The Birth of Jesus and the Joy of God

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Wayne Davies

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

The most important time in the history of the world began when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). God the Son lived on earth in a human body, so he could die and rise again to bring salvation to all who would believe in him.

 

This is the greatest story ever told and the best news we could ever hear.

Here’s another of my favorite passages about the birth of Jesus:

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-10)

The birth of our Savior was designed by God to “cause great joy for all the people.”

One evidence of genuine faith is “great joy.” Mary had this joy, and she expressed that joy by writing a song about God’s goodness to her in Luke 1:46-55.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47). Truly, God had done “great things” for her (Luke 1:49), and her heart was full of joy.

What is joy? And how do you know if you have it?

In his book The Fruit of the Spirit: The Measure of Christian Maturity, Andy Ripley defines it as “permanent satisfaction.” I love that description of joy. I long for that.

How do you receive this joy? Again, I quote Mr. Ripley:

“Our joy comes from Jesus. This joy arrives in our hearts when we hear and receive His words.”

“We can be filled with an amazing joy when we grasp just what he has done for us. When we truly understand our sin and how awful it is, and when we truly understand our Savior and how incredible He is, then there is nothing for us to do but be filled with thankfulness and joy at what is in store for us. In knowing Jesus, there is available to us great joy – a permanent satisfaction. This is how I would define the joy of the Lord; this joy is a permanent satisfaction. It is a satisfaction that cannot be reduced or eradicated.”

And why is that? Because . . .

“This joy, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, is unlike anything which is produced from the natural world in the heart. It is a joy that is completely unique to the regenerated soul . . . And because it is not connected to anything in the natural world, nothing that happens in the natural world can take it away. Poverty . . . Sickness . . . Persecution cannot take it away. If your joy can be stolen from you by financial loss, or sickness or persecution, or any other reasons, then you are not experiencing the joy of the Lord.”

Instead, our joy comes from knowing Jesus and what He has done for us.

“The joy of the Lord arises from . . .
Leaving all our burdens at his feet
Believing that He has forgiven our sins entirely
Knowing that nothing can come into our lives which God does not send or permit
Knowing that we have been lifted out of the world of sin and sorrow and death
Knowing that we have been planted forever into the realm of God’s light and love
Knowing that we have already received eternal life
Knowing that we have begun to live with Him and in Him”

This is why we can have the joy that the apostle Peter described as “inexpressible and glorious.” In other words, a supernatural joy that comes only from God:

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

This is why we celebrate Christmas! Because of what Jesus has done for us, we have “great joy” in him. Like Mary, you and I can now say, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:47).

Rejoice, my friend, rejoice! God our Savior came to earth 2,000 years ago – to be with us, to save us from our sins, and to give us his eternal joy.

For more insights on the relationship between the birth of Jesus and the attributes of God, check out these blog posts:

The Birth of Jesus and the Holiness of God
https://godwrotethebook.com/the-birth-of-jesus-and-the-holiness-of-god/

The Birth of Jesus and the Mercy of God
https://godwrotethebook.com/the-birth-of-jesus-and-the-mercy-of-god/

The Birth of Jesus and the Power of God
https://godwrotethebook.com/the-birth-of-jesus-and-the-power-of-god/

NOTE: Andy Ripley’s book The Fruit of the Spirit is available on Amazon here:
The Fruit of the Spirit

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The Birth of Jesus and the Power of God

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Wayne Davies

This post continues our study of the relationship between the birth of Jesus and the character of God.

The Christmas story, like every other story in Scripture, shows us that God’s attributes are inseparable from and lead inevitably to his actions.

The incarnation teaches what we see throughout the Bible: God does because of who God is.

Psalm 119:68 provides a concise summary of this glorious truth:
“You are good and do good.”

Mary’s hymn in Luke 1:46-55 demonstrates this. She is praising God because “he . . . has done great things” (v. 49). Two weeks ago, we discovered that God sent his Son to earth because of his holiness (v. 49). Last week we saw that God provided a Savior because of his mercy (v. 50. 54). This week, we will focus on his power as yet another wonderful reason for the season.

Our God is “the Lord God Almighty” (Revelation 4:8). He is the possessor and source of all power in the universe. As David wrote, “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God” (Psalm 62:11).

