Strong Composure

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves" (Rom. 12:19).

There are seasons when to be still demands immeasurably higher strength than to act. Composure is often the highest result of power. To the vilest and most deadly charges Jesus responded with deep, unbroken silence, such as excited the wonder of the judge and the spectators. To the grossest insults, the most violent ill-treatment and mockery that might well bring indignation into the feeblest heart, He responded with voiceless complacent calmness. Those who are unjustly accused, and causelessly ill-treated know what tremendous strength is necessary to keep silence to God.

"Men may misjudge thy aim,
Think they have cause to blame,
Say, thou art wrong;
Keep on thy quiet way,
Christ is the Judge, not they,
Fear not, be strong."

St. Paul said, "None of these things move me."

He did not say, none of these things hurt me. It is one thing to be hurt, and quite another to be moved. St. Paul had a very tender heart. We do not read of any apostle who cried as St. Paul did. It takes a strong man to cry. Jesus wept, and He was the manliest Man that ever lived. So it does not say, none of these things hurt me. But the apostle had determined not to move from what he believed was right. He did not count as we are apt to count; he did not care for ease; he did not care for this mortal life. He cared for only one thing, and that was to be loyal to Christ, to have His smile. To St. Paul, more than to any other man, His work was wages, His smile was Heaven. --Margaret Bottome

Cast Down

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul" (Ps. 43:5).

Is there ever any ground to be cast down? There are two reasons, but only two. If we are as yet unconverted, we have ground to be cast down; or if we have been converted and live in sin, then we are rightly cast down.

But except for these two things there is no ground to be cast down, for all else may be brought before God in prayer with supplication and thanksgiving. And regarding all our necessities, all our difficulties, all our trials, we may exercise faith in the power of God, and in the love of God.

"Hope thou in God." Oh, remember this: There is never a time when we may not hope in God. Whatever our necessities, however great our difficulties, and though to all appearance help is impossible, yet our business is to hope in God, and it will be found that it is not in vain. In the Lord's own time help will come.

Oh, the hundreds, yea, the thousands of times that I have found it thus within the past seventy years and four months!

When it seemed impossible that help could come, help did come; for God has His own resources. He is not confined. In ten thousand different ways, and at ten thousand different times God may help us.

Our business is to spread our cases before the Lord, in childlike simplicity to pour out all our heart before God, saying,

"I do not deserve that Thou shouldst hear me and answer my requests, but for the sake of my precious Lord Jesus; for His sake answer my prayer, and give me grace quietly to wait till it please Thee to answer my prayer. For I believe Thou wilt do it in Thine own time and way."

"For I shall yet praise him." More prayer, more exercise of faith, more patient waiting, and the result will be blessing, abundant blessing. Thus I have found it many hundreds of times, and therefore I continually say to myself, "Hope thou in God."  --George Mueller

 

THE PROBLEM: Holy God and sinful man.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

"The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

The word “sin” is used in a lot of ways, but the essential meaning and result of sin is separation from God, since it involves pride -- man thinking more highly of his own ways than God’s. Without Jesus, His sacrifice and resurrection, connecting to God is not possible because of sin. We all have sinned, the results of which are death and an eternity separated from God. Since God is Holy, there can be no imperfection in His presence.

But death was not God’s plan for us. Abundant and eternal life (John 10:10) is what Jesus came to bring.

Why? Because even though man was broken and earth given over to evil, God never stopped loving us. Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

THE RE-CONNECTION TO GOD

Nothing but Jesus could have permanently fixed the problem – it was a gap that could not be bridged. Your best work just can’t get you to Heaven. Even if you could somehow achieve a score of 99 out of 100 in life, you’d still need a sacrificial savior to make up the difference and pay off your debt. That’s the difference between Grace and the Law. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

However, “God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). You can’t earn a gift – it's an unmerited favor. You do, however, have to make the choice to accept it.

