Exposed

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 7-8; Psalm 106

TO CHEW ON: "Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" John 8:12

The scribes and Pharisess who brought the adulterous woman to Jesus figure largely in many incidents in the gospels. My Thompson Chain Bible (NKJV) gives a simple description of them:

"Scribes: Writers or secretaries who copied the Scriptures.


Pharisees: A party among the Jews of Jesus' time that laid great stress upon the observance of rites and ceremonies. They made a pretense of superior piety and separated themselves from the common people. They were believers in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body and the existence of angels and spirits" (p. 1939).

Most people of that day held the scribes and Pharisees in awe because of their showy saintliness. But not Jesus. And not the Gospel writers. Matthew, for example shows the Pharisees and scribes as:

• Not righteousness enough to get into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20).

• Murderous (Matthew 12:14).

• Insincere when they pretended to be on the verge of following Jesus if He would give them just one more sign (Matthew 12:38).

• Hypocritical when they tried to entrap others over transgressing the fine points of the law (like hand-washing) while they themselves transgressed the big points (like failing to honor parents) (Matthew 15:1-9).

• Conniving as they attempted to trap Jesus into saying or doing something they considered wrong (Matthew 19:3).

Today's story from John 8 shows them in just such a scheming mode. And though there was no question that the woman they hauled before Jesus was a sinner, He was masterful in staying out of their trap. When they insisted that she be stoned:

"He raised Himself up and said, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' Then He bent down and went on writing on the ground with His finger" - John 8:7-8.

Surprise of surprises, instead of picking up stones and getting to work they began, one by one, to leave. Why? Obviously each one was convicted of his own sin.

Some say that the source of their sin-conviction was what Jesus was writing on the ground — that he was listing their sins right in front of their eyes. But I believe it was His simple presence. For, Jesus' declaration of being the light of the world (John 8:12) follows the narrative as if it's the lesson or point of the story. Their slinking away showed that in the light of Him, each one became painfully aware of his own sin and knew he could not be the one to start the stoning.

Like the self-righteous Pharisees we too find it easy to categorize sin and stand in judgment over those whose sin is, in our eyes, worse than our own. Until, that is, we come into the presence of Jesus, the light, and see our own soiled selves.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please keep me from being pharisaical and judgmental. Help me to view myself realistically and to treat fellow travelers with the same grace that I need. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 106

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

I'm sorry. Please forgive me

"David Asking Forgiveness" by Julius Schnorr Von Carolsfeld (1851-60)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 10-11; Psalm 51

TO CHEW ON: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17

Psalm 51 is David's eloquent prayer of repentance, prayed after the prophet Nathan confronted him with God's reaction to his role in the Bathsheba affair. I wonder, had he been avoiding God in the interim? Or had he carried on as usual, pretending everything was fine between them? Now that he knew things weren't fine, a lot of seemingly pent-up realizations came bubbling to the surface:

• He's been feeling dirty: "wash me thoroughly ... purge me with hyssop ... wash me..." (Psalm 51:2, 7, 10). My Bible's footnotes explain, "The Hebrew word for wash (vs. 10)  is not the one used for the simple cleansing of a dish in water but rather the washing of clothes by beating and pounding them" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 727.

• His sin has been bothering him—even if he squelched it down pretending it was no big deal: "...my sin is always before me..." (Psalm 51:3,4).

• He admits that he deceived himself and needs God's help for that not to happen again: "Behold You desire truth in the inward parts / And in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom" (Psalm 51:6).

• His sin has sucked the joy out of life: "Make me hear joy and gladness .... Restore to me the joy of Your salvation" (Psalm 51:8,12).

• It has silenced his praise: "O Lord, open my lips / And my mouth shall sing aloud of Your righteousness" (Psalm 51:15).

• He fears God's Spirit has left or will leave him: "Do not cast me away from Your presence / And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).

• He has a renewed realization that God is holy and not someone with whom to toy: "Have mercy upon me, O God ... Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed" (Psalm 51:1, 14).

