PREFACE

These Readings are designed for those studying at College/University. They are doctrinal and devotional, but are also to stimulate critical thinking about ourselves and worldviews which discount the Being of God. By comparison with what the world has to offer those in it we shall see the riches of what lies in Christ for those who find Him, who are found by Him. It is good to have something to think about each day in God's world; no-one goes to Heaven without thinking about it on the way.

Rev J.Clark.  BA(hons.) MA. BSc(hons) MSc. MEd. MTh.

OCTOBER 1

" Where there is no vision ( revelation ) the people perish."  Proverbs 29:18.

We are born into a world which has already constructed a reality without any God ( Ephes.2:12), and resent the intrusion of such a thought ; it disturbs them to think that they live in Someone else's world ! Society educates people to fit into a Godless world, but God enables some to escape this fatal worldview. Religion is portrayed as just another life-choice, and the thought of finality is evaded by the media. Nevertheless, ' echoes of Eden ' remain in the soul, despite society's attempts to explain eternal longings away. Lack of the definite produces despair, and the only certainty for this world is that it will end. Some people try ' religion ' but that is not synonymous with true Christianity.

" What kind of God do you worship ? Is he a designer god, merely an imaginary power ?...Do you worship the god of your imagination or the One who actually exists ? ( C.Swindoll). We need the Bible to explain how ignorant we are of our true condition and to give us true knowledge of God and how we can be delivered from it. Death is not a dead end, there is a Bridge over it, Christ Jesus ( John 14:6). But how many want to go their own way !

OCTOBER 2

" I, being in the way, the LORD led me." Genesis 24:27.

We are led one step at a time. Only when we have taken the first step can we see the second, and the first step prepares us for the second. You cannot see step five until you have taken step four, so we should be careful about how easy or how difficult we think the future is. Moreover, having taken a step forward, we cannot go back, we now have past choices taken away and new choices are now before us. Young people find this difficult to grasp, they tend to think that the goal we see in our mind is the one that we shall arrive at. But experience teaches us that God has His plan and He will order our choices and steps through this world. "Man proposes but God disposes," said Luther. ( ' Man denkt aber Gott lenkt.')

Perhaps we think we have taken the wrong road, or made some wrong decisions when on the right road. But 'every person's life is a plan of God ' ; He not only rules but overrules. Meanwhile we must curb our impatience ; one step at a time, one day at a time. God can make changes in one day. We are to plan ahead but we may not travel in a straight line as expected. We may have a zigzag course, as the war convoys did, and while the passengers may not have understood why, the captain knew this was the safe way home. Our responsibility is to keep on the way, God will see to the details.

OCTOBER 3 

" It is the gift of God. " Ephesians 2:8.

God gives salvation only as a gift. Sadly, many do not want to receive it in this manner but want to deserve it. To do this they focus on some good points in their character, but all in heaven received it as a gift. None would say they earned it or deserved it, it is all of grace. Pride resents this, especially as this way of salvation puts us all on the same low level. People can become angry when it is asserted without exceptions ( Luke 15:28). With the guilt of sin occurring daily the Christian conscience must be reminded of this too ; sanctification is never completed in this world, only at the end of our time in it. Any 'good works' that we accomplish we ascribe to His strength ( and they can only be done by faith ) because we are by nature incapable of them ( Rom.3:10-20. 5:6). God is interested in the " poor and needy " ( Ps.40:17), the 'spiritual beggars', as Luther called them. It is no blessing that you feel strong enough to live without God, and to die with that terrifying question ' Have I done enough ? ' The Christian 'flees from all his bad works and good works to Christ ' ( D. Dickson), to His finished work for sinners ( John 17:4). To try to add to this work is to question it and insult it,and soon that free offer of salvation will be withdrawn ( Luke 14:24). Remember,the less we trust in ourselves, the more we shall trust in Him.

OCTOBER 4

" to hear some new thing." Acts 17:21.

Christianity is sometimes criticised for not accepting change to its beliefs over the last 2000 years. The world's view of progress is to change its beliefs every generation, and criticizes the ( true ) church for not ' moving on ' in its teaching ie. not accommodating itself to society's changed opinions. If the church agrees with the world it will avoid criticism, but it would betray the teaching of Christ. Why would anyone want to change Divine truth ? There can be no good motive behind that aim. Something can be true even when the world does not believe it. " Science studies nature, and the question is whether anything besides nature exists - anything ' outside .' How could you find that out by studying simply nature ? " (C.S.Lewis ).

