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April 29

Strangers and pilgrims

For reading & meditation: Hebrews 11:8-16

"' Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (v.16)

    We continue meditating on the fact that one of the reasons why we find it so difficult to cope with ambiguity and uncertainty is because we have never really died to self-interest. We are more concerned about our own purposes than we are about His - hence we are uncertain and insecure. Today we look at Abraham and the way he handled his situation of ambiguity and uncertainty. He was almost seventy-five years old when God called him to step out on the pathway of uncertainty. There he was, loading up his camel caravan with his wife and nephew, bound for 'somewhere'. The Amplified Bible puts if most effectively when it says: "' he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go." Charles Swindoll humorously pictures a conversation between Abraham and his neighbours going something like this: "Abraham, where are your going?" "I'm moving." "Why? Why ever would you want to leave Ur?" "God has made it clear that I should go." "God? You've been talking to Him again?" "Right. He told me to leave. I must go." "Well, where are you going?" "I don't know; He didn't tell me that." "Wait a minute, you know you ought to go, but you don't know where you ought to go?" "Yes." "Abraham, you really have gone off the deep end." And so it continues. It isn't easy to obey without understanding. It is the same thing that we talked about two days ago: going - without knowing. It might help to remind ourselves of the term God sometimes uses to describe us - strangers and pilgrims. People on the move, free to follow Him wherever He leads - regardless.

Prayer:

    O God, You who wrap me around as the atmosphere wraps itself around my body. Let me respond to You as my physical body responds to its environment - and lives. Help me to trust You even when I cannot trace You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Hebrews 11:8-16; Psalms 25:9,48:14
    1. What was the result of Abraham's obedience?
    2. What followed his first step of obedience?

[nChrist]

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April 30

A personal word

For reading & meditation: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

"But by the grace of God I am what I am '" (v.10)

    Today we ask ourselves: Why is it that even though we may have a fairly mature faith in God, we still find it frustrating to be caught up in situations where we have no clear direction or control? The root cause of this is misplaced dependency - we depend too much upon ourselves and not enough upon God. As I examine my own life, I am constantly amazed that after over fifty years' experience in the Christian faith, I am still sometimes prone to take the way of independence rather than dependence. Do you not find a similar tendency in yourself? I want God's way - so very much - but I want it on my own terms. Granted, this is less of a problem now than it was, say, thirty years ago, but it is still sometimes a struggle nevertheless. What does this say about me? It says that in this area of my life, there is still a need to die to my own self-concern, and even before these lines were written I had to get down on my knees and acknowledge this before the Lord. I may still have struggles with this issue in the future, but I know for sure that at this moment, my will is more yielded to Him than ever. Perhaps this is the last battle I shall have to fight on this matter, and when I find myself facing situations in the future that are vague and ambiguous without fearing the outcome, I will know the issue has been settled once and for all. I have exposed my heart to you in obedience to the prompting of the Spirit. I need Him as much as you.

Prayer:

    O Father, as we see yet again where we should be centered - in You - help us to die in those areas of life where we have established our independence. Only in You can we be safe and steady and growing. Help us, dear Lord. Amen.

For further study:

    Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:24; 1 Peter 2:24
    1. What happens if we live according to the sinful nature?
    2. How do we know we are sons of God?

[nChrist]

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May 1

The crucified "self"

For reading & meditation: Galatians 2:15-21

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me '" (v.20)

    If there is one note ringing through these pages, it is this: to the extent that we are afraid to die to our self-interest, to that extent will our Christian lives be unfruitful. We remind ourselves again: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just one grain; never becomes more but lives by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest" (John 12:24, Amplified Bible). It is easy to say but difficult to put into practice - difficult but not impossible. Today we ask ourselves: What exactly happens when we "die" to self? Does it mean that the "self" undergoes annihilation? No. The death to which we are called is the death of the false life we have been living, the false ideas and values we have set up, the false world of sin and evil, and the false self, organized around self-concern. When Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ", he meant that he had died to all the purposes in his life except Christ's purposes. This whole passage telling of Paul's burial and resurrection is one of the most exciting in the New Testament. He goes on to say: "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Paul discovered that life was much more positive and powerful when he pursued God's purposes rather than his own purposes. He got on better with Christ than he did with himself. This may take some thinking through, but the truth is, if you won't live with God, you won't be able to live harmoniously with yourself - nor, for that matter, with anyone else.

