In step

[RiverOL]

A Basic Precondition

For reading & meditation: John 20:1-18

"They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)" (v. 9)

The late Bishop John Robinson stated: "The resurrection of the body of Christ is no essential belief for Christian people, and it would make no difference to their faith if the Lord's body had been flung into the Valley of Hinnom, like those of the malefactors, to disintegrate among the rotting corpses."

Such a statement flies in the very face of Scripture. Paul wrote: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe ... that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9, italics added). Here Paul makes it crystal clear that acceptance of the fact that Christ rose from the dead is a basic precondition for being a Christian.

But what exactly do we mean by resurrection? "Spiritual survival" is how the liberals in the church define it. But it was not just the spiritual part of Jesus that continued after the tomb - it was the total Christ. True, His body possessed additional powers and properties, but the physical frame which housed His spirit after He left the tomb was the same one that was nailed to the cross. "See my hands," He said to doubting Thomas, "put [your hand] into my side ... and believe" (John 20:27).

Eric Sauer, a writer and Bible teacher, makes the point: "Just as our Lord's body was capable of transfiguration without losing its identity, so it was capable of disfiguration without losing its identity." Make no mistake about it, our Lord's resurrection was a physical one. If it wasn't, then there is no salvation.

Prayer:
Father, if I am not sure of the resurrection how can I be sure I am saved? However, I am sure, for I live in a resurrected Christ. Since He was resurrected, I know I shall be too. Death has been conquered. Hallelujah!

 

[RiverOL]

The Swoon Theory

For reading & meditation: Acts 2:29-41

"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact." (v. 32)

Let us pursue the question we asked yesterday: What exactly do we mean by resurrection? Some try to explain the resurrection as resuscitation - the return to life from apparent death. Those holding this view subscribe to what is called "The Swoon Theory." There are two forms of this theory. One maintains that Jesus did not die but fainted on the cross and returned to consciousness when He was laid on the cold rock of the tomb.

The other claims that after drinking the wine vinegar that was given to Him when He cried "I am thirsty," He fell into a stupor so deep that it was mistaken for death. But clearly our Lord actually died. The Gospels provide us with medical evidence for the fact.

One of the soldiers pierced His side and there came forth "blood and water" (John 19:34). A doctor commenting on this says: "The pericardium (the sac around the heart) was punctured and the colorless fluid flowing from the wound proves that life would have been extinct." Was it really a convalescent Christ the disciples encountered on that first Easter Day?

Could such a pathetic and powerless figure have convinced them that He had conquered death and was alive forevermore? No, the Master, as it were, had flung from His face the mask of death, and laid down in the hearts and minds of His disciples an impression that stayed with them throughout the whole of their ministry. He who had been dead was now alive - gloriously and resplendently.

Prayer:
O Father, You whose very nature is truth, would You foist upon us a lie and have us believe Your Son rose from the dead when He did not? I cannot believe it. The life by which I live is resurrection life. I cannot be alive in someone who is dead. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The True and the False

For reading & meditation: 2 Timothy 1

" ... our Savior, Christ Jesus ... has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light ..." (v. 10)

Several of the world's religions, when faced with the perplexing issue of Christ's return from the dead, explain it in terms of reincarnation. A proponent of one of the Eastern religions says: "Christ's resurrection was really a reincarnation - another soul in another body." I once heard a Christian minister declare that Paul's reference to Christ as the firstborn from among the dead (Col. 1:18) was a clear allusion to reincarnation.

There is no doubt that our Lord came from a virgin womb and a virgin tomb, but the body that emerged from the sepulchre was not fashioned in the tomb as it had been when He was an infant in Mary's womb. The body was the same one as before. Others try to explain Christ's resurrection as living on in the recollection of others. "To live in the minds and hearts of those we love," goes a well-known saying often heard at funerals, "is not to die."

It has to be acknowledged that some live so vibrantly that it is hard to think of them as dead even after one has attended their funeral. But when we talk about Christ's resurrection, we are not saying He survives in our memories. Recollection is not resurrection.

