Daily Bread  -  April, 2008

by Robert J. Wieland

Nehemiah was a wonderful man, if for no other reason than that he has a book in the Bible named for him. That’s an honor for anyone!

The Lord blessed him wonderfully; everything he did was a success. It was his job to direct the rebuilding of the broken down walls of Jerusalem, walls that the Babylonians had broken many years before when the Lord’s people had been punished for their idolatry and exiled to Babylon.

Tobiah and Sanballat were Nehemiah’s enemies who opposed him relentlessly. Nehemiah stood firmly for the law of the Lord, no compromise. He led the people in the straight path of obedience to the law of the Lord. He was successful in leading them to re-build the walls of Jerusalem; he re-instituted the Feast of Tabernacles that had not been kept by Israel for hundreds of years since the days of Joshua the son of Nun.

And Nehemiah clearly perceived the deceit of those enemies of Israel.

Wonderful work!

Nehemiah begged the Lord repeatedly not to forget how wonderful he (Nehemiah) had worked. For example, “God, remember to my credit, and do not wipe out of Your memory the devotion which I have shown in the house of my God, and in His service!” (13:14, NEB). He ends his book with this plea to the Lord, “God, remember me favourably!”(vs. 31, NEB).

Dear Nehemiah! He worked so hard for the Lord. And the Lord was “not unrighteous to forget [his] work and labour of love which [he had] shewed toward His name” (cf. Heb. 6:10). The Lord gave him a book in His Bible! We are inspired by his devotion.

But we are blessed by the knowledge of the New Covenant: we are not even thinking of any reward the Lord will give us; we don’t beg Him like Nehemiah to remember all our “good” works; we are constrained by the love (agape) of Christ “henceforth” to realize that if Jesus died for us “all,” then we all died “in Him,” so that we can claim nothing for ourselves but to share that grave with Jesus, and then in sheer joyous gratitude devote all our lives to Him.  If some angel someday should try to give us a crown of glory, we will throw it at Jesus’ feet.

Old King Saul had rebelled against the Lord continually for much of his reign as Israel’s monarch.

Then when the Lord raised up young David to be his successor, Saul became possessed of an insane jealousy which motivated him to try to kill the youth. (Thus in the books of heaven Saul was now listed as a “murderer,” because the books of heaven record the sins which we would have committed if we had had the opportunity.)

Time and again the dear Lord had appealed to Saul to repent of this murderous hatred; and sometimes Saul had made a feeble effort to respond; he even apologized to David and thanked him for sparing his life in the cave of Engedi where David and his men were hiding when the king innocently came in to go the bathroom (the dramatic story is in 1 Samuel 24:1-22).

But King Saul held on to his jealous hatred.

Then finally the old king comes to Endor where he faces the last challenge of his life.

A vast military host of the Philistines is gathered against the feeble armies of Israel; national disaster looms. Saul prays an empty prayer, minus repentance. The thrilling story is in 1 Samuel 28:1-6, but there was no change of heart in Saul’s “inquiry” of the Lord.

Then King Saul did the unforgivable thing: he prayed to Satan for wisdom and salvation— a desperately wicked thing to do. This now put himself and his kingdom into the hands of Satan.

But even yet the Lord has no bad news to tell King Saul: it is not too late for the king to repent and to cast himself and his kingdom on to the mercy of the Lord; it is not too late for jealousy-ridden Saul to humble his heart and save both himself and his kingdom. If Saul had been willing to humble his heart in repentance and prayer to the Lord, the Lord would have received him and forgiven him; but his prayer was repentance-empty—but still the Lord had no bad news for the man.

But Satan, through the witch of Endor, poured a ton of bricks in bad news on the poor king’s head, and the result was that he died in utter despair at his own hand (ch. 31:1-6). The Lord never drives a despairing soul to suicide!

The only “news” the Lord has for anyone—at any time—is good news.

Jesus sounds severe in Matthew 7:13, 14:

“Enter by the narrow gate. Wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction, and many enter that way; narrow is the gate and constricted the road that leads to life and those who find them are few”(NEB).

In other places Jesus emphasizes how wide open He has made the way to eternal life: “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. ... And this is the Father’s will ... that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (John 6:37, 39, KJV).

Jesus never “loses” anybody! People can choose to “lose” Him, they can neglect Him, avoid Him, but He never forsakes them until they finally, irrevocably slam the door in His face and thus commit the unpardonable sin (yes, that can happen! Beware!), but “agape never faileth” (1 Cor. 13:8).

Let’s begin where it’s easy:

Isaiah 50:4, 5 describes what the Father did for Jesus when He was incarnate among us:

“The Lord God ... wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned.”

And why does the Father do this to Jesus?

“That I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” It’s all soul-winning work! “To hear as the learned” means to have an on-going day-by-day education that is better than any doctoral program in any University!

Before Jesus delivered His famous “Sermon-on-the-mount, “ therefore, He had been “awakened” that morning, and “educated” or prepared for that most wonderful Sermon ever preached.

Now the same heavenly Father will accept you into His same “University” schooling. Give yourself to Him, as Jesus gave Himself to the Father: Jesus will join you for He says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” Begin your eternal life today! Cut down on the late-TV;  enter the Lord’s classroom.

In olden times men relied on their horses. Alexander the Great had a famous horse named Bucephalis, which he trusted.

But David’s Psalm 33 proclaimed that “no one can rely on his horse to save him, nor for all its power can it be a means of escape” (vs. 17, NEB). Bucephalis was not the source of Alexander’s military success!

To translate this into modern language, it means that you and I dare not trust the stock market or international economics as our salvation from hunger. Even the best business savvy is “the wisdom of this world; and that is foolishness with God”: “If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. ... The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain” (1 Cor. 3:18-20). This is not to despise sound business wisdom, but the Lord long ago told the prophet Jeremiah the truth that we all need to grasp:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jer. 9:23, 24).

Our loving heavenly Father has not promised us the wealth of this world, but He has promised to care for us if we will remember reality: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? ... He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; ... that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; ... bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure” (Isa. 33:14-16).

