Looking At The World Through The Cross
"May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).
Jesus could accomplish man's redemption in no other way than by crucifixion. He must die - and die the death of the Cross. What light and glory beam around the Cross! Of what prodigies of grace is it the instrument, of what glorious truths is it the symbol, of what mighty, magic power is it the source!
Around it, gathers all the light of the Old Testament economy. It explains every symbol, it substantiates every shadow, it solves every mystery, it fulfills every type, it confirms every prophecy - of that dispensation which had eternally remained unmeaning and inexplicable - except for the death of the Son of God upon the Cross!
Not the past only, but all future splendor gathers around the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It assures us of the ultimate reign of the Saviour, and tells of the reward which shall spring from His sufferings! And while its one arm points to the divine counsels of eternity past - with the other it points to the future triumph and glory of Christ's kingdom in the eternity to come. Such is the lowly, yet sublime; the weak, yet mighty instrument - by which the sinner is saved, and God eternally glorified!
The Cross of Christ is the grand consummation of all preceding dispensations of God to men. The Cross of Christ is the meritorious procuring cause of all spiritual blessings to our fallen race.
The Cross of Christ is the scene of Christ's splendid victories over all His enemies and ours.
The Cross of Christ is the most powerful incentive to all evangelical holiness.
The Cross of Christ is the instrument which is to subjugate the world to the supremacy of Jesus.
The Cross of Christ is the source of all true peace, joy, and hope.
The Cross of Christ is the tree beneath whose shadow, sin expires and grace lives!
The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! What a holy thrill these words produce in the heart of those who love the Saviour! How significant their meaning - how precious their influence! Marvelous and irresistible, is the power of the Cross!
The Cross of Christ has subdued many a rebellious will. The Cross of Christ has broken many a marble heart. The Cross of Christ has laid low many a vaunting foe. The Cross of Christ has overcome and triumphed - when all other instruments have failed. The Cross of Christ has transformed the lion-like heart of man - into the lamb-like heart of Christ. And when lifted up in its own naked simplicity and inimitable grandeur - the Cross of Christ has won and attracted millions to its faith, admiration, and love!
What a marvelous power does this Cross of Jesus possess! It changes the Christian's entire judgment of the world. Looking at the world through the Cross - his opinion is totally revolutionized. He sees it as it really is - a sinful, empty, vain thing! He learns its iniquity - in that it crucified the Lord of life and glory. His expectations from the world, his love to the world - are changed. He has found another object of love - the Saviour whom the world cast out and slew! His love to the world is destroyed by that power which alone could destroy it - the crucifying power of the Cross!
It is the Cross which eclipses, in the view of the true believer - the glory and attraction of every other object!
What is the weapon by which faith combats with, and overcomes the world? What but the Cross of Jesus! Just as the natural eye, gazing for a while upon the sun, is blinded for the moment, by its overpowering effulgence to all other objects - so to the believer, concentrating his mind upon the glory of the crucified Saviour, studying closely the wonders of grace and love and truth meeting in the Cross - the world with all its attractions fades into the full darkness of an eclipse! Christ and His Cross are infinitely better than the world and its vanities!
~Octavius Winslow~
A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Saturday, October 20, 2018
In Thy Storehouse (and others)
In Thy Storehouse (and others)
There are riches in Thy storehouse,
But, my Lord, we are so poor.
There is power in Thy storehouse,
But the cripple clothes our door.
There is wisdom in Thy storehouse,
But in ignorance we grope.
There's revival in Thy storehouse,
But we've millions without hope.
There is freedom in Thy storehouse,
But Thy people are so bound.
There is glory in Thy storehouse,
But it does not shine around.
There is love within Thy storehouse,
But Thy people are so dry.
There's compassion in Thy storehouse -
Then my Saviour, why, of why
Are Thy people stony-hearted
And our eyes so desert dry?
