Here are some questions that perplex many Christians

Here are some questions that perplex many Christian people around the world: what is "the latter rain" of the Holy Spirit? Is that blessing falling today, like showers of rain on thirsty crops? What is the purpose of this blessing that the Bible says God will "pour out" on His people worldwide (Zech. 10:1)? Is it possible that Satan can counterfeit the blessing and send his substitute for the real thing? If so, how can we distinguish between God's true latter rain and the counterfeit?

There are some simple, clear facts that will at least begin to clear up our perplexity:

(1) The story of the "former rain" (see Joel 2:23) will help explain what is the "latter rain." It was at Pentecost that God's true people (those who believed in Christ) received the outpouring of God's true Holy Spirit. Now, after two millennia, we expect the gift of the Holy Spirit to be given again as the complement of the "former" blessing.

(2) The "former rain" was the light of truth that was given as a gift--it was the perception of the truth that God's professed people had rejected, murdered, and crucified the Lord of glory. That blessing was not a loud noise so much as it was bright light: Peter proclaimed that those people present there had crucified the Messiah, the Son of God. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart" (Acts 2:36, 37).

(3) The latter rain will therefore be a gift of the Holy Spirit that will bring the true and ultimate conviction of sin that only He can bring to human hearts: the guilt of the crucifixion of Christ is OUR sin. But that is a truth that we don't comprehend clearly, as yet. According to Zechariah 12:10-13:1, when God's people do grasp that reality, there will come the greatest repentance of the ages. It will become the "final" experience of reconciliation with Christ, something known as "the final atonement."

(4) This will make possible a movement, a second "Pentecost," a message to be proclaimed worldwide that will "lighten the earth with glory," and prepare a people for Christ's return

I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. (Isaiah 27:3)

I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. (Isaiah 27:3)

When the Lord Himself speaks in His own proper person rather than through a prophet, the word has a peculiar weight to believing minds. It is Jehovah Himself who is the keeper of His own vineyard; He does not trust it to any other, but He makes it His own personal care. Are they not well kept whom God Himself keeps?

We are to receive gracious watering, not only every day and every hour "but every moment." How we ought to grow! How fresh and fruitful every plant should be! What rich clusters the vines should bear!

But disturbers come; little foxes and the boar. Therefore, the Lord Himself is our Guardian, and that at all hours, both "night and day." What, then, can harm us? Why are we afraid! He tends, He waters, He guards; what more do we need?

Twice in this verse the Lord says, "I will." What truth, what power, what love, what immutability we find in the great "I will" of Jehovah! Who can resist His will? If He says "I will," what room is there for doubt? With an "I will" of God we can face all the hosts of sin, death, and hell. O Lord, since Thou sayest, "I will keep thee," I reply, "I will praise Thee!"

God would have His people separate from sinners, His call to them is, "Come ye out from among them."

Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. (Deuteronomy 33:28)

The more we dwell alone, the more safe shall we be. God would have His people separate from sinners, His call to them is, "Come ye out from among them."...A worldly Christian is spiritually diseased. Those who compromise with Christ's enemies may be reckoned with them.

Our safety lies, not in making terms with the enemy, but in dwelling alone with our Best Friend. If we do this, we shall dwell in safety despite the sarcasms, the slanders, and the sneers of the world. We shall be safe from the baleful influence of its unbelief, its pride, its vanity, its filthiness.

God also will make us dwell in safety alone in that day when sin shall be visited on the nations by wars and famines. The Lord brought Abram from Ur of the Chaldees, but Abram stopped halfway. He had no blessing till, having set out to go to the land of Canaan, to the land of Canaan he came. He was safe alone even in the midst of foes. Lot was not safe in Sodom though in a circle of friends. Our safety is in dwelling apart with God.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed. (Isaiah 54.4)

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed. (Isaiah 54.4)

We shall not be ashamed of our faith. Carping critics may assail the Scriptures upon which we ground our belief, but every year the Lord will make it more and more clear that in His Book there is no error, no excess, and no omission. It is no discredit to be a simple believer; the faith which looks alone to Jesus is a crown of honor on any man's head and better than a star on his breast.

We shall not be ashamed of our hope. It shall be even as the Lord has said. We shall be fed, led, blest, and rested. Our Lord will come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended. How we shall glory in the Lord who first gave us lively hope and then gave us that which we hoped for!

We shall not be ashamed of our love. Jesus is to us the altogether lovely, and never, never, shall we have to blush because we have yielded our hearts to Him. The sight of our glorious Well-beloved will justify the most enthusiastic attachment to Him. None will blame the martyrs for dying for Him. When the enemies of Christ are clothed with everlasting contempt, the lovers of Jesus shall find themselves honored by all holy beings, because they chose the reproach of Christ rather than the treasures of Egypt.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, (James 1:5)

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)

If any of you lack wisdom. There is no "if" in the matter, for I am sure I lack it. What do I know? How can I guide my own way? How can I direct others? Lord, I am a mass of folly, and wisdom I have none.

