February (part 2 of 2)
FEBRUARY 19
"And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD" (Joshua 9:14).
Joshua and the people thought there was no harm in making a league with the humble and fearful Gibeonites. So without consulting God, in their desire to show kindness and sympathy to the pleading people, they made a covenant with the Gibeonites not to destroy them. Just as Joshua and the children of Israel failed to enquire from God and know His will concerning the Gibeonites, very often we also fail to seek guidance from God. It is the privilege of God's children to be led by the Lord. He has promised, "I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalm 32:8).
This is the solemn warning to us all. Before making any decision, before doing anything whatever, whether it is a family matter or a marriage or a job, let us take care to come to the Lord for guidance, lest we should suffer loss and shame. Some might wonder whether they should go to the Lord for small things also. Remember, this doubtful thought is exactly the same as what Joshua thought concerning the Gibeonites. As God's people, let us take warning not to be governed by our relations, our own community, our friends, or neighbours or anybody else. Be governed only by God's Word and the Holy Spirit and the voice of God. Now it may take a day or a week or five years, or ten years, or even more, to find God's will. However that might be, wait patiently till it pleases Him to speak to you. Pray again and again morning, noon and night, day after day. Otherwise you and your children will suffer loss. This loss may be in many ways. First of all you will become blind spiritually. You will not be able to hear the voice of God, because of dullness in spiritual hearing. The enemy will go on gaining more and more ground in your life.
The Lord wants to give you a heavenly inheritance, and make you higher than all the nations of the world. He wants to give you all that He has, His kingdom and His authority. That is why sometimes He makes you wait. If you want to receive all things from God, you must learn not to leave a hoof behind for the enemy. In everything you must be governed by God. It is a sad thing how in spite of repeated warnings from the Lord many parents have been deceived and have committed mistakes concerning their children's future. Sometimes they have feared their daughters are getting old and no one will marry them. So they have hastily got them married even to unbelievers without asking counsel from God. They argue after marriage, the daughters can convert their husbands. With great sorrow we have to warn you that if you do this, you and your family and that very same daughter, will suffer many years and bring you much misery.
FEBRUARY 20
"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead" (Revelation 1:17).
These three small words "Looking unto Jesus" which we read in Heb. 12:2 contain a great secret. They tell us that first of all, we should see the Lord Jesus now, and then go on seeing Him not only upon this earth, but throughout eternity. The Niagara Falls in Canada is supposed to be one of the seven wonders of the world. It is a very beautiful sight. In 1928 I stayed there for six days and began to visit the Falls at sunrise, mid-day and at sunset. I began to see them a new way. The more I saw this wonderful sight, the more I noticed how exceeding beautiful it was. Nevertheless to appreciate the full beauty of the Niagara Falls one needs to see them in winter and summer, and other seasons as well. If it takes so long to appreciate the beauty of the Niagara Falls, which is only a very tiny bit of God's creation, then it is evident that it will take eternity for us to appreciate the beauty of the Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is so glorious and beautiful. When you feel downcast, discouraged and disappointed in your private life or in your ministry, your should pray, "Oh God, give me a new glimpse of the glory of Your Son".
John the apostle had the privilege of seeing the Lord very closely. He served Him very faithfully. He could ask Him any question. In fact, he could even lay his head on the Lord's bosom. He saw the Lord transfigured; he saw Him rise again and ascend to heaven. But now in the Book of Revelation, John in his old age saw Him in an entirely new way. He knew it was the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no need to ask, "Who are you?" because he heard a voice saying "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Rev. 1:11). John turned around to see the One that spoke and straightway he fell at His feet and said, "O Lord, I never knew that you are so beautiful and so great."
Why did our Lord appear to John that way? The answer is simple. Our Lord was telling John, "I want My people to become like Me". That is why the Lord's people had to go through extreme suffering at that time. Now, for example, if you want pure shining gold, the gold has to be melted, and refined in the fire. The goldsmith makes the fire exceeding hot until the surface of the molten metal becomes like a mirror in which he can see his face. The reflection of the goldsmith's face in the molten metal is the test that the gold is perfectly pure. In the same manner, we have to be refined by the fire of suffering till the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ can be fully seen in us.
FEBRUARY 21
"I sought the LORD, and he heard me" (Psalm 34:4).