Prayer:

    O God, I just can't go through life with this ghastly contradiction - the self - at the center of my being. I cannot bear this constant civil war within me. Command it to cease and command me to be free. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Galatians 5:1-25; Romans 6:2; Colossians 3:3
    1. To what have we been called?
    2. How is this achieved?

[nChrist]

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May 2

Grace upon grace

For reading & meditation: John 1:1-17

"And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace." (v.16, RSV)

    Today we ask: What purpose does God have in leading us into situations which are uncertain and ambiguous? He does so in order that we might learn to depend on Him and not on ourselves. Just as in times of loneliness we learn to realize His presence, so in times of uncertainty we learn to realize His power. The major reason why our lives are unfruitful lies right here: we depend more on our own strength than we do on His. How can God teach us dependence unless He puts us into situations which are so uncertain that we are compelled either to choose the way of frustration or the way of faith? And if we draw back from entering such situations, we will miss a valuable spiritual education and our lives will become barren. A statement I came across some time ago sums up what I want to say concerning ambiguity and uncertainty. It is this: "God's purposes are always God's enablings." In other words, when God steers you into strange and uncertain situations, He will keep you very much in the dark concerning His purposes, but He will not leave you bereft of His grace. The purpose of God and the grace of God are two sides of the one coin. If you accept the purpose, you get the grace; if you refuse the purpose, you annul the grace. Anything God purposes for you, He gives you the grace to perform. John speaks in our text for today of "grace upon grace". One preacher I know translates that text like this: "Use the grace I give you and rest assured - there will always be more to follow."

Prayer:

    O Father, how wonderful it would be if I could master this lesson today, and become a living illustration of "grace upon grace". May it be so, to the honour and glory of Your peerless and precious Name. Amen.

For further study:

    2 Cor. 12:1-10; Ephesians 2:6-7; Philippians 4:19
    1. How did Paul view his "thorn in the flesh"?
    2. What was his attitude?

[nChrist]

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May 3

The final battle

For reading & meditation: 1 Timothy 6:3-11

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil '" (v.10)

    We now start examining some of the areas of life into which we are led by God in order that He might make our lives more fruitful and profitable to Him. First we focus upon the problem of cramped financial circumstances. No one can deny that money plays an enormous part in our lives. It was Balzac who said more than a century ago: "The final battle for Christian discipleship will be over the money problem: till that is solved there can be no universal application of Christianity." It comes as a great surprise to many new Christians that the Bible talks a good deal about money, and more than one preacher has pointed out that when Jesus was here on earth, this was one of the subjects He talked about most. One of the most interesting aspects of money to a Christian is that through either the giving or the withholding of it, God is able to steer our lives into the areas in which He wants us involved. Do you find yourself in financial straits at the moment? Does your bank account need month-to-month resuscitation? Then don't panic - God may be allowing this financial stringency in order to teach you some valuable lessons about Himself. Thousands of Christians will testify that God has no more certain way of getting our undivided attention than by withholding money or putting us into tight financial circumstances. How strange that when our pockets are full, often God has to shout to get our attention, but when they are empty, we are alert and ready to hear His faintest whisper.

Prayer:

    O Father, if it is true that the final battle for Christian discipleship will be over the money problem, then help me resolve this issue once and for all in these next few days. Help me to make whatever I own the instrument of Your purposes. Amen.

For further study:

    James 5:1-5; Ecclesiastes 5:10
    1. What is avarice?
    2. What is the lesson of the partridge?