Thou sayest, "Let him ask of God." Lord, I now ask. Here at Thy footstool I ask to be furnished with heavenly wisdom for this day's perplexities, and for this day's simplicities; for I know I may do very stupid things, even in plain matters, unless Thou dost keep me out of mischief.

I thank Thee that all I have to do is to ask. What grace is this on Thy part, that I have only to pray in faith and Thou wilt give me wisdom'. Thou dost here promise me a liberal education, and that, too, without an angry tutor or a scolding usher. This, too, Thou wilt bestow without a fee--bestow it on a fool who lacks wisdom. O Lord, I thank Thee for that positive and expressive word "It shall be given him." I believe it. Thou wilt this day make Thy babe to know the hidden wisdom which the carnally prudent never learn. Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel and afterwards receive me to glory.

The greatest "evangelism" of all time was what happened at Pentecost.

The greatest "evangelism" of all time was what happened at Pentecost. It was not emotionalism, and what brought the deep conviction of truth on people's hearts was not the miracle of the apostles' speaking foreign languages--a "sign and wonder" indeed, but not the real thing that did it: the apostles proclaimed what had happened when the Son of God died on His cross.

They didn't "mince words," or say it daintily; "YOU murdered the Prince of life, the Son of God!" They laid the guilt of the ages upon the souls of those Jews and Gentiles. There was no political making friends and influencing people, no attempt to make the message palatable, to "win" the top leaders by psychology. It was the most direct super-confrontation that has ever been between lowly people and religious society leadership (read it in Acts 2:23, 36; 4:10; 5:30, etc.).

Ordinary people like the apostles could never have galvanized themselves to tell it like they did had it not been for the ten days of repentance they spent beforehand. They had knelt very low in self-humiliation; what fools they had been! The Holy Spirit had eleven men in whom self had been "crucified with Christ." This made it possible for the Son of God to be exalted in them.

Why was it the prototype of all genuine "evangelism"? What Jesus had said a short time earlier happened: "On the last and most important day of the festival [Feast of Tabernacles] Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, 'Whoever is thirsty should come to Me and drink. As the scripture says [Song of Solomon 4:15] "Whoever believes in Me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart."'" Jesus said this about the [Holy] Spirit" (John 7:37-39, TEV). That was the "former rain."

The "latter rain" (which is still future) will be a re-play.

The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my payer. (Psalm 6:9)

The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my payer. (Psalm 6:9)

The experience here recorded is mine. I can set to my seal that God is true. In very wonderful ways He has answered the prayers of His servant many and many a time. Yes, and He is hearing my present supplication, and He is not turning away His ear from me. Blessed be His holy name!

What then? Why, for certain the promise which lies sleeping in the psalmist's believing confidence is also mine. Let me grasp it by the hand of faith: "The Lord will receive my prayer." He will accept it, think of it, and grant it in the way and time which His loving wisdom judges to be best. I bring my poor prayer in my hand to the great King, and He gives me audience and graciously receives my petition. My enemies will not listen to me, but my Lord will. They ridicule my tearful prayers, but my Lord does not; He receives my prayer into His ear and His heart.

What a reception this is for a poor sinner! We receive Jesus, and then the Lord receives us and our prayers for His Son's sake. Blessed be that dear name which franks our prayers so that they freely pass even within the golden gates. Lord, teach me to pray, since Thou hearest my prayers.

People are often scared to think about the "two covenants" (the Old and the New)

People are often scared to think about the "two covenants" (the Old and the New), for fear that it's a theological puzzle beyond their understanding.

In truth, it's the simplest problem in the Bible to grasp: the New Covenant is the promises of God to Abraham and to his descendants by faith (that means you if you believe John 3:16)--that He will bless you abundantly now and forever. That's the New Covenant (you can read the seven promises in Genesis 12:2, 3). In contrast, the Old Covenant is the promise of the people at Mt. Sinai to "do" everything that that they think God requires (Ex. 19:8).

Under the Old Covenant we see the Ten Commandments as ten stern demands. But under the New, we see them as ten glorious promises that the Lord will save us from the sin mentioned there. For example, the seventh: under the Old Covenant it's a stern demand that we never covet our neighbor's spouse, never look on someone lustfully, etc.

But under the New Covenant, it's a promise that the Lord will hold us by the hand forever and save us from falling into that hole (the wrong woman, or man) that Proverbs 22:14 says is a "deep pit." The wonderful promise applies to us in our teenage years, also. (That's when it's especially precious.)