The body which died upon the cross and was laid in the cool tomb on the evening of the first Good Friday was miraculously infused with life once again early in the morning of the first Easter Day. It is as literal and as factual as that. This - nothing less and nothing else - is what we mean by the resurrection of our Lord from the dead.

Prayer:
Father, I am so thankful that in bringing Your Son back to life You brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. I know this to be true for in You there cannot be such a thing as death. Life is so sure - as sure as You are. Amen

 

[RiverOL]

The Mystery Rolled Back

For reading & meditation: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (v. 55)

Mark's observation "that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away" (Mark 16:4) seems a simple statement, but behind it lies a truth that is positively staggering in its implications. One is that no longer can death be an intimidator. "Death," said someone, "is the great enigma of life; humanly speaking, it is the one secret of the universe which is kept, the silence of which is never broken."

To the weary and despairing, death may come as a friend; the cynical and disillusioned may meet it with indifference; to the healthy and the happy it may appear as a foe; but it comes to all. Death is like a great stone that blocks the path of human aspiration. How certain can we be of the continuity of life beyond death? What modest person would find in himself anything worthy to endure for all eternity?

Such questions have been asked down the centuries. Death is a mystery - "the undiscovered country from which no traveler returns." Then came the first Easter Day, and the stone was rolled away. One Traveler did return. Death is an abysmal cavern no longer but a tunnel with light at the farther end.

If people have seen it as a blind alley, then they need think no longer in those terms. It is now a thoroughfare, a highway. "'Tis death is dead, not He," said the hymnist. The mystery is a mystery no more. The stone that was rolled away the first Easter morn was not just the rock that sealed the tomb. Our Lord rolled back for us the mystery of death also.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I rejoice and rejoice continually in Your glorious and triumphant victory over death. For Your victory is my victory. Help me to live by it, in it, and for it. I am grateful to my depths - grateful forever. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Not an Exit - an Entrance

For reading & meditation: Matthew 28:1-15

"... an angel of the Lord ... going to the tomb, rolled back the stone ..." (v. 2)

Was it really necessary for the stone to be rolled away before our Lord could exit the tomb? Christ's resurrection body was able to pass easily through doors, for He came to His disciples when the doors were shut. The stone was rolled away not that our Lord might come out but that the disciples might go in.

It was intended not as a means of exit but as a means of entrance. One preacher put it like this: "God rolled away the stone not that His Son might rise, but that we might know He had risen; that we might steal into the empty tomb and see only the place where they laid Him."

My pastor when I was a young Christian said: "Suppose we live in a home that has no electricity and a young nephew comes to stay with us for a weekend. Suppose also when we put the child to bed there is in the corner of the room a dark curtain which hides such things as traveling cases.

And suppose further, when we are about to leave the room taking the light with us, the child falteringly confesses to a fear that on the other side of the dark curtain is someone that might harm him. What do we do?

We go to the curtain, fling it aside, flood the gloomy recess with light and say: 'Look, there is nothing to fear.'" To remove the curtain is to remove the dread. That is why God rolled away the stone. It was not necessary for the resurrection, but it was necessary for its proclamation.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, had You stalled at the last ditch, had You been beaten at the barrier of death, then we would be stalled eternally. But now we go through the barrier with You. Nothing can stop us. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

A Glorious Uprising

For reading & meditation: Acts 13:16-41

"... 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' " (v. 35)

We spend one more day considering the implications arising from the rolling away of the stone. What did that rolled-away stone reveal? Well, follow the women into the tomb. Its just a large hole hewn in a rock. What do you see? Just "the place where they laid him" (Mark 16:6).

All that was left were the graveclothes. Note that Peter saw "the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head" (John 20:6-7). Some scholars say that the Greek words used to describe the head-cloth signify that it still had an annular shape - that it still indicated the outline of His head. Can you see what this suggests? He passed through it without it being unwound. This was no laborious unwinding! This was a glorious uprising!

There was no possibility that the graveclothes could have looked the way they did without a resurrection. Had the head-cloth been torn apart, the impression gained would have been quite different.

It was probably this simple but tremendous fact - the fact that Jesus had clearly passed through the shroud without it being unwound - that convinced the first observers they had witnessed the miracle of resurrection.