That may not be a fancy, gourmet fare; but someday we shall be profoundly thankful for it. It makes the Lord happy when He can see that we appreciate what He provides us. If it’s whole grain bread and vitamin rich vegetables and fruits, we shall be more healthy. Wesley said that “cleanliness is next to godliness.” If he were with us today he would add that eating whole grain foods is “next to healthful living.”

Happiness is trusting the Lord and appreciating all that He does for us!

There is a lesson in grateful living we want to learn now: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. ... And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Tim. 6:6-8).

When a Laodicean reads the two books of Ezra and Nehemiah as narrative story, strange comparisons pop up. The Laodicean is already conscious of the Lord’s rebuke in his life today, for He says, “Be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev. 3:19); now in reading these books, he re-lives the painful struggle of these Israelites to return from the 70-year captivity in Babylon.

As they try in spite of their enemies ridiculing them, the people of God under Nehemiah’s direction manfully work to rebuild the walls of old Jerusalem, walls broken down by the Babylonians some 70 years before. Everything seems to go against them. It’s not that the Lord Himself works against them, but He does permit their enemies to harass them.

Sanballat and Tobiah, for example, rise against the Jews continually. Their principal weapon is ridicule; they despise their efforts to rebuild the walls, saying that if a fox were to walk over their rebuilt wall it would fall down (Neh. 4:3).

So difficult is their work that with one hand the workers hold a sword or a spear and work with the other hand on the wall (4:17). It was a labor of repentance; the people of God were humiliated, yet they pressed on until the heavy task was completed.

It was the Lord’s intention over a century ago that His people go forth with the most precious message that with His blessing should lighten the whole earth with glory; but modern “Sanballats” and “Tobiahs” rose up to oppose the work.

Now the consecration and devotion of the Lord’s servants will be tried; we have come to the time when we must “gather warmth from others’ coldness.” Faith in the Lord begets courage in the Lord; our task is not laying stones on stones to build a wall; our task is proclaiming truths on truths, demonstrating to the world that “the third angel’s message in verity” is the truth that will lighten the earth; it will bring to a glorious triumph “the great controversy between Christ and Satan.”

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are often neglected, but they have an honored place in the Bible: to encourage the hard-pressed workers of the Lord in these last days.

When Jesus promised His disciples (and therefore, us], saying “Let not your heart be troubled, ... I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3), He gave the world our “blessed hope” that Paul tells us about. “The grace of God that brings salvation as appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No!’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live [soberly] and godly in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-14, cf. Greek, and NIV).

Not only is this our “blessed hope,” it is His as well, for Jesus is an eager Bridegroom who wants to come again. He longs to take to Himself His Bride, just as any loving bridegroom wants the wedding to come.

But Jesus can’t come, eager as He is, for a strong angel must first give his all-important permission before Jesus can come. We read of that in Revelation 14:

“And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, ... and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped” (vss. 14-16).

That “other angel” is the key person here: no matter how eager Jesus is to come for His “marriage of the Lamb”(and He is eager to come!), yet He cannot come until this special angel gives Him permission; and the permission cannot be given until the “harvest of the earth is ripe.”

The problem here is not the size or the extent of the “harvest” but whether it is “ripe.”

The word “ripe” refers to character development; that is, not the chronological age of the “saints” who are involved, for often a very young “saint” may be fully dedicated to the Lord—in other words, “constrained” by the love of Christ to live “henceforth ... unto Him who died for us and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). It’s growing up into the likeness of Christ.

It’s not a works program; it’s the heart appreciation of the love of Jesus; it’s “comprehend[ing] with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (Eph. 3:17-19).

That “comprehend” is a wonderful word: it enlightens every cell of our being, and at last we come “alive”!

It’s looking at Jesus—“Behold! the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

The books of Daniel and Revelation in the Bible tell us that the Lord will never again permit the darkness of the Middle Ages to envelope the world. Both books declare that the period of deepest darkness for Europe extended for 1260 years (“42 months,” 1260 years from 538 to 1798).

At the end of that period, Daniel declares that “the time of the end began,” and great “increase of knowledge” followed (12:4). The most nearly blind in the world can only marvel at the phenomenal explosion of scientific knowledge that characterizes life anywhere in the world today. Now the humblest African child has access to an iPod.

Some who study carefully what Daniel said understand that the prophecy tells how knowledge of Daniel and Revelation is what is meant by “increase of knowledge”; for sure, history is clear that this prophetic knowledge has preceded the increase in scientific acumen. The knowledge of God is still far in advance of the most clever of scientists.

But John explains to us that love is not a mere attribute of God’s character; God IS agape.

That knowledge is what the world is hungering to understand. It is not what is commonly thought of as “Christian Science,” but there is a “science” to God’s plan of salvation, for it challenges one’s finest intellectual abilities. Let young people dedicate themselves to pursue that salvation-knowledge, and discover that even more profound than mere medical science is the knowledge that proclaims to sinful people the message “be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).

Is there any joy known to mortals more delightful than reconciliation, to be at-one-with, God?

If you can understand it and tell it to people, you are the happiest of mortals.

Begin with telling it to children; if they can learn the New Covenant instead of the Old, the happiness they will realize will last throughout their lifetimes.

You need to know the encouraging truth that David gives us in Psalm 40:17:

“I am poor and needy” (maybe you already know that; if not, you need to learn it).

“Yet the Lord thinketh upon me.” That’s what you need to realize.

The great Jehovah, the LORD, the Creator and Sustainer of the Milky Way, the One who hears these billions of prayers from people all over the world—He is infinite.

That means He has time to consider all the aspects of our individual, personal situation; and He is exactly what He says He IS—love (agape). And He goes to the trouble to think about your situation personally, individually.

Not only does He think about us as humans; He also takes note when a little bird falls to the forest floor—Jesus told us that as an extreme note, an extravaganza, as it were, to give us an impetus, a reminder that we can never forget.

He doesn’t want us to think of ourselves as Number so-and-so in His vast computer; He is personal, individual “Father in heaven” to every son or daughter adopted into His family.