But is there no condition regarding what we must do?

Yes: we must believe the Preamble to the Ten Commandments. We must believe that by virtue of His sacrifice of Himself on His cross, the Lord Jesus has delivered us "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." By becoming our new Head of the human race, our new Adam, Christ has adopted the human race in Himself (Eph. 1:3-7); He has become the "Savior of the world" (John 4:42--that is, in a legal or judicial sense), but "especially" so of "those who believe" (1 Tim. 4:10). That's the practical. His love (agape) constrains us to live joyfully unto Him; self-sacrifice for Him is a joy.

That's the truth of the Preamble to the Ten Commandments. You must believe it. Choose to. You believe; let Him "help [your] unbelief" (He will! Mark 9:24).

The only news God has for anyone at any time is Good

The last book of the Bible is clear: the only news God has for anyone at any time is Good. The final message in Revelation 14 is "the everlasting gospel," which never means Bad News. But God cannot force people to believe His Good News; He "proclaims liberty throughout all the land," all the earth (Lev. 25:10). He wants everyone to be free, and everyone is free to believe His Good News, or to believe the author of Bad News, Satan. This freedom is bestowed upon the human race "in Christ," as His gift. But each human being must learn, be taught, his freedom. That teaching of freedom is the "gospel."

But Revelation also makes clear that there is a diabolical opposition to that "everlasting gospel," which is represented as the intoxicating "wine of Babylon" (14:8; 18:2). Thus we see a great conflict going on behind the scenes; it's impossible for Christ to be "revealed" in this last Book of the Bible unless at the same time the deceptions of Christ's enemy, Satan, are also unveiled. And the astonishing "revelation" discloses that his chief means of opposing Christ is through an organization, a message, a philosophy, that is professedly Christian. He has become a grand impostor, "so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" when it's all a masterful lie (see 2 Thess. 2:3, 4).

Daniel's prophecy is of a "little horn" power that emerged in world history out of the ruins of the ancient pagan Roman Empire, that "speaks great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws" (7:25). One brief example of this frightful "Christian" deception: the pagan idea of the natural immortality of the soul was imported into the Christian Church; it forces people to believe that those who are lost at last must continue to live forever in conscious torment and agony in an endlessly literal burning hell, that the great conflict between Christ and Satan will never be resolved; throughout all eternity Satan will still rule his kingdom ("hell") while side by side God rules His kingdom (heaven). This falsehood has been a curse to humanity, made many people become infidels, created vast cruelties. Its "author"? Babylon.

The point? Make sure the "gospel" you believe is purely biblical, unmixed with any of that Babylonian "wine." The "temple of God" where the impostor "sits" and dishes out falsehood could be closer than you think.

You want the Holy Spirit to help you win some soul to conversion in Christ?

You want the Holy Spirit to help you win some soul to conversion in Christ. Note how Jesus won souls: He always gave them Good News.

Take for instance, the crucified thief on the cross (Luke 23:34-43): Jesus' last chance to win somebody before He had to die! What did He tell the thief? "You will be with Me in Paradise!" simply because the ex-hate-filled man asked to be "remembered." Jesus gave the poor wretch Good News.

Consider again the woman taken in adultery in John 8:1-11 (don't cut the story out of your Bible!). Did He tell her, "Lady, if you will keep straight from now on, God will forgive your sins and then He will accept you"? He gave her Good News: "I do not condemn you! Go and sin no more." I take your condemnation upon Myself; I am paying the price for your sin; I lift from you this burden of guilt, because as the Lamb of God I bear your guilt Myself. His command to "sin no more" was more a promise than a stricture. With this message, she was able to "go and sin no more." She never fell again! Jesus saved her right then and there.

Consider Cleopas and his friend on the path to Emmaus (the story begins in Luke 24:13). They were so overwhelmed with discouragement that they would have given up their faith in Jesus as "the Savior of the world" if they had not gotten help just then. He gave them a Bible study incognito that was full of Good News. He saved them. Go thou and do likewise with some soul who needs Good News.

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

My Lord's words are true as to the tribulation. I have my share of it beyond all doubt. The flail is not hung up out of the way, nor can I hope that it will be laid aside so long as I lie upon the threshing floor. How can I look to be at home in the enemy's country, joyful while in exile, or comfortable in a wilderness? This is not my rest. This is the place of the furnace, and the forge, and the hammer. My experience tallies with my Lord's words.

I note how He bids me "be of good cheer." Alas! I am far too apt to be downcast. My spirit soon sinks when I am sorely tried. But I must not give way to this feeling. When my Lord bids me cheer up I must not dare to be cast down.