_Leonard Ravenhill~
______________________________
The Heathen
I'm gazing now in the jungle green
With a people whose bodies, not fit to be seen,
Are crusted with dirt and distorted in belly,
With louse-packed hair and revoltingly smelly,
A woman now swings her naked breast
To the mouth of a babe who was never dressed.
She sits in a house with mangy dogs
(The best of the room is reserved for hogs).
The husband knows nothing of horses or cows,
But boasts his wealth by his fertile sows.
The place is fit only for hogs and dogs
That snooze by the fire of smoldering logs.
I have seen them crouched in the desert heat,
I have heard the thud of their unshod feet,
I have seen them shake an unwashed head
As they cringed at the feet of their unsaved dead.
O God, it seems to be madly absurd
That they knew not Christ or Thy holy Word.
They have gone to hell while we slept in our pews;
While we argued doctrine, we denied them news.
We've reclined in plush and saved our knees,
We have had it lush and forgotten these
Who grope in fear in the heathen night.
Had we loved them once, we'd have sent them light.
O Christ, by the power of Thy holy Name,
Give Thy flabby Church a heart of shame.
Smite her cold conscience, buckle her knees,
That she has lacked concern for these
Who have, generation by generation,
Been lost to Thine own "so great a salvation."
Oh God, on that day, that Judgment Day,
When homes and banks have been swept away,
And there is no place of habitation
For any man in any nation,
Then every man must stand alone
Before the King on His judgment throne.
What shall I do when the heathen stand
and accuse that I seldom lent a hand
To save them from pain and eternal woe,
And stayed in my ease but made others go
With a message I knew, I knew full well
Could save them from sin and fear and hell?
O God, my God, in that dreadful day
When all excuses are tossed away
And there's no time left to repent or cry
As earthly treasures in ashes lie,
Then Lord, oh, Lord, what shall I say
For the money and time I have frettered away?
~Leonard Ravenhill~
____________________________
Calvary's Tree
I know that I shall never see
A tree like that on Calvary,
A tree on which men, poor and blind,
Defiled the Saviour of mankind.
That sin was done by fools like me,
But God Himself was on that tree!
I love to think, as He hung there -
No eye to pity, none to care,
Victim of hate, betrayed and cursed,
Cut off from God, dying in thirst -
I love to think He thought of me
When hanging there upon the tree.
I joy to know He'll come again,
Who on a tree by man was slain,
I'll count myself among the wise
Who wait His coming from the skies;
Not from a tree, but from a throne
He soon shall rule this world alone.
(Dedicated to Gary Johnson)
~Leonard Ravenhill~
There are riches in Thy storehouse,
But, my Lord, we are so poor.
There is power in Thy storehouse,
But the cripple clothes our door.
There is wisdom in Thy storehouse,
But in ignorance we grope.
There's revival in Thy storehouse,
But we've millions without hope.
There is freedom in Thy storehouse,
But Thy people are so bound.
There is glory in Thy storehouse,
But it does not shine around.
There is love within Thy storehouse,
But Thy people are so dry.
There's compassion in Thy storehouse -
Then my Saviour, why, of why
Are Thy people stony-hearted
And our eyes so desert dry?
_Leonard Ravenhill~
______________________________
The Heathen
I'm gazing now in the jungle green
With a people whose bodies, not fit to be seen,
Are crusted with dirt and distorted in belly,
With louse-packed hair and revoltingly smelly,
A woman now swings her naked breast
To the mouth of a babe who was never dressed.
She sits in a house with mangy dogs
(The best of the room is reserved for hogs).
The husband knows nothing of horses or cows,
But boasts his wealth by his fertile sows.
The place is fit only for hogs and dogs
That snooze by the fire of smoldering logs.
I have seen them crouched in the desert heat,
I have heard the thud of their unshod feet,
I have seen them shake an unwashed head
As they cringed at the feet of their unsaved dead.
O God, it seems to be madly absurd
That they knew not Christ or Thy holy Word.
They have gone to hell while we slept in our pews;
While we argued doctrine, we denied them news.
