Reflecting With God 1/16/2024

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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.

“You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 1:5.

When a lecturer on electricity wants to show an example of a human body surcharged with his fire, he places a person on a stool with glass legs. The glass serves to isolate him from the earth, because it will not conduct the fire,—the electric fluid: were it not for this, however much might be poured into his frame, it would be carried away by the earth; but, when thus isolated from it, he retains all that enters him. You see no fire, you hear no fire; but you are told that it is pouring into him. Presently, you are challenged to the proof; asked to come near, and hold your hand close to his person: when you do so, a spark of fire shoots out toward you. If thou, then, wouldst have thy soul surcharged with the fire of God, so that those who come near thee shall feel some mysterious influence proceeding out from thee, thou must draw nigh to the source of that fire, to the throne of God and of the Lamb, and shut thyself out from the world,—that cold world which so swiftly steals our fire away. Enter into thy closet, and shut to thy door, and there, isolated “before the throne,” await the baptism: then the fire shall fill thee; and, when thou comest forth, holy power will attend thee, and thou shalt labor, not in thine own strength, but with demonstration of the Spirit, and with power.
~ W. ARTHUR

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Corn In Egypt

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Tuesday January 16, 2024

Genesis 42:1-2
When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons,
“Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard
that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain
for us there, that we may live and not die.”

God in his wisdom has made the outward world, so that it is a strange and wonderful picture of the inner world. Nature has an analogy with grace. The wonders that God does in the heart of man, each of them finds a parallel, a picture, a metaphor, an illustration, in the wonders which God performs in providence. It is the duty of the minister always to look for these analogies. Our Saviour did so. He is the model preacher: his preaching was made up of parables, pictures from the outer world, accommodated to teach great and mighty truths. And so is man’s mind constituted, that we can always see a thing better through a picture than in any other way. If you tell a man a simple truth, he does not see it nearly so well as if you told it to him in an illustration. If I should attempt to describe the flight of a soul from sin to Christ, you would not see it one half so readily as if I should picture John Bunyan’s pilgrim running out of the city of destruction, with his fingers in his ears, and hastening with all his might to the wicket gate. There is something tangible in a picture, a something which our poor flesh and blood can lay hold of; and therefore the mind, grasping through the flesh and the blood, is able to understand the idea, and to appropriate it. Hence the necessity and usefulness of the minister always endeavoring to illustrate his sermon, and to make his discourse as much as possible like the parables of Jesus Christ.

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C. H. Spurgeon and Terence Peter Crosby, 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (Day One Publications, 1998)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Spiritual Nuggets 1/16/2024

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I Will Laud Your Deeds

I grew up in a family of stoics. Through example, my siblings and I were taught to keep our emotions to ourselves. Displays of excessive affection or sorrow were regarded with some suspicion, and this played out in our expressions of faith.

Psalm 145 directly challenges such a mindset. The psalmist expresses why confessing God’s faithfulness is so important, especially to those we influence: “One generation will laud your works to another, and will declare your mighty deeds” (Psalm 145:4). God’s mighty deeds were His redemptive acts—especially the exodus from Egypt. His greatness (Psalm 145:6), His righteousness (Psalm 145:7), His glory, and His power (Psalm 145:11-12) were expressed.

Our praise should be centered on God’s ultimate restorative work through His Son—an act that has brought us back into intimate communion with Him. We can bring our sorrows and failures to Him: “Yahweh upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14). He hears our desires and our cries when we call upon Him in truth (Psalm 145:18-19). Calling on God in truth requires that we honestly examine our own emotions (Psalm 145:18). When we bring our emotions to God, we should do so in either confession or praise.

James emphasizes that free expression isn’t always a value. Since we stumble in many ways, loose talk can be dangerous and destructive in communities (James 3:2-6). Both speaking and silence require wisdom. When we are quick to talk about God’s work of redemption and His work in us, our words bring Him honor. What better reason to be mindful of how our expressions affect those around us—especially those who look up to us.

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Connect the Testaments
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Lexham English Bible, LEB © 2012 by Logos Bible Software.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Links open in new window and are in the Lexham English Bible, LEB, unless otherwise noted.
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Down – But Not Out! – 3

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Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Remember What God Is to You – Continued

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. – 2 Corinthians 1:3.

