“… ‘Behold! The Lamb of God …’”

— John 1:29

Johann Sebastian Bach is considered the father of classical music and, in the opinion of many, the greatest musician ever to have lived. But he not only wrote and played music excellently, he also sought to glorify God in all he did. For three centuries now, Bach’s music has taken people beyond themselves and toward God.

In addition to composing music, Bach also fulfilled countless other obligations. He raised a large family. He taught music on a regular basis. He served as a church musician as well as conductor for the church choir and orchestra. He also fulfilled an obligation to compose new music for every Sunday. He regarded himself as a conscientious craftsman doing a job to the best of his ability for his supervisor’s satisfaction, for others’ pleasure and edification, and above all, for God’s glory.

Many historians have noted that all over his manuscripts Bach wrote notations such as “S.D.G.”(Soli Deo Gloria), meaning “Solely to the glory of God” or “I.N.J.”(In Nomine Jesu), meaning “In the name of Jesus.” Throughout his great masterpieces appear these words from Scripture: “Behold! The Lamb of God” (John 1:29). In his music, Bach honored the Lamb of God who had taken away his sin and had given him the peace and joy that pervaded his life … the Lamb of God to whom he ascribed all glory and to whom he appealed every day. According to Bach, music was worship, and he told his music pupils that unless they committed their talents to the Lord Jesus Christ they’d never become great musicians.

J. S. Bach did not live for fame or fortune. He lived for God’s glory. That focus pervaded his life. We, too, should have this goal as our singular focus.

“Where there is devotional music, God is always
at hand with His gracious presence.”
J. S. Bach

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

— 1 Peter 5:7

Do you have a concern today? Does something burden your heart? Well, whatever it is, cast your care upon God, for He cares about you and can do something about your concern.

Some years ago, I read an interesting book by an unbeliever who attempted to “do in” the Christian faith. Despite his lack of belief, I found insightful something he said regarding prayer. This author called prayer the most incredible conceit in the history of humankind. He argued that if you worked for General Motors as a lowly employee and wanted to see the boss, you’d not have even the remotest chance of ever entering the boss’ office. Think about it. What would happen if a citizen tried to speak to the President of the United States? I’ve thought about putting in a person-to-person call just to see what would happen. I’d probably speak to an undersecretary of an assistant to somebody, but not likely to the president. “And so,” says my skeptical friend in his book, “what an incredible conceit it is to suppose that at any moment we can talk to the boss of the whole shebang.”

Well, the concept of prayer would be an incredible conceit … if it weren’t true. But it is true, and it’s the most incredible condescension on the part of a gracious God. Have you ever thought about it? You could probably never speak to the highly placed people in this world, yet the most highly placed Person in all the universe—“the Boss of the whole shebang”— waits patiently to hear what you have to say to Him. Don’t you find that amazing?

So remember, this day and every day, you have the great privilege of prayer. You can “talk to the Boss.” Tell the Boss your worries and cares. Share with Him your triumphs and joys. He always has time to listen to you.

“Daily prayers lessen daily cares.”
Anonymous

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

— 1 John 1:3

Do you realize how much God wants to have fellowship with you? It’s difficult to imagine, but it’s true. He loves you and wants to be with you far more than you could ever dream.

What can we do to meet Him halfway, to play our part in developing fellowship with God? A story by the English evangelist Charles Spurgeon may hold the answer.

Suppose a great plague comes to London. People are dying everywhere. Those who are still alive feel such terror that they’ve boarded themselves up in their homes. Suppose an English nobleman has a son who is a great physician. Together they determine to help as many people as they can. The son searches for the sick and brings them to the house he and his father share. The father smiles approvingly at the son’s compassion. The son goes out again and again, searching for victims.

Suppose one day the son finds you lying hopelessly on a street corner. He picks you up tenderly in his arms and takes you to his home. As you recover, you begin to realize that nothing in the world compares to the work happening in that house. So you enter into a sympathetic understanding of the father and son’s mission. Yet if you want to actually enter into fellowship with that great man and his son, you must go further. You must come to the place where you ask them how you can help. When you do, they give you the task of carrying basins and bringing towels. You now have some part in their fellowship, yet you cannot understand it fully until the day you say, “Sir, I see that what you are doing is the only thing in life that really matters. I want to give my whole self over to it. I want to go out and join your son in bringing in the sick.” At that point, my friend, you begin to enter into and understand the deep mystery of fellowship with the father and his son.

If you’d like to enter into a deeper fellowship with the Father and His Son, ask God to show you the first step you should take. Ask Him to send someone into your life whom you can bring to Him.

“With heart toward God and hand toward man.”
Slogan Of The Salvation Army

… Unlike those high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices—first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for He did this once for all when He offered up Himself.

— Hebrews 7:27

There were priests in the Old Testament, but now Christ, our great High Priest has come. He completed the work that they could only begin.

With a priest and an altar you have something else: you have a sacrifice. For hundreds of years, at God’s instruction, the ancient Hebrew priests offered sacrifices with many specific guidelines. There were daily sacrifices and specific annual offerings. They may have “forgiven” sins temporarily, but never permanently.

All of these sacrifices foreshadowed the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. What He did is the basis for all forgiveness. His blood was much more precious than that of bulls and goats.

