In the Absence of Bread - Alistair Begg

“We’ve become very familiar with preaching that, pays scant attention to the Bible; is self-focused; and is consequently only capable of making the most superficial impact upon the lives of the listeners. This would be bad enough were it not for the fact, that large sections of the church who listen to this kind of stuff are actually oblivious to the fact that what they’re getting is a placebo rather than the real medicine. And therefore they leave satisfied with the feeling that it has done them some good. A feeling which disguises the gravity of the situation… They get bloated up by all this stuff, and it gives them the feeling that somehow or another they’ve had a meal, but after a few hours they say, ‘You know, I don’t know whether that thing did anything at all…’ And so, in the absence of bread the population grows accustom to cake.”

~ Alistair Begg

Trust In the Lord - Henry Morris III

"Trust in the LORD, and do good;

so shalt thou dwell in the land,

and verily thou shalt be fed."

~ Psalm 37:3

Sprinkled throughout this psalm are various pictures that provide the assurance of God’s victory--not only in His eternal plan, but also in and through the lives of His precious saints.

Trust is the most basic of the characteristics of our relationship with the Lord and sets the foundation for all the rest. The Hebrew word carries the meaning of confidence, or boldness, and is often used in such a way that it would imply that we are to "gain support" and "lean on" the One in whom we trust. The expanded definition of trust is contained in Proverbs: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8).

But merely having great confidence in the God of creation is not enough. We must "do good" (our text). The entire New Testament book of James is devoted to this theme: "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). "O that there were such an heart in them," God told Moses, "that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29).

If we would enjoy the blessings of God, we must embrace the plan of God. If we are to expect the promise that we will "dwell" and "be fed," then we must submit to the instructions of our Lord, who told us to "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

~Henry Morris in Days of Praise, March 2009

My Song is Love Unknown

I stumbled across My Song is Love Unknown this evening. The words certainly are rich with meaning:

My song is love unknown,

My Savior’s love to me;

Love to the loveless shown,

That they might lovely be.

O who am I, that for my sake

My Lord should take, frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne

Salvation to bestow;

But men made strange, and none

The longed for Christ would know:

But O! my Friend, my Friend indeed,

Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,

And His sweet praises sing;

Resounding all the day

Hosannas to their King:

Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,

And for His death they thirst and cry.

In life, no house, no home

My Lord on earth might have;

In death no friendly tomb

But what a stranger gave.

What may I say? Heav’n was His home;

But mine the tomb wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,

No story so divine;

Never was love, dear King!

Never was grief like Thine.

This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise

I all my days could gladly spend.

~ Samuel Crossman

Judgment Seat of Christ - Leonard Ravenhill

The Content of the Teacher

Several years ago, Lois and I attended our first Weekend to Remember marriage conference sponsored by Family Life Today. We thoroughly enjoyed it--and recommend it for all couples interested in fostering oneness in your marriage relationship.

While at the conference, my Mom and Dad bought me the book How to Make a Moose Run...And Other Great Things my Dad Taught Me by Gary Stanley who was one of the speakers at the conference.

The book is a collection of anecdotal yet insightful stories from his childhood days. I recently read the following introduction for section three entitled A Teachable Heart Begins in the Teacher:

The greatest teacher who has ever lived once remarked, "The student, a

fter he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher." He said this immediately before observing that you have to take the log out of your own eye before you can ehlp anyone else get the speck out of his or her eye.

Makes a lot of sense--it isn't the content of the class that makes all the difference; it's the content of the teacher.

When the student falls asleep in class, there's only one thing to do: Get a sharp stick and poke the teacher.

I've been thinking much lately of the World's Greatest Teacher--and how He spoke with such authority that the crowds were amazed. And why shouldn't they be! He was Immanuel--God With Us. He was perfect in all that He said and did.

My prayer is to be a teacher who recognizes that the content of my life is more important that the content of my message. And that I would never need the poke of the sharp stick!

I'd Rather Have Jesus - George Beverly Shea

The Narrow Way

What does He mean when at the close of this wonderful unfolding of law He brings us back to the narrowness of the gate, to the straitness of the way? These conditions imply the making of heroic character! For entrance to, and abiding in, this Kingdom there can be no dilettante fooling with the passing hours. If men would pass that gate and walk that way they must enter into strenuous life. If a man should tell you that Christianity is an easy softness, he knows nothing of it. If a man should tell you that for your life there is nothing to do, he is right as to the initiation of it by the act of God, for life is the gift of His grace; but he is wrong as to human responsibility for entering into it. Every man who would enter this Kingdom must come through the narrow gate. Every man who would live in this Kingdom must walk the straitened way.

~ G. Campbell Morgan - comments on Matthew 7:13-28