Praise Him because He is the God of all comfort! The words comfort or consolation (same root word in the Greek) are repeated ten times in 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. However, we must not think of comfort in terms of “sympathy,” because sympathy can weaken us instead of strengthen us. God does not pat us on the head and give us a piece of candy or a toy to distract our attention from our troubles. No, He puts strength into our hearts so we can face our trials and triumph over them. Our English word comfort comes from two Latin words meaning “with strength.” The Greek word means “to come alongside and help.” It is the same word used for the Holy Spirit (“the Comforter”) in John chapters 14-16.

God can encourage us by His Word and through His Spirit, but sometimes He uses other believers to give us the encouragement we need (2 Corinthians 2:7-8; 7:6-7). How wonderful it would be if all of us had the nickname “Barnabas, son of encouragement”! (see Acts 4:36).

When you find yourself discouraged because of difficult circumstances, it is easy to look at yourself and your feelings, or to focus on the problems around you. But the first step we must take is to look by faith to the Lord and realize all that God is to us. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

Remember What God Does for You

Please read 2 Corinthians 1:4a, 8-11 for background to this section.

He permits the trials to come. There are ten basic words for suffering in the Greek language, and Paul used five of them in this letter. The most frequently used word is thlipsis, which means “narrow, confined, under pressure,” and in this letter is most often translated affliction (2 Corinthians 2:4; 4:17), but also tribulation (2 Corinthians 1:4), and trouble (2 Corinthians 1:8) depending on the translation. Paul felt hemmed in by difficult circumstances, and the only way he could look was up.

In 2 Corinthians 1:5-6, Paul used the word pathema, “sufferings,” which was also used for the sufferings of our Savior (1 Peter 1:11; 5:1). There are some sufferings that we endure simply because we are human and subject to pain; but there are other sufferings that come because we are God’s people and want to serve Him.

We must never think that trouble is an accident. For the believer, everything is a divine appointment. There are only three possible outlooks a person can take when it comes to the trials of life. If our trials are the products of “fate” or “chance,” then our only recourse is to give up. Nobody can control fate or chance. If we have to control everything ourselves, then the situation is equally as hopeless. But if God is in control, and we trust Him, then we can overcome circumstances with His help.

God encourages us in all our tribulations by teaching us from His Word that it is He who permits trials to come.

To Be Continued

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Daily Prayer & Praise 1/15/2024

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Lord, hear our prayer:

Father, we praise you, not only for creating the world and everything in it, but also for making us and giving us life. We praise you that the world in which you have placed us has been filled with so many beautiful things and so many kind and understanding people. We praise you for your grace to us and your compassion towards all that you have made. We praise you that when your world turned its back on its Maker you did not reject us or hide your love from us. In Christ you entered our world and shared every experience of our lives. We praise you for his life, death and resurrection and for the power of the Holy Spirit who transforms our lives. Praise belongs to you through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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Some minor adaptation on some prayers.
David Clowes, 500 Prayers For All Occasions © 2003 by David C Cook Publishing
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Reflecting With God 1/15/2024

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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.

“It is the Lord!” – John 21:7.

Did you ever notice how this whole incident might be turned, by a symbolical application, to the hour of death, and the vision which may meet us thither? It admits of the application, and perhaps was intended to receive the application, of such a symbolic reference. The morning is dawning, the grey of night is going away, the lake is still; and yonder, standing on the shore, in the uncertain light, there is one dim figure, and one disciple catches a glimpse of Him, and another casts himself into the water, and they find a fire of coals and fish laid thereon, and bread, and Christ gathers them around His table, and they all know that “It is the Lord.” It is what the death of the Christian man, who has gone through life recognizing Christ everywhere, may well become:—the morning dawning, and the finished work, and the figure standing on the quiet beach so that the last plunge into the cold flood that yet separates us, will not be taken with trembling reluctance; but drawn to Him by the love beaming out of His face, and upheld by the power of His beckoning presence, we shall struggle through the latest wave that parts us and scarcely feel its chill or know that we have crossed it; till falling blessed at His feet, we see, by the nearer and clearer vision of His face, that this is indeed heaven. And looking back upon “the sea that brought us thither,” we shall behold its waters flashing in the light of that everlasting morning, and hear them breaking into-music upon the eternal shore. And then, when all the weary night-watchers on the stormy ocean of life are gathered together around Him Who watched with them from His throne on the bordering mountains of eternity, where the day shines forever—then He will seat them at His table in His Kingdom, and none will need to ask: “Who art Thou?” or “Where am I?” for all shall know that “It is the Lord,” and the full, perfect, unchangeable vision of His blessed face will be heaven!
~ MACLAREN