Do you think of a tomb as being cold and eerie? That is not our Lord's tomb. No, it is quiet and calm. Our crucified God rested for hours and hours on a cool bed of rock. And to quote the poet Alice Meynell: All alone ... He rose again behind the stone.

Prayer:
O Jesus, You who are not an evader but a confronter of problems. You have faced everything I face including death. And yet You went through it, not around it. You conquered death by going through it, and now because I am in You I shall conquer it also. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Anteroom to Glory

For reading & meditation: Ephesians 1:15-23

"... he raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms ..." (v. 20)

Young Christians who have just come into the faith often ask: Why is the resurrection so important? How can an event which took place 2,000 years ago have any relevance for us today? Three very simple statements (not original to me) will bring us to the heart of the matter. First, the resurrection of Christ assures us of God's forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of humanity's greatest needs.

Jack Winslow, in his book Confession and Absolution, says that the head of a large English mental hospital remarked that he could dismiss half of his patients immediately if they could be assured of forgiveness. The resurrection is convincing proof that Christ's sacrifice on the cross was accepted, and thus gives us the assurance that all our sins can be forgiven. Second, the resurrection of Christ assures us of God's power.

It is one thing to be forgiven; it is another to live above the power of sin. "Men may change their ways," say some writers (as we saw) from non-Christian religions, "but they can't change their character." Well, God can change people's character. He did so with the apostle Paul, with Peter, and with countless others.

Paul's prayer in the passage before us today focuses on this - that we might comprehend something of the power released in the world through the resurrection. Third, the resurrection assures us of God's ultimate triumph. Other religions and ideologies have very vague ideas about the future. Some believe in endless cycles of reincarnations; others nirvana. Christians, however, have a hope that is different. Death for a believer is nothing more than the anteroom to glory.

Prayer:
Father, this must be the moment when debate ends and dedication begins. As You have done so much for me, I want to commit myself in a deeper way than ever before to living life in the power of Your resurrection. Help me dear Father. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Risen... and Exalted

For reading & meditation: Acts 1:1-11

"... he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." (v. 9)

Before we conclude our meditations on the uniqueness of Christianity, we must mention our Lord's ascension. I much prefer the word exaltation to ascension to describe Christ's return to the throne of God, for that is what it really was - an exaltation. Paul, in some verses in the passage we looked at yesterday (Eph. 1:20-21), points out that following His resurrection our Lord was elevated above all possible rivals: "far [note the word far] above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."

Jesus has been exalted to the highest place, and it is this "supremacy" which His Father wants Him to enjoy forever. This thrilling truth puts into proper perspective the use of the word superiority which is a word commonly used by Christians when comparing the faith to others.

We must be careful how we use the word. Adopting an air of superiority toward people of other faiths displays nothing more than discourtesy and arrogance. John Stott comments: "It is not 'Christianity' as an empirical institution or system for which Christians should claim superiority.

It is Christ, and only Christ. We should not be afraid to affirm without embarrassment that Christ is superior to all other religious leaders, precisely because He alone humbled Himself in love even to the cross and therefore God has raised Him 'above' every other person, rank, or title." If God has given this supreme position to Jesus and so honored Him, then we should give Him the same honor also.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I honor You. Oh how I honor You. May Your Church this day and every day give unto You the honor which You so rightly and richly deserve. Blessed be Your wondrous Name forever. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

No Cross without a Crown

For reading & meditation: Ephesians 4:1-16

"He ... ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe." (v. 10)

In his autobiography, A King's Story, the Duke of Windsor told of a strange thing that happened at the funeral of his father, King George V. He described how, as his father's body was being conveyed on a draped gun carriage through the crowded streets of London, a mishap occurred which only those closest to the scene witnessed.

The imperial crown, removed from the Tower of London, had been placed over the Royal Standard and secured to the lid of the coffin. However, the jolting of the vehicle caused the Maltese Cross, which surmounts the crown, to fall. "Suddenly," said the Duke, "out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of light dancing along the pavement. One of the sailors, marching behind the gun carriage, picked it up, took it to his commanding officer, and said, 'This cross fell off, Sir. It must be replaced.'