And of course you remember, the very fact that your “poor and needy” heart falls back on the word “Father” when you think of Him—this proves that He has adopted you and you are a member of His family; yes, the Savior is a high and mighty Person—but He is your intimately close “Elder Brother” as well.

If you don’t know enough to frame the prayer of your heart into appropriate words, if all we can do is to blurt out that word “Father, Father ... ,”this is Heaven’s acknowledgement that you have been “adopted” already.

And Ephesians chapter one is your autobiography already: you have “been chosen in Him before the foundation of the world,” “predestinated ... unto adoption,” ... “accepted in the Beloved”(vss. 4-6).

You will go to sleep tonight; He “thinketh upon” you through the starlight hours, planning for you a better tomorrow than your today was. Now let your first thought of Him in the morning be one of thanksgiving and “joy in the Lord.”

Is it possible to e-mail Jesus, to send Him a question and get an answer back?

Some will probably say “No,” implying that He’s too busy running the universe to bother with little e-mail messages from everyone here and there. But it seems to me that what Jesus said in the Bible indicates that the answer has to be Yes. Not that you will use AOL or Yahoo, but if you wish to ask Jesus a question, and you are willing to think it out reasonably, and you are serious as you ask it, He has promised to respond. “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;” all this He says (see Matt. 7:7). Sounds encouraging!

But I will say again, Be serious; no fooling around thoughtlessly. The problem is not getting His attention; the problem is getting your attention when it comes to His response. If you are playing around like a foolish, fickle little child who doesn’t know what he wants, “let not that person think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (James 1:7). But if you mean business, He has promised that the Holy Spirit will be sent to you as a “Comforter,” the word meaning literally “One who is called to sit down beside you and never leave you” (John 14:16). And His assignment from Jesus includes answering your questions: “When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; ... He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you” (16:13, 14).

But let us remember that God has promised specifically that He will answer our questions by directing our attention to what He says in His word, the Bible. He will not by-pass the prophets and apostles whom He sent. The Holy Spirit will direct you to the Bible; He will enlighten your mind to comprehend what it says. For example, suppose you want to send Jesus this e-mail: “Jesus, please tell me—will I be saved eternally or will I be lost?” He will answer: “Our Saviour ... will have all persons to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3, 4). “He hath chosen [you] in Him before the foundation of the world, that [you] should be holy and without blame before Him in agape; having predestined [you] unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself” (Eph. 1:4, 5).

There’s your answer; but now what will you do with it? Are you willing to “come unto the knowledge of the truth,” willing to study and learn; or do you prefer to waste your time on TV? Are you also willing to be “holy and without blame”? Takes effort!

Young people can hardly imagine that they will ever get old, or that they will die. They feel immortal. And they are by nature sinners like everybody else, and feel like their life belongs to them. So they are naturally selfish, like all of us are. But they may be deliriously happy in their selfishness as long as things go their way. Thoughts of self-sacrifice, of giving their lives in God’s service, are unwelcome.

But there must come a time when that delirious exuberance is spent, and then the misery of feeble old age takes over. And if you haven’t learned in your youth how to surrender your own will to God in the same way that Jesus surrendered His own will to His Father, then you find it a very difficult lesson to learn, and you are bitterly unhappy. Solomon says quite wisely, “Remember your Creator while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say, ‘I don’t enjoy life.’ That is when the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars will grow dim for you. ... Then your arms ... will tremble, and your legs, now strong, will grow weak. ... Your eyes too dim to see clearly. ... You will barely be able to hear ... music as it plays, but even the song of a bird will wake you from sleep. ... You will hardly be able to drag yourself along, and all desire will be gone” (Eccl. 12:1-4, GNB).

If you are young, “rejoice ... in thy youth, ... but know that God will bring thee into judgment” (11:9, KJV). Be sober; learn the lesson of the cross; make a conscious choice to let self be crucified with Jesus and pray His prayer, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39).

And if you are old and you realize you have never truly prayed that prayer, thank God for every moment of consciousness yet granted to you and plead with Him earnestly to teach you that lesson of the cross.

When you think of God, how do you think He relates to you? Probably all church members view Him as making salvation available to “all men.” But in what way? Is He like a shopkeeper who has his goods available to “all men,” his doors open always night and day like a filling station open 24 hours, 7 days a week? All the customer has to do is go there and obtain what he wants; do you think of God in that way? Never turns any “customer” away who “comes”? Sounds like Good News, doesn’t it? Yes, it is!

The Jews thought of themselves as His agents, His “shopkeeper.” They had the “goods” of salvation; if the Gentiles wanted it, they could “come” and get it. But Jesus had an even better idea: He would not only “open shop” but He would go in search of customers! He would become a divine Salesman (Good Shepherd?), and through the Holy Spirit would “knock” on every man’s “door.” And if someone would open the door to Him, He would do more than “sell” His goods of salvation, He would “give” what He had “without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). It’s as though He would take “every man” (that means every person) by the hand and say, “Come, let’s go to heaven! You’re welcome! When My Father accepted Me, He accepted you; He has a place for you in heaven!” Short of actual coercion (for He will never force anyone against his/her will), He says, “Come, you simply MUST be saved!”

That’s what Peter meant when he said, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In other words, the religion of Jesus (rightly understood) is the only one in heaven or earth that goes beyond the Shopkeeper version and says, “God insists! You MUST be saved!”

The first version is good, orthodox, lukewarm righteousness by faith—your salvation depends on you taking the initiative. The second ... ? Sounds like your salvation depends on God taking the initiative, and your heart is melted by His love, by appreciating what it cost Him to save you.

The Pope of Rome, head of the vast Roman Catholic Church, has invaded the United States. The reception accorded him by the President of the United States, the media, and the public in general, has all been fantastic.

This is historically a miracle because the United States of America has been from its inception more than two centuries ago a Protestant nation, founded on Protestant principles. From the coming of the first Pilgrims it was founded as a protest against the brutal persecution enforced by the Papacy for the hundreds of years (1260) of its supremacy through the union of church and state.

The United States therefore adopted in its Constitution the principle of the separation of church and state, a thoroughly Protestant idea.