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Less Than the Best

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Monday January 15, 2024

Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

It is disheartening to those who care, and surely a great grief to the Spirit, to see how many Christians are content to settle for less than the best. Personally I have for years carried a burden of sorrow as I have moved among evangelical Christians who somewhere in their past have managed to strike a base compromise with their heart’s holier longings and have settled down to a lukewarm, mediocre kind of Christianity utterly unworthy of themselves and of the Lord they claim to serve. And such are found everywhere. . . .

Every man is as close to God as he wants to be; he is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wills to be. Our Lord said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” If there were but one man anywhere on earth who hungered and was not filled, the word of Christ would fall to the ground.

Yet we must distinguish wanting from wishing. By “want” I mean wholehearted desire. Certainly there are many who wish they were holy or victorious or joyful but are not willing to meet God’s conditions to obtain it.

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Tozer on the Almighty God : A 366-Day Devotional (WingSpread, 2004)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Spiritual Nuggets 1/15/2024

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The Tricks We Play on Ourselves

A great deal of leadership is based on consistency. King David is a prime example: He struggled most when he was inconsistent.

David’s son, Absalom, committed horrific acts against David and others (2 Samuel 14-17). David repeatedly responded in a manner unbefitting a king, finally sending men out to destroy Absalom’s troops (2 Samuel 18:1-4). As the troops headed out, he ordered his commanders—within hearing of the army—to “deal gently” with Absalom (2 Samuel 18:5). With this order, David again acted beneath his role and duty as king: He asked for the leader of a rebellion to be spared—essentially using his own warriors as pawns in a game to regain his fallen son. Absalom didn’t deserve to be dealt with gently; he was a ruthless, terrorizing dictator and had opposed God’s chosen king. His time was up. For this reason, and perhaps others, Joab, one of David’s commanders, chose to kill Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14).

It’s unlikely any of us will ever be in a position like David or Joab’s, but their story presents some lessons in leadership. Joab demonstrates that sometimes the “right hand man” knows better than the commander-in-chief. David’s repeated inability to separate his emotions from the situation (he made this same mistake with Saul) could have resulted in his untimely death and the complete destruction of the kingdom God had given him to steward. If David was willing to be so merciful, he could have invited Absalom back into the kingdom. David’s actions show us that we should seek the advice of others, asking that they help us think through the full ramifications of our actions. If David would have sought advice from Joab or another of his trusted leaders, he probably would have made a wiser decision—and preserved his dignity as king.

Based on David’s track record as a military leader, he would have dealt swiftly with any other uprising, but he ignored resistance from his own son to the point of peril. The events between David and Absalom don’t portray David as a man of love and mercy; instead, they reveal him as a man too easily swayed by conflicting feelings.

Selfishness is David’s ultimate downfall. He wanted Absalom to live because it seemed best in his mind—it was the ideal future he envisioned. In making a move to create that future himself, David jeopardized everyone he should have protected. He even jeopardized his own reign, which itself was a gift from God.

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Connect the Testaments
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Lexham English Bible, LEB © 2012 by Logos Bible Software.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Links open in new window and are in the Lexham English Bible, LEB, unless otherwise noted.
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Down – But Not Out! – 2

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Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Remember What God Is to You

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. – 2 Corinthians 1:3.

Paul began his letter with a doxology. He certainly could not sing about his circumstances, but he could sing about the God who is in control of all circumstances. Paul had learned that praise is an important factor in achieving victory over discouragement and depression. “Praise changes things” just as much as “Prayer changes things.”

Praise Him because He is God! You find this phrase “blessed be the God” in two other places in the New Testament, in Ephesians 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:3. In Ephesians 1:3 Paul praised God for what He did in the past, when He “chose us in him [Christ]” (Ephesians 1:4) and blessed us “with every spiritual blessing.” In 1 Peter 1:3 Peter praised God for future blessings and “a living hope.” But in 2 Corinthians Paul praised God for present blessings, for what God was accomplishing then and there.

