The dreaded Monday. Yet, Monday is a neat day for it is another day to worship our Lord and serve Him as His servant. I certainly am not smart enough to argue the many sides to this theological and philosophical debate about God. I KNOW in whom I believe and am persuaded beyond doubt that JESUS IS LORD, SON OF GOD, thus GOD in Trinity. That Jesus came and died then rose again for all mankind. This I believe. It is Jesus I serve each day the best I can. It is my God, the Heavenly Father I worship, and it is the Holy Spirit that I depend on each day.
Why? Because Jesus loves me, cares for me, and the Holy Spirit guides and protects me in this turbulent, dying world.
Consider the love and compassion of Jesus in today's meditation:
May 9
Why She Was Treated So
But the woman fearing and trembling…came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace— Mar_5:33-34
Why Didn't the Lord Let Her Go Unnoticed?
One is ready to think it would have been kindlier treatment if our Lord had let this woman slip away. It would have been more consistent with His gentleness. Probably she was a stranger in the place; all the traditions point to that. She was a modest and retiring woman, not in the least eager for publicity. And the hidden cross that she had borne for years had been of a kind that made her haunt the shadows, as one burdened with a thing of shame. Was it not a little unlike our blessed Lord to insist on an overt avowal—to make her, sore against her will, the observed of all observers? Would it not have been kinder to let her go quietly home, rejoicing in the fact that she was healed, though nobody knew anything about it? Our Lord Himself had often felt that deep imperious craving for retirement. Thronged by the crowd, He had often stolen away to where beyond the voices there was peace. And yet He refused to let this woman go; He summoned her forth, and made her tell her story. He brought her in confession to His feet. One perhaps wonders why He acted so; it seems so different from His usual tenderness. Let us try to find the loving reasons for it.
She Would Have Thought She Was Cured by Magic
First, then, had He let her steal away she would have carried wrong conceptions to her grave. She would have thought she had been healed by magic, and would never have known the loving will of Christ. That her faith was a strong and conquering faith is written so that he who runs may read. She did not expect to be made a little better. She believed that at a touch she would be whole. And this, though she had never seen the Lord, and had no parallel to rest her faith upon, for all this happened early in Christ's ministry. It was a very strong and splendid faith, yet intellectually it was a faith of ignorance. She evidently thought there was some magic power resident in the garments of the Master. She believed that without the consciousness of Christ, and the loving cooperation of His will, wonderful things could be wrought upon her body. Now cannot you see what would have happened if the Lord had let her quietly slip away? She would never have known the loving will of Christ; she would have thought her cure was automatic. And our Lord summoned her forth, and made her tell her story, that she might be lifted out of the realm of magic and brought into living relationship with Him. It seemed cruel, but it was really kind. It sent her home with loftier thoughts of Him. She would never talk of the wonder of the tassel; she would always talk of the wonder of the Lord. Permitted to steal away without confession, she would have said exultantly, "I've found a cure." Now the woman cried, "I've found a friend."
She Would Have Never Been Sure of Jesus
Then had she been allowed to steal away she never would have been quite sure of Jesus. She would have been haunted, to the last hour she lived, by the suspicion that she had done something wrong. You will notice that when the Savior summoned her she came to His blessed feet with fear and trembling. It was not her dread of the crowd that made her tremble; it was something deeper in her woman's breast. It was her fear that she had stolen something; that she had filched a cure and acted surreptitiously; that she was going to hear the accents of rebuke. Now suppose she had gone home again, without the swift compulsion of confession, cannot you see at a glance that all her life she would have been haunted by that chilling fear? Healed, she would have been unhappy; her conscience would have continually pricked her; she would never have heard that Christ was in her neighborhood, but she would have fallen to fear and trembling once again. It was impossible for Christ to let her go like that, however great the pain of her avowal. He was not content that the woman should be healed; He wanted always to think of her as happy. That was why He insisted on confession; she must tell Him all and see His look of love; she must hear Him saying to her, "Daughter." She was the only woman to whom He ever gave that title. He never called anybody else His daughter. She would have missed all that if she had got her way. To learn it, she had to take the way of Christ. And always, if we want to learn His love, and to have done forever with our fear and trembling, like her we have to take the way of Christ.