The world says that we cannot prove what Jesus taught to be true, especially about Himself and His second Coming to judge the world. But they cannot disprove this either, and this ought to worry them. You cannot measure the supernatural ( the ' more than nature things' ) with the tools of nature. No creature knows everything, despite claims to the contrary. To delay to trust what God says may be eternally fatal, and eternity is nearer than anyone can perceive. In trusting Jesus the Christian has nothing to lose, to distrust Him is to lose everything. Christians are not going to be moved by the new ( Ephes.4:14), they prefer the solid eternal.

OCTOBER 5

" It is enough." 1 Kings 19:4.

Whoever thought this would happen to Elijah ! But it was a clear case of ' burnout.' He had battles with hundreds, ran for miles ( ch.18), and now he had nothing left. He could only find emptiness. He sat down, and didn't want to get up again. His mind was blank, and he felt a failure. What he enjoyed most, his aim in life, now gave him no joy. He was emotionally empty and just wanted away from it all. Feeling a failure, he just wanted to get away from it all to heaven. He was mentally empty and dragged his body about ; this is the effect of soul on body. " Depression occurs if the amount of stress that a person comes under is greater than the amount of stress that he can tolerate." ( N. Burton) Elijah had endured much and now he felt that he could endure no more - but God was about to teach him otherwise. 

Firstly, God gave the remedy for his ' burnout ' : more sleep, proper food, verbal support, more in the future to do - he was still useful in serving God. The work ahead would be less taxing but still important ( ch.19) and gave him that inner joy which we need in serving God. His strength had to be restored first so that he could take hold of God firmly by faith and go forward. When hope is restored our vision of the future is restored also. He no longer felt alone and forgotten, he could now move on, his Friend beside him.

OCTOBER 6

" Thou shalt remember. " Deuteronomy 16:3.

This is the pattern of life, memories can make us sad or glad, make us break into song or a sigh. God reminds the people here to continue to trust him, even in the midst of the storm. They were to remember their day of deliverance and how the Lord helped them along the way to the Promised Land, a 'type' of heaven. " A greater than Moses led us from a slavery worse than Egypt." ( A. Smellie).We may not be able to fix the date of our personal deliverance ( conversion) but we know it happened ; the fact is that there is a love and a trust in Christ for everything, something which was not in our heart before. And we now know Him who put it there.Satan, like Pharaoh, has pursued us, trying to bring us back to where we were before. But the wages he promised us if we went back, we know that a man could not live by them ( Rom.6:23) ! We have the gift of life in Christ, and His supernatural sufficiency is our support and shield. With all our weaknesses we can still say what many have said before us, " He is able."

OCTOBER 7

" My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Exodus 33:14.

Moses was afraid to go forward, to meet who knows what, on his own, but God assures him he shall not walk alone. This is a personal promise for those who fear a lonely, solitary life. The weakness of ' thee ' meets the promise and power of ' I '. None of us is stationary, each day brings us to a new point of departure for the morrow. Circumstances hurry us through the ages and stages of life. We cannot rest, we seek to be more and know more. So will it be until journey's end, journey's rest. The presence of God with us ( " Immanuel " ) guarantees a happy ending. God's Face is always towards us ( 2 Corinth.4:6), and if we are following Him through life, our face is towards Him as our Guide ( Ps.48:14). This journey is punctuated with unexpected ( to us ) sufferings, but " the journey intensifies the rest, and the thought of the rest helps and promotes the journey." ( A. Smellie)

There is a must in our sufferings, a ' need be ' ( 1 Peter 1:6 . Acts 9:16), but a day of suffering is still a day onward, forward to our Rest. We do not understand why these things happen to us, but the promise of God is that we shall not be alone in our sufferings ( which is what the world dreads ), but He is near to call upon, to lean upon. The next step may be a painful one, but love for Christ shall keep the soul looking forward ( Heb.10:39 ) . Soon the last step shall be taken and we shall change our place, but not our Company.

OCTOBER 8

" If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."  1 John 2:15.

This is a forbidden love because the world is self-organised against God. Dr. Duncan well said that the aim of the world is nothing less than Deicide. Is the world that bad ? Yes, in every nation governments refuse to submit to God's government of His own , and make decisions which oppose Him. But when God is not allowed to rule He overrules ! ( Ps.2) The world aims to flood our senses with the sense of a false reality - these impressions on the mind must be resisted by faith. Only faith can overcome the world ( 1 John 5:4 ) by resisting its attractions. How ? By having a greater love for God. This love prevents the world dominating our thinking. we are still to use the world, but not overuse it. This overriding love is the mark of all true believers. 