I’ve read the story of Pastor Martin Rinkart, who during the horrors of the Thirty Years’ War, faithfully served the people in Eilenburg, Saxony. He conducted as many as 40 funerals a day, a total of more than 4,000 during his ministry. Yet out of this devastating experience, he wrote a “table grace” for his children which today is often used as a hymn of thanksgiving:

Now thank we all our God,
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom His world rejoices!

Praise Him because He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is because of Jesus Christ that we can call God “Father” and even approach Him as His children. God sees us in His Son and loves us as He loves His Son (John 17:23). We are “loved by God” (Romans 1:7) because we are “blessed . . . in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).

Whatever the Father did for Jesus when He was ministering on earth, He is able to do for us today. We are dear to the Father because His Son is dear to Him and we are citizens of “the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). We are precious to the Father, and He will see to it that the pressures of life will not destroy us.

Praise Him because He is the Father of mercies! To the Jewish people, the phrase father of means “originator of.” Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) because lies originated with him. According to Genesis 4:21, Jubal was the father of musical instruments because he originated the pipe and the harp. God is the Father of mercies because all mercy originates with Him and can be secured only from Him.

God in His grace gives us what we do not deserve, and in His mercy He does not give us what we do deserve. “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed” (Lamentations 3:22, NKJV). The New King James Version of the Bible states God’s mercy is manifold (Nehemiah 9:19), tender (Psalm 25:6), and great (Numbers 14:19). The Bible frequently speaks of the “abundance of God’s mercies and steadfast love” so inexhaustible is His supply (Psalms 5:7; 51:1; 69:13, 16; 106:7, 45; Lamentations 3:32).

To Be Continued

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Sunday Prayer & Praise 1/14/2024

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Dear Lord, hear our prayer:

Heavenly Father, holy and gracious Lord of all creation, we praise You and thank You in advance for the expectation of great things to come. We look to Your Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and open the path before us to accomplish what You have planned for us. We surrender to Your will for our lives and no matter what comes our way, we realize and recognize that Your plans for us are for our own benefit and to mold us more and more into the image of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Redeemer. We yearn dear Lord, to reflect Him in all that we do for You and especially as You use us as the vessels of Your workmanship. Draw us closer to You through Christ Jesus and empower us by Your Holy Spirit to be one with You and one with one another. Lord, we ask these things boldly and expectantly in Jesus’ most wonderful name.

Amen and AMEN.

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Prayer by Roland J. Ledoux, For the Love of God
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Essential Insights on Faith 1/14/2024

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Good news from a distant land is like cold water to a parched throat.
PROVERBS 25:25

Billy Graham

When we come to a large city,
all the controversies within the
church are brought into focus by
the crusade. The tension is not in us;
it is already there. There are those
who, for one reason or another, feel
they cannot support the meetings. I
never answer them, I never mention
them, I never attack them. I RESPECT
their point of view, but we go on
PREACHING THE GOSPEL.


Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible®, HCSB © 2009
by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Classic Devotional 1/14/2024

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Centuries of Meditations – First Century

67

But what creature could I desire to be which I am not made? There are Angels and Cherubim. I rejoice, O Lord, in their happiness, and that I am what I am by Thy grace and favor. Suppose, O my Soul, there were no creature made at all, and that God making Thee alone offered to make Thee what Thou wouldst: What couldst Thou desire; or what wouldst Thou wish, or crave to be? Since GOD is the most Glorious of all Beings, and the most blessed, couldst thou wish any more than to be His IMAGE! O my Soul, He hath made thee His Image. Sing, O ye Angels, and laud His name, ye Cherubims: Let all the Kingdoms of the Earth be glad, and let all the Host of Heaven rejoice for He hath made His Image, the likeness of Himself, His own similitude. What creature, what being, what thing more glorious could there be! God from all Eternity was infinitely blessed, and desired to make one infinitely blessed. He was infinite Love, and being lovely in being so, would prepare for Himself a most lovely object. Having studied from all Eternity, He saw none more lovely than the Image of His Love, His own Similitude. O Dignity unmeasurable! O exaltation passing knowledge! O Joy unspeakable! Triumph, O my Soul, and rejoice for ever! I see that I am infinitely beloved. For infinite Love hath expressed and pleased itself in creating an infinite object. God is Love, and my Soul is Lovely! God is loving, and His Image amiable. O my Soul these are the foundations of an Eternal Friendship between God and Thee. He is infinitely prone to love, and thou art like Him. He is infinitely lovely and Thou art like Him. What can more agree than that which is infinitely lovely, and that which is infinitely prone to love! Where both are so lovely, and so prone to love, joys and affections will be excited between them! What infinite treasures will they be to each other! O my God Thou hast glorified Thyself, and Thy creature infinitely, in making Thine Image! It is fitted for the Throne of God! It is meet to be Thy companion! It is so sublime and wonderful and amiable, that all Angels and Men were created to admire it: As it was created to admire Thee, and to live in communion with Thee for ever.