Those believers in the Bible who respect the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation recognize this massive fulfillment of Daniel 7:25: “He [the little horn] shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws [that is, abolish the holy Sabbath of God’s law and substitute the ancient pagan observance of Sunday].”

And Revelation describes exactly what we see before our eyes: “And all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast [that describes how paganism fueled the rise of the papacy; Sunday, for example, was the ancient pagan day of weekly worship]” (13:3, 4).

But a little-known prophecy in 15:2 tells us that when the earth is lightened by the message of 18:1-4 there will be some stand on the sea of glass having gotten the victory over “the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name [obviously, the group that is the highest placed leadership of the papacy].” Some even in the Curia at last will step out boldly and receive the Lord’s “most precious” last-days message that He “sent” to us 120 years ago.

It sounds crazy, and it was: the nation was perishing, and the one man who knew how to save it was being hated, despised, and the leaders were trying to silence him:

It’s the story of Jeremiah the prophet.

The people were the nation of Israel, at the time—God’s true people whom He had chosen to be His “peculiar treasure,” the head and not the tail of all the nations of the world.

Israel was the corporate “girl” whom the Man, the Son of God, had fallen in love with. Ezekiel 16 is a vivid chapter describing His love for “her” even in her helplessness at her birth, how He “saved” her in the wilderness, washed her, tended to her in her babyhood, watched her grow into the beautiful “girl” she became, how He arrayed her in fine clothes and how she became the most beautiful “woman” in all the world. “You were adorned with gold and silver, and clothed with linen, fine linen, and brocade. ... You became a great beauty and rose to be a queen. Your beauty was famed throughout the world; it was perfect because of the spendour I bestowed on you. ...

“Relying on your beauty and exploiting your fame, you played the harlot and offered yourself freely to every passer-by. ... You committed fornication with your lustful neighbours, the Egyptians, and provoked Me to anger by your repeated harlotry” (vss. 13ff, NEB).

It’s the story of the nation of ancient Israel.

It’s also the story of each of us personally:

Each of us individually “has” nothing that the Lord has not given us in our personal poverty of elan. Visit the nursing homes and see the old people in their wheelchairs; they were all at one time the handsome youth or the “belle” of the village.

If we didn’t know how to do it then, we can learn now wherever we are in life: we can apply our hearts now to understand Romans 12:3: the Lord gave His apostle Paul “grace” to remind each of us “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (NKJV). Yes, you have faith!

The earlier in life we can appreciate this lesson the happier we will be; but it is never too late to learn the precious lesson—even in one’s last moments a deep repentance can take place.

The only news the Lord has for each one of us at any time in our life is good news.

Reading the plain, simple text of the book of Jeremiah clears up the mystery of the two covenants. The problem is easy to understand:

Jeremiah 31:31-34: “I will make a new covenant,” the Lord says; “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ... to bring them out of the land of Egypt.” That is the story in Exodus 19:7, 8, the proud promise of the people when they said, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.”

The people soon broke their covenant promise “although I was a husband unto them, says the Lord” (Jer. 31:32).

In other words, the Lord had faithfully given Himself to them, not only loving them truly as a husband ought to love his wife, but giving them everything they needed to be happy.

The Lord had taken them “by the hand” to bring them out of slavery in dark Egypt; but they proved unfaithful to His covenant of love.

The promise of the people at Mt Sinai when they proudly proclaimed, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Ex. 19:7, 8) was the essence of the Old Covenant.

It was never God’s intention for them to make that vain promise (they made themselves a golden calf to worship in a matter of weeks); all He wanted them to do was to believe His promises to them—believe with humble, melted hearts that appreciated His grace.

The Lord came down to them on Mt. Sinai to renew to them the same promises He had made to their father Abraham long before. The Lord told Moses to remind the people:

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle’s wings, and brought you to Myself.” Then the Lord said, “If you will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, then you will be a peculiar treasure to Me above all people” (Ex. 19:4, 5). The Hebrew word translated here as “obey” means to listen attentively and with reverence.

Next, the Hebrew word translated here as “keep” means to treasure; Genesis 2:15 uses the same word where we read that the Lord put Adam into the Garden to “keep it.” It doesn’t make sense to say that Adam obeyed the Garden; he treasured it—that’s how he “kept” it.

But at Mt. Sinai the people were engrossed in making the Old Covenant.

Let’s walk in the precious light that shines through the New Covenant.

My friend had just given me the little book that he hoped would find a treasured spot in my library. It had the price sticker still on it—97 cents. It was entitled “Seeking the Savior.”

The author was faithful to his title: the book went on to tell the many things I must do in order to find Jesus. The basic idea of the book is that the Savior of the world is hiding somewhere, and one must diligently search Him out.

My friend meant well; he wanted to help me. Thanks to him. And thanks to the author of the book who sincerely wanted to help his reader. I appreciated all the good intentions.

But the idea of Jesus hiding and waiting for us to find Him through diligent search is an Old Covenant idea, and Old Covenant thinking “genders to bondage” (Gal. 4:24).

The faith of Jesus is not another shop set up alongside Buddhism, Islam, Shintoism, etc. where you come to buy salvation. Jesus has given Himself to us; the Father “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” that whoever believes in Him should not go on perishing within himself (the original has this idea). But may have (now, present tense) eternal life.

The Bible idea is just what hungry, lonely hearts yearn to understand:

The Father is infinite, which means that He gives His full attention to every person on earth. He faithfully, meticulously watched over you when you were an embryo in your mother’s womb. “You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother’s womb. ... My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth [that is, the secret realities beyond our knowledge]. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me [that includes today!], when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16, NKJV).

Kneel before Him, and let each word penetrate; you’ve come to where you need to “enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:6, KJV). Just wait, wait; let Him say to you what He yearns for you to receive in your heart. The Lord Jesus is your Savior, He has given Himself to you. It’s not your job to go and dig Him out somehow, somewhere.

It’s your job to let the Holy Spirit melt your hard, worldly heart with the truth of His nearness.

What does one do when the Holy Spirit impresses on you the deep conviction of sin, that you have failed to be what you ought to be, that you are unworthy to be adopted into the family of God?

