DAILY, WEEKEND, AND HOLIDAY INTERNET EVANGELIZE TO THE WORLD MINISTRY

The Trials of This Earth Shall Pass Tayler Beede | Wed, March 27, 2013 “This too shall pass” a phrase commonly heard by those going through periods of mourning or struggle. When viewed in an earthly sense, it can be difficult to believe, since we know struggles often pass only to bring forth different struggles. This life is never free of suffering. Instead, we move through life and its trials, at tempting to make it through by leaning on God, and doing our best to glorify him in the process. Throughout Isaiah 33, a beautiful reminder is painted. A glorious image of the future, paired with the mournful present—a reminder that though we will struggle tremendously throughout this life, we will someday rejoice in the presence of God’s glory. Rejoicing through forgiveness Not only will we live in the most perfect place, in the presence of God; we’ll be completely forgiven of our past (Isaiah 33:24). We will be completely free to rejoice and enjoy life in God’s presence, free of guilt and ...

August 31: Walking with Jesus Luke 24:13–53 Imagine encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It would be a surreal experience. You’re walking to the next town, and you start a conversation with a man beside you, only to find out later that you’ve been talking with the resurrected Son of God . Even more surreal, the topic of conversation up to your moment of discovery has been the death of the man walking with you ( Luke 24:13–35 ). I have often wondered what it would be like to meet Jesus face to face—to have Him explain to me how He exists in the biblical text from Moses, in all the prophets, and in all Scripture ( Luke 24:27 ). How different would my life be after that experience? Would I rethink everything I had known and heard—perhaps everything I do? Asking these questions is not only healthy, it also turns on our spiritual GPS . Are we on the path God has called us to? Have we strayed in one direction or another? Are we caught in some odd roundabout where we’re explain...

August 31 ONLY ONE LIFE Avis B. Christiansen, 1895–1985   And He died for all , that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. ( 2 Corinthians 5:15 )   Find your purpose and fling your life out into it; and the loftier your purpose is, the more sure you will be to make the world richer with every enrichment of yourself! —Phillips Brooks How tragic it is to see the great number of talented young people who waste their lives on transient things instead of investing them in that which is eternal. Yet this choice must be made by every individual: Will I commit my life to the highest and best— God and His service —or will I settle for that which is self-seeking and cheap? The results of these two styles of living are obvious; merely observe the difference between the quality of life of those who have engaged in self-indulgent, useless living and those who have spent their time faithfully serving God with a c...

August 30: Dawning of a New Era Luke 23:26–24:12 Jesus’ resurrection brings a new era. Although Jesus told His disciples and loved ones that He would suffer, die, and be raised on the third day ( Luke 9:22 ), they didn’t fully comprehend His promise. The women preparing fragrant spices and perfumes for a burial ritual fully expected to find Jesus’ body in the tomb. Instead, at the dawn of the first day of the week, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. The women were perplexed by their discovery, but the angels challenged them, reminding them of Jesus’ promise: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of men who are sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise?” ( Luke 24:5–7 ). Jesus’ resurrection presents new hope for the disciples and those who believe in Him . It also shows that He pro...

August 30 I SURRENDER ALL Judson W. Van De Venter, 1855–1939   Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ( Matthew 10:38 , 39 ) The Bible teaches us that brokenness is a prerequisite to blessing and usefulness. No one ever achieves spiritual greatness until he has fully surrendered himself to God . Victorious living comes only as we abandon ourselves to the Lordship of Christ , becoming His loving bond slave . God’s best for our lives is not the result of struggle. Rather, it is simply the acceptance of His perfect will and the recognition of His authority in every area of our lives.   Higher than the highest heaven,   Deeper than the deepest sea,   Lord , Thy love at last hath conquered:   Grant me now my supplication,   None of self and all of Thee . —Unknown Judson Van De Venter wrote this text after surrendering h...