She Would Have Been Powerless for Service
Lastly, if He had let her have her way this woman would have been powerless for service. And nobody is healed just to be happy; we are saved that we may save. In a brief space of time He would be dead, and dead, where were His garments now? What Roman soldier had them in his chest, to be carried home to his family in Britain? The garments were gone, their wearer had been crucified, and what testimony had she to bear for Christ to the children of disappointment and disease? She would have had no power for witness-bearing; she could never have spoken of the love of Jesus; she never could have cried to weary, broken people, "The Master looked on me, and called me daughter." And Christ was so eager she should be a witness-bearer, in places where His foot had never trod, that He imperiously insisted on confession.
Now she would never talk of magic; she would talk of the wonderful welcome she had got; she would talk of the love that streamed on her poor heart, which was better than the healing of her body. Had she stolen away she would have had her gift, but she never would have known the Giver. For that she had to stand forth and confess.
I confess to you my dear brothers and sisters that Christ is the ALL. Believe on Him, Accept Him, and Allow Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to Love you and Heal you! May your days be full of Christ and His Love.
Have you ever thought about the differences between the East and West? Although each had the same amount of time, look at how their civilizations have developed so differently. There are so many differences you have to ask "Why?"
See if Morrison's meditation makes sense to you:
May 8
The Ultimate Discovery
And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus— Mar_5:14, Mar_5:15
They Went Out Searching and They Lighted on Jesus
As many of my readers are aware, there are no verses in the Greek New Testament. The text runs on without a single break. The verses of our English Bible have proved a great help to Scripture study. For thousands of humble folk they have made the Bible easier to read. But sometimes they obscure the sense, and cut right across some striking thought, as in the passage we are considering today. One pictures the swineherds, trembling and aghast, hurrying to the city with the news. One pictures the crowd, angry and unbelieving, pouring out of the city to the shore. Or as Mark puts it (and as he wrote the words don't you think their depths would dawn on him?), they went out to see what was done, and come to Jesus. The extraordinary thing is how often we do that. We go searching, and we find the Lord. We pursue our inquiries wherever they may lead us, and we light on Jesus, central and dynamical. We might illustrate that in many different ways.
Our Present Education and Civilization Would Lead Us Back to Christ
Think of national life, for instance, as we have it in our own land of Scotland. Men visit our shores from many countries to see what has been done in education. They inspect our splendid schools and colleges, they learn of our national passion for education, and then, pursuing inquiries, they discover that it runs back to the genius of John Knox. But John Knox was not a teacher, he was a mighty preacher of the Lord; and so, going out to see what has been done, men come to Jesus. Or, take the United States, with their vitality and their idealism, with their gallant effort to stem the tide of drink, with their extraordinary liberality. And when one asks inquiringly what lies away at the back of this large life, one comes to the Pilgrim Fathers. That is to say, one comes to men and women who gave up everything for the sake of the Lord Christ, who left their homes and the green fields of England, in simple and splendid loyalty to Him. So, going out to see what has been done in that virile and magnificent republic, one comes, like the Gadarenes, to Jesus.
Or, again, think of missions in their industrial and civilizing aspects. Take such a mission as Livingstonia. Go out to see what has been done there, and you find schools and colleges and hospitals; you find trade, and boats upon the lake, and highways, and cultivation of the soil. And then, back of all that civilization, where fifty years ago was blood and terror, you see the rugged face of Dr. Livingstone. Now Dr. Livingstone was not a trader. He was something more than consul or explorer. He was a man inspired by the Lord Jesus, and eager for the coming of His Kingdom. So, going out to see what has been done in the very heart of Africa, you come to Jesus. Multiply all that by fifty from the New Hebrides to Madagascar. Everywhere a growing civilization, and at the back of it—the Lord. It is facts like that, and the world is full of them, that bow me at the feet of Christ and make me cry, "His name shall be called Wonderful."