Welcome to the fellowship of the unworthy saints of the Lord!

Psalm 130 was written for us:

(a) “Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD” (vs. 1).

Like Jonah praying to the Lord when he was in the stomach of the great fish that swallowed him when he had made a total mess of his life ... running away from his duty to Nineveh: “Out of the belly of hell I cried, and You heard my voice. ... I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight, ... yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God” (2:2, 4, 6).

What are those “depths”? Hell itself! The “pit.”

It’s an amazing lesson for us: the LORD hears prayers that come from the hell itself, now! You can’t wander so far away from Him that He can’t hear your cry!

(b) “Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” (vs. 2). He doesn’t need hearing aids to listen. But you need to speak; He needs to have a voice that He can listen to—yours. Come and pray; don’t stay away.

(c) “There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared” (vs. 4). The word doesn’t mean to be afraid of Him, in terror; it means to reverence Him because you have come to understand who He is, that “God is love” (agape, 1 John 4:8).

(d) “I wait for the LORD ... In His word do I hope” (vs. 5). The Voice of His that you hear is not electronically propagated: it is the living word of your Bible itself. Read it!

(e) You yearn for Him as though you were a patient in intensive care longing for morning to come (vs. 6). He will not fail you.

(f) With the Lord is “plenteous redemption” (vs. 7). He has room for you among His forgiven saints.

(g) “He shall redeem [you] from all [your] iniquities” (vs. 8).

Now, thank Him that He has saved your soul from the lowest hell (that’s what He has saved you from!). Remember that it’s NOW that He hears those cries from hell; Christ is still ministering as our Great High Priest in His sanctuary. Thank God, probation has not yet closed.

It’s one of those pithy statements Jesus made that is so obviously true that you know you can’t doubt it. He is talking about marriage:

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matt. 19:6).

This is usually quoted in marriage ceremonies. The two have come together in love and have chosen to wed, and each has said “I do.”

Now the big question: has it been God who has joined them together?

It wasn’t the pastor or the rabbi or the Justice of the Peace who actually joined them together; he was only performing a public gesture that in itself recognized that something had drawn the two together in their love. The two who believe what Jesus said also believe that it wasn’t merely testosterone or impulse or lust that brought them together; God brought them together and made them to be one.

Now when the storms of life with its tumult or its poverty perplex them, they are to “commit [their] way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” and choose to “fret not” (Psalm 37:5-7).

Their first “trust” is not to be each in his/her self or even in their spouse, but in the Lord. It has been He who has brought them “together” in marriage. That’s what Jesus is saying.

Yes, they will trust each other; you can’t be happy unless you do. But your marriage has not been a self-motivated thing; the Lord has joined you “together.”

That’s why He has said don’t let anyone “put asunder what He has joined together.”

How does He do it? He has given you the love that has brought you together. It is He who has created us male and female (Gen. 1:27). Sexual love is God-given, God-created. Believe that truth and happiness becomes yours. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives” but the verb for love is the verb for agape; and God says He “IS agape.” There is only one possible conclusion: sexual love is holy in God’s sight. And it should be in ours as well.

Which is why Hebrews 13:4 says that “the marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled.” The time has come in world history for us to look upon sex and marriage the way God does.

The reason? The greatest marriage of all eternity must soon happen: when the church makes herself ready for “the marriage of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:7, 8).

At any given moment in your life, the only news that the Lord has for you is good news.

But you are being bombarded with the bad news that Satan wants you to accept and believe; if you are a teen in school, he wants you to believe that you will fail that test that’s coming up, or that the boy or girl you really like will reject you, that you won’t be able to get a good job, that you’ll never be able to drive a decent car.

I don’t need to elaborate further for you already know his repertoire of doom he specializes in.

Believing Satan’s bad news makes for an unhappy life and you don’t want that; and the Lord, your heavenly Father, doesn’t want that for you.

Why can I be so bold as to say that the only news the Lord has for you is good news? (And this is not only for teens: it’s never too late for teens already grown up to learn to believe the good news that the heavenly Father has for you.)

Here is that word of the Lord ready for you to choose to believe with all your heart:

“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11).

You may ask, How can I know this is addressed to me? I have made wrong choices, I have done evil, I have broken the Lord’s holy law; maybe I’m done for!

Read the context of what your heavenly Father has just told you: the Lord’s people in Jeremiah’s day had done gross evil (the book of Jeremiah is full of the story). One very bad thing: the entire nation had committed the equivalent of national adultery. And very many of the people had gone on and committed the personal deed, as well (vs. 23).

Yet the Lord wanted them to repent and accept His forgiveness; Jeremiah was pleading for a national repentance; so with you, the only “thoughts” the Lord has for you are “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to “give you a future and a hope.”

Yes, you may know that you have sinned; you deserve only failure and pain and disappointment; but the worst sin you can commit is to abandon your heart to anger against Him (it’s not His fault!) and reject His forgiveness.

Now let the “grace of God that brings salvation ... to all people” teach you to say “No!” to that hellish temptation (see Titus 2:11-13; cf. NIV).

There is no one word that has occasioned more contention and strife through the centuries of the story of God’s people than the word for l-o-v-e.

Many have misunderstood; they suppose that the word “love” is weak sentimentalism. They want some solid works, not superficial emotion.

Someone who wants to preach “love” can be accused of being shallow.

But we must walk softly here, and be careful; the problem is that God says that He Himself IS “love” (1 John 4:8). And the last thing anyone wants to do is to despise God Himself!

In order to understand, we must look at the original Greek word that is in the text that tells us what God IS—it’s agape.

(a) It’s the most powerful word in any language; it’s the core word on which the vast universe of God’s creation has been built. The Milky Way is held together by the idea that is in that word.

(b) You and I as human individuals are nothing unless we are acquainted with that word: “Every one that loveth [with agape] is born of God, and knoweth God.”

(c) “He that loveth not [with agape] knoweth not God.”

(d) And here comes that blockbuster statement: “for God IS agape”(1 John 4:7, 8).