What is the argument which He uses to encourage me? Why, it is His own victory. He says, "I have overcome the world." His battle was much more severe than mine. I have not yet resisted unto blood. Why do I despair of overcoming? See, my soul, the enemy has been once overcome. I fight with a beaten foe. O world, Jesus has already vanquished thee; and in me, by His grace, He will overcome thee again. Therefore am I of good cheer and sing unto my conquering Lord.

"What is this thing called justification? "

Many people ask: "What is this thing called justification? It's a big word and it's over my head. Help me!" The Bible is God's word; He wants us to understand; He puts the feeding trough down low so lambs can eat. Surely He will respond to our plea.

(1) The idea is simply making something crooked straight; something bad, good; something wrong, right. So, it ends up making something unjust, just--and there's the root of the word.

(2) One doesn't need the Bible to tell him that something has made the world to be all those things--"crooked," "bad," "wrong," "unjust." Justification = making them all right again.

(3) What has done all this evil is SIN. Justification is therefore the opposite of sin. It reverses the evil that sin has caused, it un-does what sin has done, it untangles the knot that sin has tied in the universe of God and especially, on this planet.

(4) Sin has caused an alienated sense of separation from God. It has left us strangers in the universe, our very home. The alienation actually causes "enmity" against God. Justification has bridged the chasm that has separated us from "home," which is the throne of God. This bridging of the chasm is "at-one-ment," a heart-reconciliation with the One whom we have thought was our enemy. He turns out to have been our Friend all along. The root of the problem has been eradicated: justification has made us friends with God again, like we used to be at Creation.

(5) This enmity against God was "condemnation." Justification became a lifting of the condemnation, or a "verdict of acquittal" (Rom. 5:15-18, Revised English Bible).

(6) Justification is what One has done whom the Bible calls "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). He untied the knot, reversed the evil, brought good in place of the bad, reconciled enemies into being friends with God, made everything crooked straight, and made everything wrong to become right. This was infinitely more wonderful than if He had wiped us out in one fell swoop and started from scratch creating everything new again. Changing alienated hearts, winning enemies to be friends--this was the Miracle of the ages. It required a cross on which the Creator gave up His very life in a total sacrifice known in the Bible as "the second death"--an embracing of hell itself in love for us (Heb. 2:9; Isa. 53:12).

(7) This act which He performed did it for all humanity; legally, He saved His lost world, yes, redeemed His threatened universe. That is justification. But what you didn't ask is what's important: "What is justification by faith?" That's when our sinful, alienated heart appreciates the justification He accomplished for us; and that is a totally changed heart and life. You're now a new you.

Is everybody in the Laodicean Church?

Is everybody in the Laodicean Church (the seventh of Revelation 2, and 3:14-21), lukewarm? The actual text, the words of Jesus, do not make exceptions.

It's like the ten "virgins” of the parable in Matthew 25; they "all slumbered and slept” (vs. 5; the original has it, they nodded and then they all sacked out in deep sleep). But five had prepared in advance by stocking a supply of oil, and at "midnight,” the hour when it is the hardest to awaken out of deep sleep, the cry went forth, "The Bridegroom comes!” The cry caught everybody asleep.

Yes, everybody in Laodicea is lukewarm, just as everybody in Elijah's ancient Israel was either actively worshipping Baal or "answering not a word” in defense of truth when he challenged them on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:21). "All have sinned" [aorist tense, in one punctiliar point of time, Rom. 3:23), but "all” have been given the gift of justification "in Christ” (vs. 24; 5:15-18). In other words, all ten of the "virgins of Matthew 25 had been given equal access "to them that sell [so they could] buy for yourselves” (Matt. 25:9).

Has the "midnight” come when the cry goes forth?

The story in the Song of Solomon (5:2-8) has the woman snug in bed, warm and cozy, thinking only of her own comfort while her one true Lover out in the cold rain is banging on the door to be let in. She rebuffs Him. Then realizing how wrong she was, she belatedly got up to let Him in, at last thinking of Him instead of herself, and by then He was … GONE.

It's time for some serious thinking.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8)

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8)

If we desire to glorify our Lord by fruitfulness, we must have certain things within us; for nothing can come out of us which is not first of all within us. We must begin with faith, which is the groundwork of all the virtues; and then diligently add to it virtue, knowledge, temperance, and patience. With these we must have godliness and brotherly love. All these put together will most assuredly cause us to produce, as our life fruit, the clusters of usefulness, and we shall not be mere idle knowers but real doers of the Word. These holy things must not only be in us, but abound, or we shall be barren. Fruit is the overflow of life, and we must be full before we can flow over.