We've reclined in plush and saved our knees,
We have had it lush and forgotten these
Who grope in fear in the heathen night.
Had we loved them once, we'd have sent them light.
O Christ, by the power of Thy holy Name,
Give Thy flabby Church a heart of shame.
Smite her cold conscience, buckle her knees,
That she has lacked concern for these
Who have, generation by generation,
Been lost to Thine own "so great a salvation."
Oh God, on that day, that Judgment Day,
When homes and banks have been swept away,
And there is no place of habitation
For any man in any nation,
Then every man must stand alone
Before the King on His judgment throne.
What shall I do when the heathen stand
and accuse that I seldom lent a hand
To save them from pain and eternal woe,
And stayed in my ease but made others go
With a message I knew, I knew full well
Could save them from sin and fear and hell?
O God, my God, in that dreadful day
When all excuses are tossed away
And there's no time left to repent or cry
As earthly treasures in ashes lie,
Then Lord, oh, Lord, what shall I say
For the money and time I have frettered away?
~Leonard Ravenhill~
____________________________
Calvary's Tree
I know that I shall never see
A tree like that on Calvary,
A tree on which men, poor and blind,
Defiled the Saviour of mankind.
That sin was done by fools like me,
But God Himself was on that tree!
I love to think, as He hung there -
No eye to pity, none to care,
Victim of hate, betrayed and cursed,
Cut off from God, dying in thirst -
I love to think He thought of me
When hanging there upon the tree.
I joy to know He'll come again,
Who on a tree by man was slain,
I'll count myself among the wise
Who wait His coming from the skies;
Not from a tree, but from a throne
He soon shall rule this world alone.
(Dedicated to Gary Johnson)
~Leonard Ravenhill~
Saturday, October 13, 2018
The Happiness of Being With Christ, Preferable to Continuance on Earth # 2 (and others)
The Happiness of Being With Christ, Preferable to Continuance on Earth # 2 (and others)
2. Christians Are Present with the Lord Immediately After Death. The very language of the text is conclusive on this. "Absent from the body - present with the Lord." "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" (Philippians 1:23). The answer which Christ gave to the dying malefactor, "Today shall you be with me in Paradise." Solemn thought! To be present with the Lord implies:
a. That we must leave this vain world with all its engagements and connections.
b. We must die. The tabernacle must be dissolved. Could we but make our exit like Enoch and Elijah, and carry these bodies with us, to be changed into spiritual bodies in the transit - we would be content to go. But we must go the way of the flesh. Yet, joyful thought,
c. When death has made the separation - as soon as the spirit if free, it shall be present with the Lord. Angels shall take it in charge, and conduct it to Him who ransomed it by His precious blood and the body shall be raised and refined and reunited with the soul in God's own time.
3. To Be Present With Christ, Is Preferable To Continuance in Life. The Apostle expresses a desire "to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord." The words import a preference. "We are confident," We are bold, courageous, inspirited to a willingness, "to be absent from the body" - and to be present with the Lord."
a. On account of the deficiency of human life. Nothing here can satisfy the boundless desires of the soul. "The fashion of this world is passing away." "You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand!" (Psalm 16:11).
b. On account of persecution. In Heaven all will be love, and peace, and joy. "The wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest."
c. The enjoyment of Christ's presence in Heaven will be uninterrupted - no satan to harass us, no sin to tempt us, no evil heart of unbelief to cast us down, no bodily affliction to sorrow us.
d. The enjoyment of His presence will be eternal.
APPLICATION
1. This preference arises from that confident assurance which saints have of a better state, "to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord!"
2. The subject affords great comfort under the loss of pious relatives and friends. They are present with the Lord. They are not lost, but only gone before us.
3. Is our piety anything like that of the apostles? Are we so weaned from the world as to be willing to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord?
~William Nicholson~
(The End)
____________________________
I Did The Will of God
I fled Him when His grace pursued,
I did despite unto His name,
And delved me into sin so rude
That there my soul enforged a chain.
