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Bread for Believers

4/27/2020

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

     My friends, there is only one answer for a troubled heart and that answer is faith in the Savior, faith in the living God. Faith in the living God settles a troubled heart! Now hear this well: Jesus did not shelter his men from the hour of trouble (John 14:1-3). However, he did say the trouble on the outside did not have to trouble them on the inside!

   When the storm is raging on the outside those who put their trust in the Lord will experience peace on the inside. The Word of God says, “The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Psalm 9:9-10).

     Again the Word of God says, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalm 27:4-5).

     Again, the Word of God says, “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:6-7).

     Again, the Word of Gods says, “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him” (Psalm 37:39-40).

     Again, the Word of God says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust . . .

     Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling . . .

     Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (Psalm 91:1-2, 9-10, 14-16).

     Now I ask, do you understand the faithful character of your God? Do you understand the character of the one who says, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me?”

     My friends, he is the Good Shepherd that gave his life for the sheep. He loves his own and makes them to lie down in green pastures and leads them beside still waters. And though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he is with us. Therefore, we will fear no evil. His presence, his rod, and his staff they comfort us.

     Even as we face a great national trial and days of uncertainty, yet he speaks powerfully into our life today with these reassuring words: let not your heart be trouble; I will never leave you, nor forsake you; not one of my promises will fall to the ground; trust me and call upon my name.

     When Jesus taught his disciples to believe upon him, to keep their trust in him through their trial, of necessity they needed to pray as the trial unfolded. Today if we are going to experience a peaceful heart through our storm, then we must pray.

     You see, the Word of God is teaching us to put our trust in him. We are taught to seek him. We are taught to call upon his name. We are taught to turn to him in the day of our trouble. And when we do so, He will hide us in the shelter of his arms. He will speak peace to our heart. He will carry us through the storm. He will be our refuge. We will experience peace in the midst of the storm. Instead of a troubled heart, the peace of God that passes understanding will rule our hearts!

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Bread for Believers

4/22/2020

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Reflections on our Creator from Isaiah 40:12

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

This verse begins a series of rhetorical questions to which the only answer is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth. The first question asks, “who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?”

I should remind you that to our knowledge planet earth is the only inhabitable planet in the universe. And of course, water is the most fundamental building block of life on the planet. And so, we learn upon first calling into existence the basic earth elements as recorded in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of the Lord “moved upon the face of the waters.”

There is an immense amount of water on our planet. Approximately ¾ of the surface of the earth is covered with water. Scientists tell us the deepest part of the ocean (which is called the Challenger Deep) is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200 feet deep. That is nearly 7 miles deep.

My friends, the Creator of the ends of the earth measures those waters in the hallow of his hand. Think about that.

The next part of verse 12 says, who has “meted out heaven with the span?” Another way to say this would be, “who took a ruler and measured the expanse of heaven?” The answer of course is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

As you know, by way of the Hubble telescope scientists can peer deep into the universe. Interestingly, they cannot find an end to the universe. In fact, it appears to be expanding even as we speak. We should not be surprised as verse 22 of our text says the Lord “stretches out the heavens as a curtain.” Think about that. The Lord can take his ruler if you please and measure a universe that is still stretching out!

Verse twelve continues by asking who has weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?” The picture that comes to my mind as I read this statement are the scales down at the local grocery store. Ladies, you often take produce of some kind and weigh it in a scale to get the price of the item. Well, our God is so big he can weigh the mountains in His scales!

It is obvious verse 12 is painting the picture of an omnipotent Creator who holds all of creation in His hand.

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Bread for Believers

4/21/2020

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Coming to Grips with Accountability

Do you understand one day you must face the judgment seat of Christ?

The issue on that day will not be salvation. Rather, believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ must give account for the works done in the body. In a word, believers must face their record as a personal steward before the Lord.

Two things come to mind immediately. First, if we neglect actual service for Christ there will be very little reward. The Lord cannot reward his people for opportunities neglected.

Second, the works offered to the Lord will be examined to determine the motive with which they were performed. Offering service with a wrong motive will not be rewarded.

Here are several passages of Scripture to study closely related to the Judgment Seat of Christ: 2 Cor. 5:9-10; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; Matthew 25:21; Luke 12:41-48; 1 Cor. 4:2.

It is obvious from these passages every believer must give account of himself to Christ. It is said we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive a reward for the things done in the body.

It is possible to stand there and see various works burn before our eyes as the Lord reveals them for what they really are. Please understand the Lord places a premium upon the attitude of heart with which we do things. Our motive must be pure otherwise we will suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ.

So, several truths come into focus as we meditate on these verses. First, believers are fully accountable to God.

Does this truth grip your heart appropriately? You must appear before Christ. Is this nothing to you? Is there no motivation to please the Savior on your part? Are you contented to drift along as a believer with little or no work for Christ?

And when you serve and give is it with a pure motive? Is it your desire to work and give out of pure love for the Savior?

You see, whatever is done to be seen of men or with any other motive other than love for Christ cannot be rewarded. The reward for that work will be lost!

Notice also from our reading that the Lord places a strong emphasis upon faithfulness. The Lord expects his redeemed to serve faithfully where he places them.

Hudson Taylor a well-known Christian missionary now in heaven once said: “Small things are small things, but faithfulness with a small thing is a big thing.” Amen!

Are you motivated to be faithful to Christ? Do you faithfully serve and give with a pure heart where God has placed you? If so, you are going to receive reward when you stand before Christ.

On the other hand, many believers will be saved by the skin of their teeth. Can you imagine standing before your Lord with absolutely no reward? How sad that will be. How disappointed the Lord Jesus will be with such believers. Saved? Yes. Embarrassed? Yes again!

Hear me carefully: your stewardship matters and, in some way, every one of us will live eternally in light of what we did with the opportunities the Lord gave us.

Considering the eternal consequences of neglecting faithful, loving service as the Lord’s stewards every believer should be motivated to please Christ.

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Bread for Believers

Bread for Believers

Bread for Believers

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