The officer was a little bewildered by the untoward happening and said: 'Must it be replaced now?' 'Yes Sir,' replied the sailor, 'The crown is never complete without the cross.' " In Christian terms the converse is also true - the cross is not complete without the crown. The ascension inevitably followed the atonement; the coronation the crucifixion. One writer says: "One senses a certain embarrassment in some ministers where the subject of the ascension is concerned.

They tend to shy clear of the topic or dismiss it lightly as no more than a graphic myth or triumphalist parable." But if there had been no ascension there would be no gospel. The cross would not be complete without the crown.

Prayer:
O Father, how can I ever sufficiently thank You that the work of salvation is complete. Nothing more needs to be done than has been done. Your Coronation spells it out in the clearest of terms. I am so deeply, deeply grateful. Amen

 

[RiverOL]

Christ - Our Precursor

For reading & meditation: Hebrews 6

"... Jesus, who went before us ..." (v. 20)

Out of all the aspects of truth that surround the fact of our Lord's ascension, one of the greatest is surely this - Christ is our Precursor. A precursor is really a forerunner - an advance runner - and that is precisely the term which our text for today applies to the climactic ministry of our ascended Lord.

The NIV translates the word prodromos (forerunner) thus: "who went before us." That translation, in my opinion, is not nearly as appealing as that found in other versions, where the word forerunner is actually used.

"Forerunner" brings to mind a picture of our Lord as a celestial outrider "bringing many sons to glory" (Heb. 2:10), and reminds us of a petition in the great high priestly prayer: Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory ..." (John 17:24). Henry Longfellow, in his Golden Legend, put it like this: When Christ ascended Triumphantly, from star to star, He left the gates of heaven ajar!

Much as I like Longfellow, I have to disagree. Our Lord left the gates of heaven not just "ajar" but wide open. One of the creeds expresses it more effectively: "When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." Whatever the future holds for us, we who are Christ's can be sure of this: our Lord has ascended into heaven. And so, too, shall we.

Prayer:
O Father, I see that not only was there an ascension in the life of Your Son, but there is to be one in mine too. According to Your Word, I am to be "caught up in the clouds" and to be with You forever. Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

How strong convictions come

For reading & meditation: James 1:2-8

"' that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (v.4)

We continue meditating on the first verse of Psalm 73: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." The psalmist has gone through an experience of crippling doubt but the great thing is this: he has emerged from it spiritually enriched and with a deeper confidence in the goodness of God. So he starts with that conclusion and then tells us how he got there.

This is one of the great values of the psalms - they reflect and analyse the experiences that we are called upon to face. Ray Steadman says of the psalms: "They are an enactment of what most of us are going through, have gone through or will go through in the walk of faith." Every one of us will be able to understand the psalmist's struggle: we start off with a positive faith in God's goodness and then something happens which causes us to be plagued with doubts. The problem then is how to get back to where we were.

This is what the psalmist does in this psalm - he shows us how to return to the place where the soul finds true peace. We should not forget that the strongest convictions are born in the throes of doubt.

The statement "God is good to Israel" is a statement grounded in experience. In a similar vein, Dostoevsky, the famous Russian novelist, could say: "It is not as a child that I believe and confess Christ. My hosannah is 'born of a furnace of doubt.' " Doubts may discourage but they need not demoralise you. It is not what happens to you, but what you make of it that matters.

Prayer:
Gracious and loving Father, I pray that You will do for me what You did for the psalmist and help me turn my strongest doubts into my strongest beliefs. I offer You my willingness - now add to it Your power. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

A great soul battle

For reading & meditation: Psalms 69:1-12

"I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold." (v.2)

Having shared with us the conviction that God is good, the psalmist now proceeds to tell us what caused him to move away from that belief so that his soul became filled with such desolating doubt: "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (Psa. 73:2-3). Here begins what Spurgeon described as "a great soul battle, a spiritual marathon, a hard and well-fought fight in which the half-defeated became in the end wholly victorious".