August 29: Becoming a Saved People Isaiah 60:1–62:12 ; Luke 22:63–23:25 For Luke, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s message. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, according to Luke, Jesus opened the Isaiah scroll in a synagogue and proclaimed that the words in Isaiah 61 are about Him ( Luke 4:17–19 ): “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me, he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and liberation to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and our God’s day of vengeance, to comfort all those in mourning” ( Isaiah 61:1–2 ). This moment defines what Jesus’ life would mean—and He was immediately persecuted for claiming the authority rightfully given to Him by God ( Luke 4:20–30 ). Luke’s message—an extension of Isaiah’s—is played out further near the end of Jesus’ life. Jesus’ claim to authority resulted in His being sentenced to dea...

August 29 PRECIOUS LORD , TAKE MY HAND Thomas A. Dorsey, 1899–1993   For I am the Lord, your God , who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.” ( Isaiah 41:13 ) Out of a broken heart after his wife and newly born son had both died, Thomas Dorsey cried to his Lord to lead him “through the storm, through the night” In doing so, he created lines that have since ministered to others in an unusual way. This tender song, written by a black gospel musician in 1932, has since been a favorite with Christ ians everywhere. Thomas A. Dorsey grew up in Georgia as a “preacher’s kid.” As he began to be successful as a composer of jazz and blues songs, however, he drifted away from God . After it seemed to him that he was miraculously spared in brushes with death, Dorsey came back to the Lord . As his life dramatically changed he began to write gospel songs and to sing in church services. It was during a revival meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, th...

August 28: Meaningless Maxims Job 13:1–12 “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay” ( Job 13:12 ). There were bits of truth in the words spoken by Jobs’ friends, Eliphaz , Bildad , and Zophar . Between their blundering interpretations were words that expressed God’s majesty, justice, and sovereignty. Unfortunately, they pieced together their bits of truth and applied them incorrectly to Job’s life. Job quickly saw through their packaged solution. However, not all those struggling with loss can handle an onslaught of helpful Christians with easy answers. When people go through difficult times and ask for advice—or even if they don’t—it’s tempting to deliver our responses based on our own experiences. Eliphaz argued this way: “Just as I have seen, powers of mischief and sowers of trouble will reap it” ( Job 4:8 ). The way we interpret and respond to events in our lives is often Scripture -based and Spirit -led. Though we should readily provide enc...

August 28 ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME Fanny J. Crosby, 1820–1915   For this God is our God forever and ever ; He will be our guide even to the end. ( Psalm 48:14 ) Often we become discouraged because we cannot see God’s long range plan of guidance for our lives. We need to remember that God has promised to guide our steps, not the miles ahead. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord ” ( Psalm 37:23 ). This beloved hymn came from the grateful heart of Fanny Crosby after she had received a direct answer to her prayer. One day when she desperately needed five dollars and had no idea where she could obtain it, Fanny followed her usual custom and began to pray about the matter. A few minutes later a stranger appeared at her door with the exact amount. “I have no way of accounting for this,” she said, “except to believe that God put it into the heart of this good man to bring the money. My first thought was that it is so wonderful the way the Lord leads me, I i...

August 27: My [Mommy] Done Tol’ Me Isaiah 55:1–57:21 ; Luke 21:25–22:23 I went through a phase when I was obsessed with the Blues. Something about the soul was at work in the music—a genre created late at night while reflecting on hard times. The music was written more for the songwriter than the audience because the audience had usually gone home by the time these songs were sung. The Blues express raw, uncut emotions. The same can be said of the OT prophets. A Blues singer can turn a common phrase into something profound. The idea that “I knew better, but I made the mistake anyway” becomes the Blues refrain “my momma done tol’ me,” complete with chord structure and growling voice. And “I’m struggling—everything is falling apart” becomes “my dog done died.” The prophets likewise use mundane things like water and food to describe emotional and spiritual struggles. They explain the root of the problem—the cause of our ills: “Ho! Everyone thirsty, come to the waters! And who...