In Psalm 34:5 we read, "They looked unto him, and were lightened". This means that they were radiant and shining. Before they came to Him, their faces were filled with fear and marks of sin and shame. Every sinful thought, word or deed brings an ugly and shameful mark upon your face. You may not see it in the beginning but afterwards it will appear. Here God says, "They looked unto Him and their faces were radiant." Who were these people? They were those who once had shameful and ugly faces, where you could see nothing but the blackness of sin. But now, having seen Him, their faces shine. They became radiant. A new heavenly beauty came upon their faces.
This beauty which God gives will not come by using soap or powder or cream or by wearing jewels of gold and silver. How foolish some people are! They think that by using such things they can become beautiful. In fact in this way they become uglier. It is only when our fears go away and we conquer our trials by faith, that we can have faces shining with the glory of God. The men that had come to David with grumbling, murmuring, sorrowful faces now saw David's face shining even in the dark cave of Adullam. They also learned to look unto the Lord, and their faces also began to shine. Divine glory and beauty were shining upon their faces, in spite of their poverty and sickness.
From the same Psalm in verses 4,6,17,19 we can see that the Psalmist went through many afflictions. But when he came to the Lord and saw him, he was delivered out of all his fears. All his troubles afflictions disappeared. If I had time to listen to you and you had time to talk to me, you would tell me all about your troubles. But listen; do not tell me your troubles. Do not tell them to your neighbours or to preachers or to anyone else; they cannot help you, even if they could. This man of God, David, tried his friends and they failed him. He had a friend called Jonathan who loved him very much and he was the king's son. Even though he tried to help him he could not, and David went to other kings and they also failed him. In the end he says he sought the Lord; in other words he saw the Lord. Then he said, "I have no more pain, no more trial, and no more afflictions; they are all gone. See the Lord has helped me. He has delivered me from all my fears." Even though he was still living in the mountain cave and he was still in the same difficulties and still being pursued by Saul, he was saying by faith: "I sought the Lord and He heard me. He delivered me from all my fears, afflictions, trials and troubles." That is how He will deliver you also.
FEBRUARY 22
"... If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1).
Before new birth, our conscience is defiled with sin. Our spirit is dead, our soul is darkened, and our body is defiled. When the Lord Jesus Christ as our High Priest sprinkles His blood upon our dead spirits, our dead spirits are quickened. We find divine life flowing into our spirits. We begin to feel God's presence. We talk to God as a friend talks with his friend. We feel heavenly peace coming into us. When our dead spirit is quickened we are given a longing to be as holy as the Lord is holy. We receive an increasing love for God's Word and His people. When our darkened soul is enlightened, we are given divine wisdom to understand the things of God and to know His purposes. Through divine love we can love all people equally. Our defiled body is also cleansed. Now we want to serve God through our members. Our tongue begins to praise God. Our legs refuse to go to wrong places. As long as we are in this body we get defiled because of our old sinful nature. We do not become supernatural when we are born again. The old man or the old sinful nature will be stirred up again and again. By entertaining sins like hatred, enmity, pride and greed in our hearts, we nurture the sinful nature, and get defiled. But we can constantly claim the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for cleansing, washing, and purging. As we read in 1 John 2:1, He is our Advocate, Intercessor and High Priest. By His intercession for us and by cleansing through His blood, we are made perfect. Just as we claim His grace and wisdom for doing His work, we can claim by faith His intercessory ministry. Through this very important ministry, we can overcome all temptations. We are saved from the deception of the world and are thus prepared for His Second Coming. And at His coming we will receive our great inheritance.
FEBRUARY 23
"Seeing... we have a great high priest, ... Jesus the Son of God,... Let us... come boldly unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:14,16).
In Hebrews chapter five we see our Lord Jesus Christ as the great heavenly High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, with a four-fold ministry. Firstly He intercedes on our behalf for all our shortcomings. He is our Advocate, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). Being a merciful and faithful High Priest, He pleads on our behalf. All of us in our weakness and foolishness do things to grieve God. Even though we do not want to do wrong, the enemy drags us into temptation. The Lord Jesus Christ knowing our weaknesses and failures pleads on our behalf.
Secondly, in the Old Testament period the high priest had to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. These sacrifices pointed to the Lord Jesus in five ways: Firstly there was the burnt offering which speaks of the complete sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the sin offering reminds us how the Lord Jesus Chris took upon Himself all our sins to be our Saviour. Thirdly, the peace offering shows how the Lord Jesus Christ has become our peace and had reconciled us to God. Fourthly, the trespass offering reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ has made full provision for cleansing and forgiveness of our sins which we commit even after we are born again. Fifthly, the meal offering shows that the Lord Jesus Christ has become our meat and drink to satisfy our hunger and thirst. The Jesus Christ has become all these five offerings on our behalf. By one perfect sacrifice He has made us righteous. We should go on saying by faith, "Lord, You are my burnt offering, You are my peace offering, You are my sin offering, You are my trespass offering, You are my meat offering."