The psalmist seems bothered by the apparent contradiction between what he had been taught in the Scriptures - that God is good to those who are pure in heart - and his experience in life. He was envious, he says, of the arrogant and deeply upset over the fact that the wicked appeared to be more prosperous than the godly.

He had been told that when you were righteous, then God would take care of you and prosper you. Obviously things had not been going too well for the psalmist and when he compared his situation with that of the ungodly who appeared to be so prosperous, he came close to giving up his faith.

Am I talking to someone who is in a similar situation at this moment? Is your faith so badly shaken by what you see around you that you are tempted to give up? Then this is the word of the Lord to you today: hold on. It is a dark tunnel you find yourself in at this moment, but God will bring you through. He never fails. Never.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for speaking to me today. Help me not to form my conclusions from what I see around - the immediate - but from what I see above, in You, the Ultimate. I wait in quiet confidence for Your word to come to pass. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Be honest with yourself

For reading & meditation: Psalms 51:1-9

"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts '" (v.6)

Even the most casual reader of Psalm 73 cannot help but be struck by the openness and honesty of the psalmist. He says: "My feet had almost slipped ' for I envied the arrogant" (vv. 2-3). This again is one of the great values of the book of Psalms - it brings home to us the importance of acknowledging what is going on in our hearts when we are caught up in the midst of conflict.

I cannot stress enough how spiritually damaging it is to ignore or deny our true feelings. There is a form of teaching going around in some Christian circles today which holds that one should never admit or acknowledge a negative thought or feeling - not even for a single second.

Life must be lived positively, it is said, and that means refusing to consider or even glance at anything negative. What nonsense! The people who advocate this approach to life can never have read the book of Psalms. I am all for a positive approach to life, but positivism first involves facing things realistically no matter how negative they may be.

How can you know what you need to be positive about until you have clearly seen what is troubling you? Once an issue is faced, and faced realistically, then the matter can and must be dealt with in a positive way.

But to try and be positive without bringing into clear focus what is wrong is like building a house on sand. No matter how much cement is poured into the foundations, and no matter how well the walls are reinforced, when a storm comes it will sink without trace.

Prayer:
Father, drive this truth deeply into my spirit, for I see that it is not enough to be honest with You and others, I must also be honest with myself. Help me get there and stay there. In Jesus' Name I ask it Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

If you're thrown - admit it

For reading & meditation: Psalms 22:1-11

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (v.1)

We continue looking at the attitude of the psalmist, who does not hesitate to tell the truth about himself. As we saw, he admits that his feet had well-nigh slipped and his faith had almost gone. I find the psalmist's honesty both stimulating and refreshing, especially when compared to the tendency of many in today's Church to pretend that things are not as they are.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said in one of his sermons: "I know of nothing in the spiritual life more discouraging than to meet the kind of person who seems to give the impression that he or she is always walking on the mountain top."

I agree. You see, it is far more important to be honest than to appear to be the sort of person who is never thrown by problems. If you are not thrown, then fine; but if you are then admit it. But can't openness be a form of exhibitionism? Yes, it can. Some people may confess to failure as a means of drawing attention to themselves.

But I do not believe that this was the psalmist's motive, for quite clearly he wrote the psalm to glorify not himself but God. The pathway to spiritual growth begins when we realistically and honestly face up to the struggles that are going on inside us.

If we are so concerned about developing or preserving pleasant feelings that we ignore the negative feelings within us or pretend that they are non-existent, then we end up demeaning ourselves. An honest look may involve a struggle, but there is more hope in that for growth than there is in pretence or denial.

Prayer:
O God, teach me to be unafraid to look at anything - myself included. Make me strong enough in You not to need the defences of pretence and denial. You are on the side of honesty; I am on its side too. Help me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Death? Who cares?

For reading & meditation: Job 21:1-9

"Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?" (v.7)

Before moving on, we pause to remind ourselves once more of the question with which the psalmist struggles in Psalm 73: Why is it that the wicked seem to prosper while the path of the righteous is beset by so many difficulties? Look now at how the psalmist views the condition of the ungodly: "They suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.