A dozen little things in the world can just as easily lead our mind away as one great thing. Without faith a person will love and follow the world more than God. The Christian must have self-examination and self-discipline to maintain that love ( Jude 20,21). It is a lifelong watch to keep the world in its place, second place. All things fall into their right place once we put God first.

OCTOBER 9

" The time would fail to tell.." Hebrews 11:32.

In this Epistle to Hebrew Christians the inspired Apostle Paul limits what he tells us. Similarly, John tells us that he could have written more also ( John 21:25 ). Again, in Revelation 10:4, a limit is set. God determined to put all we need to know into one Book, not several. As he lay dying, Sir Walter Scott said, " Bring the Book.' There is only one Book with a capital B. There are reasons for this brevity in God's revelation :

All that is necessary for a saving knowledge of Christ has been given ( Psalm 40:7. John 5:39 ).We do not need to know everything, nor have we the capacity to do so anyway. There is only one Book, so no-one can say there is too much to read or they do not have enough time to read it.

We are reminded that there are more Christians than those named in the Bible, more ' heroes ' than those named in Hebrews 11. Many are unknown to the world, but they are all known to God ( like the seventy sent out in Luke 10:17,20). Many have no reputation on earth but are well known in heaven. We like to read biographies and every person in heaven has a story to tell, but we must wait until we get there to hear it. Heaven is full of stars but when the Morning Star comes out ( Christ ) the stars disappear from view. We all know about Him, but do we know Him ? He is the One who is indispensable.

OCTOBER 10

" Rise up, let us go." Mark 14:42.

Having prayed in Gethsemane, Jesus now goes forward to meet His enemies. He takes His disciples with Him, despite their weakness and sleepiness. He gives us an example here that despite our condition we are to face our enemies, trusting that He is with us. It is Christ with His words that confronts the opposition. Even when He went to heaven the Apostles answered the opposition of the Pharisees etc. in Acts with His claims and His words. The doctrines of the cross and of the resurrection are still unpopular today when the world evaluates the implications of this for them ; these truths can give them no peace in their pursuit of Atheism and Amorality. " Let us go," says Christ. This means that we shall not go forward alone. He gives the strength and the motivation; it is His word we carry, as a ' treasure in an earthen vessel.' We go forward in faith into the future, thankful to Him that we have a future. Every sinner has a future if he has Christ in the heart.

Some of the Apostles were killed because of what they taught the world, some,like John, lived into their nineties. Long or short lived, they wanted to do as much as they could for Christ's Name ( 3 John vs.7 ) while they were in this world. It was through faith in His Name ( all that is in Him) that they were saved.Of Mary it was said, " She has done what she could." ( Mark 14:8). The world may not remember what we have done, but He does ( Heb.6:10).

OCTOBER 11

 " Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7.

This is a harvest metaphor. It may take a while but things always catch up with us, we reap what we sowed. The Bible often uses illustrations from Nature to describe life. Psychologists confirm that our infancy will have a great effect on our later life. If seed is not sown there is no harvest, if corrupt seed a corrupt harvest. Living for pleasures leads to an empty death, living to God a heavenly rest. God will not always be mocked for His apparent non-intervention when He is ignored or insulted. The judgement is not visible until the harvest, the visible and final separation of sinners will occur at the end of life, not before ( Rev. 14:15).

Paul is writing these things to the church, at Galatia in particular. This was to remind them that if they believe false things and do things which do not have God's approval, they can only look forward to condemnation. The end does not justify the ( unwarranted ) means. However, God can break the cycle of sowing sin and reaping death. He does not deal with some sinners as they deserve, but graciously gives them what they do not deserve because of what Christ has done for them ( Ps.103:10,12). " It is a great blessing that I and the guilt of my sin can be separated, Ps.130:3,4. " ( Dr. John Duncan).

OCTOBER 12

" Hope thou in God." Psalm 42:5. 

