Dawn 2 Dusk Stillness in a Shattered WorldOn this date, our minds naturally drift back to a morning when the sky was clear, the schedule was ordinary, and then the unthinkable shattered everything. Sirens, smoke, collapsing towers, a nation gripped by fear and grief. Into memories like these, the Lord’s command in Psalm 46:10 can feel almost jarring: He tells us to be still and to know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Not because evil is small or suffering is imaginary, but because His sovereignty, presence, and purpose are deeper than the chaos we see and the headlines we remember. God in the Smoke and Rubble There are days when it feels like the foundations of our world have been ripped away. We remember images of buildings falling, people running, flags flying at half-mast, and the hollow quiet of a stunned nation. On those days, the question rises: Where was God? Psalm 46 paints the picture of nations raging, mountains crumbling, and the earth giving way, and yet it insists that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1–3). He is not distant from disaster; He is the unshaken Rock when everything else falls. Scripture tells us that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Every tear shed at a graveside, every quiet visit to a memorial, every lingering fear in the heart is fully seen and felt by Him. He is not merely a God of the past, explaining what happened; He is the God of right now, stepping into our pain with a comfort the world cannot manufacture and a peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7). Ceasing the Struggle, Not the Fight When God tells us to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10), He is not calling us to apathy, denial, or a spiritual coma. The idea is more like laying down our frantic attempts to be our own savior, our own defender, our own ultimate security. It is the stillness of a child in the strong arms of a Father, not the stillness of defeat. At the Red Sea, with Pharaoh’s army closing in, Israel heard that the LORD would fight for them and they only needed to be still (Exodus 14:14). Stillness in that moment was not cowardice; it was faith. Jesus embodied this kind of holy stillness. In a storm that terrified seasoned fishermen, He stood and rebuked the wind and the waves, and there was great calm (Mark 4:39). His rest did not come from ignoring the danger but from knowing the Father’s absolute rule over it. On days like September 11, and on the private “September 11s” of our own lives—diagnoses, betrayals, losses—being still means refusing to let fear drive the bus. It means turning off the endless commentary, getting on our knees, opening the Word, and surrendering our demand to control the outcome. We keep fighting the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), but we stop fighting God for the steering wheel. Exalting His Name in a Wounded Nation The second half of Psalm 46:10 declares God’s promise that He will be exalted among the nations and lifted up over all the earth (Psalm 46:10). On a day marked by an attack meant to paralyze a nation and terrorize the world, we remember that evil never gets the last word. The Lord is writing a story where every attempt of Satan to exalt himself will only showcase, in the end, the superiority of Christ. One day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10–11). History is not spiraling; it is marching toward that throne. Until that Day, God calls His people to live as a preview of His exaltation. In a world that answers violence with more violence, He commands us not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). In a culture that seeks safety in power, money, and politics, He calls us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). On this anniversary, honoring the fallen and comforting the grieving also means recommitting ourselves to live visibly for Christ: to forgive as we have been forgiven, to love our enemies, to proclaim the gospel of the One who died and rose again. Every act of trust, every quiet step of obedience, every courageous word about Jesus in a fearful world is one more way we say, with our lives, that He alone will be exalted. Lord, thank You for being our unshakable refuge and for ruling over every storm; today, help me be still before You, trust You more than my fears, and live in a way that exalts Your name. Morning with A.W. Tozer Remembering the ForgottenGospel churches which mostly begin with the lowly are usually not content till they attain some degree of wealth and social acceptance. Then they gradually fall into classes, determined largely by the wealth and education of the members. The individuals that comprise the top layer of these various classes go on to become pillars of the religious society and are soon entrenched in places of leadership and influence. It is then that their great temptation comes upon them, the temptation to cater to their own class and to neglect the poor and the ignorant that make up the swarming population around them. They soon become hardened to every appeal of the Holy Spirit toward meekness and humility. Their homes are spotless, their clothes the most expensive, their friends the most exclusive. Apart from some tremendous moral upheaval, they are beyond help. And yet they may be among the most vocal exponents of Bible Christianity and heavy givers to the cause of the church. Let us not become indignant at this blunt portrayal of facts. Let us rather humble ourselves to serve God's poor. Let us seek to be like Jesus in our devotion to the forgotten of the earth who have nothing to recommend them but their poverty and their heart-hunger and their tears.