August 27 LORD , I WANT TO BE A CHRIST IAN Spiritual   He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desire. ( 2 Peter 1:4 )   A CHRIST IAN IS …   A mind through which Christ thinks ;   A heart through which Christ loves ;   A voice through which Christ speaks ;   A hand through which Christ helps . —Unknown “Sir, I want to be a Christ ian.” The text for this spiritual song is thought to have been an outgrowth of this remark made by a Negro slave to a minister, William Davis , sometime during the mid 18th century. How would you have replied to this request? Many people today use the term Christian simply to mean someone other than a pagan, Buddhist, or Hindu. Or they equate it with a person who is a church member or perhaps someone who has a strong humanitarian concern for others. The word Christ ian was first ...

August 25: Riddle Me This Isaiah 50:1–51:23 ; Luke 20:1–40 Jesus’ enemies regularly attempted to make Him look foolish or to disprove His authority. The absurd questions they concocted to discredit Him are rather amusing. The Sadducees posed one of the most preposterous questions about the resurrection of the dead and its relevance to divorce ( Luke 20:27–33 ): If a woman has been married seven times, whose wife will she be when the dead are resurrected? This scene is especially humorous in light of rabbis’ habit of playing mind games to outsmart (or “outwise” ) one another and the Sadducees’ belief that resurrection does not exist. Jesus’ opponents thought they had rigged the game: Any answer to their riddle would be incorrect. It was an attempt to trap Jesus into agreeing that the resurrection of the dead is a myth. Jesus , however, offered an answer that put them in their place ( Luke 20:34–40 ). His response made the Sadducees look even more foolish in light of larger bi...

August 25 TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE Frances R. Havergal, 1836–1879   So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God . ( 1 Corinthians 10:31 ) In this day of self-centered living and pleasure-oriented lifestyle, the total commitment to God of body , mind, and possessions portrayed in this text is difficult for many Christ ians to achieve. Even though we realize that we have nothing we have not received and that we are only stewards of the good gifts God has entrusted to us, we often fail to apply this basic truth to our daily lives:   The gold that came from Thee , Lord , to Thee belongeth still ;   Oh, may I always faithfully my stewardship fulfill. —Unknown It was said of Frances Ridley Havergal, author of this text, that the beauty of a consecrated life was never more perfectly revealed than in her daily living. She has rightfully been called “The Consecration Poet.” “These little couplets that chimed in my heart one a...

August 24: Who Is Trustworthy? Luke 19:11–48 We might get sidetracked when reading the Parable of the Ten Minas . Businessmen aren’t sympathetic characters in our modern world. In movies and sometimes in life, they’re often flat, miserly characters who take advantage of naïve individuals and community values. Although there is often an element of truth to some stereotypes, it can be too easy to take sides. And we’re forced to take sides in this parable. Whose view is correct—the people of the city who hate the nobleman, the fearful servant, or the nobleman and his faithful servants? The response of the masses seems unjustified. The two servants entrusted with minas are faithful characters, but not the focus of the parable. When the final servant is summoned, we expect an interesting turn of events. Will we sympathize with him? We’ve already heard that the citizens hate the nobleman, and the final servant seems to confirm this: “For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe...

August 24 O TO BE LIKE THEE ! Thomas O. Chisholm, 1866–1960   For we are God’s workmanship , created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ( Ephesians 2:10 )   Great Master , teach us with Your skillful hand ;   Let not the music that is in us die!   Great Sculptor , hew and polish us; nor let   Hidden and lost, Your form within us lie! —Horatius Bonar The Bible teaches that God’s goal for His people is that they “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ ” ( Ephesians 4:13) . We are to daily “put on Christ ” — His love and character—even as we put on our garments ( Romans 13:14 ). Christ -likeness is more than a religious profession or a weekly visit to church. It must become our total way of life. The Scriptures further teach that we are to carry the fragrance of Christ wherever we go—to unbelievers, the smell of death and to fellow believers, the fragrance of life ( 2 Cor...