How often we are told this in the Bible - because we need to hear it often ! This was David's encouragement for his soul when he felt his isolation from God. The hope of faith survives when the feeling of faith is gone ; he must bear the numbness and the sleepless night. The sun has become hidden and the heart is cold ; shock, exhaustion and disappointment have produced a mist, making it difficult to see ahead in life. But ' still hope in God ,' says David to his soul ; he has nothing now but this. Our hope must be in God, not in the strength of our faith but in its object. We must look away from self-contemplation to God-contemplation ; simple is best at such a time. The child of God is called to trust in her Father. At such a time what we think is more important than what we do ; we may not have the energy for doing. It is what we think about God in testing situations that matters, as poor Job found. This was a man who could say in his misery, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him," and eventually he came out of it. To be healed, the Israelites had to look to the brass serpent ( to the wounds of Christ ) and not at their own wounds ( Numbers 21:9). The latter is natural, the former is spiritual. We must also look - have we the strength to do anything else ? - He is more than we can feel. " Hope thou in God." 

OCTOBER 13

" And they cried aloud and cut themselves." 1 Kings 18:28.

These false prophets on Mt. Carmel , false teachers, were trying to excite their own feelings and those of their audience. Crowds are always moved more by emotion than by logic. They were chanting a chorus all day, same words, same arm waving gestures. They thought if they did it long enough and loud enough their god would answer them. It was an exciting, entertaining experience for the crowd, and no doubt some of them joined in. This is the kind of thinking which dominates the religious world of today ; everything is planned and done for effect.But at the end of the day they accomplished nothing. This kind of religion characterises much of todays ' worship ' ; the visible, the loud, the gesticulating. Reverence and true prayer are hard to find in today's meetings. 

The Holy Spirit works from the inside out, man's actions do not compel Him to work ; He requires no humanly produced outward means of outward stimulation. He gives the Word, and if that is not enough, He is insulted. Worship must be " in the Spirit and in the Truth ( John 4:23). Life in the Spirit is to live according to His Words, this is our guide to Life. Many try to reproduce the stimulation they had in Mt. Carmel type meetings, sensually stimulated ' highs ', instead of seeking to grow spiritually; which is always the desire of genuine Christians ( 2

Peter 3:18). These carmelites want an experience which devalues Christ and ignores His Word, but no one ever went to heaven that way.

OCTOBER 14

" Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation...but the sorrow of the world worketh death." 2 Corinth. 7:10.

What a great effect on our future sorrow has ! - depending on what kind of sorrow it is. If it is the sorrow of remorse it has no effect for the next world, only for this one. Repentance, unlike remorse, includes faith in Christ in its sorrow. In itself, sorrow is neutral, it depends on what it is mixed with it that makes it either spiritually profitable or just a despairing sense of loss. Peter and Judas both had sorrow, one looked to Christ for forgiveness, one did not. Judas only made confession of sin with deep regrets, nothing more, and he could not live with his feelings of guilt. Peter brought his guilt to Christ in prayer, as David did ( Ps.51), he sought and received forgiveness from Christ. Judas felt he had no-one to go to, he believed the devil's lie. ( The devil does not seek forgiveness also, he is defiant to the end. How many act like him ! )For the Christian, his first and last prayer is 'God be merciful to me the sinner.' ( Augustine) True repentance changes the life (-style), this is the aim in repentance. It is sorrow directed towards Christ, the spirit directs it there, it is His gift ( Acts 5:31). In the case of Peter, despair of self did not lead to despair of Christ. With Christ there is always hope, and He is that Hope ( 1 Tim.1:1. Ps.130:7).

OCTOBER 15

" I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

This rest is not immobility or stagnation but spiritual, a peace which affects the soul. It is a rest with eternal hope, eternal life with the highest motivation to live that life with the highest purpose. This is unique. It is to " love what He commands and to desire what He promises...that amid the changes of the world our hearts may be surely fixed there where true joys are to be found." ( C of E Collect). This rest is a harmony, a reconciliation with God, the beginning of which is enjoyed here, with that joy perfected in heaven. to be meek ( vs.29) is " to give up our souls to God, a submissive trust in God." ( H.Moule). Trusting Christ takes away our fears for the future, " I will give you rest."

This promise of Christ addresses the deepest needs of our nature, our insecurity. The weary may give up struggling, and rest in Him ; He shall never fail us, despite appearances to the contrary. Without Christ and His forgiveness the grave can be no rest, we can only ' rest in peace ' if we rest in Him. The dead bodies of believers rest in their graves, still joined ( 'yoked' vs.29 ) to Him who is ' the Resurrection and the Life.' " There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." ( Heb.4:9)

OCTOBER 16

" The high and lofty One...I dwell with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit. " Isaiah 57:15.