[nChrist]

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May 4

Gods four purposes for money

For reading & meditation: 1 Timothy 6:6-19

"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."(v.8 )

    Before we can understand what God may be trying to achieve in our lives by putting us into tight financial circumstances, we must know something of our Lord's purposes for money. Many Christians think that the purpose of money is to provide security, establish independence, or create power and influence, but this is a very worldly view of the subject. The Bible shows us that God has four basic purposes which He wants to achieve through money - and understanding these purposes is crucial if we are to be fruitful and productive Christians. The first purpose of money is to provide basic needs. Its surprising how little money we need in order to sustain the basic needs of life. These needs can be summed up in the words food, clothing and shelter. And God demonstrates His loving care by assuring us of His help in obtaining these basic essentials: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin ' will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matt. 6:28-30). Since the dawn on time, humankind has tried to become independent of God. There are tendencies in our fallen nature to be self-sufficient and self-supporting. We would much rather pray, "Give us this month our monthly pay check" than "Give us this day our daily bread." And why? Because it doesn't bring us face to face with our need to be daily dependent on the Lord. How wise was our Lord in including that phrase in the model prayer He gave His disciples. He knew the recognition of daily needs would help to produce daily dependence.

Prayer:

    Father, I pray that You will bring me under the complete sway of Your Spirit so that my spiritual dependence will not be year by year, month by month or week by week - but day by day. This I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Matthew 6:19-34,10:29-31; 1 Peter 5:7
    1. What are we to seek first?
    2. What will follow?

[nChrist]

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May 5

True contentment?

For reading & meditation: 1 Timothy 6:6

"But godliness with contentment is great gain."(v.6)

    We continue meditating on the first of God's four purposes for money - to provide our basic needs. We saw yesterday that God longs for us to be dependent on Him. This is not because God is possessive, but because He knows that we experience our greatest happiness and freedom when we rely on Him alone. When we fail to recognize our need for God, we tend to lose our love for God. And the more we lose our love for God, the more we come to depend upon ourselves. Permit me to remind you again of the text we looked at yesterday: "If we have food and clothing, we will be content" (1 Tim. 6:8 ). Contentment is the satisfaction we get from knowing there will be provision for our basic needs. We begin to lose our contentment when we compare what we have with what others have - and then before long expectations dominate our focus. To the degree that our expectations increase, contentment diminishes. One of the great advantages of being content with basics is that it equips us to resist the alluring advertising which seeks to convince us that we are able really to enjoy life unless we buy some new commodity. A contented person feels wealthy because he knows that what he already possesses is all he needs for daily living. A veteran missionary, meeting some new recruits to the mission field, surprised them by saying: "The first thing I would like you to do is to make a list of all the things you think you need - then I will spend some time with you showing you how to do without them."

Prayer:

    O my Father, I see that material things can be a good servant but a bad master. Deliver me from the bondage of the material and help me to become a truly contented person. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:

    1. What was Paul's testimony?
    2. How should we live?

[nChrist]

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May 6

Presumption versus faith

For reading & meditation: Psalms 37:1-26

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him '" (v.7)

    We look now at God's second purpose for money: to confirm His loving direction in our lives. God will use the supply of money or the lack of it to confirm His direction and guidance for many of the decisions we make in our lives. I constantly meet Christians who tell me that one of the biggest lessons they have learned in the Christian life is that of discerning God's guidance through His giving or His withholding of money. Some years ago, a minister shared with me how he had asked God to guide him over a certain project, and part of his prayer, he said, went like this: "Lord, give me the money to do this, or else it just cannot be done." The money didn't come, so the minister went ahead and borrowed money for the project. A few weeks later, the project got into difficulties and he was declared bankrupt. I said to him: "Do you know what made you go ahead even though God did not provide the money?" He paused for a few minutes, and said with tears in his eyes: "I had not then learned the difference between presumption and faith." "What is the difference?" I asked. He replied: "Faith is trusting God to achieve His purposes through us, presumption is deciding what we want to accomplish and trying to get God to do it for us." It is so easy to claim that Christ is Lord of our lives, but, as someone put it: "His Lordship is only confirmed when we are obedient to the promptings and limitations which He places on our daily decisions."

