READ: Numbers 29-30

THINK: I really like this observation from F.B. Meyer about the connection between faith and works, in both the Old Testament and the New. Clearly, it is grace that saves but we are called also to works. Here is what the late great pastor had to say:

“Ye shall do no laborious work.” – Numbers 29:1

There was a good deal of work to be done, but it was not servile work. Throughout the seventh month, the work centered around the Tabernacle and the service of God, rather than around the tents and occupations of Israel as at other times. The same distinction is clearly made by the Apostle; our faith and salvation are not of works, lest any man should boast; but we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Ephesians 2:9-10).

Do not work up to the Cross, but down from it. — We must come empty-handed to the Cross, and receive forgiveness and eternal life; but these will immediately begin to vindicate their presence in the fruits of righteousness. None work like those who have been saved by the grace of God — but their work is not servile work; not that of slaves, but of sons. Many confuse these, trying to work for salvation, instead of receiving it first and then working.

Do not work up to union with Christ, but from it. — We cannot unite ourselves to the true Vine by any activity of ours; our only resort is to lay ourselves at the feet of the great Husbandman, that He may graft us into living union with Jesus. When once that union is consummated, through our yielded nature, the Root begins to pour his mighty energy. Fruit-bearing is not servile work; but easy, natural, blessed.

Do not work up to Pentecost, but out from it. — We cannot win the gift of the blessed Paraclete*. No tears, prayers, agonies of soul, can purchase it. It must be received by a single act of faith. But when once He is in us in his fullness, then tears, and prayers. and strivings for the salvation of men flow out without effort. But there is no servility, no strain no restraint, save that of love.

PRAY: Thank God for the grace that is available to us through the cross of Jesus and thank him that you don’t have to earn it because you couldn’t. Then ask that the result of that gift in you would be a life that bears much fruit for his sake.

*Paraclete is a Latin term that means “comforter”; here Meyer is using it specifically as a proper name for the Holy Spirit. 🙂

READ: 2 Chronicles 28-29

THINK: This chapter contains a parable of the cleansing of the heart, meant to be a temple for God; but the doors of prayer are unopened, the lamps of testimony unlit, the burnt-offerings of self sacrifice neglected; and, as the result, grass grows thick in courts which should have been trodden by the feet of Levite minstrels engaged in holy song. If ever that song is to break out again, it can only be after a thorough cleansing and renovation of the inner shrine. You tell me that you cannot sing the Lord’s song; then I know you have gone into the strange land of backsliding. You acknowledge that for some time now you have taken no delight in God or His service; then I am sure that the temple is badly in need of renovation.

“And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.”

The Hebrew Psalmody became famous throughout the world. Even their fierce conquerors recognized the sublime beauty of the Hebrew temple music. By the waters of Babylon they urged them to sing one of the Songs of Zion, not knowing how impossible it was for the captives to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land! For sixteen years no song had poured forth from the sacred shrine. Ahaz had shut the doors, dispersed the Levites, and allowed the holy fabric to remain unkempt, unlit, and unused. There were no sacrifices on the Altar, no sweet incense in the Holy Place, no blood on the Mercy-Seat, no Song of the Lord!

For too many Christians this, alas, is a picture of their life. The soul, intended to be a holy temple for God, shows signs of disorder and neglect. The lights are not lit, the sweet incense of prayer does not ascend, the doors of entrance to fellowship and exit to service are closed. Outwardly the ordinances of the religious life are preserved, but inwardly silence and darkness prevail, into which bat-like thoughts intrude. Thorns have come up in the court of the Holy Place, where the scorpion makes her nest. The Song of the Lord had died out of heart and life.

Why should not this miserable condition be ended today? Why should you not be cleansed from the traces of sin and neglect through the Blood of the Cross? Why should you not come back into fellowship with God, who waits to receive and forgive? Surrender yourself to Him now. Do not be general, but specific in your consecration. Weld yourself to some life or lives that sorely need help. Give not words only, but deeds and blood. Merge your little life in the life of Christ, as the streamlet in the wide ocean. And as you yield yourself to Christ first, and next to all who need you for His sake, you will find the Song of the Lord breaking forth again in your heart like a spring, which was formerly choked with debris.

PRAY: We pray Thee, Heavenly Father, to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

– F.B. Meyer

READ: 2 Chronicles 26-27

THINK: In April 1945, with the United States mired in the middle of World War II, the country’s longest-serving President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed away. And his Vice President, Harry S. Truman became the nation’s leader. It was a whirlwind for Truman, who knew that he had a monumental task before him and remarked that it felt as if a heavy weight had been dropped upon him and asked people to pray for him. He also knew that if he navigated the difficult waters well, any number of accolades would come his way. Legend has it that in the very first days of his presidency, in order to remind him to remain humble no matter what the future brought, Truman’s old friend from Texas Sam Rayburn said to him, “They’ll tell you what a great man you are, Harry, but you and I both know you aint.”

King Uzziah could have used a Sam Rayburn in his life. He started off brilliantly, taking over the kingdom at only 16 years of age and leading the people back towards God. He led for 52 years and Judah prospered greatly under his reign. And people far and wide told him what a great man he was. And he made the mistake of believing them and letting his pride go unchecked. But pride and summertime come before a fall.

Uzziah bought into the idea that it was his greatness rather than his faithful reliance on God’s greatness that was making wonderful things happen. And he attempted to assume the role of a priest – a role he was specifically forbidden from assuming because it was set apart – because he no longer felt the rules applied to him. And it cost him dearly. He was disqualified from leadership – struck with leprosy and quarantined for the rest of his days.

It is striking how many great leaders fail to finish well. So many men and women get off to great starts and do amazing things, but end up disqualified because of their character flaws and their sin. And the simple fact of the matter is that pride is at the heart of it. It is so easy to get caught up in our own narrative of greatness, to believe we have achieved on our own the things we once desperately trusted God for, to be self-centered and self-congratulatory, to drown out the voices of our foes and even our friends and embrace only the voices of our biggest fans. But allowing pride to well up inside of us will lead us only to one outcome: we will put ourselves in God’s rightful place and we will fall.

LIVE: I challenge you to confess your pride today. In his incredible book Life Together the late German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this, “In confession occurs the breakthrough of the Cross. The root of all sin is pride, superbia. I want to be my own law, I have a right to my self, my hatred and my desires, my life and my death. The mind and flesh of man are set on fire by pride; for it is precisely in his wickedness that man wants to be as God. Confession in the presence of a brother is the profoundest kind of humiliation. It hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride…In the deep mental and physical pain of humiliation before a brother – which means, before God – we experience the Cross of Jesus as our rescue and salvation. The old man dies, but it is God who has conquered him. Now we share in the resurrection of Christ and eternal life.”

Find a brother or sister in Christ today and confess to him or her the areas of pride that are welling up within you and threatening your ability to live out God’s call on your life and be the person he has designed you to be.

PRAY: Take some time to thank God for all that he has done in your life. Ask him to help you conquer your pride, trust in him always, and always finish well.