Music For the Soul The Evil EyeIf thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. - Matthew 6:23 The reference to the evil eye gives especial emphasis to the words in Galatians, "Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was set forth." For the evil eye, according to the old superstition, operated most powerfully on the persons who allowed their eyes to dwell upon it. If the Galatians had kept their gaze fixed on Jesus Christ, the tempter’s fatal glance would have had no power over them. The Galatian Christians, with characteristic Celtic fickleness, had fallen away from the apostolic doctrine, and had cooled in the fervour of their love to Himself. It looks, thinks Paul, as if some malignant sorcerer had affected them. If we would escape the power of these evil eyes, we must so order our religious lives as to keep the facts of Christ’s work and death for us ever before our minds. We shall not be able to keep that vision of Christ crucified before our eyes in the midst of daily distractions unless it is stamped deep on mind and heart by the habit of quiet meditation. The absence of that habit is one chief reason for the weakness of so much of our modern Christianity. Meditation is almost a lost art amongst us. I wonder how many of us there are who, from one week’s end to another, ever spend ten minutes’ quiet thought upon the Cross, not so much for the purpose of investigation or confirmation or proof, but simply for the purpose of getting the sweetness of the thought more and more into our hearts, and the power of it more and more into our lives? How often do you realise that great truth of Christ crucified for you? Do you ever think of it? Does the memory of Him and of His death for you come to you in your daily work and struggles? I beseech you, fix your thoughts and your love on Him, and look away from all else. Make Him and His love and His death the theme of your thankful meditation in many a quiet hour of high communion. Try to have that vision as your companion everywhere, and on every common thing to see " placarded " the Crucified Christ. That sight will take the brightness out of many a false glitter, as a poor candle pales before the electric light, or as the sun puts even it to shame. It will make many a tempting fiend, who squats at your ear to drop his poison in, start up in his own shape. If you look to Jesus crucified for you, He will give you " power to tread upon the serpent and the scorpion, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." You may be as powerless of yourself before temptations as a humming-bird before a snake; but if you look fixedly to Him, neither the glittering eye of the serpent nor the forked tongue with its hiss will harm or frighten you. And the question of Paul, instead of being one of indignant rebuke and wonder, will become to each of us the expression of our triumphant confidence that we shall "tread upon the serpent and the adder," and conquer our tempters: "Who is he that will bewitch us, if before our eyes there ever shines Christ crucified? " Spurgeon: Morning and Evening 2 Corinthians 6:17 Be ye separate. The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, "to live," should be "Christ." Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should do all to God's glory. You may lay up treasure; but lay it up in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves break not through nor steal. You may strive to be rich; but be it your ambition to be "rich in faith," and good works. You may have pleasure; but when you are merry, sing psalms and make melody in your hearts to the Lord. In your spirit, as well as in your aim, you should differ from the world. Waiting humbly before God, always conscious of his presence, delighting in communion with him, and seeking to know his will, you will prove that you are of heavenly race. And you should be separate from the world in your actions. If a thing be right, though you lose by it, it must be done; if it be wrong, though you would gain by it, you must scorn the sin for your Master's sake. You must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Walk worthy of your high calling and dignity. Remember, O Christian, that thou art a son of the King of kings. Therefore, keep thyself unspotted from the world. Soil not the fingers which are soon to sweep celestial strings; let not these eyes become the windows of lust which are soon to see the King in his beauty--let not those feet be defiled in miry places, which are soon to walk the golden streets--let not those hearts be filled with pride and bitterness which are ere long to be filled with heaven, and to overflow with ecstatic joy. Then rise my soul! and soar away, Above the thoughtless crowd; Above the pleasures of the gay, And splendours of the proud; Up where eternal beauties bloom, And pleasures all divine; Where wealth, that never can consume, Spurgeon: Faith’s Checkbook Sufferers Make Strong BelieversThis is as good as a promise. It has been good, it is