Biblical Christianity has always been seen as a crutch for the weak-minded. This was the case long ago too. Isaiah responded to those who thought that the people of God were suffering for a hollow hope. Isaiah contrasts the greatness of God with the arrogance of man. Man's greatness will not last, but those who humble themselves before God shall last as long as God does, and He is eternal. The thought of God elevates the mind and humbles it at the same time. Yet God is pleased to ' dwell with " such. Their value is not given to them by the opinion of others but by God's attention, eternally so. In the end it is only what God thinks of us that matters. How do we regard His Son ? This will divide humanity forever ( John 14:21). Have we the right attitude to him and to ourselves ?

Isaiah also states ( vs.15 ) that God is holy. This means that there is moral disapproval of whatever contradicts His character, and this He has defined in scripture. This awareness of the holiness of God keeps the believer contrite and humble, but all the time accepted because of Christ Jesus. Our need of Christ is the foundation of all our thinking and His care for us is the answer to all our internal and external troubles. A person in constant need cannot be proud, but he must be always close to God ; this is the best place, the heart where God dwells.

OCTOBER 17

" But so did not I because of the fear of God." Nehemiah 5:15.

There are some things a Christian cannot agree with, no matter how socially acceptable they are portrayed. Our conscience refuses to yield to the pressure, we fear to offend God. This is not a slavish fear but ' filial ', we are aware of our duty to our Father. This refusal to comply with exhortations to disobedience can result in loss, eg. job, friends, popularity. But,like the Apostle, we are willing to

 ' suffer the loss of all things ' rather than lose Christ or our conscience ( Philipp. 3:8).

We do not do this to attract attention for ourselves. We know there are some who go around loudly seeking controversy and media coverage. We do not seek trouble but defending Christ can bring it. Nehemiah simply refused to comply. It was quietly but steadfastly done ; his actions spoke more loudly than words. Christians can make a point by not living according to the changing, transient standards of the world. Jesus Christ was the great Example of this ; He did not live according to the politics and religiosity of the times but lived in harmony with His Father's Will. He sought to obey God and not man ( Acts 5:29), and this, the church's aim, has not changed. God's approval is more precious to us than the world's opinion ( Rom.12:1,2).

OCTOBER 18

" Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities." 2 Corinthians 12:10.

This is indeed unusual. People usually lament or are ashamed of infirmities. How can Paul and others have this attitude ? It is because of what comes before, " Therefore..." He had just grasped that Christ's grace is sufficient for him (vs.9), with the emphasis on the " is ". Now he can bear the infirmities, lifelong. Simultaneously with the infirmities comes the invisible ( and often unconscious ) strength to continue under them. The patient has an ever attentive Physician. Grace is not only an attitude in God to save sinners, but is also a power to preserve them, no matter what infirmities they have to bear. We know what weaknesses we carry with us on the journey, it is understanding the why that gives us peace ; it is no accident. A feeling of weakness keeps us near to God ; in prayer, in trust, in patience. It also gives us empathy for others. David, as is evidenced in the Psalms, felt nearer to God in his adversity than in his prosperity. The Physician gives more attention to the weak and helpless than to the strong and healthy. Let us remember our constant weakness and his constant strength which is displayed through it ( 2 Corinth.4:7).

OCTOBER 19

" In the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:17.

'Surely,' says God, but Eve still doubted it. However, she soon found that sin carries the sentence of death, and that God's word is true to the end ( Rom. 6:23). She would soon experience the separation and banishment that comes from sin, a state that becomes eternal without trust in Christ ( 2 Thess.1:8,9). God's justice must be exercised; this does not make Him popular, but it proves that He is God. Many would prefer a God without justice, who does not punish sin but approves it, but such a God does not exist, and cannot ! 

The Saviour came to ' save His people from their sins ' ( Matt.1:21) - why else did He come but for this ? To save sinners from the penalty and power of sin. Thus we need to hear about sin, to study the disease and the only Remedy. To take away this emphasis is to abolish the Gospel and replace it with something else. Many still resist this truth and refuse to have their thinking corrected. " In order to justify our rational thought and behaviour it is necessary to block out painful information, to create and maintain an unreal world, affix blame for all bad news on any source except the self or the source within." ( P. McCormick). Sin enslaves the mind, it can defy death but not conquer it. However, Christ can do both - we need to flee to Him.

OCTOBER 20

" Looking unto Jesus." Hebrews 12:2.

