“For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Paul went through much of living in a culture that was antagonistic toward Christ. So many problems came and went against him, trouble on every side of him, problems that pressed hard against him, and yet he learned the secret of contentment.
Look at yourself in the mirror. Tell me what you see? I see in the mirror a man who is aging and breaking down externally. But, again, take a look in the mirror of the Word. What do you see? Do you see the eternal springing up within you, the everlasting joy that comes from looking away from the obvious to the real?
Paul did not faint because he kept his eyes on the eternal and the internal. His daily focus was disciplined upon Christ and His Word. He learned that the outward things were temporal and could be discouraging. The things not seen were eternal and were an eternal weight of glory. What is discouragement? It is a temporary loss of perspective.
Focus on that which is unseen, the truths you know in your heart, for it is that truth that is a reality. We need to focus on the inner man. Life is passing us by. We have the opportunity to focus on the eternal and internal daily for the next 364 days of the year.
“Woe be unto the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! Saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:1).
You remember the story of Little Red Robin Hood? She was speaking to the wolf who tried to disguise himself with her grandmother’s cap. Red Robin Hood kept mentioning body parts of the wolf until finally she said, “What big teeth you have.” Of course the reply came back from the wolf, “All the better to eat you with, my dear.”
There are a lot of shepherds out there who rather eat the sheep instead of feed and teach the sheep. The True Shepherd will come one day and sue for malpractice. God’s people are to be teachers and learners at the same time. Many are hirelings who flee at the intrusion of anything. The wolves in disguise cover themselves in religious overtures but reveal themselves for what they are in the day of trouble.
May we remember that God will set up in His kingdom teachers who will lead and not drive, visit and not be self-serving, and learners instead of just talkers. One of the reasons for the mess that many local churches are in is because of many who talk Bible but who do not incarnate the Word of God.
True Shepherds will feed the sheep so that they will not fear, nor be dismayed, neither lacking in their lives. Yes, Red Robin Hood saw correctly, but she was slow to see before it was too late.
“So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days” (Nehemiah 6:15).
The enemy doesn’t mind if you are spiritually active. He just doesn’t want you to be spiritually effective. One may be active in church, doctrinally pure, serving on the church board, teaching, etc…. but if one is not involved in the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life then that life is at a minimal. Minimal in church and minimal in the family.
“What are the spiritual disciplines?” you ask. It is the reverence for God’s Word and the power of effective praying. We owe to Scripture the same reverence we owe to God. The Bible is revered but it is not read. There is low reading of the Bible by believers.
“Sine qua non” is a Latin phrase which means “without which, nothing.” Without a good diet of Scripture and an exercise in the effectiveness of praying, you’ve got nothing. You and I cannot finish the Christian marathon without true prayer. We cannot even enter the race without the Word of
“And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times” (Judges 20:28).
In the closing pages of Judges you find reports of wife abuse, blatant homosexuality, gang rape leading to murder, injustice, brother killing brother, and kidnapping. When David Jeremiah said, “I never thought I’d see the day,” you and I have never encountered a day as the day we live in. It is bad. Violence, vice, immorality, idolatry, and blasphemy are rampant.
This is the daily food people enjoy. TV and film violence is habitual and routinely accepted. It has become the fodder of unredeemed America. What is happening on the screen is being duplicated in the streets. When a nation is entertained by acts of violence, is there much hope for that nation?
Brother went against brother in Israel because evil was not properly dealt with punitive action. The Word of God tells us that “brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death” (Matthew 10:21).
Sin in the city will infect those in it and around and it will lead to war. The center cannot hold with stability. The home, the ministry, and society are disintegrating before our very eyes, and it seems as if people disdain the truth! But whether people want truth or not, the world must be told that Jesus Christ died for lost sinners, and that the power of Christ can transform homes, hearts, churches, and society if people will only trust Him.
“Christ beats His drum, but He does not press men,” said English preacher and poet John Donne in 1631; “Christ is served with voluntaries.”
“And I looked and, lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).
In the previous verse the Bible speaks of a beast and his number is 666 — man pretending to be God. Unless the people of that day (and I believe it to be soon) repent, they will take the seal of the beast which will enable them to settle down in the world to buy and to sale. Therefore they will accept the seal of the beast which will be their doom.
Though the man of sin will stand out in that future day he will not stand too long. John sees the Lord Jesus Christ standing at the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem at a time in the future. And alongside of the Lord Jesus and His return will stand those who have the mark of the Lord in their foreheads. The Lord is saying, “These are Mine. Hands off!” These are My 144,000.” Throughout these years of tribulation, they will be witnessing and testifying boldly about the Lord Jesus in the integrity of the Lord.
You and I are not to take up the lifestyle of today. These that are sealed are saved, sealed, and spotless men and women, those to whom lived for Christ in their generation. These are those who will have an impact on their times. You and I are to live with impact. During these days of lies, deception, immorality, and violence we are to be truth-filled disciples; during our short days on earth we are to live the same. If our mouths are filled with lies, if our lives are lacking in morality and integrity, then no one will listen to what we have to say about the gospel or the Lord Jesus.
“Father, thank you for the seriousness of this chapter. You have mapped out a plan that will ultimately bring glory to Your name, and we realize we must fit in Your plan. May we bear the message and the fruits of repentance and godliness. We commit our lives to You, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.“
“Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9).
God works with a remnant of people who believe. Isaiah speaks of a remnant of real believers among the many with a Gallup-Poll faith. A Gallup-poll faith is a faith that is wishy-washy. It’s the total amount of people who say but do not behave. Their living contradicts their position.
It takes the grace of God to preserve a trusting remnant among those who identify outwardly with Him. The remnant is not a super-spiritual elite looking down on others, but they do dare to live by faith in God. The rest are careful not to risk too much on Him. The difference does show.
Jonathan Edwards describes a true Christian:
“As he has more holy boldness, so he has less self-confidence…As he is more sure than others of deliverance from hell, so he has a greater sense that he deserves it. He is less apt than others to be shaken in faith, but more apt than others to be moved by solemn warnings, God’s frowns and calamities of others. He has the firmest comfort, but the softest heart; richer than others, but poorest of all in spirit. He is the tallest and strongest saint, but the least and tenderest child among them.”
The two disciples, one whose name was Cleopas, both were headed to Emmaus, a small village. They each had a shattered hope and a stifled love. Why? The One they longed for who would free them from Roman bondage and spiritual darkness was dead. And even worse the body was found missing and could not be found. They were crushed and very saddened by the death of the Christ, God’s anointed.
What did the Lord Jesus do for them as they walked and talked toward Emmaus? He came alongside them and spoke with them of God’s plan from Scripture. He raised their very thoughts to God and explained and expounded the written Word. The Word of God tells us after the meeting with the resurrected Lord the disciples’ hearts burned within them.
God’s great desire is that we allow the Spirit of God to encourage us. Today take the Word of God and allow His Word to speak to you afresh and anew. For God’s Word is an encourager of good and true things. His faithful Word never fails as we walk in this world that wills to darken your faith. God’s Word delivers love and hope. He will be known to you as you break bread together by opening the Word of God and meditating upon Him.
Father please bring us to the Word of God over and over again. When we are downcast draw us to yourself. When we are discouraged pick us up with your staff and set us on our feet once more. We love you for You know we need You. In your Son’s name. Amen.
“But we hoped that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel; and, besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done” (Luke 24:21).