They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men. Therefore pride is about their neck as a chain; violence covers them as a garment - as a long, luxurious robe" (Psa. 73:4-6, Amplified Bible).

What a graphic description this is of the person who has no time for God, yet goes on from day to day with few troubles. It is probably the most perfect picture in all literature of the so-called successful man of the world. Note that the psalmist begins his description of the ungodly with a reference to the way they die: "They suffer no violent pangs in their death."

Throughout time the notion has been universally present that a good life ends in a good death, but the psalmist makes the observation that in his experience the reverse is true. Have you not struggled with these same feelings whenever you have heard of a Christian dying in great agony while a non-Christian passes away peacefully in his sleep?

What do you do with those feelings? Ignore them? Deny them? Repress them? Remember, it is only exposed problems that can be resolved. I say again, if you are not willing to face a problem, how can you go about getting it resolved?

Prayer:
O God, save me from denying the difficult problems and feelings I encounter in life. Help me understand that it is easier to deal with things when they are up and out than when they lie buried within. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Why we are sometimes drained

For reading & meditation: Psalms 19:7-14

"' Clear me from hidden and unconscious faults." (v.12, Amplified Bible)

We said yesterday that exposed problems are the only ones that can be resolved. Is this just an interesting theory, or is it something that can be supported from Scripture? Let me see if I can convince you that this statement has a biblical basis.

Come back with me to the Garden of Eden and think again about the questions which God put to the first human pair: "Where are you? ' Who told you that you were naked? ' What is this you have done?" (Gen. 3:9-13). Does anyone believe that God needed to ask those questions in order to gain information for Himself? Of course not; being omniscient (that is, having all knowledge), He already knew what they had done.

Then why did He put those searching personal questions to them? Surely the answer must be that the direct questions encouraged them to face something that they preferred not to look at. God knew that before the problem could be dealt with it must be brought out into the open.

Some people may think that by far the best way of dealing with unacceptable thoughts and feelings is to push them back into the unconscious but, as we are now seeing, that is a fallacy. Problems that are buried inside us rather than brought out into the light work to drain us of spiritual energy. It takes a lot of emotional energy to keep things repressed.

This is why people who repeatedly use the defence of repression end up feeling overtired. Healthy people are those who, like the psalmist in Psalm 73, bring their thoughts and feelings into awareness - no matter how "unspiritual" those thoughts and feelings may appear to be.

Prayer:
Father, I now begin to see why You bring me face to face with so many disturbing questions, for You know the havoc that is wrought within when issues are ignored or denied. Help me face anything and everything. In Your Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The roots of some perplexities

For reading & meditation: Isaiah 55:6-13

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord." (v.8)

We continue examining the psalmist's graphic description of the so-called successful "man of the world": "Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish, and the imaginations of their minds overflow with follies. They scoff and wickedly utter oppression; they speak loftily - from on high, maliciously and blasphemously.

They set their mouths against and speak down from Heaven, and their tongue swaggers through the earth - invading even Heaven with blasphemy and smearing earth with slanders" (Psa. 73:7-9, Amplified Bible). How perfectly these words describe the person who brazenly flaunts his arrogance and rides roughshod over the rights of others.

Note the phrase, "their eyes stand out with fatness", or, as the International Bible Commentary puts it: "Their beady eyes bulged through folds of fat as they busily schemed. Superior and cynical, they engaged in malicious talk and threats." We see the same kind of people today -irreligious, self-centred men and women who live only for themselves and view God as an irrelevance. Why does God allow them to get away with such attitudes and behaviour?

Perplexing, isn't it? We must realise, however, that it is only perplexing because we are dealing with the ways of an eternal Being whose thoughts and designs are infinitely greater than our own - as the text at the top of this page clearly tells us. Think about this as you make your way through the day: half our perplexities would never arise if we were prepared not to understand immediately the things that God does or the things that God allows.

Prayer:
O Father, what unnecessary perplexities we carry within us because we try to trace the reasons that lie behind Your designs rather than just trust them. Help us in our quest for a more confident faith. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

What's happening!?