This is the Gospel in three words. Certainly there is a need for us to examine our condition, but too much looking inside can be detrimental, it can take our mind away from Jesus. McCheyne discerned the balance when he said," For one look at self there should be ten looks to Christ." Introspection is harmful when it terminates upon self, it can lead to despair. Rather, it should remind us to look away from ourselves to Him to find encouragement ; and everyone needs encouragement. We must look to Him for our acceptance with God and for the strength to serve Him ( Jerem.23:6). Psalm 46:1). If we are joined to Him ( Rom. 14:8), we should think more of the implications of this for our future.

There is peace in acquiescing in Him with trust. No-one ever perished by looking to Christ, quite the reverse. ' Show me myself and show me Thyself ', must be our prayer. The Holy Spirit will drive us out of our feelings of independence, to rest upon Him just as the worn out dove returned to the Ark, because it found rest nowhere else. " To whom shall we go ? " said Peter. To whom have you gone ?

OCTOBER 21

" Your life is hid with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3.

John Newton wrote the finest comment on this verse in a poem, written in his manse at Olney.

" Rejoice, believer in the Lord who makes your cause His own ;

 The hope that's built upon His Word can never be overthrown.

 Though many foes beset your road and feeble is your arm,

 Your life is hid with Christ in God beyond the reach of harm.

 Weak as you are you shall not faint, or fainting shall not die ;

 Jesus the strength of every saint shall aid you from on high.

 Though sometimes unperceived by sense, faith sees Him always near ;

 A Guide, a Glory, a Defence - then what have you to fear ?

 As surely as He overcame and triumphed once for you ;

 So surely you that love His name shall triumph in Him too. "

It would be a dishonour to God to let His people down who trust in Him. But we must remember that ' His ways are not our ways,' and we need to have patience. And to have patience we need to trust Him. He cannot but be faithful - it is His nature.

OCTOBER 22

" For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul."  Psalm 109:31.

Everyone has enemies, and some of them we can do nothing about (vs.5), except commit ourselves ( and them ) in prayer to God. Psalm 109 " ends with a verse that every Christian can at once make his own. The Lord is the prisoner's Friend, standing by the poor ( or friendless) to save him from unjust judges." ( C.S.Lewis). We can identify with the Psalmist ; there are few things worse than being slandered and can do nothing about it. But this Psalm affirms to us that the accuser himself shall be accused by God, and there is no excuse or appeal at this final Judgement. But justice delayed ( and it often seems so ) is not justice denied by God. He cannot be their Defence if He is their Accuser. Any plea for mercy must be lodged here, and that involves repentance. But without repentance there can be no forgiveness.

Retributive justice is the doctrine of the New Testament ( Luke 1:51,52. John 5:27 & 9:39. Revel. 6:10-17). God is praised for His justice as well as for His mercy. Both are pure and infinite. We need an Advocate and the only successful One is Christ ( He has never lost a case ) ,1 John 2:1,2. Sin deserves punishment, and only He can ' save us from our sins.' He shall be heard, but the accusers shall be silenced.

OCTOBER 23

" Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." 2 Samuel 15:6.

To maintain your popularity you have to do what your chosen support group wants you to do. You must go out of your way to please them, and the more you please them the more you are in their power. Absalom ' played to the gallery.'' He needed support for what he had in mind, which was to make himself more popular than his father David. Many have sold their souls for popularity, but crowds are fickle ; they also know what pleases them and can change their tastes ( as in the week of the crucifixion). Some professing Christians have sold their conscience, in order to be accepted by some powerful group. Much of this is selfishness, but selfishness is condemned by God ; there is no blessing in it.

You can tell a person by whom he sets out to please, what company he keeps, who he votes for ; a case of ' actions speak louder than words.' Sometimes their silence on some issue is an indication of where they stand ; it is tacit support, and ' speaks volumes.'

The Jesus of the Bible has never been popular, and this is why His character has been perverted or manipulated ie. to make Him or His followers attractive to the crowd. He has been ' sold ' to the crowds for the sake of popularity. But the. real Jesus was only followed by a few, a few who resisted the temptation to change His image, but wanted to reflect His image in their own lives. He is not ' acceptable ' to society as He is, but He is precious to believers. He does not change, but He changes others. Follow Him closely and you will not be popular on earth, but you will be approved by heaven.

OCTOBER 24

" As a dream.' Psalm 73:20.