Thirdly, the high priest helped those who wanted to find the will of God. He has on his breastplate, two stones called Urim and Thummim. Through these two stones he could find God's will. No one knows how these precious stones operated, but we know that with their help the high priest could find God's will (1 Sam. 23:9-12). The Lord Jesus Christ is our great heavenly High Priest Who lives in us. We can talk to Him directly and find God's will for us.
FEBRUARY 24
"... give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Early one morning when I was praying the Lord told me to visit a widow who was in great need of Rs. 5/-. He told me to supply that Rs. 5/- to her. So I got up, searched my pockets and found nothing. The Lord kept saying to me "Go and give". So I put on my coat took my Bible and walked out without any money with me. Strangely enough while I was going, I noticed a five rupee note lying on the road. Picking it up I loudly asked whether anybody lost a five rupee note. After loudly announcing three times and no one claimed it, I took the note and went to the widow's house and gave her the money. She began to weep and told me how that same night she saw her husband in her dream telling her not to worry and that Brother Bakht Singh would come and give her five rupees. She also said that the Lord had sent me just when she was thinking of me. These things do not happen by chance.
We must help the needy just as the Lord helps and guides us. We have to pray asking the Lord to show us those who are in need of food or clothes or money. That is how we can help and encourage our poor fellow-believers, widows and orphans. There are many believers who have enough and more than enough money to spare for the needy, but they have no mind to share it with others. This type of self-centredness causes their hearts to be full of murmurings, hatred and jealousy. In Acts 6:3 we read how the early church solved their problems by appointing men of honest report, full of Holy Spirit and wisdom. These days we find some people who are ambitious for power and authority desiring to become deacons and elders. Such people have no love or spiritual concern for the poor believers. All they want is only prominence. Only those who are spiritual and are prepared by God can become shepherds.
FEBRUARY 25
"... that house ... fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:25).
Before Nehemiah started building the broken wall, he went round to see for himself how they were broken down and how the gates were consumed with fire. Before we rebuild the House of God, first, we must find out the cause of barrenness.
These days in many places we find believers and Christian leaders praying for revival and awakening among God's people, without being sufficiently concerned to know the cause for their barrenness. Only by using some customary phrases in prayers such as "we have sinned" and so on, we cannot see God working in the midst of His people. They think they have achieved their objective by praying and forgetting all about it. Believers also cannot expect revival without going beyond praying about it and doing nothing more. Unless a patient tells the doctor the details of his troubles, the doctor cannot examine him or diagnose his disease and give him the right treatment. The condition of the walls of Jerusalem was due to the sins of the children of Israel. This had not been faced frankly. For many years God, out of His love went on warning them through His prophets, but they continue to disobey God with much indifference to His repeated warnings. After giving them sufficient chances, God sent Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and destroyed their city, broke down the walls and burnt the gates.
These days also we can find similar situations; there is barrenness among believers, because they insist on following man-made customs, practices, rituals and ceremonies rather than obeying His Word. They fail to diagnose this as the root of the trouble. When a man wants to build a strong building first of all he has to lay a strong foundation. In the spiritual sense we see that our Lord also has said that if we build our house upon a rock it will not fall by the wind, storm or floods. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our rock. We have to build upon Him who is the rock; that means, our procedure for building has to be according to His teachings, His instructions, His heavenly will, His heavenly plan, His heavenly wisdom and heavenly power. In Eph. 2:20 we read "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone". That is how we believers have to build a spiritual house on a strong spiritual foundation. Many people forget this first law and try to build God's House on sand, on things which have no support from God. That is why, we see everything is falling into pieces. God is giving us a very solemn warning in Heb 12:26 that He is going to shake all that is of man-made origin and practice. Hence, whatever we do, it has to be based on God's Word, if we want our work to bear fruit and withstand the test of opposing forces.
FEBRUARY 26
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee..." (2 Cor. 12:9).