When captive to my own desire,
When blue with guilt and unnamed shame,
Hos long arm reached into the mire
And plucked me out - bless be His name!
Shall I leave others in their woe?
Shall I ignore their cries who sink?
Forbid it, Lord; I'll rise and go
'Twixt Thee and them to be a link.
Unwearied may I lift the load
Of those who stagger 'neath sin's spell;
Stab my poor heart with love's strong goad
To battle powers of earth and hell.
Earth's little strand is far too small
To barter for the judgment day,
When powers and thrones and wealth and all
Forever shall have passed away.
Oh, day of days, when I shall be
The cynosure of ten million eyes,
Oh, may my Saviour say to me,
"Well done," as my eternal prize.
When unsupported I shall stand
Before Thy blazing bema seat,
Give me, my Lord, to understand
Thy greatness and Thy love for me!
~Leonard Ravenhill~
2. Christians Are Present with the Lord Immediately After Death. The very language of the text is conclusive on this. "Absent from the body - present with the Lord." "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" (Philippians 1:23). The answer which Christ gave to the dying malefactor, "Today shall you be with me in Paradise." Solemn thought! To be present with the Lord implies:
a. That we must leave this vain world with all its engagements and connections.
b. We must die. The tabernacle must be dissolved. Could we but make our exit like Enoch and Elijah, and carry these bodies with us, to be changed into spiritual bodies in the transit - we would be content to go. But we must go the way of the flesh. Yet, joyful thought,
c. When death has made the separation - as soon as the spirit if free, it shall be present with the Lord. Angels shall take it in charge, and conduct it to Him who ransomed it by His precious blood and the body shall be raised and refined and reunited with the soul in God's own time.
3. To Be Present With Christ, Is Preferable To Continuance in Life. The Apostle expresses a desire "to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord." The words import a preference. "We are confident," We are bold, courageous, inspirited to a willingness, "to be absent from the body" - and to be present with the Lord."
a. On account of the deficiency of human life. Nothing here can satisfy the boundless desires of the soul. "The fashion of this world is passing away." "You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand!" (Psalm 16:11).
b. On account of persecution. In Heaven all will be love, and peace, and joy. "The wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest."
c. The enjoyment of Christ's presence in Heaven will be uninterrupted - no satan to harass us, no sin to tempt us, no evil heart of unbelief to cast us down, no bodily affliction to sorrow us.
d. The enjoyment of His presence will be eternal.
APPLICATION
1. This preference arises from that confident assurance which saints have of a better state, "to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord!"
2. The subject affords great comfort under the loss of pious relatives and friends. They are present with the Lord. They are not lost, but only gone before us.
3. Is our piety anything like that of the apostles? Are we so weaned from the world as to be willing to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord?
~William Nicholson~
(The End)
____________________________
I Did The Will of God
I fled Him when His grace pursued,
I did despite unto His name,
And delved me into sin so rude
That there my soul enforged a chain.
When captive to my own desire,
When blue with guilt and unnamed shame,
Hos long arm reached into the mire
And plucked me out - bless be His name!
Shall I leave others in their woe?
Shall I ignore their cries who sink?
Forbid it, Lord; I'll rise and go
'Twixt Thee and them to be a link.
Unwearied may I lift the load
Of those who stagger 'neath sin's spell;
Stab my poor heart with love's strong goad
To battle powers of earth and hell.
Earth's little strand is far too small
To barter for the judgment day,
When powers and thrones and wealth and all
Forever shall have passed away.
Oh, day of days, when I shall be
The cynosure of ten million eyes,
Oh, may my Saviour say to me,
"Well done," as my eternal prize.
When unsupported I shall stand
Before Thy blazing bema seat,
Give me, my Lord, to understand
Thy greatness and Thy love for me!
~Leonard Ravenhill~
The Happiness of Being With Christ, Preferable to Continuance on Earth # 1
The Happiness of Being With Christ, Preferable to Continuance on Earth # 1
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8).