Thomas Traherne (1637 – September 27, 1674) was an English poet, Anglican cleric, theologian, and religious writer. Traherne’s writings frequently explore the glory of creation and what he saw as his intimate relationship with God. The work for which Traherne is best known today is the Centuries of Meditations, a collection of short paragraphs in which he reflects on Christian life and ministry, philosophy, happiness, desire and childhood. This was first published in 1908 after having been rediscovered in manuscript ten years earlier. Before its rediscovery this manuscript was said to have been lost for almost two hundred years and is now considered a much loved devotional.

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Thomas Traherne, Centuries of Meditations. Public Domain
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Anecdotal Story 1/14/2024

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Quick to Take Offense

Scripture References: Leviticus 18:4-5; 1 Timothy 1:9-10

British Loyalists bristled at the clamorous American appeal to law and the rights of free men. However, with more law commentaries ordered from England than any book but the Bible, many Americans read the law. Today, two-thirds of all lawyers practice in the United States, offering 5 percent of the world’s population 66 percent of the available legal counsel.

Our zeal for law has developed a litigious society that has profit—not the public good—as its goal. A recent study showed that more civil lawsuits are filed in the state of Massachusetts than in the nation of Japan. Little wonder. Japan has less than twelve thousand lawyers, fewer than the number of licensed attorneys in Washington, D.C. With a 1,000 percent increase in lawsuits since 1975, we spend $30 billion a year suing each other.

Many Christians carry a litigious attitude into their interpersonal relationships, especially toward other members in the local church. We too quickly take offense with a brother, divide the fellowship into competing sides, and pull our membership to go elsewhere. Conflict in the church body isn’t necessarily evil. It offers an opportunity to put the second commandment into practice: Love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t we want acceptance and patience from others, whatever our views? Can we refuse to others what we desire for ourselves?

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Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Down – But Not Out! – 1

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Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

The man who was called in his day “The Greatest Preacher in the English-speaking World,” John Henry Jowett pastored several prominent churches, preached to huge congregations, and wrote books that were bestsellers. He once wrote:

“You seem to imagine that I have no ups and downs, but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon whose marvelous ministry in London made him perhaps the greatest preacher England ever produced, once stated in a sermon:

“I am the subject of depressions of spirit so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to.”

Discouragement is no respecter of persons. In fact, discouragement seems to attack the successful far more than the unsuccessful; for the higher we climb, the farther down we can fall. We are not surprised then when we read that the great Apostle Paul was “burdened beyond our strength” and “despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Great as he was in character and ministry, Paul was human just like the rest of us.

Paul could have escaped these burdens except that he had a call from God and a concern to help people. He had founded the church at Corinth and had ministered there for a year and a half (Acts 18:1-18). When serious problems arose in the church after his departure, he sent Timothy to deal with them (1 Corinthians 4:17) and then wrote the letter that we call 1 Corinthians.

Unfortunately, matters grew worse and Paul had to make a “painful visit” to Corinth to confront the troublemakers (2 Corinthians 2:1-3). Still, no solution. He then wrote “a severe letter” which was delivered by his associate, Titus (2 Corinthians 2:4-9; 7:8-12). After a great deal of distress, Paul finally met Titus and got the good report that the problem had been solved. It was then that he wrote the letter we call 2 Corinthians.