Read Hebrews 9-11 and you will notice that one word appears over and over and over again. It is a word that I recommend you underline. It is “once” or “one.” By one sacrifice Christ has forever reconciled us to God. There was only one sacrifice, and it took place upon the Cross 2,000 years ago. On that finished sacrifice all of our hopes are founded.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean that our High Priest offered Himself up “once for all”?

… weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

— Psalm 30:5

Sorrow, sadness, and weeping are all part of this life. None of us are untouched by the troubles of the world. But these are temporary—whereas joy, for the Christian, is everlasting. 

One time at a speaking engagement in Indianapolis, a man came up to me and said, “I was down in Ft. Lauderdale on vacation, and I met a lady in your church who shared with me those good tidings of great joy.” She had told him of the Gospel and he had accepted Christ. He continued: “You certainly cannot know, you cannot imagine the indescribable joy I have known for the last year since I came to know Christ. I never would have believed it.”

It is never recorded once that Jesus ever laughed, and yet the night before He went to the agony of the Cross, He said, “I have spoken these to you, that My joy may remain in you” (John 15:11). He came from the source of all joy—from Heaven—and He came to bring that joy to us. He took all of our sorrows and our griefs upon Himself, and thus, though He never laughed that we know of, He did weep. And He wept, so that we might be glad.

Question to ponder:
What difference does it make that sadness is temporary?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

— Matthew 5:3

To be poor in spirit is to recognize that you are spiritually needy. It is to see that in ourselves we are poor and in need of a savior.

Christ came—not with pomp and circumstance, not with royal splendor, not with power, not with armies, but into a family with a great lineage: however, one that had fallen into poverty. He grew up in the home of a carpenter. He grew up in a city that was a byword: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NKJV).

He grew up with no education, and yet He was the wisest person who ever lived. He grew up, astonishingly, with no background. He exited that town, which was nothing, walked up on a hill, and there delivered the greatest discourse on human ethics the world has ever heard—the Sermon on the Mount. It has never been equaled and certainly never excelled.

The humble carpenter spread His blessings all over the world and taught us that humility is a virtue.

Question to ponder:
What is the relationship between having spiritual riches and being poor in spirit?

They feared greatly and said to one another, “What kind of Man is He, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

— Mark 4:41

We see something of the Deity of Christ and His uniqueness in the fact that He never bothered to trouble Himself to explain His frequently ambiguous conduct. For example, Jesus was asleep in the back of a boat in the midst of a great storm. Waves were breaking over the sides of the boat and the disciples were paralyzed with fear. They cried, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).

“Well, I’m sorry fellows. If you had only awakened me earlier, I would have tried to help, but you see, it’s been such a long day and I was so tired. I just had to get some rest.”

No. He didn’t say anything like that. He simply said, “Peace, be still.” The waves ceased and the wind stopped. That is not the way any other man lives his life.

Jesus can calm the storms of our lives. The wind and the waves still obey His voice. He still calms storms.

Question to ponder:
What storm are you possibly experiencing in your life that you need to take to Jesus to calm?

There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

— Acts 4:12

There are many today who would say that there are innumerable doors that lead to spiritual safety. My friend, there is but one. There was but one door into the ark of Noah; there is but one door into the ark of Christ, and that is the door of faith—the faith of the Cross. The door of the ark of Christ is cruciform: it is shaped like a Cross. He is the one and only place of safety in this world, our only sanctuary from the stormy blast that God has said will come upon the world. Other religions have teachers. Only Christianity has a Savior.

Because He is the only savior, His name is so precious to His saints. The name is whispered over a cradle and to the dying. The name of Jesus is praised by millions in worship. His name gives comfort and peace. It stills the storms around us and conquers our fears within. It is the most beautiful name in the world.

Question to ponder:
Why do you love the name of Jesus?

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

— John 14:1

Will my life count for something? This question has perplexed the minds of thinking men and women from time immemorial: What will be the outcome of my life? Men have wondered whether their lives would end in triumph or tragedy.

Life is a probation; it is also an education and a school. The tragedy is that the vast majority of people in America, as well as in other lands, don’t even know the one central lesson God is trying to teach them in the school they are attending—the school of life.

The lesson is this: God says “Trust Me.” Throughout the Scriptures, from one end to another, God is teaching people the great lesson of faith—to trust Him amidst all of the vicissitudes of life.

Every class is the same in every subject we go through—Trust 101. Some of us do not go any further, and others have learned to trust Him in virtually all things.

Question to ponder:
A life of triumph is a life of trust. How can you better trust Him today?

Yet we speak wisdom among those who are mature, although not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

— 1 Corinthians 2:6

We need to hear from the mature saints—those who have searched the strength of their spiritual lives. We need to hear how they escaped the snare of the fowler, by what subtleties they have been beguiled, how they have taken the hill, what footwear they have found best for the enterprise, and how they have comforted their hearts after they dug the grave by the side of the way.

What about those who have grown old in Christ? What delicacies does the Lord have for the aged pilgrims along the way? Have they seen any particular and wonderful star in the evening sky? Have they seen the glimmering of that city made of gold? Is it already drawing their hearts? Do they yearn to be with those whom they have loved, those who have gone before? How much could we learn from those who have suffered many things and endured the battle for many years for Christ?

Question to ponder:
Is there a mature saint you can seek out for counsel? If not, why not pray for one?