So, we all, as sinners, have to turn to God for forgiveness of sin, and trust that Jesus died to give us new life that we may be born again (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23).

Faith is the key. It’s the cause and effect of our hope for salvation. If there is truly “no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), then your acceptance of God’s gift, your admission that you are a sinner, your repentance (changing of your mind), and your faith in the real-but-unseen Lord is all that can bring eternal and abundant life.

If knowing about Jesus has stirred your heart to hear even more, receive forgiveness for your sins, renew your Christian walk, or get involved in ministry, you may pray the following prayer, and/or follow the links below to any of our excellent ministry partners:

"Lord God, thank you for loving me enough to send your one and only Son to die for me. I know I am a sinner, and that Jesus was crucified and raised to life to pay a debt I was unable to pay, in order that I may live with You forever. I want to turn from my way of life and follow Jesus. I invite Jesus into my heart as the Lord of my life. Thank you, Father, for giving me new life in the name of Jesus. Amen!"

What’s the next step? Connect with other Christians, learn more, find a church… these ministries can help you with those concerns!

We have been asked the question or have wondered about it ourselves: Why is there suffering in the world? You might be surprised to know that this question is not necessarily new. In fact, it was raised in Jesus' day. In John 9, we find the story of a man who had been blind from birth. One day as Jesus was walking by him with His disciples, they thought it might be a good opportunity to ask Him why this man ended up in that state. Why was he blind? The disciples asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2 NKJV). In other words, Why is this man in the state that he is in? What caused this? What sin brought this about? What they were asking were the classic questions: Why does God allow evil? Why does God allow suffering? Many will say they don't believe in God because of a tragedy that happened to them in life. Maybe something harsh happened to them. Maybe their parents divorced when they were young. Or maybe someone very close to them died. They have held that against God for their entire lives. They want to know how God could have allowed such a thing. Our human intellects and notions of fairness reject the apparent contradiction between a loving God and a world of pain. We either believe that God is all-loving, but not all-powerful, and therefore He can't stop evil, or He is all-powerful, but He is not all loving, therefore He won't stop evil. The general tendency is to put everything on God, to blame everything on the Creator.

But we have to understand that people played a very important role in the entrance of sin into the human race. In the Garden of Eden, sin came because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. If they had not chosen to do the wrong thing, we would not have the aging process that we have today. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, I would have a full head of hair right now. But because of their sin, we face all these troubles in life. Because of their sin, life doesn't go on forever, because God said, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17 NKJV). But let's not be too hard on Adam and Eve, because if any one of us had been in the Garden, we would have done the same thing. That is confirmed by the fact that we have all sinned.

Sometimes we can see a connection between godless behavior and harsh repercussions. But then there are times when something bad happens to someone who is living a godly life. Good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people. But here is what we need to remember: When a Christian suffers, God will always, in some way, use it or be glorified through it and sometimes even remove the suffering. That is a great hope and comfort to all believers.

There are reasons for suffering. Sometimes we even can see God's hand in it. Sometimes God will use pain to get our attention, because we don't listen to Him otherwise. It may be something unexpected such as a sickness, a tragedy, or the death of a loved one. So we reach out to God in desperation, and God graciously accepts us.

Sometimes God allows hardship so He can be glorified through it. Many times we see God answer our prayers and do amazing things in the lives of people. Sometimes God may be using hardship in our lives to prepare us for the future. Our life experiences can be used by the glory of God to help others. And God, in His amazing knowledge, can work all things together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. Sometimes we ask God to take something away, but He says, "No, I am going to work through it."

Would you be willing to take what you are going through right now and say, "Lord, I don't understand it, but I want you to be glorified through it"? God may remove the thing that got your attention. Or, He may allow it to remain for a time. But whatever happens, you will be in the right place-with God again.

He Refines Them

"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).