• No bargaining, he gives God carte blanche to deal with him over this sin: "Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion" (Psalm 51:18).

I would suggest that David's reactions to his uncovered sin are frequently ours as well. That's why Psalm 51 is often our destination when we've sinned and we're needing to confess and repent.

May our words be as sincere, our spirits as broken, our hearts as contrite as David's appear to be when we read or recite this sacrifice of confession and repentance.

PRAYER: Dear God, You know how easily and often I sin and feel the same emotions as David expresses here. Help me to be as repentant as he was. May I learn from these times so that "truth in the inner parts" and wisdom in the "hidden part" become my lifestyle. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 51

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Discovering the truth about ourselves

"David and Nathan" - Matthias Scheits

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 33-34; Psalm 51

TO CHEW ON: "Behold You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom." Psalm 51:6


David prayed this prayer after the uncanny experience of having Nathan the prophet come to him and expose his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12).

Had Nathan caught him in the act?

No. It was God who revealed David's sin to Nathan—the God who:

• spotted Noah as righteous - Genesis 7:1.

• whispered the secrets of Saul to Samuel - 1 Samuel 9:19.

• alerted Elisha to Gehazi's sin of lying to Naaman - 2 Kings 5:26.

• kept Jesus in-the-know about the thoughts and attitudes of those around Him - Matthew 22:18; Mark 2:8; Luke 6:8; 11:17.

• gave the disciples confidence to offer the gospel to the Gentiles - Acts 15:8.

But David was a Spirit-filled man, wasn't he? Why did God need to send someone else to tell him how displeasing his sin was?

Perhaps because his involvement in that sin had opened him up to deception. Whenever his sin bothered him, which it no doubt did, he silenced the pangs of conscience or the voice of God with, 'It's no big deal' or, 'I had no other option,' or any number of other excuses we too give for committing sin. Then it took someone else, someone who heard God's voice clearly, to bring him to his senses. It was only after Nathan confronted him that he confessed to his sin (2 Samuel 12: 7,13).

God wants us to be just as scrupulously honest with ourselves—to live in truth at the deepest level. He can show us the state of our hearts. I love another David psalm where he prays: "Search me O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting" - Psalm 139:23,24.

But if we insist on living in deception, God can also send someone—our own Nathan—to tell us the truth about ourselves. The question is, will we be as receptive to such an exposé as David was? However it happens may we be as quick to acknowledge our sin and repent.

PRAYER: Dear God, please alert me to self deception. I want to have a life of truth and wisdom. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 51

MORE:  Repentance

"Repentance always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is a remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself.

The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panging pains of repentance crashing into a man's respectable goodness; then the Holy God, who produces these agonies, begins the formation of the Son of God in the life. The new life will manifest itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness, never the other way about" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 7 reading.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 

Word that cuts to the heart

Stephen before the Sanhedrin - Artist Unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 7:35-8:1

TO CHEW ON: "When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth." Acts 7:54

After taking his listeners (the High Priest and members of the Sanhedrin) on a trip through Old Testament history, recalling Israel's long record of rejecting the prophets, Stephen came to the climax of his message:

"'You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers'" Acts 7:51,52.

The reaction was immediate:

"… they [the Jews] were cut to the heart and infuriated, and they ground their teeth against [Stephen]" Acts 7:54 AMP.

The same expression, "cut to the heart," is used another time when Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin. Peter was defiant about their orders to stop speaking of Jesus. He accused them of killing the One who was now exalted as "Prince and Leader and Savior and Deliverer and Preserver…"  - Acts 5:31 AMP.  Their reaction was identical:

"Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and infuriated and wanted to kill the disciples" - Acts 5:33 AMP.

In both cases the speakers—Peter and Stephen—used Scripture to make their points, retelling its stories, quoting relevant verses, and making unpopular applications. The effect this use of scripture had on members of the Sanhedrin reminds me of another verse that flat out states that the word of God cuts:

" For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart" - Hebrews 4:12 AMP.