August 23: God the Innovator Isaiah 45:14–47:15 Innovators often say they learn more from their failures than their successes. The successes come as a result of repeated failures, whether in business or in life. We must learn from our mistakes if we are to expect a different, brighter future. God expects us to learn from our failures—the depths of which we can best understand in comparison to the glory of His successes. God speaks about Himself not only to remind people of His abilities, but also to explain where His authority begins and theirs ends. In Isaiah 45:1–2 , God gave Cyrus a lesson in these boundaries—both by what He said and by what He did not say. Like other kings of the time, Cyrus would have thought himself godlike, but God’s detailed description of what He was about to do left Cyrus with no doubt about who was in charge: “And I will give you the treasures of darkness and treasures of secret places so that you may know that I am Yahweh, the one who calls yo...

August 23 SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS Source of words and music unknown   Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. ( Luke 10:42 ) The story of Martha the worker and Mary the worshiper ( Luke 10:38–42 ) illustrates an important spiritual principle: We please our Lord most when we learn to sit at His feet in adoration and worship before trying to serve Him in our own strength. Sitting implies our humble dependence upon Him and a sense of quietness of soul that indicates our willingness to hear. We can become so busy with life’s pursuits, even worthy Christ ian activities, that we do not hear the still small voice of God . Or sometimes we pursue God in spiritual spectaculars. But like the story of Elijah on Mount Horeb ( 1 Kings 19:11 , 12 ), the Lord does not always reveal Himself in the wind, fire, or earthquake, but sometimes in the stillness of the small voice.   Speak, Lord , in the stillness while I wait on Thee ;   Hush...

August 22: Complaints Job 10:1–10 Complaining can be automatic. We complain about the weather, our children, our jobs. And we might do it for any number of reasons—even something as trivial as to keep a conversation going. Although we might complain lightly, we still betray something about our hearts. We assume that we are owed something—that we are entitled. We might readily admit this. We might freely say that this should not be our posture before people or before God . But Job challenges our stereotype of the complainer. What can we learn from his complaints? In his outcries, we find someone struggling to understand his situation before God . He prays, “My inner self loathes my life; I want to give vent to my complaint; I want to speak out of the bitterness of my inner self. I will say to God, ‘You should not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me’ ” ( Job 10:1–2 ). He repeats and recasts his elevated and prolonged complaints in surprising similes: “Did you not ...

August 22 WHITER THAN SNOW James Nicholson, c. 1828–1876   Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ( Psalm 51:7 ) God’s people have been placed in their particular circle of influence so they can demonstrate purity and a concern for righteousness. If we do not fulfill this role, who will? It is easy, however, to become so accustomed and hardened to the lust and sin all about us that we lose that fine edge of our Christ ian witness. In fact, without God’s daily cleansing and renewal , we are easily infiltrated with and influenced by the very lifestyle that we reject in others. Unconfessed sin becomes a destructive poison in our lives, not only spiritually but also emotionally and physically. Repentance and confession are always the starting points for a restored fellowship with God . Like the psalmist David did in his prayer in Psalm 51 , we all need to experience God’s cleansing and forgiveness . Only then will we be effec...

August 21 MORE ABOUT JESUS Eliza E. Hewitt, 1851–1920   I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ( Philippians 3:10 , 11 ) The Christ ian gospel is thrilling to contemplate. It is so simple that even a small child can understand and respond to its basic message—the necessity of placing one’s implicit faith in Christ . But, on the other hand, it is so profound that a lifetime is far too brief to fully comprehend it, since its message is really a person—a growing knowledge and relationship to the eternal Son of God . The author of this hymn text, Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, was an invalid for an extended period of her life. Out of this experience she developed an intimate relationship with God and the Scriptures and a desire to share her feelings with others through writing. She became a prolific author of children’s poe...