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July 21 - November 22, 2022
The disciple is one who is in constant touch with people in need.
When you come to the table, don’t take the seat of honor. For when the host comes in with the guest of honor, he will have to ask you to move. The host will feel embarrassed because he has to move you; the guest of honor will feel embarrassed because he has to take your place; all the other guests will be embarrassed because they have to witness all this; and you will be embarrassed because you are the one moved.
An important lesson for the disciple emerges from these three verses: namely, that the commandments of God are never whimsical or arbitrary but designed for our best. God is not in heaven thinking, I wonder how I can make life miserable for these creatures of Mine. Instead, He is thinking, What are some guidelines I can give My children to teach them how to live life to the fullest? God’s laws and commandments are designed to help us, not hinder us. They are meant to make us happy and fulfilled.
Everybody wants to live, but nobody wants to die. Everybody wants to be free, but nobody wants to be a slave. Everybody wants to get, but nobody wants to give. And this is precisely where we run into conflict with God.
So often we want the results that God promises, but we don’t want to pay the price.
Why would anyone reject an invitation to dine at God’s table? Only if they did not know who was extending the invitation.
People today refuse God because they are not aware of who is extending the invitation.
The parable of the great supper reveals that a preoccupation with the insignificant makes it impossible to bring priorities into perspective.
How easy it is for the Christian to become preoccupied with his dreams, his aspirations, his own little deal, and miss God’s perfect plan for his life.
One of the fundamental requisites for true discipleship is a spirit of desperation that burns deep within the soul.
The cost of entering the Promised Land is far too high; for alas, giants live there, the sons of Anak (see Num. 13:32–33). In a moment of terror, the people decide to turn back, with the excuse that the giants would kill their wives and children.
God never promised there would be no giants. He simply promised that He would assume responsibility for their safe arrival in the Promised Land.
Don’t start something unless you are willing to finish it.
The Lord Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). Gates are for defense, not offense. Have you ever heard of a person going to battle swinging a pair of gates at the enemy? Gates are used to keep the enemy out. The disciple is
called upon to do battle against the massed forces of Satan, to break down the gates of hell and set the prisoners free in Jesus’ name. Jesus promises that when we do battle like this, the gates of hell shall not prevail against us. But there is a cost involved in doing battle.
Jesus concludes His dissertation on discipleship with this strange parable of the savorless salt. For a long while, I could not understand its relation to discipleship. Then one day, it occurred to me that this parable is an illustration of the believer who refuses to be a disciple. It is God’s design that every believer be a disciple. But when one goes back on his commitment, he becomes good for nothing. You can’t save him; he is already saved. You can’t use him; he is unavailable. He is like savorless salt. Men throw it out.
In paying the price for being Christ’s disciple, you too must purposefully destroy all avenues of retreat.
Resolve in your heart today that whatever the price for being His follower, you are willing to pay it.
Every problem a person has is related to his concept of God. If you have a big God, you have small problems. If you have a small God, you have big problems. It is as simple as that. When your God is big, then every seeming problem becomes an opportunity. When your God is small, every problem becomes an obstacle.
The whole purpose of the devotional life is to see His majesty and become absorbed with His glory.
For us to know God is His idea, not ours. Christianity is unique among the religions of the world in that it consists not of men seeking God but of God seeking men.
Notice the delicate balance between God’s strength and power on the one hand and His extreme gentleness on the other.
Isaiah 40:15–17: Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. This puts the world in its proper perspective. It is easy to look at the wrong things and become discouraged—the decadence of the human race, our own propensity for evil, our inability to control ourselves, the fact that our increased technology
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There are only two persons who can hurt you—you and God. Satan cannot hurt you. This fact comes through clearly in the Book of Job. We read of the conversation between Satan and God (see Job 1), in which Satan says that he cannot touch Job because God has built a “hedge” around him. This is true for every believer. The devil cannot touch him except by divine permission.
No one can touch your life but you, and the Bible does teach that it is possible for a person to ruin himself. You are your own worst enemy. But if you are walking by faith and in obedience, and God is who He says He is, then no one else can ruin your life; no one else can make you miss the perfect will of God.