I again quote A.W. Tozer. “God has power. Since God is also infinite, whatever He has must be without limit; therefore God has limitless power. He is omnipotent.” (The Knowledge of the Holy)

As Steven Lawson writes, “Because God has all power, He can do any one thing as easily as He can do another thing. It is all the same to God. Whatever He does is done effortlessly, because nothing is difficult for him to carry out. When God acts, He loses none of His strength. He expends no energy that must be replaced. Because He is immutable, He never needs to regain any lost strength. His power always remains unchanged.” (Show Me Your Glory)

Mary was well aware of God’s power. Note her repeated mention of it:

He who is mighty has done great things for me” (v. 49)
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts (v. 51)
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate (v. 52)

What God Did for Mary
Obviously, God performed an unparalleled work of power in Mary. A virgin became pregnant. How can that happen? Humanly speaking, it doesn’t. It’s impossible. But “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37), because God has the power to do the humanly impossible. He’s the Creator of the universe, the One who made everything from nothing. Certainly, God can create a human being to appear in Mary’s womb. “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

What God Does for All
God’s power to bring about the virgin birth of the Messiah is the same power that brings about the final destiny of all people. Note the shift in Mary’s emphasis from what God did “for me” (verses 46-49) to what God will do for the rest of humanity (verses 50-53).

There are only types of people in the world, and Mary describes them both:

The humble and hungry (v. 52-53).
Like Mary, they fear God and are blessed and exalted by him (v. 48, 50, 52).

The proud and rich (v. 51-53).
When God brings them down, their short-lived wealth and so-called “might” will vanish like a mist (v. 51, 53).

The humble are the spiritually hungry people who receive God’s good gifts of salvation – those spiritual blessings of regeneration, adoption, justification, and reconciliation, as taught in the New Testament writings of the apostles and their associates. Because of God’s power, the Father sent Jesus to earth so we could be “delivered from the dominion of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). Only the infinite strength of God can provide these blessings of never-ending fullness.

In stark contrast, God “scatters” the proud and mighty, bringing them down from their thrones and sending them to the lake of fire, to a hell of eternal agony and conscious torment, a place with nothing but sorrow, regret, and poverty.

In the end, the hungry become rich and the rich become poor. Speaking as if these events have already happened (as in Isaiah 53), Mary rejoices in her God as the One who will destroy those who reject Christ and elevate those who revere and adore him. Like the Old Testament prophets, she speaks about the effects of Christ’s first and second advents. Jesus comes the first time as the lamb-like Savior, canceling sin’s debt by laying down his life for the sheep. And he comes a second time as the lion-like Judge and Executioner to oppose the proud and defeat the mighty. “Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy” (Exodus 15:6).

Only the power of God can make this happen. When we see the condition of the world today, Mary’s hope-filled psalm can seem like a far-fetched pipedream. But when we focus on the omnipotence of God – meditating on his promises and his infinite power to fulfill them – we can rest assured that one day there will be “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Like Mary, let’s magnify the Lord for his incomparable power. “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might” (Daniel 2:20). Only Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

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The Birth of Jesus and the Mercy of God

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Wayne Davies

I love a good quote about the Bible.

Here’s one:
“The Bible is a book about God”
(Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word).

God’s Word is God’s autobiography.

 

Therefore, the story of Christmas as told in the Bible is a story primarily about God. To understand its meaning, we do well to ask questions of the text, such as “What does this passage teach me about God?” and “What can I learn from these verses about the character and attributes of God?”

Let’s take this approach when reading Luke 1:46-55, Mary’s song of praise after the angel Gabriel gave her the news that she will give birth to the Messiah, “the holy one,” the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

We can learn much about God in Mary’s hymn because at least four of his attributes are mentioned:

The holiness of God (Luke 1:49)
The mercy of God (Luke 1:50, 54)
The power of God (Luke 1:49, 51)
The joy of God (Luke 1:47)

This December I’m focusing on God’s reasons for the birth of Jesus. I need to do this because every day I am inundated with the world’s reasons for Christmas, which sadly focus on the pursuit, acquisition, and accumulation of material possessions. I want to spend time meditating on what God says about Christmas. To that end, last week’s post was about The Birth of Jesus and the Holiness of God and we saw how God’s holiness prompted him to send Jesus to earth.

This week, we will see the role of the mercy of God in the incarnation of the Son of God.