They were living to themselves; self with its hopes, and promises and dreams, still had hold of them; but the Lord began to fulfill their prayers. They had asked for contrition, and had surrendered for it to be given them at any cost, and He sent them sorrow; they had asked for purity, and He sent them thrilling anguish; they had asked to be meek, and He had broken their hearts; they had asked to be dead to the world, and He slew all their living hopes; they had asked to be made like unto Him, and He placed them in the furnace, sitting by "as a refiner and purifier of silver," until they should reflect His image; they had asked to lay hold of His cross, and when He had reached it to them it lacerated their hands.

They had asked they knew not what, nor how, but He had taken them at their word, and granted them all their petitions. They were hardly willing to follow Him so far, or to draw so nigh to Him. They had upon them an awe and fear, as Jacob at Bethel, or Eliphaz in the night visions, or as the apostles when they thought that they had seen a spirit, and knew not that it was Jesus. They could almost pray Him to depart from them, or to hide His awfulness. They found it easier to obey than to suffer, to do than to give up, to bear the cross than to hang upon it. But they cannot go back, for they have come too near the unseen cross, and its virtues have pierced too deeply within them. He is fulfilling to them His promise, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32).

But now at last their turn has come. Before, they had only heard of the mystery, but now they feel it. He has fastened on them His look of love, as He did on Mary and Peter, and they can but choose to follow.

Little by little, from time to time, by flitting gleams, the mystery of His cross shines out upon them. They behold Him lifted up, they gaze on the glory which rays from the wounds of His holy passion; and as they gaze they advance, and are changed into His likeness, and His name shines out through them, for He dwells in them. They live alone with Him above, in unspeakable fellowship; willing to lack what others own (and what they might have had), and to be unlike all, so that they are only like Him.

Such, are they in all ages, "who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."

Had they chosen for themselves, or their friends chosen for them, they would have chosen otherwise. They would have been brighter here, but less glorious in His Kingdom. They would have had Lot's portion, not Abraham's. If they had halted anywhere--if God had taken off His hand and let them stray back--what would they not have lost? What forfeits in the resurrection? But He stayed them up, even against themselves. Many a time their foot had well nigh slipped; but He in mercy held them up. Now, even in this life, they know that all He did was done well. It was good to suffer here, that they might reign hereafter; to bear the cross below, for they shall wear the crown above; and that not their will but His was done on them and in them. --Anonymous.

Desperate Situations

"The angel of the Lord came upon him (Peter) and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off" (Acts 12:7).

"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. . . . And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one's bands were loosed" (Acts 16:25, 26).

This is God's way. In the darkest hours of the night, His tread draws near across the billows. As the day of execution is breaking, the angel comes to Peter's cell. When the scaffold for Mordecai is complete, the royal sleeplessness leads to a reaction in favor of the favored race.

Ah, soul, it may have to come to the worst with thee ere thou art delivered; but thou wilt be delivered! God may keep thee waiting, but he will ever be mindful of His covenant, and will appear to fulfill His inviolable Word. --F. B. Meyer

There's a simplicity about God in working out His plans, yet a resourcefulness equal to any difficulty, and an unswerving faithfulness to His trusting child, and an unforgetting steadiness in holding to His purpose. Through a fellow-prisoner, then a dream, He lifts Joseph from a prison to a premiership. And the length of stay in the prison prevents dizziness in the premier. It's safe to trust God's methods and to go by His clock. --S. D. Gordon

Providence hath a thousand keys to open a thousand sundry doors for the deliverance of His own, when it is even come to a desperate case. Let us be faithful; and care for our own part which is to suffer for Him, and lay Christ's part on Himself, and leave it there. --George MacDonald

Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle -- it is miracle in its first stage. If it is to be a great miracle, the condition is not difficulty but impossibility.

The clinging hand of His child makes a desperate situation a delight to Him.

Malachi 2:16
"For I hate divorce," says the Lord, the God of Israel.

An ax has fallen on the family tree. For nearly 30 years the ax has chopped at the tree's trunk, leaving only the stump and a few roots showing. The branches and fruit lay withered, spoiled on the ground.