good, and it will be good for me to bear the yoke. Early in life I had to feel the weight of conviction, and ever since it has proved a soul-enriching burden. Should I have loved the gospel so well had I not learned by deep experience the need of salvation by grace? Jabez was more honorable than his brethren because his mother bare him with sorrow, and those who suffer much in being born unto God make strong believers in sovereign grace. The yoke of censure is an irksome one, but it prepares a man for future honor. He is not fit to be a leader who has not run the gauntlet of contempt. Praise intoxicates if it be not preceded by abuse. Men who rise to eminence without struggle usually fall into dishonor. LORD The yoke of affliction, disappointment, and excessive labor is by no means to be sought for; but when the LORD lays it on us in our youth, it frequently develops a character which glorifies God and blesses the church. Come, my soul, bow thy neck; take up they cross. It was good for thee when young; it will not harm thee now. For Jesus’ sake, shoulder it carefully. The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer Will Thou Be Made Whole?THE great Physician presents Himself to us this morning, and He asks, "Wilt thou be made whole? This is a searching question. Are you willing to be sanctified throughout? Willing that He should use what means He pleases, to conform you to Himself? Jesus is able to sanctify us wholly; the time of mercy is now; are we desirous of being healed? If so, let us put ourselves into His hands for the purpose; let us submit without hesitation to His terms; He performs the cure and receives all the glory. Let us not fancy that our case is hopeless, but let us look to Jesus, who will heal us, and heal us gratis. Open thy whole case to Him, consult Him daily, trust Him implicitly, and expect to shine before the Father’s throne as a proof of His skill and kindness. No case can be desperate, while Jesus lives to heal; no sinner can be too poor, for He heals without money and without price. O Jesus! heal us this morning! Soften our hard hearts. Regulate our disorderly wills. Elevate our earthly affections. Fill us with holiness, fill us with love. We lie at Thy feet, and we trust in Thy word. Jesus, to Thee for help I call, With pitying eye behold me fall, Diseased at Thy throne; Oh, heal my soul, remove my sin, Now make the filthy leper clean, Remove the heart of stone. Bible League: Living His Word No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD.— Proverbs 21:30 NLT Human wisdom does not stand up well compared to God's wisdom. Think about the wisdom of the so-called wise men of the world. Think about all the proclamations they have made over the ages on how people should live and what they should do. Their wisdom doesn't stand the test of time, but is constantly changing. It's like the Scripture says, "The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear" (Isaiah 29:14). If our feeble human wisdom is ever going to help us make the right decisions in life, then it must be informed by, and guided by, the perspective provided by God's unchanging wisdom. Our verse also decries human understanding. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." This is good advice, because, as it says elsewhere, "For my thoughts are nothing like your thoughts... And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). To be effective, then, our limited human understanding of things must take its start from what God reveals of His unlimited understanding of things. Lastly, human plans come to nothing apart from God's plans. The Scriptures say, "You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail" (Proverbs 19:21). And this is so because, "The LORDfrustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes" (Psalm 33:10) and "He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted" (Job 5:13). The point is, you can't expect your plans to succeed if they are against God's plans. In order to be effective and have lasting impact, human plans must be in harmony with the plans of God. Given all this, we should stop deceiving ourselves. "If you think you are wise by this world's standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise" (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). That is, we should stop thinking that our wisdom, understanding, and plans can be effective apart from God. We should become foolish by the world's standards and humble ourselves before Him. Then, and only then, will we become truly wise. Daily Light on the Daily Path Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.Exodus 23:2 "You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice; James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? • Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? • Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 1 John 2:15,17 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. • The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Ephesians 2:2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 4:20,21 But you did not learn Christ in this way, • if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.Insight Paul was not ashamed because his message was the gospel of Christ, the Good News. It was a message of salvation, it had life-changing power, and it was for everyone. Challenge When you are tempted to be ashamed, remember what the Good News is all about. If you focus on God and on what God is doing in the world rather than on your own inadequacy, you won't be ashamed or embarrassed. Devotional Hours Within the Bible Why Does No One See God?“Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Christ had just told His disciples that they had seen the Father. Philip was bewildered. What did the Master mean? That was just what the disciples were longing for to see the Father. “Lord, show us the Father,” said Philip, “and that will be enough for us.” There are many sincere Christians today who are longing for fuller, clearer revealings of God. They wish they might see Him. God seems unreal to them. An earnest young Christian wrote: “For some time I have been drifting away from God and have not been able to drop anchor. The more I read and study the life of Jesus, the farther I drift. I find myself ever asking, ‘Are these things true? They certainly are very beautiful to read about; but are they true? How do we know they are true?’“ Human hearts are alike in their feelings, their longings, and their perplexities of faith; and, no doubt, there are many who sometimes ask the same questions as they read the wonderful story of Christ. “Are these things true? How do we know they are true?” There is nothing wrong in such questionings. Philip had the same longing. Spiritual things seemed unreal to him. Many of the best people who ever lived, have had similar difficulty. There come times in the life of almost every Christian, when such questions as these arise. Two girls were overheard one evening by a gentleman, talking with unusual earnestness, as if in perplexity, and one of them said, “Yes but why has no one ever seen God?” This was all the gentleman heard of the conversation, as he stood near them, waiting for his car; but this single sentence showed their state of mind. Evidently they had been talking about the apparent unreality of spiritual things. Why had nobody ever seen God? They had heard a great deal about God, about His love, His care, His interest in human lives, His kindness. But they had never had a glimpse of Him. How could they know that all they had heard about Him was true? How could they be sure that there is a God? How could they know that the things of Christian faith and hope are real? Questions will arise with all who think. Does God indeed love me? If He does why must I suffer so? If He does how can I explain all the accidents, calamities, and troubles of my life? There is nothing wrong in such questions. God is not grieved with us if we ask them, desiring light. Christ is always patient with the questions of honest doubt . It is not surprising if sometimes we cannot understand the mysteries of Christian faith. All life is full of things we cannot comprehend. Can you explain how on the bushes in your garden, which in March were bare and briery, there were in June masses of glorious roses? In the most common things there is mystery. Linnaeus, the great botanist, said there was enough mystery in a handful of moss to give one a lifetime’s study. There really are few things which you can actually understand and explain. How do your eyes see? How do your ears hear? Shall we refuse to believe these things because we cannot explain them? We have read how the cry of the wireless went out from the wrecked ship and was heard far and wide over the sea a prayer of distress and how help came swiftly. No one doubts this pathetic experience of the sea. Why, then, should we doubt or question that when a mother sat by her sick child the other night, while the little one hovered between life and death, and pleaded with God, her prayer reached the ears of her heavenly Father? Why shall we doubt or question that God loves us when we believe that our human friends love us? You cannot see the love in the friend’s heart any more than you can see the love for you in God’s heart. You tell me that your friend is true, is patient, and is kind; that he is a refuge, a tower of strength, to you. But you cannot see these qualities in him. Your friend is much away, out of your sight, and you cannot set spies on him to know that he is always faithful. Yet you never doubt him. Evil tongues whisper false things about him but you refuse to believe them. How do you know that your beliefs in him are true? Why can you not, then, in the like manner believe in the love of God, who you cannot see? A sorrow breaks in upon the joy of your home. You cannot understand it. By why must you understand? We would be far happier sometimes if we did not try to understand things. Robertson Nicoll says: “There are some very devout people who know far too much. They can explain the whole secret and purpose of pain, evil, and death in the world. They prate about the mystery of things as if they were God’s spies. It is far humbler and more Christian to admit that we do not fully discern a reason and method in this long, slow tragedy of human existence .” You remember that Jesus Himself said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear” (16:12). Why should we expect to understand God and His ways? God does show Himself to us, and we do see Him more often than we think. There is a picture of Augustine and his mother which represents them looking up to heaven with deep earnestness, great eagerness, and longing. One is saying, “If God would only speak to us!” The other replies, “Perhaps He is speaking to us and we do not hear His voice!” Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father.” And did you notice what Jesus said to him? “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” Jesus told him that he had been seeing Him all the time He had been with the disciples. What Philip had in mind when he said, “Show us the Father,” was some revealing of glory, some outshining of majesty and splendor, a theophany, a transfiguration. That was the way he thought God must appear. When Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” He referred to His common daily life with His disciples, not to His miracles. Only a small proportion of the things Jesus did were miraculous, supernatural. Ninety-nine percent of His acts were simple, common things that did not need Deity to perform. He performed only one miracle in the Bethany home but in His frequent visits sitting with the family by the open hearth or at the table, talking with them in the quiet evening, walking with them in the garden, sharing with them the gentle things of friendship there were a thousand kindnesses which made His name sacred to them. It was so in all Christ’s life. There were a few miracles, showing divine power. But there were countless revealings of gentleness, sympathy, thoughtfulness, cheer, encouragement, which were as full of God, as the miracles. It was to this part of His life that Jesus referred when He said to Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” It was in Christ’s most human ways, that the disciples saw most of God. His miracles dazzled their eyes and awed them. Many could not have sat at His feet and listened calmly if He had appeared transfigured. John could not have leaned on His bosom at supper restfully and quietly if glory had been shining in His face. God is love. Wherever there is love, God is revealing Himself. Jesus showed the disciples the Father in all the love and sweetness and compassion they saw in Him continually. Do we not see God in similar ways? Does not God reveal Himself to us in a thousand familiar things that we do not think of at all as divine revealing? A writer says that most men are religious when they look upon the faces of their dead babies. The materialism which at other times infects them with doubts of God and immortality, drops away from them in this hushed hour. People see God only in the unusual, the supernatural. “If we could see miracles,” they say, “we would believe.” But the common things are full of God. Moses saw God in one bush that burned and was not consumed. Yet God is as real in every bush in the woods, for those who have eyes to see, as He was in that little tree in Horeb. Have you never seen God? If you think of God as only burning majesty, shining glory, you will answer, “No I never saw God.” But splendor, Sinai clouds, and flaming fires are not God. God is love. You remember Elijah’s vision. A great wind swept through the mountains but God was not in the wind. An earthquake made the hills tremble but God was not in the earthquake. A fire swept down over the crags but God was not in the fire. Then came a still small voice, a sound of gentle stillness and that was God (see 1 Kings 19:11-13). You have seen God a thousand times in love, in peace, in goodness, and in comfort. You see Him daily in providential care, in the sweet things of your home, in friendships, in the beauty of little children. Do not forget that you have been receiving blessings all your life in manifold ways. Do not call it chance, or luck, or good fortune. The heart-hungry girl asked, “Why has no one ever seen God?” Yet she had seen God herself every day, every hour of her life, in the goodness and mercy which had followed her from her infancy. You were in danger, and there came a mysterious protection which sheltered you from all harm. You called it chance. It was God. You had a great sorrow which you thought you could not possibly endure, and you felt strange, sweet comfort which filled your heart with peace. You thought it came through a friend’s gentle kindness. Yes but it was the loving-kindness of God that brought it. There was a tangle in your affairs which seemed about to wreck everything, and in an inexplicable way it was all straightened out as by invisible hands. You had a crushing loss which threatened to overwhelm you, and suddenly the loss proved a gain! You were wronged by a professed friend, and the stars in your sky all seemed to go out. That was some while ago, and today you are quietly praising God for the event which was a deliverance from a real misfortune, for there came instead a blessed friendship which fills all your life. Your years have been full of great providences, wondrous guidances, gentle comforts, answered prayers, sweet friendships, happy surprises of goodness, divine love and help and care. Yet you say you never have seen God, and ask, “How may I know that the beautiful things the New Testament tells me about Christ are true?” Think of some definite ways in which we may learn that the things of Christian faith and hope are true, and how we have them become more real to us. First, by experience. In one of Psalms we read, “those who know your name will put their trust in