God’s mercy was on Mary’s mind when she composed this sacred hymn – she refers to it twice. Note verse 50: “his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” Note also verse 54: “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.”

What is the mercy of God?

I like Wayne Grudem’s definition: the mercy of God is “God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress” (Systematic Theology). And A.W. Tozer writes that “Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and exhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate . . . Forever His mercy stands, a boundless, overwhelming immensity of divine pity and compassion . . . Mercy is the goodness of God confronting human suffering and guilt . . . It is human misery and sin that call forth the divine mercy” (The Knowledge of the Holy).

Mercy, then, is the goodness and compassion of God toward guilty sinners who are in a most miserable condition. Because of our transgressions, we’ve made a mess of our lives and this planet. We are therefore in need of divine pity to get us out of the muck and mire caused by the sin that holds us captive and keeps us there.

Just how miserable is our situation? It’s like this . . .

You and I and the rest of the human race are on the Titanic, and we are going down with the ship. We are desperately looking for help, but cannot find any. There are no life preservers, no lifeboats, no helicopters. There is no one who can get us off that ship or get us out of the water and take us to safety. We are doomed to die. We are going to drown or we are going to freeze to death. Take your pick. There is no hope.

That is what it means to be “in misery and distress.”

Oh, it’s wise to emphasize again that we are in this predicament because of what we have done. We caused the ship to sink. It’s our fault that this vessel rammed into an iceberg. We are responsible for this mess. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

That is what it means to be “dead in our trespasses” (Ephesians 2:5), “having no hope” (Ephesians 2:12), and “a slave to sin” (John 8:34).

It is this condition of hopeless misery that prompted God to take action on our behalf. The two sweetest words in the Bible are “But God.” And the four words that come next are also sweeter than honey.

“But God . . . being rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4).

God is merciful because he is “rich in mercy.” Don’t you love hearing those words? I do.

God has an unfathomable abundance of goodness and kindness toward us. His mercy disposes him to be “actively compassionate.” His mercy causes him to take action to relieve our misery, to provide a solution to our Number One problem of sin and all its life-destroying consequences in both this age and the next.

Mary sang that “in remembrance of his mercy” (Luke 1:54) God has provided a Savior, “my Savior” (Luke 1:47), the Lord Jesus Christ, to come and save us from the eternal misery of sin and the hell we deserve because of it. Our Savior Jesus comes and picks us up off the deck of that sinking ship. He appears and scoops us out of the freezing water and takes us to be with himself.

We celebrate Christmas because “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). We celebrate Christmas because God is rich in mercy, and therefore “the Father has sent his Son to the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). We celebrate Christmas because this baby was born to die as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And because Jesus died, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5).

Take time this Christmas season to praise and thank God for his bountiful mercy. It is one of the most precious reasons for the season. And this mercy is for you, if you “fear him” (Luke 1:50) by forsaking your pride and humbling yourself before him. “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13).

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The Birth of Jesus and the Holiness of God

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Wayne Davies

With the Christmas season upon us, along with all the accompanying materialistic distractions, I find it helpful to focus on Scripture verses that teach God’s reasons for the season.

Here’s one of my favorites:

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:18)

Why was Jesus born? God the Son took on human flesh to reveal God the Father to us. Or, as the NASB translates the verse above, Jesus came to “explain” God.

We need divine help to understand who God is. So in his infinite wisdom, God the Father sent God the Son to provide the perfect manifestation of himself in the person of his Son. What a great idea!

This is why Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

When we look at Jesus, what do we see? We see all that God is, starting with his holiness.

The angel Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

The holiness of Jesus is mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament. Peter calls him “the Holy and Righteous One” (Acts 3:14). While praying, the believers called him “your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:27, 30). Even a demon cried out in his presence, “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24).

What does it mean that Jesus is holy? The writer of Hebrews captures the essence of Christ’s holiness, describing him as “one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26).

The word “holy” means separate, set apart, and unique. It refers to the transcendence and “otherness” of God. He’s in a class by himself. It would be impossible to quantify the difference between Jesus and his creation because the gap is infinite. “Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11).

Holiness also means moral perfection. Jesus is blameless and pure. He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21) because he has always been and forever will be “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

I love reading about the holiness of Jesus. Here’s what A.W. Tozer, one of my favorite authors, has written on the holiness of God in The Knowledge of the Holy.

“God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God’s power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.

“Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy. God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. Sin’s temporary presence in the world only accents this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death. The formation of the language itself suggests this, the English word holy deriving from the Anglo-Saxon halig, meaning, ‘well, whole.’

“Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that takes the life of her child.

“God is holy with an absolute holiness that knows no degrees, and this He cannot impart to His creatures. But there is a relative and contingent holiness which He shares with angels and seraphim in heaven and with redeemed men on earth as their preparation for heaven. This holiness God can and does impart to His children. He shares it with them by imputation and by impartation, and because He has made it available to them through the blood of the Lamb, He requires it of them. To Israel first and later to His Church God spoke, saying, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”  (End of A.W. Tozer Quote)

Mr. Tozer has made the connection between the holiness of God and the incarnation of Jesus. Because God is holy, he hates sin and must take action to “put down iniquity and save the world.” This he accomplished by sending his Son, born of a woman to be crucified on a cross so that we could receive his holiness by faith and be reconciled to him without compromising his holy justice.

What a God. What a plan. This is why Jesus came to earth. All praise to the Holy One of God!

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5 Early Christmas Presents for You

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Wayne Davies

The abundance of quality Bible teaching through free eBooks and Bible studies is amazing.

God has blessed us with many gifted communicators of His truth.

 

Here are four quality Christian eBooks and one great Bible study you can download for free.

Jesus’ Birth – A 7-Day Christmas Bible Study, by Heather Erdmann, in PDF format.
https://www.goodportionpromises.com/jesus-s-birth-christmas-study

Prayers to Keep Christ in Christmas, by the Navigators, in PDF format.
https://www.navigators.org/resource/prayers-keep-christ-christmas

Good News of Great Joy: 25 Devotional Readings for Advent,  by John Piper, in ePub, MOBI, and PDF format.
https://www.desiringgod.org/books/good-news-of-great-joy

According to Promise: Of Salvation, Life, and Eternity, by Charles Spurgeon, in Kindle format.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SSXTN4H

The Ultimate Christmas Wishlist, by Rico Price, in ePub format during December 2022.
https://www.thegoodbook.com/free-ebook

NOTE: Every week I send out an email that includes “THIS WEEK’S FREEBIES.” Every now and then I also include 99 cent titles, but most of the time these are free resources available online in a variety of digital formats (Kindle, PDF, ePub). To subscribe to this weekly email, visit www.GodWroteTheBook.com.

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54 Bible Verses about Thankfulness

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Wayne Davies

With the Thanksgiving holiday just a few days away, here’s a great resource to enhance your expressions of gratitude to God any time of year:

54 Bible Verses about Thanksgiving & Gratitude (with a Passage list)
https://www.logos.com/grow/bible-verses-about-thanksgiving-gratitude-list/

As soon as I saw this headline, I wondered, “Will this list include my favorite verse about giving thanks to God?” It turns out that it does. In fact, my #1 favorite verse about gratitude happens to be #1 on this list.

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

What about my second favorite? Alas, that didn’t make it.

Psalm 100:5
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I love to read these two verses together because the first word of verse 5 links them together.

“For” means “because.” The psalmist tells us to give thanks and praise to God. And then he tells us why we should do that – because of God’s goodness, enduring love, and continuous faithfulness.

The Bible is filled with reasons to be thankful. And here are three of the best: the goodness, love, and faithfulness of God.

How has God shown his goodness to you lately? What has he done to demonstrate his love? And how about his faithfulness? Has he been faithful to you?

If so, express your thanks and praise to him for who he is and what he does – today, Thanksgiving Day, and every day for the rest of your life.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

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5 Things Jesus Prays About

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Wayne Davies

Do you ever wonder what Jesus is praying about?

Hebrews 7:25 tells us that “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

“Intercession” is a word that means “bringing a petition to a king on behalf of another” (MacArthur Study Bible).

This is a stunning truth: if are drawing near to God through him, Jesus Christ is praying for you today.

Has another believer ever told you, “I’m praying for you”? I’m always encouraged when someone says that to me. Amen?

Now picture Jesus himself saying, “I’m praying for you.” Whoa! How does that make you feel?

Furthermore, I believe that John 17 tells us what Jesus prays about when he intercedes for you and me. On the night before he died, Jesus prayed an incredible prayer, recorded by the Apostle John. Much of this prayer is on our behalf.

Here are five things Jesus prayed for that night:

“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (v. 11).