(e) Theologians can write their ponderous books and encyclopaedia, trying to explain it; but one can never understand what agape is until he “behold[s] the Lamb of God” (John 1:29) whose agape led Him to die the death of every person on earth.

(f) “We see Jesus [with the eyes of faith], who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” (Heb. 2:9). You and I have been “made” to live forever. He was “made” to die.

(g) You can’t say that Christ merely went to sleep for “every man.” The text says that “by the grace of God [He] should taste death for every man.” That’s not sleep!

(h) There is only one kind of death that Jesus could die “for every man” who has ever lived on earth: He died our second death.

(i) You may face that ultimate truth today and let “the love of Christ [His agape] “constrain” you to live “henceforth” only unto Him. That will be the beginning of eternal life for you.

(j) Here’s how simple it is:

(k) “The love of Christ constrains us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14, 15, NKJV).

(l) Everything depends on the dimensions of that “love.” Make them small and narrow, and your devotion will be small and narrow. It’s that simple!

What do you do when you mourn the death of a loved one who you knew (or you thought you knew) was not reconciled to God when he died and therefore you fear that he will be lost at last?

(a) God is wiser than you are and therefore He knows more than you do. You do not know what transpired between that person and the Lord in the end of his life. Leave final judgment in the Lord’s hands.

(b) We must never rely on the possibility of a death-bed repentance, and delay even one day giving our hearts and lives to the Lord.

(c) “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 3:15). “Today is the day of salvation.”

(d) But a death-bed repentance is not impossible; you don’t know what your loved one’s last thoughts were. You may be surprised in the last day of judgment.

(e) What you do know is that the character of God is love (agape); therefore you can be sure that God will give your loved one what he/she at last really wants above all.

(f) The idea that God will throw lost people screaming and yelling in protest into the Lake of Fire against their will needs a further look at what the truth really is: when the lost finally after the second resurrection gather around the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11, 12), and the books are opened and reveal all their secrets, the lost will welcome destruction. Thus the God who is agape (love) will give every one what he really wants at last.

(g) Imagine a person who has spent his life gambling and drinking up to his last moment—he finds there is no gambling, no drinking in the New Jerusalem: he will want to find the nearest exit; the Lord won’t force him in there against his will.

(h) This life is given to us as a second probation, a time for training us to learn how to be happy in the New Jerusalem and in the New Earth.

(i) How can we learn? Learn what the much more abounding grace of God means: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works ...” (Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 5:20).

(j) The Holy Spirit will teach you if you let Him do so: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”(Phil. 2:5). “Let not your heart be troubled ...” (John 14:1-3). “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts ...” Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:15, 16).

It’s a question that interests many people: what did Christ accomplish by His sacrifice of Himself on His cross? Can the Bible alone tell us? We turn to Romans 5:8-19, NEB:

(a) “Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and that is God’s own proof of His love towards us. And so, since we have now been justified by Christ’s sacrificial death [for us], we shall all the more certainly be saved through Him from final retribution. ...

(b) “It was through one man that sin entered the world, and through sin death, and thus death pervaded the whole human race, inasmuch as all ... have sinned. ...

(c) “God’s act of grace is out of all proportion to Adam’s wrongdoing. ...

(d) “For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ.

(e) “Again, the gift of God is not to be compared in its effect with that one man’s sin; for the judicial action, following upon the one offence, issued [resulted] in a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following upon so many misdeeds, issued in a verdict of acquittal. ...

(f) “If by the wrongdoing of that one man death established its reign, through a single sinner [that one man], much more shall those who receive in far greater measure God’s grace, and the gift of righteousness, live and reign through the one man, Jesus Christ.

(g) “It follows, then, that as the issue [result] of one misdeed was condemnation for all [people], so the issue of one just act is acquittal and life for all ...

(h) “For as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” [the Greek of the word “made” means “constituted”].

No “commentator” can tell the good news more clearly!

The noun “blessing” means something that gives happiness.

The verb “to bless” means to make someone happy.

But in Psalm 103 it all seems turned around backwards: we are told to “bless the Lord, O my soul” (vs. 1).

But how could any of us mere mortals, and sinful at that, make the great Lord of heaven and earth to be happy?

The Psalm tells us how: remember all the wonderful things He constantly does for us: “forget not all His benefits.”

We were created in the image of Him; we are created to be like Him, and He is therefore like us in this particular: it makes Him happy when we appreciate Him for what He is.

The story of Barzillai is one of the happiest little narratives in the Bible. King David had sinned and ruined his own security and happiness; Absalom had rebelled against him; and the king had to flee for his life.

Barzillai did all he could to care for him at this crisis. “Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old [80]: and he had provided the king of sustenance” while the king was in flight from his enemy. The old man said he couldn’t any longer “discern between good and evil” or “taste what I eat or what I drink” nor “hear the voice of singing”(2 Sam. 19:32, 35).

But Barzillai found for himself forever an honorable place in the Holy Bible because he chose to be unselfish and to help “the Lord’s anointed” in a time of need. This old man was living under the glorious New Covenant, for God had promised under it that wherever you go throughout the world, “you shall be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2, 3). Yes, under the New Covenant you will be leaving behind you everywhere you go the memory of making people happy (in the eternal sense). That in itself is reward enough for anybody’s life.

May I present a brief testimony to the kindness of the Lord:

My beloved wife of 66 years, Grace Thomson Wieland, and I often at night just before we dropped off to sleep, in addition to our regular evening family worship, would repeat together the 23rd Psalm.

There was always a little extra solemn touch when we said the words together, “Yea, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for Thou art with us.”

When it came time suddenly one Wednesday night for Grace to go, those words “we will fear no evil” were literally fulfilled.

She had just said “amen” fervently to my brief prayer for the Lord’s blessing on our last bowl of soup together, when her hour came: there was not a trace of anxiety or fear. It was just like saying “Goodnight” as we had done thousands of times in our 66 years together.

This may seem a trivial blessing; but there are millions around the world who would give anything for a touch of that peace from heaven in such an hour.

Almost the last words that Jesus spoke to “us” (His disciples) before He was taken up into heaven were, “Peace to you”(Luke 24:36).