He wrote the letter for several reasons. First, he wanted to encourage the church to forgive and restore the member who had caused all the trouble (2 Corinthians 2:6-11). He also wanted to explain his change in plans (2 Corinthians 1:15-22) and enforce his authority as an apostle (2 Corinthians 4:1-2; see chapters 10-12). Finally, he wanted to encourage the church to share in the special “relief offering” he was taking up for the needy saints in Judea (read 2 Corinthians 8-9).

One of the key words in this letter is comfort or encouragement. The Greek word used means “called to one’s side to help.” The verb is used eighteen times in this letter, and the noun eleven times. In spite of all the trials he experienced, Paul was able (by the grace of God) to write a letter saturated with encouragement.

You may be asking Paul’s secret of victory when he was experiencing pressures and trials? His secret was God. When you find yourself discouraged and ready to quit, get your attention off of yourself and your circumstances and focus it on God. Out of his own difficult experience, Paul tells us how we can find encouragement in God. He gives us three simple reminders.

To Be Continued

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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Saturday Prayer & Praise 1/13/2024

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Robert Hawker: Piercing Heaven – Puritan’s Prayers

In your beauty, blessed Lord, we see a fullness of grace, truth, and righteousness. It corresponds exactly to the wants of poor sinners—your blood, to cleanse. Your grace, to comfort. Your fullness, to supply.

In you there is everything we can want: life, light, joy, pardon, mercy, peace, happiness here, glory hereafter.

Do I not see you, my King, in your beauty, when I behold you coming with all these for me? So I must cry out with the psalmist, “I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my strength and my song; and he is become my salvation.”

And that is not all. Because when I see the King in his beauty, I see him also in his love. Yes, blessed Lord, you are so beautiful, for you have so loved poor sinners that you give yourself for them.

And we know that our love for you did not come first, but your love to us came first. Your love prompted ours. Your love filled our hearts and, by your Spirit, first prompted our minds to look toward you. That makes you lovely indeed.

And now, Lord, every day’s view of you increases that love, and brings home your beauty more and more. The more often you stoop to visit my poor soul, the more beautiful you appear.

Every appearance, every view, every glimpse of Jesus, tends to make my God and King more gracious and lovely to my soul, and adds fresh fervor to my love.

Come then, you blessed, holy, lovely one, and ravish my spiritual senses with your beauty, that my whole soul would be filled only with the love of Jesus every day. Until that day when, from seeing you here below, through your grace, I come to look upon you, and live forever in your presence, in the full beams of your glory in your throne above.

Amen.

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Life In Focus 1/13/2024

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God Helps Young People at Risk

YOUTH is supposed to be a time of energy and vitality. But what happens when extreme circumstances sap the life out of young people, robbing them of enthusiasm and rendering them too weak to go on?

God has pledged Himself to help young people at risk (Isaiah 40:30-31), as well as those who are lowly and despised, poor and needy, thirsty and hungry (Isaiah 41:17). This concern for people living on the margins of life is a theme that punctuates and permeates Isaiah’s prophecy. And more often than not he urges people of power and means to do something about the needs of their at-risk neighbors.

If you work with young people at risk for “fainting” from the demands of life, or if you yourself are close to giving up because of the circumstances weighing you down, you can take comfort from God’s promises for strength. The key is waiting on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31), expecting Him to supply what you cannot.

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Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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What I Wouldn’t Give

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Saturday January 13, 2024

Psalm 84:10
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be
a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

You know it when it happens. It might be someone you feel could mentor you in your vocation. Or it might be a new friend with whom you establish an immediate connection. Or it might be the love of your life. Regardless of when and how, there are times when you think, “I’d give up next week for the chance to spend one more day with this person!”

The author of Psalm 84 felt that way, only he was ready to give up more than a week: he was ready to give up a thousand days for one day in God’s presence. A young Jewish man, Andrew, and his friend followed Jesus as soon as they met Him, and they spent the rest of the day hanging out with Him (John 1:35-40). That’s how most people today feel when they meet Jesus—they just can’t get enough of Him. A lot of people who are not followers of Christ would probably become Christians if they could just make contact with His irresistible presence. Many have given up a lot to spend as much time with Him as they can.