“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (v. 13)

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (v. 15)

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (v. 17)

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (v. 24)

Just hours before his crucifixion, this is what Jesus asked the Father to do for us. And 2,000 years later, I believe Jesus continues to ask God to keep us unified, fill us with his joy, protect us from the devil, sanctify us, and one day bring us into his presence so we can see his glory forever.

That Jesus prays for me is a mind-blowing reality. And to know specifically what he is praying about – that, too, is a source of much encouragement to me. How about you?

Looking for a way to enhance your prayer life? Why not start with these five requests. When praying for yourself and other believers, ask God to provide unity, joy, protection, sanctification, and eternal bliss.

You’ll be aligning your desires with his. You’ll be saying, “Not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

You’ll be praying like Jesus. And that’s a great way to pray.

NOTE: For more insights on Jesus’ prayer life, check out these blog posts:

What Is Jesus Doing Right Now?

What Is Jesus Doing Right Now?

How to Pray Like Jesus

How to Pray Like Jesus

 

 

 

 

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How A Book about The Book Can Make All The Difference

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Wayne Davies

I’m reflecting on how God has provided gifted Bible teachers to help me understand the Bible.

One of those teachers – Gordon Fee – died last month. He co-wrote (with Douglas Stuart) two books that have had a tremendous impact on the way I read the Bible and what I look for to better comprehend it:

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
How to Read the Bible Book by Book

I return to these books again and again.

 

Thank you, Dr. Fee, for writing these books. And thank you, Lord, for giving us this gifted teacher of your Word.

You can check out this blog post that explains further how these two books changed my approach to reading and understanding Scripture.

The Bible’s One Big Story (When Reading the Bible, Are You Missing It?)
https://godwrotethebook.com/the-bibles-one-big-story/

There have been a handful of other books about The Book that have had a significant effect on me.

Knowing God, by J.I. Packer
The Gospel According to Jesus, by John MacArthur
God Is the Gospel, by John Piper
The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul
Women of the Word, by Jen Wilkin
Basic Christianity, by John Stott

Looking for help in your comprehension of Scripture? The eight books listed above are a great place to start.

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How to Read the Bible Like Billy Graham

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Wayne Davies

My latest book has been published. How to Pray Like David: A Bible Study on Psalms 42-72 is now available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats. (The Kindle version is on sale this week at the introductory price of 99 cents.)

While writing it, I did some research on Billy Graham. (The following is an excerpt from the new book.)

How Billy Graham Read the Bible

Many years ago, someone told me that Billy Graham read five psalms every day.

I thought, “Wow! Really?” So I decided to check it out.

According to biographer John Pollock, here’s how Billy Graham read the Bible.

“Every day he reads five Psalms, covering the psalter in a month, and one chapter of Proverbs . . . He reads through a Gospel each week, using commentaries and modern translations, and constantly returns to the Acts of the Apostles. He annotates throughout the Bible.”

Whoa! He read the books of Psalms and Proverbs (in their entirety) every month.

Why would he do that? Graham explains why: “The Psalms will tell you how you get along with God, and the Proverbs will tell you how to get along with your fellowman.”

Oh, and he also read all four gospels (in their entirety) every month.

And he didn’t just read the Bible. He also studied it, using commentaries and different translations, taking notes, and writing down his thoughts.

We also know the effect Scripture had on him. In Graham’s own words: “Sometimes His word makes such an impact on me that I have to put the Bible down and walk around for a few moments to catch my breath.”

Does that ever happen to you? Do you find the Bible breathtaking?

Billy Graham and His God

May we learn from Billy Graham the importance of spending time alone with God — in the Word, prayer, and meditation. This was the foundation of his life and ministry.

John Akers elaborates on the answer to the age-old question, “What was the secret of his success?” Look no further than “Graham’s deep commitment to a consistent, thoughtful devotional life. Without it, Graham never would have become the person he was, nor would he have had the worldwide impact he did. It kept him humble, reinforced his integrity, expanded his vision, and enabled him to keep his focus. Most of all, as he often said, it kept him close to the One he sought to serve.