He gives you that peace today; He gives it to everybody. Your job is to open your heart and receive the word. He speaks that word literally to every soul on earth who has ears to catch the promise. He has no respect of persons; He loves the bad people as He loves the “good” people; we know this is true because He “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). Whoever you are, His longing for you is that you might know “peace” and therefore He gives it; He never utters a vain greeting that is empty. When He says “Good morning, how are you?” He is serious; He wants you to say ... how you are!

His word, “Peace to you!” is literally true. Now, believe it.

It sounded easy for Jesus to say it: “Abide in Me, and I in you ... ,” John 15:4). But how do we do it?

(a) He gives an explanation a little later: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you” (vs. 7). It’s clear: we abide in Him by permitting His words in the Bible to find lodgment in our minds and hearts.

(b) But that requires another miracle: “Blessed [happy] are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness ...” (Matt. 5:6). Suppose you have no hunger and thirst for the Bible?

(c) When your body needs nourishment, God has built in to you a system that creates hunger for food and thirst for water; you’ll do almost anything and make almost any sacrifice in order to obtain them.

(d) Jesus says you’ll be a happy person when you can experience that wonderful hunger and thirst for Bible truth.

(e) If in your honest moments you realize that you have a greater hunger and thirst for novels or TV entertainment in the world’s Vanity Fair, don’t give up and say you’re hopeless: the Holy Spirit is delighted to heal you and develop in you a spiritual “appestat,” that mysterious function that creates a longing for food and water. He is happy to teach you to hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment. Now cooperate with Him!

(f) I was a freshman in college, just attended a Week of Prayer; I realized I had no hunger to read the Bible; reading it was like a dose of bitter medicine. But I was serious.

(g) I remember that I decided to do something (no one told me what to do): I would not go to the cafeteria until the Lord gave me a hunger and thirst for spiritual food. I remember sitting up in my room alone when mealtimes came; but no miracle happened.

(h) But I did choose to try to do my part: I knelt and tried to read the Gospel of John. It was like boring, like the stock reports (I had known John for years, but it was never lighted up for me). It seemed as though my prayer was for nothing.

(i) But gradually a tiny bit of light began to shine in the text; and I can thank the Lord and praise Him that I did finally begin to learn to treasure the Gospel of John, and to treasure the Bible.

(j) Let me encourage every one, young and old: the Lord will not despise your prayer!

(k) He promises: “Turn you at My reproof [yes, be serious!]; behold I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you”(Prov. 1:23).

Lesson One of our new series of Sabbath Bible Lessons asks us to consider Jesus—Who was and who IS He?

His own family and fellow towns people knew not who He was (IS); they thought He was an enemy.

Recognizing His identity still splits the church almost everywhere: we’re all agreed on His divinity: He is the divine Son of the Father, the Creator of the universe, utterly sinless.

The problem: Who is Jesus as regards His incarnation?

We are generally united in seeing Him as the Descendant of Adam; but the problem is—which Adam? The sinless one before he and Eve sinned? Or is He the descendant of the fallen, sinful Adam?

The issue is not whether or not Jesus was perfectly sinless in His incarnation: we all have no misgiving regarding the perfect sinlessness of Jesus in His nature as a human in His incarnation.

The issue is: did Jesus have to contend with, and condemn sin, in His human nature? This is the struggle all of us have.

Or was Jesus “exempt” from this struggle, so that He had no battle with sin to “overcome”?

What does He mean when He says to us, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21)?

Romans has the answer, clear as sunlight: “God sent [sending] His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (8:3).

Evidently Jesus had the same battle we all have; He has come very close to us; where we have failed in letting sin overcome us, He succeeded in overcoming sin—perfectly.

But that’s not all the Good News: He will have a people who receive His faith and they will overcome also “even as [He] overcame.” Romans continues: “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the [Holy] Spirit” (8:4). They will be those translated at Jesus’ second coming (cf. Rev. 14:1-5; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17).

On the happiest page of the entire Bible (the last one), you and I are invited: “The [Holy] Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

This mini-message is addressed especially to old people; who wish they could do more; who fear they may become useless (or feel they already are):

(a) The Lord especially cares for old people who have dedicated their lives to Him. He does not “forget ... the humble” (Psalm 10:12).

(b) Especially, He is with unusual emphasis declared to be “not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed unto His name” (Heb. 6:10; the double negative packs a powerful impact). Think it through again.

(c) When those whose hearts are moved by His love think of Him, “the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name” (Mal. 3:16).

(d) That tells us that the Lord is deeply interested in His people, old as well as young. One could understand how disappointed He is personally when they do not “think upon His name” and permit themselves to be engrossed with the “Vanity Fair” that is so much of this world, generation after generation.

(e) Think how He is pleased with those who have become old but who have heeded the pleading of Jesus who said, “Abide in Me, and I [let Me abide] in you” (John 15:4).

(f) They day by day “thought upon His name” first thing in every new morning; when they rolled out of bed each new day, the fell upon their knees to address Him as “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-13).

(g) Every such prayer is “written in His book,” lodged at His throne, treasured by Him.

(h) Think how parents are deeply interested in the development of their child, how his first words impress them; how pleased they are when he first begins to recognize them and differentiates them from anyone else; then multiply that bit of happiness almost infinitely and begin to realize how happy the Lord is with His elderly saints who permitted the Holy Spirit to educate and train them through their many long decades. They are the elite in His register of saints.

(i) Let them thank Him anew for every blessing they have enjoyed; let them see by faith that the Lord cares for them even today; let them “hope in the Lord,” for “with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption” (Psalm 130:7).

And please, a moment more: a special invitation to the man or woman who has come to old age unreconciled to God, his or her heart still alienated from Him, still bitter over the unredeemable past, maybe the loss of someone dear or the loss of a precious love:

“Be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:19, 20). He holds no grudge against you. That “plenteous redemption” extends even to very old age! It’s a special song of great joy that the heavenly choir sings when an old person finally gives up his/her alienation and surrenders to be reconciled to God.

He was the best king Israel ever had, next to King David. He did everything right. He followed the Law of Moses minutely.

