Christ: The Provider
Christ: The Provider
Christ the Provider
Once a great king visited a town to lay the foundation stone of a new hospital. Thousands of school children greeted him and sang for him. Soon after the king passed a group of children, a teacher saw a little girl crying. She asked, "Why are you crying? Did you not see the king?" The little girl sobbed out, "Yes, teacher, but the king did not see me." How different the Lord Jesus Christ is from earthly kings. Not only does He give life to each one, but He is also personally interested in and personally maintains each life.
Depend on the Control Center
A beautiful illustration of our dependence on a solidly established base while we are moving at a distance, is the journey of Apollo 11 to the moon. A space station in Houston, Texas, was the seat of command. The three spacemen dared not disregard it as they circled around the moon and as two of them landed on its surface. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians that any work they undertake must be based on the firmness, the absoluteness, the dependability of the Lord Jesus Christ. He arose. He did what He said He was going to do. He told us that we shall rise. That is our control center. We can depend on it. We dare not disregard it. It is a matter of life and death.
As I was viewing this feat of man at the time Neil Armstrong was landing on the moon, I was impressed by the remark made by one news commentator, "These men cannot remain on the moon. They must follow instructions. They do not have only themselves to think of but also the entire project." Think of that, Christian, when you are tempted to act independently of the control center, Christ the Lord. You have not only yourself to think of, but also Christ and His Kingdom.
He Lives
A Japanese nobleman who came to America visited a Sunday school to study its function. The superintendent asked him to say a few words to those present. Now this visitor was a Confucianist, and he began by saying that the teachings of Confucius and Christ are just about the same. There are very few differences, he said, and therefore he regarded Christians as brothers. When he had finished, a distinguished merchant, a member of the Sunday school, rose to his feet. Of course, he recognized the moral teachings of Confucius, he said, but added the following: "There is, however, a basic and vital difference between Confucius and the Lord Jesus Christ. Confucius is dead and remains in his grave until Jesus Christ will raise him. But the tomb of Christ is empty. He lives and He will not see death again. He is in our midst this hour of our Sunday school." His Invisible Presence
A little girl came home from Sunday school in much perplexity. "Mama," she said, "our teacher said today that we must come to Jesus if we want to be saved, but how can we come to Him when we cannot see Him?" "Did you not ask me to get you a drink of water last night?" said the mother. "Yes, Mama." "Did you see me when you asked me?" "No, but I knew that you would hear me and get it for me." "Well, that is just the way to come to Jesus. We cannot see Him, but we know that He is near and hears every word we say, and that He will give us what we need." As we try to see Jesus by faith, He will become real to us. Only through Him can we get a vision of God.
Hope for the World
Some years ago several congressmen, who were devout Christians, were taking a walk one evening. Their conversation drifted to the subject of religion and the state of the world. They were not enthusiastic about the outlook and were just about to agree that the whole world was on the toboggan when they chanced to pass a little chapel. From within came the words of a familiar hymn:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
As his face lighted up, one said to the others, "As long as people get together and sing that song, there is hope for the world, after all."
Joy in Christ
A certain king instructed his gardener to plant six trees and place statues beneath them representing prosperity, beauty, victory, strength, duty, and joy. These trees were to show to the world that the king had tried to make his reign fruitful. They were also to typify the statues beneath them. The gardener planted six palm trees. When the king came out to inspect the work and looked at the statue of joy, he said, "I surely thought you would typify joy with some flowering tree like the tulip or magnolia. How can the stately palm symbolize joy?" "Those flowering trees," said the gardener, "get their nourishment from open sources. They live in pleasant forests or orchards with hosts of other like trees. But I found this palm tree in a sandy waste. Its roots had found some hidden spring creeping along far beneath the burning surface. Then, thought I, highest joy has a foundation unseen of men and a source they cannot comprehend." Do you realize that if the light of Jesus Christ is within your heart it can be the only place in which joy is found, and yet it will be sufficient. You do not need the company of others in order to experience the joy that the light of Christ brings. A palm tree does not need the company of other trees to flourish and bring forth fruit. The Position of the Observer
In a great cathedral there is a statue of Christ. As one enters the cathedral and stands before that statue, he is appalled at the ugliness and repulsiveness of the sculptor's representation of Christ. He wonders whether that is what Christ really looked like. He is keenly disappointed. But then, as he comes closer to the statue, he can see an inscription on it which reads: "Kneel down and look up." He kneels down and looks up, and lo everything about it is different. The repulsiveness is replaced by a wonderful attractiveness. The face of Christ is not ugly any more. What makes the difference? It is the position of the observer. If he stands up and looks at the statue, there is no beauty to it, but if he kneels down and looks up, he sees the face of the gentle, loving Savior.