“The elements of Graham’s devotional life were simple: the Bible, prayer, and reflection. In his view, each was essential and bound to the others. Graham learned early on the value of setting aside a definite time each day (preferably in the early morning) to be alone with God, a practice he sought to maintain even in the midst of overwhelming pressures, disruptions, and frequent travel. To the end of his life, Graham maintained the practice of setting aside a daily time for Bible study and prayer, which was not restricted to once a day.”
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/billy-graham/

If you have a desire, like Billy Graham, to reach people with the gospel of Christ – to see your friends and loved ones repent of their sin and trust Jesus for salvation – the key is to cultivate an intimate relationship with God through quality time in the Word, prayer, and meditation.

Such an intentional intimacy with God will kindle your love and compassion for people. The deeper you grow in your knowledge of God (from the Word of God), the more you will become like Jesus. And according to Scripture, Christ-like holiness is the evidence of true saving faith: “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:5-6). Or, as Paul wrote, “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). To become increasingly like Jesus requires the life-changing power of God, and this transformation occurs while we are “beholding the glory of the Lord.” And where do we go to see the glory of God? The Word of God.

Billy Graham read five psalms a day because he wanted to see God and be sanctified by God. His ministry was the overflow of that supernatural transformation. May that be our experience, too. And may that be the reason I wrote How to Pray Like David: A Bible Study on Psalms 42-72 (Volume 2).

You can read more excerpts from the book here:
https://godwrotethebook.com/31-reasons-to-study-the-psalms/

 

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What the Bible Says about Holiness in Marriage

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Wayne Davies

Scripture has much to say about holiness.

God is holy. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3; see also Revelation 4:8).

And we are commanded to be holy. “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

This is a daunting task, for sure. But it is our calling. The God who justified us by his grace is also able to sanctify us (make us holy) by that same grace, for he “is able to keep you from stumbling” (Jude 24).

According to Jesus, the pursuit of righteousness is to be a top priority for every believer: “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

Paul puts it quite succinctly: “this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). (The word sanctification” can also be rendered “holiness.”)

Personal holiness (an increasing measure of Christ-likeness) is critical to our assurance of salvation, for our sanctification is one of the evidences of genuine saving faith. “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Where do we begin in this pursuit of Christ-likeness? You don’t have to go far. Start at home. If you are married, loving your wife or husband is a wonderful expression of the pursuit of holiness. To love is to be like God, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Husbands are commanded to “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Wives are instructed to both submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22) and to love them (Titus 2:4).

What does loving our spouses look like, practically speaking?

I highly recommend The Exemplary Husband: A Biblical Perspective, by Stuart Scott. He provides a list of practical ways that husbands can love their wives:

By being with her and involving her:
Plan time to spend with her alone.
Develop common interests with her.
Let her know how she can help you and/or work along side you.
Call her from work.
Tell her about what you do.

By seeking to understand her and help her:
Ask what she did today and then listen.
Inquire as to her well-being and then pay attention.
Plan a regular time to talk about her concerns and then pray about them together.
Pray with her about other family matters.
Assist her when she needs it.

By appreciating her:
Thank God for her.
Think and verbalize specific qualities or deeds that you are thankful for.
Speak well of her to others.
Leave her a note of appreciation.

By treating her special compared to others:
Open doors for her.
Plan dates.
Put her needs and desires above others.
Show her non-sexual affection.

By revealing yourself to her:
Communicate your thoughts, perspectives, and goals to her.
Let her know how she can pray for you.

Men, I trust you find the above list helpful. When we love our wives this way, we are pursuing holiness for the glory of God.

Focus Publishing has a complementary book entitled The Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective, by Martha Peace. Here’s a list of practical ways that a wife can love her husband:

Ask your husband, “What are your goals for the week?”
Ask your husband, “How can I help you to accomplish these goals?”
Think of specific ways you can help him accomplish his goals.
Save some of your energy every day for him.
Put him first over the other people in your life.
Talk about him in a positive light to others.
Do not slander him at all.
Be warm and gracious to his family and friends.
Make your commitment to him obvious to others.
Do and say things that build him up instead of tearing him down.

Certainly, both lists contain loving acts that both husbands and wives can apply.

Of course, loving your spouse involves more than checking off items on a things-to-do list. Much more. But I still find these lists beneficial. I suggest reading them regularly to “spur [yourself] on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).

Take these ideas to heart. If there’s something you see on either list that you haven’t done lately (or maybe have never done), pray about it and ask God to enable you to do it as a genuine expression of love.

Be holy by loving your spouse. This is God’s will for you!

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