Our Poetry, Architecture and Music Go Back to Jesus
Nor should we forget that we make the same discovery when we engage in the pursuit of beauty. Poets and artists must remember that. I think of poetry, that daughter of the gods. Now, where did English poetry begin? Not in the love of nature, but in the inspirations of religion. I think of architecture, that "frozen music," and I am back to church and to cathedral, each fashioned in the likeness of the cross. When the common people lived in hovels, when Scottish palaces were only keeps, when domestic architecture was undreamed of, when private dwellings were comfortless and shapeless, art, genius, increasing toil were being lavished in the service of the faith. I think of painting, that most heavenly art, and I discover at the birth of modern painting not the portrayal of mountains or of forest, but the figures of Mary and her Child. Go out to see what has been done in the noble realms of English poetry. Go out to see what has been done in painting, architecture, music. The strange thing is that whenever you do that, never dreaming what you are going to find, like the Gadarenes, you come to Jesus.
At the Back of Our Social Reform Is Jesus
Again, one thinks how true this is in the great sphere of social reform. At the back of it all do we not come to Him? Who led the way in the reform of prisons? It was certainly not your general philanthropist. It was men like Howard, whose hearts the Lord had touched, and who had felt the power of His compassion. Who toiled for the emancipation of the slave? It was not your champion of the rights of man. It was men like Wilberforce, inspired by the conviction that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Go out and see what has been done for women—go and inquire what has been done for children—go and cast your eyes on Quarrier's Homes—go and measure the walls of our infirmaries—and you come, not to a general philanthropy, nor to any natural tenderness of heart: like the Gadarenes you come to Jesus. Go down into the slums of our great cities, and tell me who is toiling there. Moral philosophers? I rarely meet them. Doctrinaires? They are at home discussing social problems. I light on Christian men and Christian women. I light on the Salvation Army, with its magnificent battle-cry of "Blood and Fire." When the drunkard is made himself again, when the poor woman of the street is rescued, when little homes that once were pigsties become models of neatness and of cleanness, I bear my witness, after a long ministry, that in ninety-nine cases in the hundred at the back of everything you come to Jesus.
Ally yourself with Him. He is the only One who gets things over. Why waste youth and energy and brains in allying yourself with anybody else? With life so short, with so much yet to do to "build Jerusalem in our pleasant land," it is the sanest and most practical of politics to fight under the banner of the Lord.
Many seek answers, some are blessed by God's grace to find Jesus. I pray that you will turn to the Great Redeemer, the Son of God, Jesus and let Him into your heart, mind and soul.
God bless you today.
Yeah, Saturday. Day of rest, day of choice, day of reflection. First Saturday in May. So much on my mind - and so many options, choices, and the to do list is long, conflicted, and demanding.
But, it's Saturday morning and I am sitting reflecting on you and me, my three beautiful children, my marriage, and how many years there are ahead of me. For all of that, the center of my life is my Faith and Hope in Christ my Savior, my Lord and my God. Without my faith through the Grace of God, I could not go on, could not make it through some days.
Today's meditation, from Charles Spurgeon:
May 7
Morning
“Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.” - Mat_12:15
What a mass of hideous sickness must have thrust itself under the eye of Jesus! Yet we read not that he was disgusted, but patiently waited on every case. What a singular variety of evils must have met at his feet! What sickening ulcers and putrefying sores! Yet he was ready for every new shape of the monster evil, and was victor over it in every form. Let the arrow fly from what quarter it might, he quenched its fiery power. The heat of fever, or the cold of dropsy; the lethargy of palsy, or the rage of madness; the filth of leprosy, or the darkness of ophthalmia-all knew the power of his word, and fled at his command. In every corner of the field he was triumphant over evil, and received the homage of delivered captives. He came, he saw, he conquered everywhere. It is even so this morning. Whatever my own case may be, the beloved Physician can heal me; and whatever may be the state of others whom I may remember at this moment in prayer, I may have hope in Jesus that he will be able to heal them of their sins. My child, my friend, my dearest one, I can have hope for each, for all, when I remember the healing power of my Lord; and on my own account, however severe my struggle with sins and infirmities, I may yet be of good cheer. He who on earth walked the hospitals, still dispenses his grace, and works wonders among the sons of men: let me go to him at once in right earnest.
Let me praise him, this morning, as I remember how he wrought his spiritual cures, which bring him most renown. It was by taking upon himself our sicknesses. “By his stripes we are healed.” The Church on earth is full of souls healed by our beloved Physician; and the inhabitants of heaven itself confess that “He healed them all.”