What is this destructive ax? Divorce. Far too many people use this deadly tool to sever human problems from their lives.

Many who read this have been the unwanted recipients of heart-splitting divorce decrees. I do not relish piercing your old wounds. Nor do I want to sound pious just because our marriage has worked when others haven't. Nor do I intend to place a heavy yoke of guilt on your neck.

There is no question that divorce brings deep humiliation and hurt. It can be seen on the faces of those who endure it. Newspapers print wedding pictures of smiling brides, but the divorce section contains only names. You can feel one man's anguish in a local classified advertisement:

I want it known to the public that I made mistakes all through my marriage to Linda. I said things that weren't right. I battered and abused her both physically and verbally. I was unfair in the property settlement. I acted like a fool. I am lower than the ground I walk on. I have to live the rest of my life now without the person I truly love and who used to love me with no chance to undo the wrong I've committed. I lost the best thing that ever happened to me-my best friend. People, don't take your marriages for granted like I did. Divorce is not just a seven-letter word. I ask to be forgiven by all those concerned.

Over one million tragedies like this take place every year. We can no longer be spectators in this battle for the family. There is more at stake than just two isolated people when a couple chooses divorce. Our nation's future is literally on the line. How can our nation survive when a field full of stumps replaces its rich heritage of thriving family trees? The erosion of our most precious resource-our children-will have a devastating effect on our nation's future.

Prayer:

That God will cement your family together and that you can realize His purpose for your home. Join me in asking God to heal our nation from divorce and the devastation it is bringing to millions of children's lives.

Discuss: Why do you think God hates divorce? (See 1 John 4:17.)

Don't Fret

"Do not begin to be anxious" (Phil. 4:6, PBV).

Not a few Christians live in a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be perfectly at peace amid the hurly-burly of daily life is a secret worth knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong; never
helped anybody to do God's will; never made a way of escape for anyone out of perplexity. Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said: "Take no thought," that is, no anxious thought, "saying what shall we cat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed?" He does not mean that we are not to take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but that we are not to worry about these things. People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on your face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack of joy in your spirit. Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet. --Rev. Darlow Sargeant

It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mistrusting. Can we gain anything by it? Do we not unfit ourselves for action, and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet! Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God! The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. We may be sure that every word of His will stand, though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in. Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus. --Selected

"Peace thy inmost soul shall fill
Lying still!"

Wait Quietly

"And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise" (Heb. 6:15).

Abraham was long tried, but he was richly rewarded. The Lord tried him by delaying to fulfill His promise. Satan tried him by temptation; men tried him by jealousy, distrust, and opposition; Sarah tried him by her peevishness. But he patiently endured. He did not question God's veracity, nor limit His power, nor doubt His faithfulness, nor grieve His love; but he bowed to Divine Sovereignty, submitted to Infinite Wisdom, and was silent under delays, waiting the Lord's time. And so, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

God's promises cannot fail of their accomplishment. Patient waiters cannot be disappointed. Believing expectation shall be realized.

Beloved, Abraham's conduct condemns a hasty spirit, reproves a murmuring one, commends a patient one, and encourages quiet submission to God's will and way. Remember, Abraham was tried; he patiently waited; he received the promise, and was satisfied. Imitate his example, and you will share the same blessing. -—Selected

Perfection of Suffering

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me" (Ps. 138:8).

There is a Divine mystery in suffering, a strange and supernatural power in it, which has never been fathomed by the human reason. There never has been known great saintliness of soul which did not pass through great suffering. When the suffering soul reaches a calm sweet carelessness, when it can inwardly smile at its own suffering, and does not even ask God to deliver it from suffering, then it has wrought its blessed ministry; then patience has its perfect work; then the crucifixion begins to weave itself into a crown.

It is in this state of the perfection of suffering that the Holy Spirit works many marvelous things in our souls. In such a condition, our whole being lies perfectly still under the hand of God; every faculty of the mind and will and heart are at last subdued; a quietness of eternity settles down into the whole being; the tongue grows still, and has but few words to say; it stops asking God questions; it stops crying, "Why hast thou forsaken me ?"