Life for many on earth is like a dream ; it is an imaginary reality, and it will not last long. Some of these dreamers suspect that there is a hidden reality, and even write books about this, eg. 'The Matrix.' Many dream that if there is a God he will be a kind of sentimental grandfather, who will not be severe with anybody. They dream that He will ignore their defiance and indifference to Him, how they believe they can ignore Him in His own world...and get away with it. It is a dream that anyone can be happy or satisfied in this world simply by having all their worldly desires fulfilled. Soon they will wake up empty and disillusioned. Satan is called " the father of lies " for a reason ! It is wisdom to wake up to reality now, and not the reality produced by the world to overlay God's revealed reality as revealed in the Bible.

How are we spending our short lives in this world ? Like a dream it will soon be over. Many say they are ' killing time,' but perhaps time is killing them ! Time is like a conveyor belt; do what you will, it will relentlessly bring you on to your final destination. And where is that ? Many times in the Bible we read the call to 'wake up.' And it is not just to atheists but to Christians that these words are addressed ( Rom.13:11). We must pray that we are enabled to show by our lives that we are not ' living the dream,' but following the truth.

OCTOBER 25

" My strength is dried up like a potsherd." Psalm 22:15.

There are days when all our concentration and energy is used up in defending and maintaining what we have left inside. The devil gives the Christian little rest, renewing his conflict during the nighttime also ; he comes against us as with a battering ram against the weary soul. It is difficult to serve God with focus at such times, our advance is by yards and not miles. while not visibly wounded we may nevertheless feel the penetration of his arrows ( Eph.6) into our consciousness. We register a guilt feeling just by being aware of his suggestions ( temptations) ; this conflict is literally something we have to live with while in this world.

David knew, as we do, that it is easy to maintain holiness when we are not tempted otherwise ; just as the ship easily maintains its course in calm weather. But when the storm comes. the intrusions in the mind, how difficult to maintain a straight course ! This Messianic Psalm also reminds us that a holy life, such as Christ's was, will always attract the devil's attention. He sees what opposes him, and holiness always does, and attacks that person ; this was Job's experience also. Contrary to what the devil thought, Job did not obey God for reward but because he loved God ( Job 1:9,10). And those who love God are loved by God. These have the promise that they will be given the strength to follow Christ through this world, and out of it.

OCTOBER 26

" Whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty." James 1:25.

Imagine a mirror which if you look into it, it reflects back to you not the world which you can see but the hidden world which you cannot see. This is what the Bible does, vs.23 ( cf. also 1 Corinth.13;12). This mirror interprets what is happening to yourself and the rest of the world, including what is happening ' behind the scenes ' ( Heb.4:12). In the Bible there is explanation of the unseen forces in life, the hidden motives, the battle between good and evil ( incl.the Angelic battles), and the superintending reign of God. This view of reality gives us ' liberty ' from the naive thinking of the world, from the man-made models of reality.

The principal opposing view of reality is that produced by the theory of Evolution, which proposes that a series of accidents produced our present reality ( and goes on producing it). C.S.Lewis undermines this view - " If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of man was an accident also. If so, then all our present thoughts are mere accidents - the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms...Why should we then believe these thoughts to be true ? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents ! "

OCTOBER 27

" But I say unto you...But I say..." Matthew 5: 22,28,39,44.

Why do different Christian denominations not accomplish union ? The reason is still that some of us ( and we are a minority ) still believe what Christ taught 3,000 years ago and that His doctrines cannot be changed, no matter how much the ' church ' tries to justify the changes. We would be happy to have 'unity in the truth', as Dr.Lloyd Jones advocated.. But many church leaders are constantly changing/revising what Jesus taught. Like the Pharisees of old they are leaders of ' pious opposition ', and call it 'progress'. Speaking to some of these people who wanted union for the sake of union, C.S.Lewis said," The real reason why there can be no communion is not your disagreement with this or that particular doctrine, so much as the absence of any real ' doctrine' in your sense of the word, at all ! ...It is like being asked to agree not only to what a man has said but to what he is going to say." If a church has a history of constantly changing its ' doctrines', we do not know what we would be joining ; it might be something else in a few years - the foundation for union would be constantly changing. But God tells us in the Bible that His foundation is unchangeable. Who therefore do we believe - God or the 'church' ?

The church needs to come back to the Bible, to be restored to the New Testament blueprint. Sadly, corruption entered the church early and has been growing in power and sophistication ever since. We cannot believe something because of the number of people who agree with it, but only because God says it.

OCTOBER 28

" I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Acts 8:37.