Whatever be the thorn in your life accept it as from the Lord. He allows the thorn to remain. That is God's way to make you strong in faith and give you more grace. You may think that Paul had become very strong, but he learned how weak he was. Only when he learned about grace he knew fully about his weakness. In 2 Cor. 12:10 he says, "when I am weak, then am I strong". To keep us weak God sends a thorn. In order to make us see our weakness He gives us a thorn and through that God wants to make us strong. What you call an unbearable thorn is meant to make you strong spiritually for eternity. If you go on thinking about your thorn and say, "Why did that man or that woman speak this about me?" You will find many bitter roots cropping up in your heart. Then you will give way to anger and hatred and it will take away your burden for prayer and God's Word and you will lose your joy and peace. That is how many have lost their burden for prayer. Because of bitterness, you will start quarrelling. You say to the Lord, "If You do not remove this thorn within a day or two, I will not go to the assembly anymore or smile at the preachers". In this way you fight with God every morning. He is Sovereign. What He cannot teach us in the third heaven, He teaches us upon the earth by this thorn. Paul was not stubborn but humble. He knew that, that thorn was the answer to make him still more humble. God's standard is very high. That is why we do not know that all our thorns are allowed for a purpose. Have you been shedding tears for your thorn? Please repent for murmuring against God. Thank God for the thorn, take pleasure in it and you will find your joy multiplying manifold. From now onwards you will find your testimony more powerful and the power of God coming into you.
These thorns are allowed so that we may grow from grace to grace, and strength to strength. Then God will bring us into His fullness. Now see how grace and truth go together, grace and peace go together, grace and glory together. Similarly, grace and power go together. It is through God's grace, we can see God's glory. It is through God's grace, we have God's truth. It is through God's grace we serve Him. It is only through grace we are what we are. So in order to give us grace the Lord puts thorns in our lives.
If you are told by a doctor that by taking injections you will enjoy good health, you will readily take the injections, no matter how painful they are. But when God gives His injection in the arm, you begin to murmur. You say, "It is too painful, please stop". The thorn of God is God's injection, which is poked into us to bring grace into us. He answers you saying, "My grace is sufficient for thee", and, whatsoever your thorn may be and howsoever painful, you will find the answer in these two word "My grace". Do not think your case is different. We all have different kinds of pain, but the same remedy, it is God's grace. He says, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12:9).
FEBRUARY 27
"I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting" (1 Timothy 2:8).
The Lord Jesus Christ is our heavenly High Priest. We as His co-workers have to intercede for people who are in need. The features of the glorified Lord as given in Revelation 1, teach us how to have effective intercessory ministry.
In Rev. 1:14 we read, "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire". White hair speaks of His perfect, heavenly and divine wisdom. He knows everything, He knows our thoughts, our failures, our temptations, our names, and everything. Nothing is hid from Him. His wisdom is perfect. He knows things from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). So we can claim His heavenly wisdom. By having that wisdom from above we can know people's needs and sins, problems and shortcomings and then pray accordingly. We have to say by faith, "Lord, You are my heavenly wisdom. Tell me the need of So and So". Then we can pray intelligently. Through your intercessory prayers many will be strengthened and encouraged.
Further, in Rev. 1:14 we read about the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ that they were as a flame of fire. In 2 Chron. 16:9 we read, "...the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him". The Lord can see every one of us. The believers were scattered at that time because of persecution. They were hiding in mountains and caves. Knowing their need the Lord was working on their behalf. Even though we may be transferred to a lonely place, His eyes can see us. He sees our condition and our need, our temptations and failures. To help us He moves up and down and accordingly He helps us. There is no need to be anxious. His eyes are like a flame of fire, full of brightness. He is moving to and fro to keep us clean. The fire is for purification, for heat and for light. The Lord was saying, "I know where My people are. Even though they are hiding in the caves, I can see them. I am running to and fro to help them". He moved on behalf of David and his 400 men and supplied all their needs. Similarly, He helped Elijah when he was under the juniper tree. When we trust God fully He will supply all our needs, because His eyes run to and fro for our sake.
Thirdly, "And his feet like unto fine brass" (Rev. 1:15). In the Bible brass is the symbol of God's judgment. Satan is responsible for our sinful life. The Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan on the Cross. It is only by His death, burial and resurrection, that He defeated Satan and not by miracles or sermons. Satan bruised His heel and the same heel crushed the head of Satan. Now through His feet which are like brass, the Lord is saying, "If you want to defeat Satan, you will not succeed by miracles or signs or visions. It is only by My death, you can defeat him". We can defeat Satan by believing that the Lord died for you sins and rose again. We claim the same victory for those who are in sin. We can say, "Lord Jesus Christ, you died for my mother, for my brothers and sisters and friends. Please have mercy upon So and So. Save their souls and forgive their sins". That is how we can intercede and claim victory of the Cross for those who are in need.