Jesus Left:
His purse to Judas;
His clothes to the soldiers;
His body to Joseph of Arimathea;
His mother to John;
His peace to His disciples;
His supper to His followers;
His gospel to the world;
His presence with God's children.
"Korban"-Offering
The one Hebrew word, Korban, which is most often translated as "offering," generally speaks of the remarkable fact that access to God is gained by means of the offering. The word appears almost 70 times in this respect. The New Testament counterpart, the Greek word prosphero, appears in the book of Hebrews 19 times, referring to the sacrificial sense. Hebrews 9:14 tells us that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice without blemish, and verse 28 says, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." He is the way to God.
"No, But I Do Know Where It's Safe"
It was a dark and stormy night when a lady was on a boat crossing Lake Michigan. The lightning, thunder, and rain made her very nervous. She saw jagged rocks jutting above the surface of the lake. In fear, she asked the captain, "Do you know where all the rocks are out there in the lake?" "No," the captain replied, "I don't, but I do know where it's safe."
As you "sail" through life, you are going to see lots of "rocks" out there. Some you will know how to avoid, others will come upon you as a surprise. The important thing to know is "where it's safe." Jesus knows the safe way; follow Him.
Never Again
Never again will I say, "I can't," for "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).
Never again will I admit lack, for "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Never again will I fear, for "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Never again will I harbor doubt and lack of faith, for "The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear" (Psalms 27:1).
Never again will I allow the supremacy of Satan over my life, for "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Never again will I admit defeat,for "God always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Never again will I lack wisdom, for "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).
Never again will I be worried and frustrated, "Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Never again will I be in bondage,for "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Why Did God Come Into the World as a Baby?
A missionary in India spoke near a fountain on the subject, "Jesus, the Water of Life." A Muslim interrupted, "Your religion is like this little stream of water, but Islam is like a great ocean!" "Yes," said the missionary, "but there is this difference: When men drink ocean water they die of thirst. When they drink the water of life which Christ gives, they live forever!" The stream is small, but it can satisfy your thirst. Jesus Christ came into the world as a little baby that He might show that no one is so little or so insignificant that the great God will not come to dwell within him.
He Has Raised Up a Horn of Salvation
Salvation is the fruition of redemption. Redemption purchases salvation, salvation realizes redemption and brings it into our actual experience. Zechariah speaks not so much of salvation as of the "horn of salvation." This bold figure, perhaps, originated in primitive times when mighty hunters, like Nimrod, returning from the chase, loved to grace their tents with the splendid horns of the animals that they had slain: the antlers of the deer, the tusks of the elephant, and the horn, perhaps, of the mighty rhinoceros. And so the word "horn" came to be the figure of beauty, power, and dominion. It has passed into the imagery of inspired prophecy and song, so that we find the earthly powers described by Daniel and John as horns upon the head of the beast.
And so we find the psalmist speaking of God as his Horn of Salvation and his High Tower. In speaking, therefore, of Christ as a Horn of Salvation, Zechariah meant to emphasize the glory and beauty of the Savior, His supreme and universal dominion and His infinite and divine power. It is coronation, singing, "Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all."