Come, then, my soul, publish abroad the virtue of his grace, and let it be “to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.”
Whatever afflicts and ails you, that is usually more of a concern than all other things... Let our Lord Jesus, the Great Healer, heal you inside and out, physically, spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, TODAY. Just ask. Just pray. Just believe.
Ahh, Thursday, the day that is almost Friday. I am living day by day through the Grace of God but each day has its personality and vibe. Thursday is almost Friday but it is still a full day of work.
We know that all days are supposed to be the same, that the intent is to have the same value for each day, except the day of rest. Yet we know we value each day differently because each day has different meaning to us. Today's meditation by Bob Hoekstra looks at the differences between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law:
May 5
The Letter versus the Spirit
[God] also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. (2Co_3:6)
The "letter versus the Spirit" is another contrast between living by the old covenant or by the new. This is another choice that determines whether we are functioning by man's sufficiency or by God's.
A life that is being developed "of the letter" is one that is built on rules and regulations. We cannot become a child of God by rules. We cannot develop our lives as God's children by regulations. No list of demands (including even the law of God itself) could ever bring us, or develop for us, a life with God. All rules and regulations (including God's law) come without resource. They are a list of requirements, not a supply of adequacy. They call for an observable response. They provide no power to produce the required effect.
Consider circumcision, which was required by the law of God for the Israelites. "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised" (Lev_12:3). This was to be a sign acting as a reminder to God's people that they were His. Implementing that regulation did not inherently change the life of any Jew. Physical, external circumcision (that is, circumcision "by the letter") did not make a change in the heart of the one circumcised.
It takes an inner working of God to produce a true child of God (in Romans 2 language, a "true Jew"). "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter." (Rom_2:28-29). God births His children and develops their lives through a work in their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
The kingdom of heaven is "of the Spirit." It is not about external "do's and dont's" (such as, whether to follow the standard of God's law concerning certain foods). "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom_14:17).
Entrance into God's family, as well as development as God's children, does not hinge on following various regulations. Rather, it is about the Holy Spirit supplying heavenly blessings in the hearts of those who trust in the Lord. Life with God is always "of the Spirit " (God's sufficiency), not "of the letter" (man's sufficiency).
Father, I admit a tendency to reduce life with You to following regulations. Help me to live by the work of Your Spirit within my heart. Through Christ I pray, Amen.
May God's Love and the Holy Spirit lead you to a life full of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, full of His Love and Grace. May you be blessed and live in God's will.
Wednesday and a day of transition. I come to Wednesday and feel that we are half way through this week, but not yet, we have to make this day count.
How about you? What is important to you and how do you go about making that important thing count in your life?
Today's meditation by Bob Hoekstra gives some thoughts on this:
May 4
Tablets of Stone versus Human Hearts
You are manifestly an epistle of Christ . . . written . . . not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (2Co_3:3)
The old covenant of law was written upon "tablets of stone." The new covenant of grace is written upon "tablets . . . of the heart." This is another vital contrast between the old and new covenants. This difference again decides whether we draw upon man's sufficiency or upon God's.
The old covenant message of God's law was written on stones. It called man to holiness, as measured by the character of God. "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Lev_19:2). The message is magnificent. However, its impact would be limited (by design), since it was written on "tablets of stone." It was inscribed upon an inanimate object that was external to human lives. Consequently, it could not bring life or any provision for transforming lives. The law would function as a perfect standard, revealing our unholiness and convicting us that we needed the help that only Jesus Christ could offer. We needed some means to get the perfect message of the law (holiness) into our innermost being. This is what the new covenant of grace accomplishes.
The new covenant message of God's grace is written on human hearts: "on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." Grace not only forgives our failure before the law, but it goes to work to develop personal holiness at the very core of our being. This was the promise God gave through His prophets of old, that He would put His holy law into peoples' hearts. The book of Hebrews applies this promise to all believers in Jesus Christ. "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts" (Heb_10:16).
What hope we have through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Now, God brings His holiness from an outside standard to an internal resource. Now, the Lord is making His holy demands an internal part of our being. God is stirring holy desires in us. God is developing holy priorities within us and providing spiritual strength within us to walk in more and more godliness. "It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phi_2:13).