We have noticed men of considerable parts and opportunities who have never succeeded in doing real good in the conversion of souls; and after close observation we have concluded that they lacked certain graces which are absolutely essential to fruit bearing. For real usefulness, graces are better than gifts. As the man is, so is his work. If we would do better, we must be better. Let the text be a gentle hint to unfruitful professors and to myself also.

He is already doing His work as our High Priest! --if you will let Him join you in your "walk."

Behold the compassion of the resurrected Jesus! One might think that in the enthusiasm of His newly resurrected life He is eager to be off on His new assignment in the heavenly sanctuary, but no, His heart is with His disappointed, discouraged ones here. His name is still "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23).

Two men who have believed He was the true Messiah are on the path in their walk to Emmaus that afternoon of the "first day of the week" of the resurrection. Never have they known such crushing heart pain. It goes deeper than any humans can fathom for it is the pain of defeat in the great controversy with Satan; the death of the Christ means the ultimate victory of Satan. These two men feel they must conclude this. They are not mourning the loss of their own personal salvation so much as they mourn the grand defeat of God. The world (yes, the universe) is now to be plunged into hopeless despair! "We were hoping that [Jesus of Nazareth] would redeem Israel" (Luke 24:21)--and to them "Israel" was the only hope of the world.

The heart of the resurrected Jesus is with them as they trudge disconsolately toward Emmaus. He now teaches us that His heart is with all disappointed people all over the world, in all time. He joins these two men incognito and gently encourages them with Bible truth. "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (vs. 27). He is already doing His work as our High Priest! And so He ministers to you today--if you will let Him join you in your "walk."

For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. (Psalm 72:12)

For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. (Psalm 72:12)

The needy cries; what else can he do? His cry is heard of God; what else need he do? Let the needy reader take to crying at once, for this will be his wisdom. Do not cry in the ears of friends, for even if they can help you it is only because the Lord enables them. The nearest way is to go straight to God and let your cry come up before Him. Straightforward makes the best runner: run to the Lord and not to secondary causes.

"Alas!" you cry, "I have no friend or helper." So much the better; you can rely upon God in both capacities-as without supplies and without helpers. Make your double need your double plea. Even for temporal mercies you may wait upon God, for He careth for His children in these temporary concerns. As for spiritual necessities, which are the heaviest of all, the Lord will hear your cry and will deliver you and supply you.

O poor friend, try your rich God. O helpless one, lean on His help. He has never failed me, and I am sure He will never fail you. Come as a beggar, and God will not refuse you help. Come with no plea but His grace. Jesus is King; will He let you perish of wants What! Did you forget this?

The Lord Jesus has set us all free from sin. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again ..." (Gal. 5:1).

The great King David had fallen from his dizzy height of honor into the dreadful pit of adultery, and then gone further into sin by a deed of murder to cover it up. He felt that he was lost forever. His nights were filled with tears. He says, "Day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer" (Psalm 32:4).

It's vivid writing: he thinks of a killer drought when every drop of moisture is dried up; that's his heart!
People sometimes misunderstand the story of King David. They know that the Lord still loved him and forgave him his sin, and they read into the story the wrong idea of a license to sin. They say, "King David was forgiven his sexual sin; now go ahead and do it, don't worry, the Lord will forgive you, too."
But that's the wrong way to read David's story. Yes, the Lord forgave him; but let us note, David came within a millimeter of losing his soul forever. He cries out in anguish, "My sin is ever before me. ... Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me" (51:3, 11).
David actually tasted the horrid anguish of being in hell forever. There is nothing worse to experience than being forsaken by the Lord. How would one feel being dumped on the moon all alone forever? David tasted that; he'd had enough. Never again did he want to transgress the holy law of God.
No, don't do that evil deed that your lustful heart craves. Satan can never force you to do it; and remember that the temptation to do it is not the sin of doing it. But Jesus says that the deed can be done in the heart if it is your choice to do it when the opportunity comes.
Here's where the little Book of Titus comes into focus: "The grace of God [not craven fear!] ... teaches us to say 'No!' to ungodliness and worldly lusts" (2:11, 12; NIV). The battle with the sin of lust is won in the heart by choosing "in Christ" to be loyal to Him, learning how to say "No!" Satan has to depart; you are the boss. The Lord Jesus has set us all free from sin. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again ..." (Gal. 5:1).
Sometimes standing still is great progress.

 

"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."-1 Peter 2:3

"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."-1 Peter 2:3

If:-then, this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. "If:"-then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. "If:"-then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is needful to enquire whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favour which may not be a matter for heart-searching.