It’s also easy to take His presence for granted, to forget what a pure pleasure Jesus can be, one-on-one. If it’s been awhile since you gave up something to be with Him, consider doing so soon.

The Christian tastes God in all his or her pleasures.
J. I. PACKER

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David Jeremiah, Turning Points with God: 365 Daily Devotions (Tyndale, 2014)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Food For Thought 1/13/2024

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Correct Balance

In His providence, God knows how much joy and sorrow, how much pleasure and pain, how much prosperity and poverty is proper for His child.

He knows the correct balance of sunshine and storm, the precise mixture of darkness and light it takes to perfect a son.

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Faith From The Beginning 1/13/2024

Normal Experience

THIS is the law of the Christian life. God is constantly testing and trying us, passing us through the fire and under the rod, that out of each testing and each trial we may emerge stronger, purer and better able to meet the next and possibly even greater trial, until at the last we shall reach the stature of perfection when we see Him face to face. The Christian who experiences no trials or tribulations, who endures no chastening, may well seriously question his fellowship with Christ. Our Lord Himself has said:

“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

And the Apostle Peter tells us this:

That the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7).

It is the normal experience of the believer, and not the abnormal, to be tested and tried and purified.

God has however, promised to give the grace, the supply for each trial, so that we may profit by each test and receive strength for the next trial to come. The Holy Spirit Himself has assured us:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Instead of fainting, therefore, and becoming discouraged when trials and temptations beset us, we should rejoice to know that God is still dealing with us as children. We should the rather ask the question, Just what is our Father trying to teach us now and do with us? What is the lesson of trust and faith that He would have us learn through these trying experiences?

The life of Abraham then becomes a wonderful example, and for this reason he is called “the father of the faithful.” His life presents a series of testings and trials, successes and failures, but even the failures are used of God to lift him to a higher plane of faith and prepare him to meet still greater tests of faith, until they reach their climax in Genesis 22 at the offering of his only son, Isaac, by faith in the promises of God.

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Spiritual Discernment and Paul – 12

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Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Change Produced By This Spiritual Discernment – Continued

Ever so sadly, those still living and walking in darkness will go on, forever in the treadmill of vain opposition to God. “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

But God may be pleased to shine upon some of them that light which now they spurn. He will use for that purpose the light of the gospel as spread about by those who are changed from glory unto glory into the image of Christ.

My brothers and sisters, men and women all around you are still in the darkness of Plato’s cave. They grope blindly about them for light. But when you let the light, the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine upon them they turn from you. They just can’t seem to bear that light. Will you then depend upon your eloquence, upon your attractive personality to make them see? Will you put a veil upon your face in order to adapt your message to the spiritual blindness of those to whom you minister? Or, like Paul, will you dare to speak plainly to those who are without, to those who are of a contrary belief?

Eloquence and pitifulness will not in themselves soften the heart of a scoffer or blasphemer, but neither will argument and debate in themselves cause a modern-day Plato to see. Men often seek to be wiser than God. Sincere ministers wish to have men see the full light of the gospel. But there are many who have methods of their own with which to try and accomplish the task. Often they will first bring men a part of the gospel and then another part oftentimes out of context. They hope to make the gospel attractive by sugar-coating it just a little. To those who are on the outside they will offer the gospel as an attractive hypothesis for men to consider. To those who are within they often tone down, or even avoid, the full demands of Christ.

Paul was beyond this stage when he first preached in Corinth. If you are still in doubt whether you will always and everywhere preach the full counsel of God you haven’t yet studied Paul’s complete motives. The Apostle Paul knew he could and that he would do nothing but speak plainly the whole counsel of God. That was absolutely settled with him. But now, as seen in his letters, he rejoices, looking back, at the results of that determination. He had at the beginning presumably been fearful. He had trembled when he first preached to the Corinthians. He had been tempted to let down on both the manner and the content of his preaching. But he had not let down. He had trusted in the God who had called him on that Damascus road. Now God has blessed his efforts. Dramatically changed from one who blasphemed to one who gloried in the Lord, Paul had seen others changed likewise. He had honored God; therefore, God had honored him. He had spoken plainly; therefore, men did see and they saw clearly and continually.

Let us all speak the gospel plainly in our day so that those around us may have the same opportunity to see and to see with an unveiled, or uncovered face.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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