How easy it is to see when we are able to grasp a vision of His greatness that all of our problems and anxieties are rather insignificant.
Isaiah 40:6–7: A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. This is how God and the Scriptures view man—not as the great, self-sufficient maker of his own destiny but as similar to the grass of the fields—here today, gone tomorrow. James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, put it this way: “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a
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A proper perspective of God and man shows us that all of the evil and calamity that fall upon man is a product of his own folly and sinfulness.
Conversely, all of the good that falls upon man is a product of God’s grace and mercy. The natural man takes issue with this. He, in violent disagreement, would turn this around and say that all of man’s achievements, his blessings, and his progress are attributed to his own ingenuity and greatness.
However, when calamity and disaster strike, he is qu...
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If you and I had been with the disciples on that eventful day, we, like they, would no doubt have seen the crucifixion as a tragedy. Likewise, if we had been with the women at the tomb on that Sunday morning when they found it empty, we, like they, would have concluded that a further calamity had struck, that somebody had stolen the body. However, with the perspective of two thousand years, we view both the cross and the empty tomb not as calamities but as victories.
Often a seemingly adverse circumstance will strike, such as the loss of a loved one, and from our perspective, it has all the marks of a tragedy. But from God’s perspective, it may very well be the unfolding of a higher and more beautiful plan.
And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
During the dry periods in your life, the Lord will satisfy your soul.
In His love, He saves us through the finished work of Jesus Christ and then He blesses and prospers us so that, as we take on the character of Jesus Christ, we can effect a change in the lives of other people. All of this in turn spells “purpose” for the believer. This is what disciple making is all about.
Let me urge you to look further at Isaiah 40-66. Read through these great chapters three separate times. The first time through, write down all you learn about the nature and character of God.
In your second reading, write down all you learn about the nature ...
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The third time through, write down all that you learn about God’...
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Being a disciple begins with a proper relationship to Jesus Christ and having on your heart what is on His. Making disciples begins with evangelism. As one person put it, the objective in the Christian life is to populate heaven and depopulate hell.
Too many evangelicals interpret separation from the world as meaning “separation from worldly people.” Evangelism begins with becoming friends with worldly people. The disciple must be faithful to the Scriptures, but he is under no obligation to be faithful to the idiosyncrasies of people who are extrabiblical in their theology.
Jesus arrived at Jacob’s well tired and thirsty (see vv. 6–7). His needs were simple and easy to understand. He needed rest and refreshment. But instead of satisfying Himself, He created out of His need an opportunity to witness. When I first discovered this truth in John 4, I was smitten in my conscience. Often I use my need as an excuse not to witness.
She was a Samaritan. He was a Jew. Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. She was a woman; He was a man. Men do not counsel women. She was immoral; He was righteous. Righteous people just do not associate with the unrighteous. She was an outcast; He was a great teacher. She had lost her reputation; and He, by His association with her, would stand a good chance of losing His.
Principles in Evangelism
Open the opportunity by asking a favor.
She agreed to do this, and he insisted on returning the favor by taking her out on a date.
On the ski slopes or on the golf course you could say to someone, “Say, I noticed you are really proficient at this. I wonder if you could spare a few moments to give me some tips on how to improve my style.”
Shortly after I was married, I purchased a cut-glass bowl for my wife’s birthday. I brought it home and left it in the trunk of the automobile until it was time to give it to her. That night as we were lying in bed, I mentioned that I had chosen her birthday present and so aroused her curiosity that she could not sleep until I went out to the car and got it for her.
The Lord Jesus was a master at using the right approach for the right person. He did the same thing with Nicodemus, according to John 3. Recognizing that Nicodemus was a religious leader, Jesus’ approach to him was theological: “You must be born again.”
“No,” said Dr. Trumbull. “I was thinking what a generous man you are to keep offering me a drink.” That entree was sufficient for Dr. Trumbull to lead the man to Christ before the journey ended.
In evangelism, develop a feel for the important questions and major in them. Generally speaking, these are questions that deal with getting to know God. Jesus geared His conversation to answering her needs rather than getting entangled in peripheral issues.