The imagination stops building air castles, or running off on foolish lines; the reason is tame and gentle; the choices are annihilated; it has no choice in anything but the purpose of God. The affections are weaned from all creatures and all things; it is so dead that nothing can hurt it, nothing can offend it, nothing can hinder it, nothing can get in its way; for, let the circumstances be what they may, it seeks only for God and His will, and it feels assured that God is making everything in the universe, good or bad, past or present, work together for its good.

Oh, the blessedness of being absolutely conquered! of losing our own strength, and wisdom, and plans, and desires, and being where every atom of our nature is like placid Galilee under the omnipotent feet of our Jesus. –Soul Food

The great thing is to suffer without being. discouraged. --Fenelon

"The heart that serves, and loves, and clings,
Hears everywhere the rush of angel wings."

Deeper

"Not much earth" (Matt. 13:5).

Shallow! It would seem from the teaching of this parable that we have something to do with the soil. The fruitful seed fell into "good and honest hearts." I suppose the shallow people are the soil without much earth--those who have no real purpose, are moved by a tender appeal, a good sermon, a pathetic melody, and at first it looks as if they would amount to something; but not much earth--no depth, no deep, honest purpose, no earnest desire to know duty in order to do it. Let us look after the soil of our hearts.

When a Roman soldier was told by his guide that if he insisted on taking a certain journey it would probably be fatal, he answered, "It is necessary for me to go; it is not necessary for me to live."

This was depth. When we are convicted something like that we shall come to something. The shallow nature lives in its impulses, its impressions, its intuitions, its instincts, and very largely its surroundings. The profound character looks beyond all these, and moves steadily on, sailing past all storms and clouds into the clear sunshine which is always on the other side, and waiting for the afterwards which always brings the reversion of sorrow, seeming defeat and failure.

When God has deepened us, then He can give us His deeper truths, His profoundest secrets, and His mightier trusts. Lord, lead me into the depths of Thy life and save me from a shallow experience!

On to broader fields of holy vision;
On to loftier heights of faith and love;
Onward, upward, apprehending wholly,
All for which He calls thee from above.
--A. B. Simpson

Devil's Burden

"There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God" (Heb. 4:9).

The rest includes victory, "And the Lord gave them rest round about; ...the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand" (Joshua 21:44).

"He will beautify the meek with victory" (Ps. 149:4). (Rotherham, margin)

An eminent Christian worker tells of his mother who was a very anxious and troubled Christian. He would talk with her by the hour trying to convince her of the sinfulness of fretting, but to no avail. She was like the old lady who once said she had suffered so much, especially from the troubles that never came.

But one morning the mother came down to breakfast wreathed in smiles. He asked her what had happened, and she told him that in the night she had a dream.

She was walking along a highway with a great crowd of people who seemed so tired and burdened. They were nearly all carrying little black bundles, and she noticed that there were numerous repulsive looking beings which she thought were demons dropping these black bundles for the people to pick up and carry. Like the rest, she too had her needless load, and was weighed down with the devil's bundles. Looking up, after a while, she saw a Man with a bright and loving face, passing hither and thither through the crowd, and comforting the people.

At last He came near her, and she saw that it was her Saviour. She looked up and told Him how tired she was, and He smiled sadly and said: "My dear child, I did not give you these loads; you have no need of them. They are the devil's burdens and they are wearing out your life. Just drop them; refuse to touch them with one of your fingers and you will find the path easy and you will be as if borne on eagle's wings."

He touched her hand, and lo, peace and joy thrilled her frame and, flinging down her burden, she was about to throw herself at His feet in joyful thanksgiving, when suddenly she awoke and found that all her cares were gone. From that day to the close of her life she was the most cheerful and happy member of the household. And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares that infest the day, Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. --Longfellow