Prayer:

    My Lord and my God, You know my proneness to "nudge" You when I don't think You are working things out right. Make me sensitive to the promptings of Your Spirit and the limitations that You set upon my life. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:

    Psalms 46:1-11;40:1; Isaiah 26:8
    1. How can we know God?
    2. How much time will you spend waiting on Him today?

[nChrist]

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May 7

Generosity generates

For reading & meditation: Romans 12:9-21

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." (v.13)

    Today we look at God's third purpose for money: to bless and enrich other Christians. One of the characteristics which God wants to develop in us is that of generosity, for our generosity will determine how much spiritual light we have in our being. Take this verse: "If your Eye is generous, the whole of your body will be illumined" (Matt. 6:22, Moffatt). If your "eye" - your outlook on life, your whole way of looking at things and people - is generous, then your whole personality is illuminated, is lighted up. If you have a greedy or selfish "eye", your whole being will be filled with darkness. In Acts 11:27-30 we read about a severe famine that caused suffering to many Jewish Christians. The church at Antioch - made up mostly of Gentiles - sent an offering to their fellow believers in Jerusalem, and that offering was an important means of tearing down national and cultural barriers between them, and building bonds of genuine Christian love. God likens generous giving to reaping a harvest: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6, RSV). Perhaps the greatest benefit of generous giving to other Christians, however, is this - it results in "an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God" (v.12, Phillips). Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much, and when you take your gifts to those who need them they will break out in thanksgiving and praise of God for your help. Giving to the needs of fellow Christians means that many will thank God and fill His Church with praise.

Prayer:

    O God, help be to become a truly generous person, for I see that when I am generous, then my generosity generates generosity in others. I ask this in the peerless and exalted Name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

For further study:

    1 Kings 17:8-16
    1. What is the lesson of the widow of Zarephath?
    2. How will you be generous today?

[nChrist]

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May 8

What is a financial miracle?

For reading & meditation: Malachi 3:1-12

" 'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven '' " (v.10)

    We look now at God's fourth purpose for money: to show His divine power. God is a supernatural God - something Christians seem to forget - and He delights to demonstrate His reality and power among His people. One means through which God has chosen to do this is through His miraculous provision of money. What is a financial miracle? It is a supernatural event whereby God provides one of His children with the money required to meet a financial need - and usually it involves such precise timing that it cannot fail to point to the Lord's direct intervention. When a Christian prays about a financial need, for example, and an unexpected gift is given to him by someone who knows nothing about the need, the supernatural power of God is demonstrated. In the days of Elijah, the nation of Israel tried to worship God and serve Baal at the same time. Elijah knew that this would inevitably lead to God's judgment, so he proposed a simple test. The test involved building two altars, one for God and one for Baal, and whichever answered by a display of supernatural power was the one whom they would worship. The prophets of Baal cried out to their non-existent deity all day, but nothing happened. Then Elijah prayed, and in response to his prayer God sent fire from heaven. One of the biggest of the false gods of this age is money. It has become an idol because people expect from it what only God can give - true security. As the world hankers after money, God wants to prove to those who seek Him that they will not lack any good thing.

Prayer:

    O Father, help me to see that I grow into the image of the god that I serve. I don't want to be like money - hard and metallic; I want to be like You - gracious and beneficent. Help me to keep my focus only on You. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For further study:

    2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Deuteronomy 30:9
    1. What does God love?
    2. How can we reap bountifully?

