Manna in the Morning

“Speak of the Devil!” Now there’s an appropriate phrase to consider...this being October 31st and all. Such an expression is used when someone enters the room unexpectedly or maybe they were expected but not at the precise time they entered. At any rate, when the expression is used one isn’t actually referring to the Devil, himself. As my mom used to say, “It’s just an expression!” Actually, the phrase has been around for quite a while dating even back to the Middle Ages. It is a shortened form of an old English proverb that said, “Speak of the Devil and he doth appear.” Truth is the idea of the Devil has been diminished in our society...that is, except at Halloween time. Tonight you’re likely to see all sorts of devilment: witches, skeletons, ghosts, goblins, zombies, and of course, caricatures of the devil in his bright red suit with horns and sporting a pitchfork. Such playfulness has caused many to deny the Devil’s existence or at least not take him very seriously. The Bible, however, makes it clear that he is real...and he does “prowl around like a lion” bent on destruction. He has power but God is greater! God’s Word says that if we “resist him he will flee.” And another wonderful verse to remember is, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” (I John 4:4) So rather than “speaking of the Devil,” I think it would be far better to speak of Jesus Christ! Don’t you agree?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...” is probably the most well-known verse of the Bible. But we should never let it’s familiarity diminish its meaning and importance. This verse describes for us the amazing love that God has for mankind that He has created in His image. Though man has rebelled against God’s law and often spurned His love... yet, God’s love is steadfast and real. Spurgeon used to tell of a farmer who had a weather vane on his barn with the motto, “God is love.” He was asked if the motto was intended to suggest that God is as changeable as the wind. To which the farmer replied, “Oh, no! It means that no matter which was the wind blows, God is love.” No matter which way the wind blows... no matter how hard it blows... we can depend on the love of a faithful and steadfast God in whom we can find shelter and protection.

There is an old church camp chorus that asked, “Are you downhearted?” The reply was to be sung with emphasis, “NO! NO! NO!” When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia he was encouraging them in their walk with Christ. One of the things he wrote was, “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.” (Galatians 6:9) There are a great many things that tend to drag our spirits down. This world in which we live is not really conducive to victorious living. Problems and adverse circumstances sometimes overwhelm us. But, when our faith is in the One who is coming, “conquering and to conquer,” we are able to soar as eagles by trusting in God’s power. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 43 which ends with this question and its answer: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 43:5). Trusting in our Lord can defeat discouragement. Jesus said, “Take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

How are people reading you? I know that’s a weird question. But, it is true that people read us all the time. They read our body language. They read between the lines of what we say. They read the expressions on our face when we talk with them... they’re looking for signals as to whether we are serious or joking. The Apostle Paul once wrote to the church at Corinth and said, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men.” (2 Corinthians 3:2) That statement by Paul at least indicates that we are conveyors of a message about what we believe. I know that you’ve heard it said that “what you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.” In other words, we need to make sure that our message is in agreement with our behavior. Someone has also said that “you are the only sermon some will ever see!” So, as a Christian, realize that others are reading you... make sure that the message that comes through is one that expresses the presence of Jesus in your life!

In the New Testament we see Jesus making contact with all sorts of people. He was not put off by the social taboos of that day. He cared about people. He touched lepers... he reached out to the outcasts... he bounced children on his knee... he cared for people who were hurting and rejected. In Stockholm, Sweden, a lady was pinned beneath a streetcar. She was seriously injured and bleeding badly. A crowd collected. They tried to move the streetcar, but it was too heavy. There was nothing to do but wait for the heavy equipment to come. She was in great pain and she was losing blood rapidly. Suddenly a young man broke away from the crowd. He crawled under the streetcar and took the woman’s hand and said, “Hold my hand tightly until help comes.” In holding his hand she grew calm. She avoided going into shock. The loss of blood was slowed. Finally, after she was freed, she said, “I never knew the touch of a hand could mean so much.” Jesus is our great example... is there someone’s hand that you need to hold today?