FEBRUARY 28
"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee" (Psalm 73:25).
In Luke 24:15-30, we read about two disciples on the Emmaus road. They were communing together, and blindly trying to reason things out concerning what had happened in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ drew near, walked with them, talked with them and explained so clearly all about Himself, about His suffering and glory - how it was necessary for Him to die and rise again and enter into His glory. But even though the Lord Himself taught them, they still did not know Him, until He came to their house, on their invitation. When He sat with them in the breaking of bread, their eyes were suddenly opened. It was then that they recognized their Lord.
Our Lord is so great, so mighty and so wonderful; we cannot see Him with our ordinary eyes. He is beyond human comprehension - far above all our human faculties. And yet we can know Him! He can be more real to us than our kith and kin. He can be more precious to us than anyone else in all the world, when we know Him in His true glory. We may study God's Word under able teachers, read many good books written by excellent authors, and we might have wonderful experiences ourselves, as we walk with the Lord; and yet do not know Him as He ought to be known! We think we know Him, but we are mistaken.
The Table of the Lord, and the Breaking of the Bread to remember the Lord's death till He comes, provide us an opportunity for an inward sight of Him, which is not possible otherwise. It is a place of worship. It is the place where we grow spiritually, and come to know His worth. That is what worship means - "worthship". It is to be able to say in broken language, what my Lord is to me, what price will I pay for Him. In Amritsar, Punjab, there was a merchant selling beautiful Persian carpets. A wealthy man came into the shop and asked the price of a small carpet. The shopkeeper said, "This is not for sale.", "I will pay you Rs. 5,000.00 for it if you sell it to me." "I told you, it is not for sale." "Alright, I will pay you Rs. 10,000.00." "No Sir, I won't sell it-it is not for sale for any price." "I will pay you Rs. 20,000.00." "No sir, it is not for sale. To me it is very precious. I won't sell it for any price. When my father died, he gave it to me. His father gave it to him. That is why he told me. 'Don't sell it to anybody-it is very precious'. So I won't part with it for any amount of money."
The Lord Jesus Christ is also very precious to me. He loved me and died for me. I am prepared to pay any price for Him. We say that we love the Lord more than our father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children or anyone else. But it must be from the heart. We might say in a meeting, "O Lord, I love Thee", but when we have to pay the price we DO NOT pay the price! How often we deny Him! How often we grieve Him! How often we fail to obey Him because of fear! We think, "What will my neighbour say? What will my friends think of me? What will the world say?" We simply do not pay the price that the Lord demands.
FEBRUARY 29
"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5).
We should never think that it is a waste of time to pray before going anywhere or before doing any work, not matter how easy it may be. We gain much by praying. Whether we sweep a room or wash the dishes, or do some intricate technical work, it is good to look unto our Lord and offer a few words of prayer. Many times people think prayer is unnecessary because they are experienced cooks. If they have this attitude then it may be that even if they use the necessary ingredients, the food will not be tasty. I have found this by experience. I looked unto the Lord and asked Him to tell me how much oil or butter or other ingredients I should put in. The result was that my first attempt at cooking was such a success that I was even complimented on my skill.
By calling upon God we bring all His loving resources to our aid in all that we do. Just offer a short prayer before beginning the task you are entrusted with. It makes no difference whether the job is simple and insignificant, or of great importance. You will find that everything that is committed to the Lord in prayer is done well. Therefore learn to claim God's help for every need. Prove God daily in every situation. You can call any time either by day or by night. No matter how often you go to Him, He will never rebuke saying, "Why have you come at this odd hour?" or "Why do you come and disturb me so many times?" Many men will say, "Come tomorrow or the day after." But God will never put you off and you will be saved from many unhappy failures when you learn to call upon Him for help.
God is interested even in small things. We see this from the incident when Peter was rescued from prison (Acts 12:3-10). The church was praying for him and God sent an angel who woke up Peter and told him to put on his shoes. God knew that in his excitement Peter would leave them behind. Sometimes when I meet a person I find I cannot remember his name or recollect where I had met him. The moment I call upon God for help, He brings the concerned person's name to my memory, and both of us are saved from embarrassment and enjoy our fellowship with each other to the glory of God.