[nChrist]

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May 9

The day you "die"

For reading & meditation: Genesis 22:1-14

"Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love '" (v.2)

    Having seen God's four purposes for money, we are now ready to ask: What part does money play in our lives? Does it draw us closer to God, or drive us further away from Him? Is our security in silver - or in the Saviour? Most of us would claim that we are serving God. We would strenuously deny that we have a greater love for money than we do for the Master. God, however, is aware that what we believe to be the situation is not always so. Sometimes He has to bring us into cramped financial circumstances so that we realize where our true security lies. Although the story of Abraham and Isaac does not have a precise application to what we are saying here, there are certain similarities which I consider do apply. First, God singled out in Abraham's life the thing he most loved - his only son. God often starts His test of our character with the thing that we love the most. Is money one of your greatest loves? If so, recognize and acknowledge it right now. Second, God pinned Abraham down to a fixed time and place. God's way of doing business always involves a specific time and place. "Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering" (v.2). Let the place where you are sitting now be your meeting place with God. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Abraham could never have lifted the knife over his son unless he had "died" to him in his emotions. Without this emotional break, the offering is only a meaningless ritual. This must be the day on which you "die" to the bondage of money.

Prayer:

    O Father, Your timing is perfect. Today, by faith, I "die" to all emotional attachments to money, and lay every financial bondage on Your altar. Father, it's done - I'm free. Help me now to live out that freedom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Matthew 26:1-13; Luke 21:4; Acts 4:34-35
    1. What did Jesus say about the woman who anointed Him?
    2. What was the attitude of the early Church?

[nChrist]

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May 10

Problems? No, prods!

For reading & meditation: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

"' God ' is using your sufferings to make you ready for his kingdom." (v. 5, TLB)

    We pause at this point to remind ourselves of the principle we are seeking to understand, namely that in God's order of things, life is always preceded by death. A grain of wheat has within it the potential of becoming many grains of wheat, but first the solitary grain must fall into the ground and die. It is only after death that its potential is released, and out of the dying comes an abundant harvest. That principle is not just to be seen as an interesting fact of nature; if our lives are to be fruitful, then we, too, must be willing to die to our own purposes so that we might live to God's. The next sphere of life we examine is the area of obstacles and opposition. Would you like your life to be free of those potentially frustrating situations that block your way or impede your spiritual development? Then let me say at once, you could be worse off without them. The obstacles and opposition you face can turn out to be prods - prods toward your spiritual growth. A minister friend of mine who was going through a period of great difficulty once asked me to pray with him that God would remove all the obstacles from his ministry. I put my hand lovingly on his shoulder and replied: "If He does, it will make your ministry less effective." He saw the point, and instead asked me to pray that God would help him to die to his own concerns. I did, and from that day to this, his ministry has flourished and become extremely fruitful. And so, my friend, can yours.

Prayer:

    O Father, more and more the conviction grows that it is not what happens to me, but what I do with it, that is important. Deepen this conviction within me so that it becomes a controlling one - today and every day. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Acts 5:41; Romans 8:17
    1. How did Paul view his setbacks?
    2. What was the positive outcome?

[nChrist]

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May 11

Acquiescence - or control?

For reading & meditation: Philippians 4:10-20

"I am ready for anything through the strength of the one who lives within me." (v.13, Phillips)

    Day by day, as we unfold this thrilling theme of The Corn of Wheat Afraid to Die, it is becoming increasingly obvious that God gives us a choice - a choice of either to live or to die. We can live for the fulfilment of our own desires, or we can die to our desires and live for His. This is perhaps the moment that we should come to grips with the question which people often ask when this issue of "dying to self" is raised: "Isn't this a terribly passive attitude to life? And doesn't it tend to diminish personal responsibility and self-control?" John Dewey, the famous American educator, held that view. Once, when lecturing to his students, he drew a line down a blackboard and on one side listed those systems of thought which teach control, and on the other those systems that teach acquiescence. On the "control" side he put "science", and on the "acquiescence" side he put "religion". To be fair, he should have written, "Some forms of religion". The religion of Jesus Christ does not produce passive and acquiescent disciples, but surrendered disciples - surrendered to God, but surrendered to nothing else. They rise from the dust of self-surrender to lay hold on the raw materials of life - good, bad and indifferent - and use them. Would you describe the early Christians as passive and acquiescent? I wouldn't. Surrendered - yes. Acquiescent - no. Surrendering to God so that He may work in and through us may at first seen passive, but actually it represents the most amazingly positive and active method of dealing with life. Other ways are possible, but no other way is as powerful.