As our society drifts ever farther from Judeo-Christian moorings, the message of scripture—the Bible—will become ever more controversial. But because it was authored by the One who created the human heart, who knows the deepest part of human nature, it continues to have the penetrating power to expose, sift, analyze and judge our thoughts and motivations. It still cuts to the heart.

This cutting can bring us to a place of obedience or resistance, as was the case with these Jewish leaders. Perhaps we should prepare ourselves for a time when the widespread reaction to it in our culture will be every bit as dangerous to us as it was to Stephen in Acts.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your Word which exposes me to myself. Help me not to resist it but to let it  cut, expose, sift, analyze, and judge me toward obedience. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Word's power

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 1:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” Revelation 1:16

This first chapter of Revelation has so many imagination-stirring images, it’s hard to pick just one. I’m going with what immediately jumped off the page at me on first reading this morning—John’s image of “One like the Son of Man,” focusing on what comes from His mouth.

It’s a two-edged sword - Revelation 1:16.

Where have we seen that before?

“For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” - Hebrews 4:12.

In this verse I’m snagged by another word: “word,” which brings to mind:

“In he beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth” - John 1:14.

So we’ve come full-circle back to Jesus, the word and glory of God (John 1:14 compared with Revelation 1:16).

Other Bible verses that elaborate on the God's word show us that it is:
- Like fire - Jeremiah 5:14; 23:29.
- Life-bringing - Ezekiel 37:7.
- Prevailing and victorious - Acts 19:20.
- Salvation bringing - Romans 1:16.
- Our spiritual weapon - Ephesians 6:17.
- The implement God will use to enforce His rule on the nations - Revelation 19:15.

How exciting to have access to something so powerful! But also, what a privilege and responsibility to accept and respond to that word sword’s piercing, dividing, thought-and-intention-discerning work on us now, in this age of grace.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please make me sensitive to Your piercing, probing, and discerning word on my thoughts, motivations, and actions. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Holy Spirit-Comforter

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 9:19b-31

TO CHEW ON: "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied." Acts 9:31

After a time of hounding and upheaval the church had a period of peace and grew as its members walked in the "... comfort of the Holy Spirit." I can imagine them in almost a daze of relief as the winds of persecution eased and they experienced a stretch of smooth sailing .

In His role as Comforter, Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as Helper.

["Comfort - paraklesis - means a calling alongside to help, to comfort, to give consolation or encouragement. The paraklete is a strengthening presence, one who upholds those appealing for assistance" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1508.]

Jesus spoke to His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit and how He would help them in John 14, 15 and 16. He said:

• Holy Spirit would be with them forever - John 14:16.

• He would live with them and in them - John 14:17.

• He would teach them the things of God and help them remember these things when they needed to recall them - John 14:26.

• He would come with authority ("sent from the Father"), speak truth and testify of Jesus - John 15:26.

• He would be the One to convict unbelievers of sin, righteousness, and judgment (and hadn't those early Christians just seen that play out in living color in the life of Saul!) - John 16:7,8.

• He would reveal things to come - John 16:13.

Holy Spirit Comforter/Helper is still with us today. We don't ever need to feel that we're stuck doing God's work alone. We believe that He is with us and in us. He will help us understand the things of God and bring them to our memories. He is the One who convicts unbelieving family members, friends, neighbours, and associates of their sin and their need for salvation. He can prepare us for what's ahead.

Let's walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit today.


PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, thank You for Your comforting presence in my life. Please help me to experience You as teacher, prompter of what to say, the one who convicts of sin, prophet, and revealer of truth in Jesus and the Father. Amen.


MORE: "The Comforter Has Come" - Jars of Clay





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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jonah's evangelistic success

Nineveh Repents - Nicolas Fontaine (1625-1709)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 3:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes." Jonah 3:5-6


Have you ever looked at a person or group of people and thought, They would never accept the gospel? Jonah's thoughts about the Ninevites probably ran along those lines. And yet no sooner did he start preaching than the people became filled with conviction and were visibly repentant. What was Jonah's secret?