When the path of the traveler is very rough and dreary, it is natural that he should ardently long for home. So it is sometimes with the Christian pilgrim on earth. When trials abound, and sorrows press him down - he longs to reach his Father's house above. "Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest!" This was the case with the Apostle Paul, whose afflictions, trials, and duties were very heavy. See preceding verses, and 2 Corinthians 4:8-11; 11:23.
Sometimes too, faith and hope are in lively exercise; the Christian like Moses, from the top of Mount Pisgah, beholds the promised land after off, and then he ardently longs to enter the purchased inheritance.
But the Apostle was governed by the will of his Saviour, "We we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it" (2 Corinthians 5:9).
1. The Believer's Happiness in Heaven Consists in Being Present with the Lord.
Christ now dwells in Heaven. After His resurrection, He ascended to that magnificent abode. "I ascend to my Father, and your Father" etc. (John 20:17; Acts 1:11; Ephesians 4:8, 9)
There He sits at the right hand of God in a state of glorious exaltation (Acts 2:33; 5:31; Philippians 2:9).
a. To be present with the Lord, implies fitness of association. And what fitness is required? Holiness, purity, similarity of spirit, spiritual relish and desires for holy and heavenly exercises. (Rev. 17:14-17. Christ effects this by regeneration; and the good work He has begun - He will perform and finish. (1 John 3:1-3; Ephesians 5:25-27).
b. To be with the Lord, implies a consciousness of His presence; "present with the Lord." We shall be with Him in Heaven - our eyes will behold Him there.
Job dwelt upon this truth with pleasure, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. So did David, "And I - in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness!" (Psalm 17:15). They will ever see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads" (Rev. 22:4).
In this world, His presence is spiritual; we walk by faith, and not by sight. How different it will be to see Him as He is, and behold Him face to face!
c. To be with the Lord implies an immediate perception of His glory. "Father, I want those You have given me to be with me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory you have given me because You loved me before the creation of the world" (John 17:24). How wonderful, how efficacious, how rich, will His love then appear! His glory will be seen in the magnificence and immortality of His dwelling place; beauty and glory of angelic attendants; salvation of His people, so rich, so complete and eternal; provision He has made for their enjoyment through the countless ages of eternity!
d. To be with the Lord is to praise Him. "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!" (Rev. 19:1).
e. To be present with the Lord, is to dwell with Him forever. "They shall reign forever and ever!" (Rev. 22:5).
~William Nicholson~
(continued with # 2)
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body - and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8).
When the path of the traveler is very rough and dreary, it is natural that he should ardently long for home. So it is sometimes with the Christian pilgrim on earth. When trials abound, and sorrows press him down - he longs to reach his Father's house above. "Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest!" This was the case with the Apostle Paul, whose afflictions, trials, and duties were very heavy. See preceding verses, and 2 Corinthians 4:8-11; 11:23.
Sometimes too, faith and hope are in lively exercise; the Christian like Moses, from the top of Mount Pisgah, beholds the promised land after off, and then he ardently longs to enter the purchased inheritance.
But the Apostle was governed by the will of his Saviour, "We we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it" (2 Corinthians 5:9).
1. The Believer's Happiness in Heaven Consists in Being Present with the Lord.
Christ now dwells in Heaven. After His resurrection, He ascended to that magnificent abode. "I ascend to my Father, and your Father" etc. (John 20:17; Acts 1:11; Ephesians 4:8, 9)
There He sits at the right hand of God in a state of glorious exaltation (Acts 2:33; 5:31; Philippians 2:9).
a. To be present with the Lord, implies fitness of association. And what fitness is required? Holiness, purity, similarity of spirit, spiritual relish and desires for holy and heavenly exercises. (Rev. 17:14-17. Christ effects this by regeneration; and the good work He has begun - He will perform and finish. (1 John 3:1-3; Ephesians 5:25-27).
b. To be with the Lord, implies a consciousness of His presence; "present with the Lord." We shall be with Him in Heaven - our eyes will behold Him there.