Prayer:

    Gracious and loving heavenly Father, I am so thankful that You show me a way of life that doesn't demean me, but develops me. I fall at Your feet, and lo - I rise to new purposes and new achievements. I am eternally grateful. Amen.

For further study:

    Philippians 2:12-30; Ephesians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:8
    1. What are we able to do when God works in us?
    2. What does God's grace produce in us?

[nChrist]

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May 12

Rise up and walk
For reading & meditation: Acts 3:1-16
"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." (v.6, AV)

    We said yesterday that when we die to self-interests we rise to meet life, not passively, but actively. In fact, self-surrender is the most amazingly active method of dealing with life. Take, for example, Peter and John. When they met the man asking for alms, they were, as we say, "financially embarrassed" and unable to help in that way. Most of us would have let the incident go at that, for what can you do if you have no money in a world like this? Not these men, however - they took up this poverty into the purpose of their lives and used it. What do I mean? This: if they had had some money, they might have tossed him a coin and that would have been the end of it - their adequacy on that level would have blocked the higher good. Instead, conscious that they could not minister to him at one level - the financial - they sought to minister to him at another level - the spiritual. The result was that the obstacle on one level was turned into an opportunity on another. "Rise up and walk," they said to the man - and rise up he did. Nothing passive about that! As one wag put it: "The lame man asked for alms, but instead he got legs!" Forgive me for extending this illustration beyond the bounds of proper biblical exposition, but there are many of us who need to look at the things lying lame around us, and perhaps even within us - higher ministries, spiritual aptitudes - and say to them, "Rise up and walk." Then together we shall walk on into the temple of wider and more effective living.

Prayer:

    O God, forgive me for failing to see the opportunities in every obstacle. Help me to understand that when I am blocked on one level, then I can break out on another. Nothing can deter me when my will coincides with Yours. Thank You, Father. Amen.

For further study:

    Matthew 9:1-8; John 14:13,20:31; Philippians 2:9-11
    1. Why is the Name of Jesus so powerful?
    2. What will happen one day?

[nChrist]

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May 13

The divine - human partnership
For reading & meditation: Colossians 1:15-29
"To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." (v.29)

    We spend another day focusing on the question: Does self-surrender mean that we become passive and acquiescent? At first sight, it seems to be so - we surrender to Another. Do we resign ourselves to whatever comes, letting this "Another" do everything for us? We talked a few days ago about John Dewey's suggestion that "science" encourages control, while "religion" encourages acquiescence. Actually, when we surrender to Christ, we experience, not passivity, but a new type of control. Jesus said: "My Father is always at his work ' and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). In God's universe, there is always work to do - creative work. But what sort of creative work? Listen to this: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28, AV). How can that be? We know that all things do not of themselves work together for good. The Revised Standard Version puts it like this: "In everything God works for good with those who love him." Note the change - "with those who love him". Not "to", but "with". Can you see the truth underlying this text? Given our consent and co-operation, God is able to retrieve some good out of everything that happens to us. Given our consent and co-operation - ah, there's the rub. In order to achieve good out of bad, God requires us to work "with" Him - this is not acquiescence, but control. Look again at the text for today: "I labour, struggling" - the human; "with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" - the divine. What a picture - the human and the divine working together - in "control".

Prayer:

    My Father and my God, what can I say? I surrender to You, and the next thing I know is that I am taken into partnership with You. It just seems too good to be true - but too good not to be true. Thank You, Father. Amen.

For further study:

    Ephesians 3:1-19; John 14:20; Revelation 3:20
    1. What was Paul's prayer for the Ephesians?
    2. What does this produce?