Amy Carmichael was a missionary to South India. Had she never experienced suffering, her name would probably not be well known today. She spent 56 years on the mission field and never returned home to England on furlough. An accident damaged her leg and left her bedridden for the last 20 years of her life. It was during these years in bed that she wrote most of her 40 books. God used her experience of suffering to bring encouragement to millions of people. It was her understanding of God’s ability to fulfill the promise of Romans 8:28 that led Miss Carmichael to write, “A wise master never wastes his servant’s time.” In other words, no matter what set of circumstances we receive, God will not waste an experience if we remain obedient to him. The promise of Romans 8:28 is, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Whatever your find yourself dealing with today... remember... God can use it for your good and His glory.

Have you ever heard the expression, “She’s got a bee in her bonnet?” Or, you might have heard a similar one, “He’s got a burr under his saddle.” Both indicate that the person being referred to is particularly upset about something. Author Max Lucado tells about his boyhood days of playing football out in the West Texas fields. The fields where Max and his friends played were full of grass burrs that stuck in their skin. Sometimes, after a big tackle, a player would have a leg or arm full of grass burrs. They stung horribly. The game came to a stop while the player pulled out each of the burrs. Some players wanted to keep on playing in spite of the burrs, but it was usually too painful. Lucado trusted no one but his father to pull out his burrs. So, he would leave the game, go home, and get his father to pull out every last burr, then he would return to the game. Friends, there are some burrs that only our Father in heaven can remove. Fortunately, God will remove them if we trust ourselves to Him. The Bible urges us to “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (I Peter 5:7)

Understanding is so important. Here’s a good example: A college student took his girlfriend to her very first football game. After the game, he asked her how she liked it.

“I really didn’t understand the game at all,” she said, “and there was one thing that I especially did not understand: why would these otherwise intelligent men try to kill each other for 25 cents?”

Her confused boyfriend asked, “25 cents? What are you talking about?”

“All they were doing the whole game through,” the girlfriend explained, “was screaming at each other to GET THE QUARTERBACK, GET THE QUARTERBACK!”

To be sure understanding the terms of a game that we are not familiar with can present its own confusion. But, I think there is a greater challenge: trying to understand why God loves me... trying to understand that the Creator of the Universe wants to have a relationship with me... trying to understand why so many people have turned away from the God who loves them so much. A great theologian was once ask about the greatest theological truth he had ever discovered... to which he replied, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so!”

I was intrigued recently by some comments by John Alexander who approaches things from a little different perspective in what he calls “The Other Side.” He writes, “to deny sin is bad news, indeed. The only good news is sin itself. Sin is the best news there is, the best news there could be in our predicament.

“Because with sin, there’s a way out. There’s the possibility of repentance. You can’t repent of confusion or psychological flaws inflicted by your parents—you’re stuck with them. But you can repent of sin.

“Sin and repentance are the only grounds for hope and joy. The grounds for reconciled relationship. You can be born again.”

John’s approach to our predicament reminds me of something that Billy Sunday said in a revival meeting: “A sinner can repent... but, stupid is forever!” 

So, you see there is wonderful news for me and you and everybody... yes, we are sinners... but through and because of Jesus Christ there is good news... through Him we can be forgiven... we can be born again! Remember Paul’s word in Romans 5:6, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”

"Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet!” It’s absolutely true... we are all works in progress. None of us has reached the goal yet... not in our commitments, or our prayer life, or our service, or our worship, or our maturity... we are still growing. The Apostle Paul talked about that in his letter to the church at Philippi. He said, “...one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on...” (Phil. 3:13,14) On the specific matter of prayer, Thomas Merton had this to say about not trying so hard in prayer, “How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun. A small green apple cannot ripen in one night by tightening all its muscles, squinting its eyes and tightening its jaw in order to find itself the next morning miraculously large, red, ripe, and juicy. Like the birth of a baby or the opening of a rose, the birth of the true self takes place in God’s time. We must wait for God, we must be awake; we must trust in his hidden action within us.” Let God work in your life today.