Perhaps he was a really persuasive orator? Or maybe it was his appearance. I've heard it suggested that he was quite the sight, with bleached skin and white hair after three days of treading water in the fish's digestive juices. Perhaps his shocking appearance scared the people into paying attention?

It may have been a bit of both, but I believe there was something way bigger going on here—and that it was God the Spirit sending conviction to these hearts. He did something similar among the Jews when Ezra and Nehemiah read the Scripture scroll (Nehemiah 8:8-9) and in the crowd that Peter preached to on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:40-43).

And so Jonah's story can be an encouragement to us. For when God gives an assignment, we can be sure that He has and is working on the recipients of our mission, readying their ears and softening the soil of their hearts.  If our work meets with success it is due to this more than our strategies and efforts.

PRAYER: Dear God the Spirit, please help me to obey Your promptings so that Your work can be completed and I have the joy of being part of it. Amen.

MORE: Holy Spirit Rain Down (Hillsong Church)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

But it's just a little thing

Art from Iceberg

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 16:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in My law or not.'" Exodus 16:4

The Israelites had just experienced the great high of crossing over the Red Sea and watching the Egyptians perish. But from that high they soon plunged to a low when they needed water and the water they eventually found was bitter. Their reaction: they grumbled and complained against Moses.

Would we blame them? Yet Moses' response to their grumbling shows that this was no frivolous thing: "Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord" (Exodus 16:8).

A little while later, remembering their Egyptian diet and comparing it to what they now ate now, "...the whole congregation complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness" (Exodus 16:2). God sent manna to satisfy their hunger. It was food that had an interesting side purpose: "And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not." The "quota" was enough for each day and double that amount on the day before Sabbath so Sabbath was a day off. How they followed those instructions was God's test.

These are such little things—grumbling and complaining, not following instructions. Haven't we all been guilty of doing something similar?

Jerry Bridges in his book The Pursuit of Holiness says,

"We do not take some sin seriously. We have mentally categorized sins into that which is acceptable and that which may be tolerated a bit .... Andrew Bonar said, 'It is not the importance of the thing, but the majesty of the Lawgiver that is to be the standard of obedience .... Some, indeed, might reckon such minute rules as these trifling. But the principle involved in obedience or disobedience was none other than the same principle which was tried in Eden at the foot of the forbidden tree. It is really this: Is the Lord to be obeyed in all things whatsoever He commands? Is He a holy Lawgiver? Are His creatures bound to give implicit assent to His will?'" - Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness, Kindle Location 110 - Bonar quote from Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus, 1846, reprint 1972, p. 218 (emphasis added).

And so when God convicts about some little thing let's not try to wriggle our way out of dealing with it, giving the excuse that it's too insignificant to be concerned about. Rather, let's do the needed thing—make it right and change our ways because of the worth of our holy, majestic Lawgiver.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these examples of how you test us in the little things. Help me to live with a sensitive conscience before You today, quick to change my ways where You apply pressure. Amen.


MORE: "The great disposition of sin underneath"

"When I get into the presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense; I realize the concentration of sin in a particular feature of my life.... The conviction is concentrated on—I am this, or that, or the other. This is always the sign that a man or woman is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but the concentration of sin in some personal particular. God begins by convicting us of one thing fixed on in the mind that is prompted by His Spirit; if we will yield to His conviction on that point, He will lead us down to the great disposition of sin underneath. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously in His presence" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 3 reading (emphasis added).

I believe Chambers has put his finger one of the reasons little things aren't really little at all. It is because they are symptoms of our real condition. They are the one tenth of the iceberg jutting above the surface, hiding the nine tenths of that "great disposition of sin" underneath."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Our Helper

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 15:18-16:4

TO CHEW ON: "'But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.'" John 15:26.


Here Jesus predicts that practically everyone will hate His followers. The world will hate them just as it hated Him (John 15:18-25). Fellow Hebrews will hate them, throwing them out of the synagogue and killing them, believing that by doing this they are serving God (John 16:2-4).