O Holy Father, I would be hopeless, if Your perfect standard remained outside of me, demanding holiness by my performance. Thank You for bringing Your holy will inside of my life, providing internal resource for living and growing in godliness. Lord, I look to You to transform me from the inside out, in Jesus name, Amen.
May God's grace, love and spirit live in you today.
May and Spring, May and the transition from winter's blast to summer's heat. May, the prequel to summer. May, a month of work in schools before June's school bell rings to end the school year. May, a word that allows, gives permission, enables and empowers. Good stuff.
But, where do you get your empowerment? Where does your motivation and energy come from?
Charles Spurgeon's thoughts are enlightening in today's meditation:
May 3
Morning
“In the world ye shall have tribulation.” - Joh_16:33
Art thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to his image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect?
Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes thou hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone? No, he will be always at thee, for he “goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Expect trouble, therefore, Christian, when thou lookest beneath thee. Then look around thee. Where art thou? Thou art in an enemy’s country, a stranger and a sojourner. The world is not thy friend. If it be, then thou art not God’s friend, for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou sleepest, think that thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou walkest, suspect an ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you.
Lastly, look within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there. Sin and self are still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no enemies to fight thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Expect trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee to help and to strengthen thee. He hath said, “I will be with thee in trouble; I will deliver thee and honour thee.”
Evening
“A very present help.” - Psa_46:1
Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do. When thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell him all thy grief? Has he not a sympathizing heart, and can he not comfort and relieve thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom of thy Lord. Art thou burdened with this day’s sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood: use it, saint, use it. Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Come to him at once for cleansing. Dost thou deplore thy weakness? He is thy strength: why not lean upon him? Dost thou feel naked? Come hither, soul; put on the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. Stand not looking at it, but wear it. Strip off thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear.
Dost thou feel thyself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will revive thee. Thou art poor, but then thou hast “a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth.” What! wilt thou not go to him, and ask him to give thee of his abundance, when he has given thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with him, and has made over all that he is and all that he has to be thine?
There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for his people to make a show-thing of him, and not to use him.
He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we put on his shoulders, the more precious will he be to us.
“Let us be simple with him, then,
Not backward, stiff, or cold,
As though our Bethlehem could be
What Sinai was of old.”
May you have a wonderful day filled with the Love and power of Christ in everything you do today.
Good morning friends,
Just a quick note to wish you a most merry May!
Today's meditations by Bob Hoesktra:
May 2
The Exceedingly Abundant Ability of God
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph_3:20-21)
In light of God being our sufficiency for the development of godly characteristics, this benedictory prayer in Ephesians 3 becomes an appropriate and instructive response.
It begins with the most critical issue for living the Christian life: the ability of God: "Now to Him who is able." Natural religious thinking would consider the ability of man as the most vital matter in developing a godly life. Such an approach would leave us striving vainly under the law, attempting to live up to God's perfect standards by our own inadequate resources. Praise be to God, there is a heavenly, effective option: relying upon God's ability.
Think of the immeasurable ability of the Lord. "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You" (Jer_32:17). He created the entire universe. Certainly, by His power He is able to strengthen us.
"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? " (Jer_32:27). Our Lord rules over all of humanity. Surely, He is able to manage our lives. Actually, our God is "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think." Everything we could ask concerning His will, He is able to do far beyond that. Whatever we might contemplate but hesitate to ask, He is able to surpass that.
The most amazing aspect of God exercising His ability on our behalf is that He unleashes His power within our lives: "according to the power that works in us." This is exactly how the Lord wants to develop godliness in our lives. He Himself desires to work by the power of His grace deep within our hearts. "For it is good that the heart be established by grace" (Heb_13:9). Again, the Christian life is not affected from the outside in, hoping to modify our behavior by external religious pressures. Rather, it involves a true change of character within, affected by God Himself. This is how God is ultimately glorified in the lives of His people: "to Him be glory in the church." He works a genuine transformation of life in and through us. Then, we give Him the glory for His exceedingly abundant ability.
Lord God of exceeding abundance, I worship You as the one who is able to do all things well. Forgive me for repeatedly turning to my ability. Lord, as I seek You in Your word, build my faith. Unleash the powerful life of Your Son within my heart, making me what You want me to be, through Christ I pray, Amen.