you” (9:10.) It is sometimes said of a man that none know him but also love him. They who truly know God both love Him and trust Him. We have to learn by experience to love our human friends. One was telling how he found a particular friend. He had heard much about him. His neighbors spoke well of him, praised him his unselfishness, his kindness, his sincerity, his helpfulness, his readiness to give time and thought and money in assisting others. But this man never had met him. Some months since, circumstances led him to seek his kindly interest. Then he found that all the good he had heard about him was true, and that the half had not been told. Now he believes in him. In the same way we can only learn to know God. We read in the Bible of His goodness, His justice, His truth, His kindness, His faithfulness. But we must come into personal relationship with Him before we can surely know that these qualities are really in Him. When Philip said to Nathanael, “I have found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth” (see 1:45, 46), Nathanael sneered at the suggestion that the Messiah could come from so lowly a place as Nazareth. Philip did not argue. He said only, “Come and see!” He knew that if His friend would only meet Jesus, he would believe. If we can only get people to come to see Jesus, to get to know Him, to experience His love they will soon believe in Him and follow Him. The story of the conversion of Lady Aberdeen is well known. She had been long in doubt, wavering, indecisive. In her time of perplexity she sat one day under a tree in her garden, in deep thought. Out of the silence she heard a mystic voice speaking as clearly to her consciousness as if a friend had uttered the words, “Act as if I were and you will find that I am.” She had been asking the very question of my friend’s letter, “How can I learn that these things are true?” Was Christ real? She could not be sure. Would He be her friend? Would He bless her as the New Testament says He would? “Act as if I were,” said the voice, “and you will learn that I am, and that all these things are true.” There is no other way to find out that Christ is, and that the things the Scriptures tell us about Him are true. Again, if we begin to do the will of God, we shall learn the reality of the spiritual life. Jesus said, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the teaching” (7:17). You are to will to do God’s will. This means the most earnest determination, the most unfaltering obedience. As we do the things of God’s will, as they are made known to us we shall learn the reality of God and the beauty and blessedness of His love. One who tried to believe there is no God, confessed that it was never in His best moments that he felt himself an atheist. Jesus said the pure in heart shall see God. He did not mean only that we shall see God when we get to heaven, and look upon God in His glory. He meant also that those whose hearts are pure shall see God on the earth. They will not be troubled about the reality of the things of faith. They well not ask, “Why has no one ever seen God?” They will see Him themselves! No cloud will ever dim for them the radiance of His face. Then it is only in Christ that we can see God. Notice the precise words in which Jesus answered Philip’s request, “Show us the Father.” “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In Jesus Christ, therefore, and only in Jesus Christ, can we see God. The Incarnation was God coming to the earth in human life that men could understand Him. Those who saw Jesus looked upon the face of God. Those who knew Him knew God. Those who became His friends became God’s friends. This privilege is ours. Friendship is the holiest and most sacred of all human relations. Think of all that is possible in ideal human friendship. Then think of all that is possible in friendship with Jesus Christ. There never was another friend like Jesus. Think of what His friendship may be to you, if you will let it into your life in all its sweetness, its divineness, its power to transform and bless. But the girl asks: “Are these things true? How do we know they are? They are very beautiful. They were true of the people who knew Jesus personally; but may I have a share in them?” The friendship of Christ is the most real and the most wonderful thing in this world. To very many people there does seem to be an unreality in the things of spiritual life. God seems far away. We cannot see Him. We cannot feel His touch. But this need not be so. Christ wants to reveal the Father to us. He wants His friendship with you to be as real and as close as your friendship with your closest earthly friend. Get acquainted with Christ. Act as if He were what He says He is. Trust His promises not one of them shall fail. Let His love into your heart it will fill you with joy and peace; it will transform your life into love and beauty and radiance. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingProverbs 19, 20 Proverbs 19 -- Better is the poor who walks in his integrity NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Proverbs 20 -- Wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Corinthians 3 2 Corinthians 3 -- Ministers and Glory of the New Covenant NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. |
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