Sandwiched between these grim predictions is a comforting one: "'But the Helper comes whom I will send to you…'"

Helper - parakletos comes from para - beside and kaleo - to call—meaning called to one's side. "The word signifies an intercessor, comforter, helper, advocate, counselor. In non-biblical literature parakletos had the technical meaning of an attorney who appears in court in another's behalf" - Dick Mills, Word Wealth article - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1472.

Bible writers mention the Holy Spirit's help in many places. Below are several. In each one the Spirit's way of helping is a little different:

• In John 14:16 we have the Helper that abides (lives) with us forever.

• In John 14:26 the Helper is a teacher and the One who helps us recall what we have learned.

• In John 15:26—our focus verse—the Helper testifies of Jesus. In this promise, placed between two predictions of persecution, is also the implication that the Holy Spirit will help Jesus' followers with strength to endure the world's hostilities.

• In John 16:7,8 the Helper convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.

• In John 16:13 He is called the Spirit of truth who guides us into truth and a knowledge of the future as He speaks what He hears from the Ones who know—the Son and the Father (John 16:15,15).

• Finally, in Acts 9:31, author Luke connects the early Christians' Spirit-comforted lifestyle with church growth.

What a comfort for us to know that this Comforter/Helper is still available to us. Let's step out in faith as Jesus' modern disciples, knowing that He is beside us and in us, like a wise, knowledgeable lawyer, ready to help when we need Him.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for sending Comforter, Helper Holy Spirit. Help me to know His presence in a practical way through the different situations of my life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The power of story

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 1:11-24

TO CHEW ON: "And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, 'He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.' And they glorified God in me." Galatians 1:22-24

Each one of us has a story of how we came to Jesus (if we have come to Him). In Galatians 1, Paul reminds the members of the churches in Galatia of his.

He starts out by expressing shock that some of them are turning away from faith in Christ to "a different gospel." How can you turn from something so obviously divinely inspired, he asks. Then he reminds them of how he first encountered Christ, stopped in his tracks by a light and a voice right in the middle of one of his church persecution trips.

I love hearing people's stories. No two are alike. And each one helps us understand more about the God who has won us too.

I recently attended the funeral of a cousin who accepted Christ as a child in Sunday School and never strayed from her faith. Her story is an illustration of God's ability to keep and satisfy someone through a whole lifetime.

My story shows I wasn't as steadfast. But the way God lovingly brought me back to Himself and spared me consequences I could have suffered is evidence of His goodness, and how that is as powerful a force in bringing us to Himself as is fear of judgment (Romans 2:4).

The story of Jungleman  (quoted under sections #1 and 3 within the review of the book  Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman's Story) shows how God can reach people in the remotest places and speak to them in ways they understand.

The story Cornelius Smith's conversion (father of Gypsy Smith) illustrates the Holy Spirit's power to convict.

What is your story? Do you willingly share it? Whether it's simple or dramatic, God can use your story, as He used Paul's, to bring glory to Himself.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the many ways You draw people to Yourself. Help me to share my experience with others. May it bring glory to You. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The mysterious work of conviction

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 16:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment." John 16:8

"The work of God is hidden and silent; what we do is something distinct and tangible. Conversion and faith, prayer and obedience are conscious acts of which we can give a clear account; while the spiritual quickening and strengthening that comes from above are secret and beyond the reach of human sight." Andrew Murray - Abide In Christ

I never tire of listening to the story of my husband's conversion.

He was working in Toronto for a trust company at the time and loved two things: his work and his time off. He spent the latter with friends at the bar.

Though he had grown up in a Christian home and gone to church as long as his parents could force him to, he had long since left all that behind. However, they continued to send him stuff like new translations of the Bible and Christian books. And they continued to pray even though it didn't look as if their prodigal was any closer to coming to the Lord than he had been for years. Things were happening though, and on various fronts.

It was during this time that Anita Bryant  came to Toronto. Her presence at People's Church led to demonstrations against her and the brouhaha gave my husband pause as he realized he was on the side of the controversial speaker, even though he didn't know why.

