The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” (John 16:7).

It was the most heartbreaking, horrible news the disciples could ever imagine hearing. The Lord Jesus told them that He was going to be leaving them. They most certainly did not want Him to leave. They wanted Him to stay exclusively with them. But the Lord Jesus explained that it was expedient for Him to go away. We know that He was speaking of His death on the cross as well as His resurrection and ascension. No longer would He be confined to one location at a time, and it would be then that He would begin His worldwide ministry through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the things that sound the worst actually are great blessings if we just wait upon the Lord.

For today: Aren’t you glad for the worldwide ministry of the Holy Spirit? I am, too!

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).

The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy of the amazing grace of the Lord and of how powerful and precious that the Lord Jesus would come to be our Savior. Think of that phrase, “Christ came into the world to save sinners!” We were lost. Hopeless and helpless we were to save and rescue ourselves. We needed the saving rescue of the Lord Jesus. I was reading about the heroic rescue by the four Butler brothers that took place on July 25, 2019.  A six-year-old little girl was rapidly being swept away into the ocean from her family. Desperate attempts by her daddy to rescue her were unsuccessful as he was a poor swimmer. The successful rescue of this little sweetheart by these four brothers took determination, effort, fighting the ocean waves, and intentionally risking their own lives. One of the brothers, Eoghan, told the Washington Post, “I just didn’t want to give up on her.” All in all the rescue took nearly an hour. But as Declan later said, “Seeing her jump around, kiss her mom, that was actually amazing!”  That is a wonderful true story of rescue. But the rescue of which Paul writes, as you know if you’ve trusted Christ, is even better because it is an eternal rescue.

For today: Saving sinners, that’s what my Savior does. Saving sinners, that’s what I needed. How about you?

“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:5-7).

The Apostle Paul speaks to the Corinthians about the glorious blessing and work of the Lord. He has poured into our frail life the glorious light of the gospel and the knowledge of His awesomeness by a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. What a treasure. From hobbyhelp.com, I was recently reading about an amazing find. The article states, “Some folks are on a constant mission to unearth buried treasure, while others are fortunate enough to stumble upon it unexpectedly. Back in 2013, an unsuspecting California-based couple took their dog for a walk and noticed a rusted can partially buried in the ground. They were shocked to find that the metal container was filled with $20 gold coins. Upon further investigation, the couple found several more coin-filled cans buried nearby on their property. The coins were minted from 1847 to 1894, and much to the couple’s surprise, there were nearly 1,400 $20 pieces in total. Additionally, the duo discovered 50 $10 coins and 4 $5 pieces. While the worth of the collection would have been impressive even at face value, the going rate for a single coin was estimated at $1 million. Coin expert David McCarty described the amazing discovery as “unheard of” in North America.” It is probable that you and I will never find such treasure in a rusty can! But we have something even better. Into our frail life, the earthen vessel, the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus shines.

For today: It is my prayer that from our meager earthen vessels might shine the treasure of the glory of God and the reality of our personal relationship with Christ.

“That He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

I shared this passage of Scripture with you yesterday as well. Consider this! The Lord Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted of the devil. How sinister for the devil to think that He could cause the Lord Jesus to disobey His Father. How outrageous! After fasting for forty days, the Bible reveals that the Lord Jesus was famished (Matthew 4:2). The devil came tempting Him by saying, “If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3). The Lord Jesus faced this temptation by quoting Scripture. Did you know that the Scripture He quoted is Deuteronomy 8:3? How blessed this is for us. We too have the wonderful Word of God to carry with us in our hearts. By quoting the Word of God, we too can have victory in times of temptation.

For today: I need to have the Word of God in my heart to keep my feet from wandering!

“That He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Wally and the men who traveled with him had returned from a missions’ trip to one of the poorer countries in Africa. He and his wife took the day off from work to celebrate his safe return after being gone for three weeks. He never expected this to hit him this way. After enjoying lunch together at their favorite restaurant, it struck him like a ton of bricks when he noticed the group beside them. They were a noisy group who were loud in their conversation and frequent in their complaints about minor issues. As they left the restaurant, Wally noticed how much food was left on their plates and being wasted. An immediate picture came to his mind of the bush people who had little to eat and yet were happy in the Lord. Stunned, Wally turned to his wife and said, “The brothers and sisters in the Lord with whom I have stayed these past weeks love to hear the Word of God. They know that His Word is far more desirous than food. Yet I come home to the United States and I see such waste, dissatisfaction, and discontentment. I want to be much more thankful for the food I have to eat and the Word of God that will direct me.”

For today: We need the Word of God. Take time to read it today.