But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you.

— Matthew 6:33

There are many people who begin life with a very poor self-image. They are helped along the way by others who criticize them, ignore them, make fun of them, pooh-pooh their ideas, and contribute to their general feeling that they really have nothing to offer, that they are not worthwhile, that nobody wants to hear what they have to say, and certainly that no one could care how they feel. Therefore, they withhold all of these things and the result is a breakdown in communication.

Do you help contribute to a poor self-image in your spouse or in those around you? Many men do so by continually putting their wives down, by being sarcastic and not interested in their ideas. They may find themselves increasingly living in a lonely world and losing out on a great deal. Do you treat your wife that way? There are women, of course, who do the same thing. They enjoy putting their husbands down. They try to lord it over them and belittle them.

I believe that if we seek God’s kingdom first and His righteousness, then all things shall be added to us. Included in that list is a healthy self-image. I am uncomfortable with an unhealthy emphasis on self-image. As we love God and our neighbor as ourselves, a healthy self-image tends to emerge, because we are made in His image.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of anything you can do to build up anyone around you?

For we have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

— 2 Peter 1:16

It is interesting that in the radical left wing of Protestantism, back about two hundred years ago, they were concocting in their ivory towers all kinds of theories about how the Bible was not the Word of God, how these were but mythological stories, inventions of creative minds, things that never happened in this world at all.

Interestingly, about the very same time, there was another science that was beginning; it was the science of archaeology. In fact, Napoleon contributed to it. When he went to invade Egypt, he took with him scientists who examined all the many wonderful finds in Egypt and gave great impetus to the new science of archaeology. Since then archaeologists have dug up hundreds of thousands of different finds confirming the Bible over and over again and totally demolishing the liberal radical documentary hypothesis of the Old Testament. Today no reputable Old Testament scholar would maintain the kind of things that were previously taught in many seminaries (including the seminary I attended), because it has been given the coup de grâce by archaeology.

Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist said, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.” Dr. Paul L. Maier, a noted scholar of ancient history, said, “There is no question but that archaeology is the Bible’s best friend.”

Question to ponder:
How does God defend His own Word?

Then I said, “Here am I. Send me.”

— Isaiah 6:8

In 1956, five American missionaries were killed in the jungles of Ecuador by fierce Indians. One of them was Jim Elliot, who famously said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

In his senior year at Wheaton College, Elliot wrote some words in his diary, which I recall reading and being awestruck that any college senior could write such words: “[God] makes ‘His ministers a flame of fire.’ Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’ Satu­rate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul—short life? … ‘Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'” Some seven years later, that fuel was consumed.

What is it that holds us back from total surrender or unconditional service? We are often afraid that God will ask us to do something too hard or too difficult.

I am sure Jim Elliot did not regret his decision. (Certainly his writings before his death would indicate as such.) Whatever God calls us to do, it will be an adventure, and He promises to go with us every step of the way.

Question to ponder:
Can I commit myself to God at a deeper level? Is there anything I am holding back from Him?

See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, and death and disaster. What I am commanding you today is to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments …

— Deuteronomy 30:15-16

God has set before us the “maker’s manual.” If you obey the commandments, you will do well. If you don’t, you will destroy yourself. The commandments are basically simple, but they are not easy. If we seek to live a godly life, we can only do this by His power and by His grace.

Human success or failure in this life is largely dependent upon the requisite yielding of ourselves in obedience to the commandments of God. It is not some great mystery. It is simply doing what God told us to do. Apparently, there are many people in this nation and the world who are mostly ignoring those commandments or outright disobeying them. That, of course, is to their own hurt and detriment.

We do not keep the law in order that we might be saved or be acceptable to God; but having been transformed by Christ, having been forgiven and redeemed by Jesus Christ, having been made new creatures by His grace and His mercy, we now desire to live by His Commandments and His law. God gives us a new heart, a heart that delights in our God and a heart that desires to live by His statutes.

Question to ponder:
We are told to keep God’s commandments in word, thought, and deed. Which one is hardest for you?

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

— John 8:12

Jesus made extraordinary claims about Himself. For example, He declared, “I am the light of the world.” What a profound statement to issue forth from the lips of any man. If anyone were to make a statement like that today, we would suppose that either he was the world’s greatest egomaniac or he was completely deranged.

The astounding thing is that we receive such words as these—”I am the light of the world … I am the good shepherd … All that ever came before me were thieves and robbers … I am the resurrection and the life … I am the way, the truth and the life”—from the lips of Christ as if they were commonplace. There is only one of two ways that we can react to this. We must either draw back in revulsion at such claims or else we must fall down on our knees and worship.

When the High Priest heard these claims of Christ, he reacted the first way. He tore his robes and shouted, “Blasphemy!” On the other hand, when the Magi came and saw the Christ child, they bowed down and worshiped Him. So too the disciples worshiped Jesus after His resurrection.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean to worship Jesus Christ?

The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression …

— Numbers 14:18

We want justice. We want everything to be fair. God is a just God, and we tend to know deep down what is right. In God’s justice, He will by no means clear the guilty. Because He is a just God, He must punish evil. We have all fallen short and what we need is not justice, but mercy. So Christianity is beyond fair. God does not treat us as we deserve. He is a God of mercy. Justice would not be good for us.