His bar life began to satisfy him less and less. He watched as his married friends spent their evenings drinking with the guys and wondered why they weren't at home with their wives and families. He realized that if he married, he wanted his wife to be someone with whom he could build a lasting relationship, preferably a Christian. But what Christian woman would want to marry him?

He started watching Christian programs on TV. In fact, before stumbling into bed after coming home liquored up late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, he'd set his alarm to wake him in time to watch People's Church.

Finally one holiday he decided that instead of going to Montreal, he'd stay home (where he had a pool and bar buddies) and read one of the books his dad had recently sent him. It was while reading that book (Born Again by Chuck Colson) that he took the final step and surrendered his life to Jesus.

His story bears out the truth of Jesus' words about the work of the Holy Spirit. While his parents and others prayed, the Holy Spirit was busy convicting him and drawing him, though, as Andrew Murray points out, it was a hidden work.

Are you praying for a loved one but getting discouraged because you see no evident change, no progress toward God? Stay the course. The Holy Spirit is still in the business of convicting. Though that process is often hidden with no exterior signs that much is going on, in the fullness of time it will come out.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the convicting work of Holy Spirit. Help me to trust that You are working in the spiritual lives of people I'm praying for even when I don't see outward evidence. Amen.

MORE: A sense of particular sin

"When I get into the presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense; I realize the concentration of sin in a particular feature of my life .... This is always the sign that a man or woman is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but the concentration of sin in some personal particular. God begins by convicting us of the one thing fixed on in the mind that is prompted by His Spirit; if we will yield to His conviction on that point, He will lead us down to the great disposition of sin underneath" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 3 reading. 

 

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

The mysterious work of 'conviction'

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 16:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment." John 16:8

"The work of God is hidden and silent; what we do is something distinct and tangible. Conversion and faith, prayer and obedience are conscious acts of which we can give a clear account; while the spiritual quickening and strengthening that comes from above are secret and beyond the reach of human sight." Andrew Murray - Abide In Christ

I never tire of listening to the story of my husband's conversion.

He was working in Toronto for a trust company at the time and loved two things: his work and his time off. He spent the latter with friends at the bar.

Though he had grown up in a Christian home and gone to church as long as his parents could force him to, he had long since left all that behind. However, they continued to send him stuff like new translations of the Bible and Christian books. And they continued to pray even though it didn't look as if their prodigal was any closer to coming to the Lord than he had been for years. Things were happening though, and on various fronts.

It was during this time that Anita Bryant  came to Toronto. Her presence at People's Church led to demonstrations against her and the brouhaha gave my husband pause as he realized he was on the side of the controversial speaker, even though he didn't know why.

His bar life began to satisfy him less and less. He watched as his married friends spent their evenings drinking with the guys and wondered why they weren't at home with their wives and families. He realized that if he married, he wanted his wife to be someone with whom he could build a lasting relationship, preferably a Christian. But what Christian woman would want to marry him?

He started watching Christian programs on TV. In fact, before stumbling into bed after coming home liquored up late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, he'd set his alarm to wake him in time to watch People's Church.

Finally one holiday he decided that instead of going to Montreal, he'd stay home (where he had a pool and bar buddies) and read one of the books his dad had recently sent him. It was while reading that book (Born Again by Chuck Colson) that he took the final step and surrendered his life to Jesus.

His story bears out the truth of Jesus' words about the work of the Holy Spirit. While his parents and others prayed, the Holy Spirit was busy convicting him and drawing him, though, as Andrew Murray points out, it was a hidden work.

Are you praying for a loved one but getting discouraged because you see no evident change, no progress toward God? Stay the course. The Holy Spirit is still in the business of convicting. Though that process is often hidden with no exterior signs that much is going on, in the fullness of time it will come out.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the convicting work of Holy Spirit. Help me to trust that You are working in the spiritual lives of people I'm praying for even when I don't see outward evidence. Amen.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.