But while this should be a matter of earnest and prayerful inquiry, no one ought to be content whilst there is any such thing as an "if" about his having tasted that the Lord is gracious. A jealous and holy distrust of self may give rise to the question even in the believer's heart, but the continuance of such a doubt would be an evil indeed. We must not rest without a desperate struggle to clasp the Saviour in the arms of faith, and say, "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him." Do not rest, O believer, till thou hast a full assurance of thine interest in Jesus. Let nothing satisfy thee till, by the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with thy spirit, thou art certified that thou art a child of God. Oh, trifle not here; let no "perhaps" and "peradventure" and "if" and "maybe" satisfy thy soul. Build on eternal verities, and verily build upon them. Get the sure mercies of David, and surel!

y get them. Let thine anchor be cast into that which is within the veil, and see to it that thy soul be linked to the anchor by a cable that will not break. Advance beyond these dreary "ifs;" abide no more in the wilderness of doubts and fears; cross the Jordan of distrust, and enter the Canaan of peace, where the Canaanite still lingers, but where the land ceaseth not to flow with milk and honey

Am I the only one who sometimes is tempted to feel unworthy to pray?

Am I the only one who sometimes is tempted to feel unworthy to pray?

When I think of my sinfulness, my mistakes, my guilt, I am tempted to feel overwhelmed. Why would the Lord ever bother to answer me--or even listen to me?

Maybe you never have battles with temptation like this; if so, then just don't bother to listen to me.

But if you never have such battles, I am not sure that you are so lucky after all; maybe you need to make sure that your feet are on a solid foundation of objective truth, not just on emotional feelings. When I am so tempted to doubt, I must remember what Jesus says in John 6:37, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." He doesn't say anything about feeling or being worthy to "come." Simply, if I come, He won't slam the door in my face or kick me down the steps. There's something good I must believe, first.

In fact, what happens is that He always encourages me, shows me a little light glowing at the end of my tunnel. You may say you never see such light; well, you can see what Christian saw in Pilgrim's Progress--he saw one place that was not quite as dark as all the rest. And then Evangelist said, "Keep that in your eye; so shall you find the Gate."

Jesus tells you (and He doesn't require you to be perfect before He promises this to you): "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and His rule. ... You're blessed when you're content with just who you are--no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourself proud owner of everything that can't be bought." (That's some of the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 in the Peterson rendition). Yes, get on your knees and stay there long enough. There's Good News for YOU!

Do you ever fall on your knees and cry out to the Lord, "Thank You for saving me from disaster that I deserved!"?

Do you ever fall on your knees and cry out to the Lord, "Thank You for saving me from disaster that I deserved!"?

There are many who would give anything if they could erase from memory and from their life record some act of willful foolishness or indiscretion. Often it's an act of fornication or adultery, an alluring temptation yielded to, at an unguarded moment, or some really stupid faux pas that is a blot on an otherwise unstained reputation. Then almost immediately afterward comes that horrid sense of guilt and shame. It can be lethal.

Did Christ die because our sins were laid upon Him, or because they were borne within Him? Did He feel the guilt as though it were His own? Was His identification with sinful us, a total one?

We read Isaiah 53:6, "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all"; that's evidence for the "upon" idea. But we also read 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to BE sin for us." That's evidence for the "within" idea. It wasn't antiseptic poison from the rusty spikes driven through His wrists and ankles that killed Him; it was raw guilt--ours. The burden overwhelmed Him, as though He were indeed the guilty One. This profound truth illuminates the book of Psalms; Christ is all through it, especially the ones that David wrote. Christ's name is "God with us."

If you carry a burden of joy-crushing guilt, remember Psalm 130: "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared" (vss. 3, 4). You'd think the Psalmist would say, "There is guilt ... that You may be feared." No, it's forgiveness; the overwhelming sense of abounding grace, His bearing your guilt and freeing you from it. All your lifetime thereafter you walk "softly" like Ahab did when he repented of his monstrous crimes (1 Kings 21:27, 28, KJV).

And if the dear Lord has saved you from yourself, you still walk "softly" for you know you have not an iota of righteousness of your own (see Isa. 54:17). You realize the evil you would have done had there been no Savior there to hold you by your hand (cf. Matt. 8:25; 14:30; incidentally, that healthy, self-humbling realization is akin to "corporate repentance").

What does the name of "Jesus" mean?

What does the name of "Jesus" mean?

We are told in Acts 4:12 that there is salvation in no other name; Philippians 2:10 says that at last "every knee" shall bow to that name; Acts 3:6 says that name caused the man born lame to walk. Says the poet, "The name of Jesus is so sweet, I love its music to repeat." But isn't it time that we should learn what the name means? It's more than mere emotion or tradition. There is dynamite locked in the very Hebrew name itself.

First, what does it NOT mean? It does not mean "Jesus would like to save," or "perhaps He will save," and it does not mean "He offers to save." The simple Hebrew meaning within the word is "Jehovah saves." Here's what He is, not what He would like to be: He is a Savior. His proper title was recognized by the believing Samaritans (they got there before the Jews did!): "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). He gives, not merely offers, His flesh "for the life of the world" (6:51).