Job dwelt upon this truth with pleasure, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. So did David, "And I - in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness!" (Psalm 17:15). They will ever see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads" (Rev. 22:4).
In this world, His presence is spiritual; we walk by faith, and not by sight. How different it will be to see Him as He is, and behold Him face to face!
c. To be with the Lord implies an immediate perception of His glory. "Father, I want those You have given me to be with me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory you have given me because You loved me before the creation of the world" (John 17:24). How wonderful, how efficacious, how rich, will His love then appear! His glory will be seen in the magnificence and immortality of His dwelling place; beauty and glory of angelic attendants; salvation of His people, so rich, so complete and eternal; provision He has made for their enjoyment through the countless ages of eternity!
d. To be with the Lord is to praise Him. "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!" (Rev. 19:1).
e. To be present with the Lord, is to dwell with Him forever. "They shall reign forever and ever!" (Rev. 22:5).
~William Nicholson~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Faith Laughs At Impossibilities
Faith Laughs At Impossibilities
Peter in prison! What a jolt!
We are too far removed from the actual scene to catch the atmosphere of dismay the Christians of that day felt.
Peter had moved from Pentecost to prison, from jeers to spears. He was guarded by sixteen soldiers. One wonders why such a defenseless man needed such a group to watch him. Could it be that Herod feared the supernatural, seeing he knew that Jesus escaped such a group that guarded Him?
Had Peter been hedged in by sixteen hundred soldiers, the problem would not have been increased nor the escape less sure. Peter was bound not only by two chairs, but also by the thick walls of the prison, by the three wards of the prison, and finally by an iron gate.
When Peter is in prison, does the church organize a plan to get him released? No. When Peter is jailed, do the believers offer a plea to Herod or suggest a price to offer the lawmakers for his freedom? No. Peter had released others at the hour of prayer; now others must believe for his release.
Right through the Book of Acts, which might be called the Acts of Prayer, we find prayer and more prayer. Dig into the book and discover this power that motivated the early church. In the twelfth chapter of Acts we find a group that prayed. Though a host encamped against Peter, in this were the believers confident: there was a God who could and would deliver. The one never-failing rescue operation was prayer. There was no hedging about in the prayers of those who made intercession for Peter. Prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him. They did not seem to be concerned whether Herod should die or not. They did not pray that they might escape Peter's fate. They were not asking that they have another exodus to a more hospitable country. They prayed for one person: Peter. They prayed for one thing; his release. The answer proves the point: "Whatsoever ye shall ask...that will I do."
Some shabby interpreters of this story have said that when the prayers heard that Peter was at the door, they were unbelieving. I cannot accept this assumption. I am sure that they prayed with expectation. I like to think that they were for the moment staggered by the immediacy of the answer. They could be excused if they raised their eyebrows when Peter said, "I got out quite easily with an angel escort." (Next time you pass through the magic self-opening door at your supermarket, remember that the first door to open of its own accord was operated from above!)
Angel deliverances seem to find no place in our modern theology. Perhaps we would like the Lord to answer our prayers with the least embarrassment to us. After all, who expects that the angelic ranks should be disturbed just to bring deliverance to a praying soul? But supernatural results came for many of the praying saints of apostolic days. The Lord geared a property-damaging earthquake to get deliverance for an apostle. Prayer is dynamite.
There is no weapon formed against prayer that can neutralize it. Some things can delay answers to prayer, but nothing can stop the full purpose of God. "Though it tarry, wait for it."
The first requirement in prayer is to believe. Believe that God is and that "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Believe that God is alive and therefore has power not only for Peter's deliverance, but for ours. Believe that God is love and that He cares for His own. Believe that God is power and therefore no power can stand against Him. Believe that God is truth and therefore cannot lie. Believe that God is kind and that He will never abdicate His throne or fail in His promise.
