Success

The greatest act of God’s grace in human history was the gift of God’s only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Apostle John introduced Christ to the world, he said, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

As recipients of God’s love, we have all tasted His kindness. Is it not right that we graciously extend that same kindness to others? How much more ought we to be kind to our spouse! Far too many wives and husbands may claim to love their spouses, but they are not always kind to them on a daily basis.

Today, grace and law are viewed widely as mutually exclusive. It is fallaciously assumed that the God of the Old Testament was the God of Law, and that the God of the New Testament is the God of grace. Terms like “the age of grace” reflect the mistaken assumption that before the cross there was no grace.

The movement of the heavenly bodies has long been a fascinating object of mankind’s attention. Ancient astronomers, such as the magi of the East, charted the courses of the sun, moon, stars, and even the comets. Some civilizations, such as the Mayans of South America or the Egyptians of North Africa, were able to accurately predict eclipses and the summer and winter solstice.

Because that young baby lived, curiosities of nature that had long been a mystery to mankind would no longer be a mystery. That baby, Isaac Newton, lived and his work explained the paths of comets, the fall of objects toward the earth, the rise and fall of tides, the orbit of the earth and planets around the sun, and the reason for the colors of the rainbow. Newton showed that mysteries could be cleared up when the light of God’s truth was shed upon the darkness of ignorance and superstition.

Leaving their wives and children in the care of friends in Switzerland, the 800 mighty men had set out to reconquer their valleys. The march had taken them over narrow mountain trails, across dangerous precipices, and through narrow passages called defiles. Avoiding the main roads, the determined group sought to catch their enemies by surprise. Up to this point, they had not encountered any major force.

Leonhard quickly became a mathematical prodigy. At age sixteen, Leonhard was awarded a Master of Philosophy degree for his dissertation in which he compared the philosophies of Newton and Descartes. His father wanted him to enter the pulpit, but Leonhard believed that he could serve the Lord and advance the cause of truth in the science of mathematics, using the unusual ability God had given him.

On New Year’s Day, 1484, a boy was born to a family of shepherds in the Wildhaus Valley in the Swiss Alps. In a small chalet on a mountain side, this infant boy was born into a world in transition. The superstitions of popery, which had held the world entranced for so long, were beginning to lose their charms. The people of Europe, sickened by the debauchery of monastic life, tired of the pomp of the papacy, and weary of unintelligible Latin chants, began to hunger and thirst after the Word of God.

The incarnation of the Lord Jesus is the central event of human history. When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating far more than a babe born in Bethlehem. We are rejoicing in the fact that God came down to earth as our Emmanuel. Jesus is “God with us.” The Apostle Paul celebrates this fact in one of the most unusual verses in his epistles.

Finally! The mail had arrived. The elderly lady opened her front door to find the package the postman had placed there. The package was from her son; she had been praying and waiting for this box for many long years. With trembling excitement, she opened the box to find a bound book with the simple title, The Virgin Birth of Christ.

The Icelandic waters look icy and lifeless, but those freezing waters teem with krill, which is the main food for the great whales that find their food in these polar oceans near the ice caps. Iceland is cold! But also the land is hot and desolate, harsh, yet fruitful. The country welcomes the seaman who takes refuge there. These contrasts are seen not only in the landscape of Iceland but also in its interesting history.

“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” This simple prayer is the first one that many children are taught to say in their formative years. Some may casually dismiss this prayer as trite and obvious, but the profound Biblical truth that it contains should be firmly rooted in the heart of every child of God. Over and over in the Book of Psalms, we read a statement of praise that ascribes the quality of goodness to Jehovah.

Because God is a Spiritual Being and true worship is spiritual worship, it should not surprise us at all that the Bible, the Word of God to man, is a spiritual book. It cannot be comprehended or appreciated by natural man apart from the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.

The sheep grazed quietly as the sun slowly sank behind the Scottish hills. The sixteen-year old shepherd boy named John gazed at the sunset. His eyes brightened as he thought about the mission that lay before him that night. He would leave his flock in the care of a friend so he could embark on his mission. The lad slipped his hand into his homespun knapsack and felt his hard-earned money. With his funds that had been carefully saved up for a long time, soon he would set out on his long overnight hike.

Rare are the men of history that are able to rise above their own time and generation and see their own battle in the context of the grand scheme of eternity. The Lion of the North was such a man. Although he himself was a king, his ultimate allegiance was to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and he dedicated himself to advancing the everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

We are all prone to think of our “neighbor” in the comfortable circle of those whom we already love. It is easy to define neighbor to include our close friends at church, the next-door neighbor who watches over our house when we are away, the coworker who shares our viewpoints, and the people with whom we enjoy socializing. But what about the family on the other side of the street with the barking dog? What about the coworker who is continually gossiping about other coworkers? What about the one person who always seems to ask the wrong question at the wrong time? What about people from a different cultural background than ours? Are these our “neighbors” too?

Many of us recognize the inspiring title of this famous book of selected Scripture meditations: My Utmost for His Highest. However, fewer people are familiar with the life of the man who made these words his testimony. Although Oswald Chambers lived to be only forty-three years old, his life after his conversion at age fifteen was characterized by a desire to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, and might.

In November and December, we will examine carefully the grand summary of “all the law and the prophets” given by our Lord Jesus.

Rare in this world is genuine contentment. Very easily we can compare ourselves with others and then grumble and murmur about our difficult lot in life. Covetousness arises very naturally to the heart of man, and it is very easy to envy the blessings that others enjoy. While it may seem that our trials and difficulties are insurmountable, we can always find another man in circumstances that are worse than our own. Today’s biographical sketch looks at the inspiring example of a pastor who not only became blind and lame, but even lost his voice. Still, he remained content with the providence of God.

How does lasting change happen in our lives? We would love an “instant fix.” We would love God to snap His fingers and make us permanently free from temptation and sin. But God has a method that He has chosen whereby He works the life of His Son in us. That method is called process.