Furthermore, He is not a co-Savior, sharing the job with any one else, least of all ourselves. You and I can't share the honor! He "saves to the uttermost," that is, not part-way and then leaving us to finish the job (Heb. 7:25).

This makes some people nervous; they're afraid that if we say He saves completely that we're going to get lazy and not do "good works." But they don't realize that when one appreciates what it cost the Savior to save us, when the dimensions of His sacrifice are realized, the human heart is so moved, so "constrained" (2 Cor. 5:14, 15), that the result is total dedication to the One "who died for [us] and rose again." There is no end to the "good works" that His agape love will forever "constrain" us to do.

While Jesus saves, we have something to do, but it's better to say we have something to believe. John 3:16 mentions no part we have to play in effecting our salvation other than to believe, which means "with the heart one believes to righteousness" (Rom 10:10). We let Him save us; we stop resisting Him. You are drowning in the ocean and the lifeguard saves you completely, at the risk of his life. Do you cooperate with him? Yes, otherwise you drown. Do you help save yourself? No. You don't give him a dollar tip and walk off proud of yourself; you thank him for the rest of your life, and you walk humbly ever after.

Not one person eternally saved will talk about his own accomplishment. There is a song the redeemed will sing that we can begin to sing now (Rev. 5:11-13).

I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. (Psalm 91:14)

I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. (Psalm 91:14)

Does the Lord say this to me? Yes, if I have known His name. Blessed be the Lord, I am no stranger to Him. I have tried Him, proved Him, and known Him, and therefore do I trust Him. I know His name as a sin-hating God, for by His Spirit's convincing power I have been taught that He will never wink at evil. But I also know Him as the sin-pardoning God in Christ Jesus, for He has forgiven me all trespasses. His name is faithfulness, and I know it, for He has never forsaken me though my troubles have multiplied upon me.

This knowledge is a gift of grace, and the Lord makes it to be the reason why He grants another grace-gift, namely, setting on high. This is grace upon grace. Observe that if we climb on high, the position may be dangerous; but if the Lord sets us there it is safe. He may raise us to great usefulness, to eminent experience, to success in service, to leadership among workers, to a father's place among the little ones. If He does not do this, He may set us on high by near fellowship, clear insight, holy triumph, and gracious anticipation of eternal glory. When God sets us on high, Satan himself cannot pull us down. Oh, that this may be our case all through this day!

Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1)

Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1)

It is the Lord's way to tear before He heals. This is the honest love of His heart and the sure surgery of His hand. He also bruises before He binds up, or else it would be uncertain work. The law comes before the gospel, the sense of need before the supply of it. Is the reader now under the convincing, crushing hand of the Spirit? Has he received the spirit of bondage again to fear? This is a salutary preliminary to real gospel healing and binding up.

Do not despair, dear heart, but come to the Lord with all thy jagged wounds, black bruises, and running sores. He alone can heal, and He delights to do it. It is our Lord's office to bind up the brokenhearted, and He is gloriously at home at it. Let us not linger but at once return unto the Lord from whom we have gone astray. Let us show Him our gaping wounds and beseech him to know His own work and complete it. Will a surgeon make an incision and then leave his patient to bleed to death? Will the Lord pull down our old house and then refuse to build us a better one? Dost Thou ever wantonly increase the misery of poor anxious souls? That be far from Thee, O Lord.

When we are angry with evil, God is no more angry with us.

And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers. (Deuteronomy 13:17)

Israel must conquer idolatrous cities and destroy all the spoil, regarding all that had been polluted by idolatry as an accursed thing to be burned with fire. Now, sin of all sorts must be treated by Christians in the same manner. We must not allow a single evil habit to remain. It is now war to the knife with sins of all sorts and sizes, whether of the body, the mind, or the spirit. We do not look upon this giving up of evil as deserving mercy, but we regard it as a fruit of the grace of God, which we would on no account miss.

When God causes us to have no mercy on our sins, then He has great mercy on us. When we are angry with evil, God is no more angry with us. When we multiply our efforts against iniquity, the Lord multiplies our blessings. The way of peace, of growth, of safety, of joy in Christ Jesus will be found by following out these words: "There shall nought of the cursed thing cleave to thine hand." Lord, purify me this day. Compassion, prosperity, increase, and joy will surely be given to those who put away sin with solemn resolution.

The spiritual blessings you received yesterday are wonderful; but you need a fresh infilling today.

The spiritual blessings you received yesterday are wonderful; but you need a fresh infilling today. We're not a bus running on a tank of fuel; we're the old-fashioned streetcar that ran by a constant touch with the "third rail."

Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. 6:11). But that's what we forget so easily to make sure we have.

It's not merely human forgetfulness: there is sin in this forgetting. It's a lack of appetite for heavenly bread. And that means we yearn for what this world provides; we're in serious malnourishment. Skin and bones ends in death. Jesus said, "You must work, not for this perishable food, but for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life" (John 6:27, NEB).

Think of the Lord as our Chef (He is!). When someone cooks up something nice for the family, he/she is pleased when they express appreciation. Oh, that rare appetite for heavenly food! The problem is that "the carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7), and that means a distaste for heavenly bread.

But "blessed [happy] are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. 5:6). The glory comes next: "They shall be filled." Oh, the joy of having a square meal of righteousness. Make sure that you have it.

He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:8)

He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:8)

Sowing looks like a losing business, for we put good corn into the ground never to see it anymore. Sowing to the Spirit seems a very fanciful, dreamy business; for we deny ourselves and apparently get nothing for it. Yet if we sow to the Spirit by studying to live unto God, seeking to obey the will of God, and laying ourselves out to promote His honor, we shall not sow in vain. Life shall be our reward, even everlasting life. This we enjoy here as we enter into the knowledge of God, communion with God, and enjoyment of God. This life flows on like an ever-deepening, ever-widening river till it bears us to the ocean of infinite felicity, where the life of God is ours forever and ever.

Let us not this day sow to our flesh, for the harvest will be corruption, since flesh always tends that way; but with holy self-conquest let us live for the highest, purest, and most spiritual ends, seeking to honor our most holy Lord by obeying His most gracious Spirit. What a harvest will that be when we reap life everlasting! What sheaves of endless bliss will be reaped! What a festival will that harvest be! Lord, make us such reapers, for thy Son's sake.

You can only learn to love when you believe yourself to be beloved

You can only learn to love when you believe yourself to be beloved. That is, when your sense of insecurity has been replaced by the assurance that you are firmly enfolded in the arms of Somebody Important. Only then can you dare to let yourself be vulnerable and exposed by loving someone else.

That's why the Bible is so clear on this controversial issue of salvation--that it's "by grace, through faith," specifically "not of works" (Eph. 2:8, 9). In other words, shocking as it may seem, salvation depends on your believing that God loves you, because only if you believe that, can it be possible for you to learn how to love. And learning how to love is the one pre-requisite for entering heaven: "He that loveth not knoweth not God. … He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:8, 16). All of our talk about "keeping the commandments" breaks down to nothing if we haven't learned how to love, for "to love, then, is to obey the whole Law" (Rom. 13:10, GNB). If we think that through, we end up realizing that we shall be asked one great question at last: "Have you learned how to love?" All of our great "works" will count for zero.

To glibly quote John 3:16, "God so loved the world" is not enough until your soul can grasp that God has so loved you, yes, and so loves you now, that He gave and has given Something Wonderful for you to believe, that is, to appreciate the gift that was and is still given for you.

To tell the truth, your soul (and my soul, too) is too small to grasp what's involved. My little cup can't drain the ocean dry. But I can let my little cup be full, little as it is. I can kneel and confess my nakedness of soul, how little I know how to love, how unloving I am by nature, and I can ask God in humility, "Please, Father in heaven, open these blind eyes to see Your love for me. Please be merciful to me in my unlovingness, and teach me like a beginner the ABCs of love."

Then comes the answer: Look! Look! "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29). He has been "lifted up" as on a "flagpole" (Num. 21:8, Peterson), so simply look, let your little soul be stretched outsize to "comprehend" what it cost Him to die on His cross. Ask to be permitted to begin to appreciate the grand dimensions of that love, to see what He accomplished. Maybe I should add--it's a dangerous prayer to pray because it will be answered. It'll mean a new you

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

When sin is pardoned, our greatest sorrow is ended, and our truest pleasure begins. Such is the joy which the Lord bestows upon His reconciled ones, that it overflows and fills all nature with delight. The material world has latent music in it, and a renewed heart knows how to bring it out and make it vocal. Creation is the organ, and a gracious man finds out its keys, lays his hand thereon, and wakes the whole system of the universe to the harmony of praise. Mountains and hills, and other great objects, are, as it were, the bass of the chorus; while the trees of the wood, and all things that have life, take up the air of the melodious song.

When God's Word is made to prosper among us and souls are saved, then everything seems full of song. When we hear the confessions of young believers and the testimonies of well-instructed saints, we are made so happy that we must praise the Lord, and then it seems as if rocks and hills and woods and fields echo our joy-notes and turn the world into an orchestra. Lord, on this happy May Day, lead me out into thy tuneful world as rich in praise as a lark in full song.