Reflecting on the story of Peter, I am rebuked, humiliated, chagrined, stung. Why? Because there was some great modern saints, Watchman Nee for one, who for years have suffered and been held captive by communists and others. Many of the saints today are shut up in prison. The same fate has befallen some of God's choice witnesses in Vietnam and in the Congo.
Such perils to other members of the Body demand concern, concentration, and consecration to a committed plan of prayer on their behalf. I fear that prayer has not been made to God without ceasing for these suffering kinsmen.
Mr. Bunyan shows us his Christian held captive by the Giant Despair in Doubting Castle. The key to deliverance was Promise. We Christians are in captivity on many levels today personal, domestic, church, and missionary enterprise. But fetters break and dungeons fall when prayer is made by the church unto God - Prayer without ceasing; prayer that might shatter our status quo; prayer that drains us of every other interest; prayer that excites us by its immense possibilities; prayer that sees God as the One that rules on high, almighty to save; prayer that laughs at impossibilities and cries, "It shall be done"; prayer that sees all things beneath His feet; prayer that is motivated with desire for God's glory.
The praying of the believer can become a ritual. The place of prayer is more than a dumping ground for all our anxieties, frets, and fears. The place of prayer is not a place to drop a shopping list before the throne of a God with endless supplies and limitless power.
I believe the place of prayer is not only a place where I lose my burdens, but also a place where I get a burden. He shares my burden and I share His burden. "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." To know that burden, we must hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. To hear that voice, we must be still and know that He is God.
This calamitous hour in the affairs of men demands a church healthier than the one we have. This blatant manifestation of evil in the youth and in the violation of God's commandments throughout the world calls for a faith that will not shirk.
Can we let our prayer swords rust in the scabbards of doubt? Shall our prayer harps hang tuneless on the willows of unbelief? If God is a god of matchless power and incredible might, if the Bible is the unchangeable Word of the living God, if the virtue of Christ is as fresh today as when He first made the offering of Himself to God after His resurrection, if He is the one and only mediator today, If the Holy Spirit can quicken us as He did our spiritual fathers, Then all things are possible today.
The seas were boiling, the winds were howling, the sails were tearing, the spars were flying, the stars were hiding. The people were crying and crying, sobbing and sighing. One man alone was praising. All were expecting death save Paul. Amidst a scene of hopelessness, if ever thee was one, Paul cries, "Sirs, I believe God" (Acts 27).
As things seem to fall apart these days, I am going to join Paul. I am going to say in faith, "Sirs, I believe God." Will you join me?
~Leonard Ravenhill~
(The End)
Peter in prison! What a jolt!
We are too far removed from the actual scene to catch the atmosphere of dismay the Christians of that day felt.
Peter had moved from Pentecost to prison, from jeers to spears. He was guarded by sixteen soldiers. One wonders why such a defenseless man needed such a group to watch him. Could it be that Herod feared the supernatural, seeing he knew that Jesus escaped such a group that guarded Him?
Had Peter been hedged in by sixteen hundred soldiers, the problem would not have been increased nor the escape less sure. Peter was bound not only by two chairs, but also by the thick walls of the prison, by the three wards of the prison, and finally by an iron gate.
When Peter is in prison, does the church organize a plan to get him released? No. When Peter is jailed, do the believers offer a plea to Herod or suggest a price to offer the lawmakers for his freedom? No. Peter had released others at the hour of prayer; now others must believe for his release.
Right through the Book of Acts, which might be called the Acts of Prayer, we find prayer and more prayer. Dig into the book and discover this power that motivated the early church. In the twelfth chapter of Acts we find a group that prayed. Though a host encamped against Peter, in this were the believers confident: there was a God who could and would deliver. The one never-failing rescue operation was prayer. There was no hedging about in the prayers of those who made intercession for Peter. Prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him. They did not seem to be concerned whether Herod should die or not. They did not pray that they might escape Peter's fate. They were not asking that they have another exodus to a more hospitable country. They prayed for one person: Peter. They prayed for one thing; his release. The answer proves the point: "Whatsoever ye shall ask...that will I do."