When a person is asked,' What do you not believe in ?' ,you will get quite a full answer. Likewise if you ask them what they do not agree with. But what do they believe or agree with ? Is it with other people's opinions about right and wrong, true and false, or is there an objective unchanging standard ? This man in Acts chapter 8 was wondering if what Isaiah wrote ( 800 years previously ) was from God and still true today. He was convinced that it was, and believed it accordingly. " It is a common reproach against Christianity that its dogmas are unchanging while human knowledge is in continual growth. ( C.S.Lewis ) But growth in which direction ? Who can be content with a second hand knowledge which neither gives certainty or peace of mind ? Does the knowledge make the person better and the world better ? What does it accomplish ?

The man in Acts 8 gave a comprehensive summary of his faith, in one sentence. They are the essential content of the Christian Faith, and it is positive. Simply to go through life building up a store of things which you don't agree with will leave a person empty, especially when death comes. Then they find they have nothing to hold onto, they have let go what eternally matters.

OCTOBER 29

" I thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth."  Acts 26:9.

How often we read, " There has been a steady decline in religion. People think less and less of religion." It was actually a good thing that Paul abandoned' religion ' for Christianity ; the former was man-made, the latter was Christ-centred. Paul believed what the church of his time believed, but it was not what Christ believed, and Christ spent a lot of His time here correcting ' religious ' beliefs. Paul's religion was quite contrary to Christ's teaching ( vs.10,11), and now, when He met Christ, he knew it. Now he had spiritual light in his understanding, something all his religious learning could not put there. Paul was no longer attached to activities of outward show, he was no longer looking for a reward for his religiousness. No, he was looking for more of Christ in his life. He had gone ' from religion to Christ.' His life was now lived on simple principles : What did Jesus teach ? How did Jesus worship ? How could he be more like Christ in his daily life ? ( Galat.1:15,16. Acts 9:6). Religion and church standards are always changing, but He is still and always the same ( Heb.13:8).

OCTOBER 30

" We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit." Acts 19:2.

Many people, including in churches ( as these men were ), have not heard of the Holy spirit's ( necessary) involvement in salvation. When we talk of God's supernatural works in the world or of His gracious actions in the church we are talking about the Holy Spirit...or are we ? If the Holy Spirit is not mentioned it implies that things can be done without Him, including salvation. Boasting is excluded if we are all on the same level of spiritual inability and helplessness, as the Bible teaches. Paul was shocked at the ignorance in the church at Ephesus and took steps to remedy it, by teaching them Biblical doctrine. The Christian faith is Trinitarian, and because the Spirit is holy he implants the desire for holiness ( a conformity to the Son which is pleasing to the Father ).

To exclude the Holy Spirit is to abandon sinners to their own efforts and to trusting in outward religious ceremonies. Even the Word of God has no power in itself, the power comes when the Holy Spirit accompanies it. Then it comes with the ' power of God unto salvation '. ( Rom.1:16) The Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to the sinner, He gives the grace that prepares for glory. He must be given His place, else the church will decline spiritually. Christ and His Father will not save anyone without Him, nor shall Christ be glorified without Him ( John 14:16).

OCTOBER 31

The Pharisee : " I am not as other men are." 

The Publican : " God be merciful to me the sinner." Luke 18:11,13.

John Bunyan comments that we see here the two ways in which sinners seek to approach God, by merit or for mercy. There is this constant conflict in the religious world between salvation by works and salvation by grace alone ( and always shall be). works sends us back to self, grace sends us to Christ, Christ alone for salvation. The Pharisee trusted in his attainments ( as Paul used to), but the Publican knew he merited nothing, nothing but condemnation; Paul himself had to learn this ( Philipp.3:12). The Pharisee did not ask for forgiveness, the Publican knew he daren't die without it, and it comes through Christ alone ( Mark 2:7. Such teaching is offensive to the pride of the Pharisees, and pride always goes with unbelief. The Pharisee succumbs to the temptation, ' I do not have enough sin to face condemnation.' The Publican is tempted with the thought that his sins are too great to be forgiven. But he goes 'down to his house' assured otherwise ; God's mercy is greater than our sin. We must not be looking at ourselves for salvation, as if it depends on how good we are or have been.

We only have one life and we cannot afford to make a mistake about this - are we looking for merit or mercy ? We shall finish our course as we began here, by works or by grace. Which of these two men are we like, especially in our prayers ? " Christians are not perfect, only forgiven." was the window sticker on a car in the USA. With Christ the sinner has a future, no matter what the past has been.