And he was not a legalist—his heart was in it. The grace of the Lord was with him.

King Hezekiah inspired the people of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of the divided nation. He engineered the finest celebration of Passover the nation had ever known.

But at the height of his glory as the most devout of all Israel’s kings, comes this startling detail: “God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart” (2 Chron. 32:31; didn’t the Lord already know it all? This must be for us somehow!).

Then we are directed to Isaiah to get the story.

The king had just enjoyed the most glorious defense the Lord gave him against the Assyrian invaders; then the prophet Isaiah told him, the time has come for you to die.

But he turned his face to the wall, and sobbed like a child, Not fair!

The dear Lord granted him 15 years more wherein he made a fool of himself and sired the most terrible king Israel ever had—Manasseh (Isa. 38, 39). Hezekiah didn’t know what was buried unseen within his heart; unknown sin did him in.

Now fast forward to our day: our great High Priest in His cleansing the heavenly sanctuary will not only enable us to overcome known sin, but do a deeper work also: overcome unknown sin. His much more abounding grace (cf. Rom. 5:20) is sufficient. His Holy Spirit is cooperating with Christ; now let us learn from Hezekiah how to let Him direct our steps.

But instead of dying physically, now we can experience the blessed crucifixion of self “with Christ” (cf. Gal. 2:20). We are not kings, but we have an important part in bringing to a close the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Let’s join in!

This mini-message is addressed to people who suffer pain.

The kind that the pills don’t seem to help.

That keeps you awake at night:

(a) The Lord Jesus Christ is your Co-sufferer: No one ever suffered sharper, more excruciating physical pain than He did while being crucified (yes, the spiritual was so bad He hardly felt the physical pain; but don’t minimize the reality that He endured in His physical flesh).

(b) The fact that the history is now past tense doesn’t affect the present-tense reality of His identifying Himself with you in your pain: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them, all the days of old” (Isa. 63:9).

(c) Put all that in the present tense; He feels it all today.

(d) God never intended that humans should experience pain; as Jesus said in His parable of the evil man who sowed tares among the wheat, “an Enemy hath done this” (Matt. 13:28).

(e) By identifying yourself with Jesus, you transmute your lonely vigil with pain into a “fellowship [with Christ] in His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10). To “believe in Jesus” includes close identification with Him in His sufferings.

(f) The idea is not about earning a reward for yourself; it’s about comfort for you in your pain now. Forget about any reward; you will be happy now and for eternity just for the joy of any personal “fellowship” with Him you have ever had.

(g) For sure, no matter how much you may hurt in your body, remember that somewhere there is someone who is in greater pain than you are, where their sky is darker, where their hope seems less bright: pray for that person.

(h) Then pray that the Lord may educate you, motivate you, inspire you, equip you, to minister a blessing to that person. The Lord will say to you, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matt. 25:23).

The faith of Jesus is the only one under heaven that promises eternal salvation to anyone who will simply l-o-o-k to Him. It sounds fantastic, but here it is:

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, as ye ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isa. 45:22).

When in the desert after being led out of Egypt, the Israelites murmured against God’s care and against His leading, poisonous snakes bit them. The poor people imagined that God had sent those poisonous snakes (Num. 21:5-7). What did He do to save them?

He had Moses make a snake out of the metal they had and put it on a pole and hold it up; then anybody who would simply l-o-o-k could be saved (Num. 21:8ff).

It took a repentant, humble heart for anyone with a murmuring, unbelieving heart to decide to look; Jesus told the story to Nicodemus on his night visit, and applied the lesson to Himself so we can have it:

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14, 15). He equated “believing” in Himself with their looking.

It’s a Bible truth: Hebrews 12:3 urges us, “Consider Him ... ” Same idea; harness your thought processes and fix them on the story of Jesus. “Think of Him” says the NEB. Unlock the door of your soul and admit the thought of Jesus; ponder Him; meditate on Him; stay on your knees quiet—put from your mind that thought of hitting the button on your remote: leave it, and stay there in the darkness alone with the Son of God, your eyes closed. That’s what Jesus means when He invites us, “enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret” (Matt. 6:6).

If you can’t think what to say, keep quiet, but stay there. If all you can say is, “Father! Father ... !” Just stay there. Stay. You desperately need this moment of looking to Him alone.

You are not worried now about getting to heaven at last; you are beginning to remember that time when you will be alone in the personal presence of Jesus.

You are tasting a bit of what heaven will be like: thank Him.

If you are married, the delightful story in Genesis 24 of Isaac finding his one true love, Rebekah, is an encouragement for you to ask the Lord to deepen your love for your spouse.

If you are not yet married, the story points the way how you can find your one true love who will make you happy for life in marriage:

(a) Isaac determined to marry only someone who shared his faith in the Lord (vs. 3).

(b) He believed that the Lord would “send His angel” to guide him to the woman who would be that one true love (vs. 7; the way the story is told does not mean that Isaac was a helpless non-entity; the story is told with the literary understanding that his will was involved throughout).

(c) He put the brakes on to his passion, and slowed down to be sure that the Lord alone was leading (vs. 21). The lesson: don’t rush into marriage headlong. Seek God’s unmistakable guidance.

(d) The Bible takes pains to tell us that beautiful Rebekah was a virgin, as we know Isaac was (vs 16). Neither Isaac nor Rebekah had any closets with dark secrets buried in them to poison their intimacy afterward. (If you have a closet with dark secrets, tune in again tomorrow.)

(e) Two clear consciences made possible the happiest, most frolicksome marriage in the Bible. The New English Bible gives us a precious glimpse of their carefree joy when it tells us “the Philistine king looked down from his window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah” (Gen. 26:8).

(f) Rebekah demonstrated clearly her consecration to the plan of salvation of the Lord, knowing full well of God’s call to Abraham that through Isaac should come the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Your life is also important to God’s plan of salvation for the world; you have been “bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20).

(g) Last of all, the story ends with the climax: “Rebekah became Isaac’s wife, and he loved her” (24:67). It’s a long story, but it’s worth waiting for that wonderful end.

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