Christianity is not just. Christ didn’t come to bring us justice; He came to save us from justice. If any one of gets justice, we would be condemned. That is what we deserve. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

There are some in our midst who think that they have nothing to worry about on judgment day. No, they don’t need Christ, thank you very much. “Religion is just a crutch for the weak,” they say. They don’t recognize the magnitude of their sins before a holy God. They will be in for a great shock when they stand before the Lord when He returns.

But if you know Jesus personally, you recognize that without His shed blood at Calvary, you would have no hope. You would only be staring God’s justice in the face, with no hope for mercy.

Praise be to God for sending us Jesus Christ and for forgiving our sins and extending mercy to us.

Question to ponder:
God’s mercy is new every morning. And His justice never sleeps. Reflect on the relationship between justice and mercy.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

— Psalm 103:19

Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is not just the future ruler, but His reign began (though not in its fullness) with His death and resurrection. His kingdom is ever expanding over the hearts and minds of men. He is the conquering King.

When Jesus began the battle, the Captain of the well-fought fight was minus an army, yet every enemy He slew was revived and enlisted into the army of the King. As the King travels across the world, the army behind Him grows, becoming so vast a horde that no man can number it. We see that all the soldiers of the conquering King are but those who were first conquered by Him. These are they who shall come into the great city above wearing crowns on their heads and holding prizes for valor in their arms. They shall come to the very throne of God to lay their spoils at His feet.

Christ is the Great Conqueror. He has succeeded gloriously in all that He has done. He has conquered not only men and empires, but He has conquered even Satan and the world of demons—not with the sword, but with His Cross and the empty tomb.

Question to ponder:
What difference does it make today that Jesus our Savior is also the King of kings?

Let God be true but every man a liar.

— Romans 3:4

The humanistic religion, which is the foundation of our recent legal revolution, is based upon evolutionary theory. It holds that man has evolved from inanimate matter and exists in a universe without God and is therefore responsible for developing his own laws, which are not in any way answerable to a supreme being. As a result our laws have become more man-centered and godless.

It is interesting that for almost 2,000 years, much of civilization—including laws—was theocentric or God-centered. In the last several decades, however, there has been a great shift taking place and now the law is becoming anthropocentric; i.e., man-centered. Anthropology is replacing theology as the principle focus of attention. Self-image has become an overriding concern on the part of numerous writers. We are told that the most important thing is to develop a positive self-image. We are told that unless we love ourselves, we cannot love others; that self-love is an indispensable prerequisite to useful living—even Christian living in this world.

Humanism is just another way of talking about atheism. There was a time, years ago, when it was not politic to be an atheist, and so, instead of that, they switched to humanism. Atheism says “down with God”; humanism says “up with man”—but the end is the same. But God will not be mocked forever. He will arise in due time and judge all.

Question to ponder:
Do you think you have any godless humanistic tendencies in your own thinking?

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

— Mark 12:17

‘A kleptomaniac,’ said Henry Morgan, ‘is a person who helps himself because he can’t help him­self’—or so they claim. It seems like a lot of people today seem to ‘not be able to help themselves’ to all sorts of things. Consider some ways of breaking the eighth commandment, ‘thou shalt not steal’:

Failure to pay taxes or over-taxation on the part of an over-reaching government; Shoplifting; Slum lording; Cheating for grades in school; Welfare for the able-bodied; Wasting time at work; Shoddy auto and house repairs; Looting in time of disaster; Ripping pages from library books; Switching price markers at the supermarket; Price manipulation; Marrying or divorcing for money; False advertising claims; Bribing public officials; Fraudulent stock market trades; Kickbacks on contracts; Profit skimming; Vandalism; Passing unqualified students; Fake insurance claims; ‘Borrowing’ and not returning, and so on.

Paul says let him who steals steal no more, but instead work with his hands to provide for himself, his family, and others. May God grant us grace not to steal in any way.

Question to ponder:
In our dishonest society, how can we develop a right view of our own and others’ property?

Let him who steals steal no more. Instead, let him labor, working with his hands things which are good, that he may have something to share with him who is in need.

— Ephesians 4:28

“Thou shalt not steal,” says the eighth commandment. Yet, I am afraid that old Diogenes, walking around with his lamp looking for an honest man, might have a difficult time finding one in America today. If he walked up to you and held up his lamp in your face, would he find an honest man? An honest woman? An honest boy or girl?

Once a man parked a car on his front lawn with a sign: “For Sale.” Someone stopped to inquire about it, and the teenage son answered the knock on the door. The man made a very generous offer. The son was excited, because there were some things he wanted, and the family was hard pressed for money at the time.

He called his dad excitedly. His father came out and the man told him about his offer. The father said, “Well, you see, there are some problems with this car—some problems that are going to take rather expensive fixing”—and he enumerated exactly what they were. The man thanked him and decided, in the light of that information, he would not buy the car. The owner obviously was the loser in that situation—or was he? His son never forgot that lesson. Years later he could still say, “My father is an honest man.” Can your son say that about you?

Question to ponder:
Can you think of any time where you have been less than honest? What can you do to make it right?