Some shabby interpreters of this story have said that when the prayers heard that Peter was at the door, they were unbelieving. I cannot accept this assumption. I am sure that they prayed with expectation. I like to think that they were for the moment staggered by the immediacy of the answer. They could be excused if they raised their eyebrows when Peter said, "I got out quite easily with an angel escort." (Next time you pass through the magic self-opening door at your supermarket, remember that the first door to open of its own accord was operated from above!)
Angel deliverances seem to find no place in our modern theology. Perhaps we would like the Lord to answer our prayers with the least embarrassment to us. After all, who expects that the angelic ranks should be disturbed just to bring deliverance to a praying soul? But supernatural results came for many of the praying saints of apostolic days. The Lord geared a property-damaging earthquake to get deliverance for an apostle. Prayer is dynamite.
There is no weapon formed against prayer that can neutralize it. Some things can delay answers to prayer, but nothing can stop the full purpose of God. "Though it tarry, wait for it."
The first requirement in prayer is to believe. Believe that God is and that "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Believe that God is alive and therefore has power not only for Peter's deliverance, but for ours. Believe that God is love and that He cares for His own. Believe that God is power and therefore no power can stand against Him. Believe that God is truth and therefore cannot lie. Believe that God is kind and that He will never abdicate His throne or fail in His promise.
Reflecting on the story of Peter, I am rebuked, humiliated, chagrined, stung. Why? Because there was some great modern saints, Watchman Nee for one, who for years have suffered and been held captive by communists and others. Many of the saints today are shut up in prison. The same fate has befallen some of God's choice witnesses in Vietnam and in the Congo.
Such perils to other members of the Body demand concern, concentration, and consecration to a committed plan of prayer on their behalf. I fear that prayer has not been made to God without ceasing for these suffering kinsmen.
Mr. Bunyan shows us his Christian held captive by the Giant Despair in Doubting Castle. The key to deliverance was Promise. We Christians are in captivity on many levels today personal, domestic, church, and missionary enterprise. But fetters break and dungeons fall when prayer is made by the church unto God - Prayer without ceasing; prayer that might shatter our status quo; prayer that drains us of every other interest; prayer that excites us by its immense possibilities; prayer that sees God as the One that rules on high, almighty to save; prayer that laughs at impossibilities and cries, "It shall be done"; prayer that sees all things beneath His feet; prayer that is motivated with desire for God's glory.
The praying of the believer can become a ritual. The place of prayer is more than a dumping ground for all our anxieties, frets, and fears. The place of prayer is not a place to drop a shopping list before the throne of a God with endless supplies and limitless power.
I believe the place of prayer is not only a place where I lose my burdens, but also a place where I get a burden. He shares my burden and I share His burden. "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." To know that burden, we must hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. To hear that voice, we must be still and know that He is God.
This calamitous hour in the affairs of men demands a church healthier than the one we have. This blatant manifestation of evil in the youth and in the violation of God's commandments throughout the world calls for a faith that will not shirk.
Can we let our prayer swords rust in the scabbards of doubt? Shall our prayer harps hang tuneless on the willows of unbelief? If God is a god of matchless power and incredible might, if the Bible is the unchangeable Word of the living God, if the virtue of Christ is as fresh today as when He first made the offering of Himself to God after His resurrection, if He is the one and only mediator today, If the Holy Spirit can quicken us as He did our spiritual fathers, Then all things are possible today.
The seas were boiling, the winds were howling, the sails were tearing, the spars were flying, the stars were hiding. The people were crying and crying, sobbing and sighing. One man alone was praising. All were expecting death save Paul. Amidst a scene of hopelessness, if ever thee was one, Paul cries, "Sirs, I believe God" (Acts 27).
As things seem to fall apart these days, I am going to join Paul. I am going to say in faith, "Sirs, I believe God." Will you join me?
~Leonard Ravenhill~
(The End)
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