For reading & meditation: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

"' perplexed, but not in despair '" (v.8)

Today we stay with the thought that half our spiritual perplexities would never arise if we started out by being prepared not to understand immediately the things that God does or allows. We must accept that one of the fundamental principles of the Christian life is the truth that there will be many times when God will work things out in a manner exactly opposite to the way we think He should.

If I had been taught this in the early days of my Christian life, it would have saved me from many spiritual struggles. Most of my perplexities arose because I failed to realise that I was dealing with a mind that is omniscient - that God's mind is not like my mind.

The ways of God are inscrutable; His mind is infinite and eternal and His purposes are beyond understanding. When we are dealing with such a great and mighty God it should not surprise us that He allows things to happen which we find perplexing.

If we insist that everything in life should be plain, we shall soon find ourselves in the state in which the psalmist found himself - full of doubt, disillusionment and fear. We should note, however, that perplexity is not necessarily sinful. It only becomes wrong when we allow our perplexity to drive us to despair.

The apostle Paul, as our text for today shows us, was perplexed but he was not in despair. Make sure you understand the distinction. It is not foolish or wrong to say: "I don't know what is happening." It is only foolish to say: "God doesn't know what is happening."

Prayer:
O Father, how comforting it is to realise that I can be perplexed and yet not fall into sin. Help me to keep this distinction clear. Drive the truth deep into my spirit today that You always know what is happening. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

I hadn't even seen the accident!

For reading & meditation: Job 9:21-35

"When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges '" (v.24)

The more the psalmist contemplates the condition of the ungodly, the more his perplexity increases. The next verses show him to be upset over the fact that people treat the ungodly with such admiration: "Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.

They say, 'How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?' This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth" (Psa. 73:10-12). He observes that because they are so well-admired and well-treated such people say: "Look at how good life is to us! If there is a God, then He doesn't appear to have much interest in the way we live."

A Christian tells of a work colleague, a successful man of the world, who said to him one day: "On my way to work this morning a man stopped me and said 'Are you a Jehovah's Witness?' Why would he ask me that? Why, I hadn't even seen the accident!" The man was quite unaware of who Jehovah was and the question had him completely puzzled.

This is what troubles the psalmist in this section of Psalm 73 - he sees people living with no concern for God, yet everything seems to be going so well for them. One can feel his indignation burning through the words he writes. Do you feel indignant about this, or a similar problem? It's not surprising if you do. Be careful, though, that you dont allow it to become your focus of concentration, for it is a law of the personality that you become like the thing you dwell upon.

Prayer:
O Father, if it is true that I become like the thing I focus upon, then help my focus of life not to be indignation at the prosperity of the ungodly but gratitude for the fact that I am an heir to eternity. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The heart of the issue

For reading & meditation: Job 21:11-16

"Yet they say ' 'Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?' ' But their prosperity is not in their own hands '" (vv. 14-16)

We come now to the heart of the issue with which the psalmist is struggling in Psalm 73: "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning" (Psa.73:13-14). Permit me to paraphrase what I think he is saying: "Here I am, living a godly life, keeping my heart and hands clean, avoiding sin, meditating on the things of God and devoting myself to a life pleasing to God, yet despite this I am facing all kinds of troubles.

What's the advantage in serving God if He doesn't protect me?" The problem, then, is not so much the prosperity of the wicked as the fact that he himself is passing through a period of great trial while they are getting off scot-free.

We begin now to see the roots of the envy to which the psalmist referred earlier: "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (v.3). Envy is born out of two things: ignorance and a wrong comparison. Take, first, a wrong comparison. "Almost all our problems," said Dr W.E. Sangster, "begin in a wrong comparison."

How true this is. We compare our looks, our height, our income, our homes, our training and our abilities with those of others and soon we lose sight of our own individuality and specialness. To compare ourselves with Christ is a healthy spiritual discipline, but to indulge in comparison with those we think are more prosperous and fortunate than we are is the direct road to envy.

Prayer:
O God, save me, I pray, from the habit of wrongly comparing myself with others. Help me to satisfy the impulse I have for making comparisons only in a way that will yield spiritual gain - by comparing myself only with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.