Tears in Heaven (Revelation 21:4)

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In 1991, famed British guitarist Eric Clapton was stricken with grief when his 4-year-old son Conor died as a result of a fall from an apartment window. Looking for an outlet for his grief, Clapton penned perhaps his most poignant ballad: “Tears In Heaven.” It seems that every note weighs heavy with the sense of pain and loss that can be understood only by a parent who has lost a child.

Surprisingly, however, Clapton said in a television interview years later, “In a sense, it wasn’t even a sad song. It was a song of belief. When it [says that] there will be more tears in heaven, I think it’s a song of optimism – of reunion.”

The thought of a heavenly reunion is powerful indeed. For everyone who has trusted Jesus Christ for salvation, there is the hope that we will be reunited forever in a place where “God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). And, most of all, it is a place where we will “see His face” and forever be with Christ Himself (22:4).

In our times of loss and grief, of tears and sorrow, isn’t it comforting to know that Christ has purchased for us a heavenly home where there will be no more tears! – Bill Crowder

What wonders await us in yonder fair land?

The face of our Savior, the touch of His hand,

No tears and no crying, no sighs or despair,

For Jesus is waiting to welcome us there. – Kerr

When God wipes our tears, sorrow will give way to eternal song.

• July 31, Vol. 13

Fastball Fears (1 John 4:4)

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It is possible to concentrate so intently on the great power of our spiritual enemy Satan that we set ourselves up for defeat. We are sometimes like the baseball players who had to face Sandy Koufax, the famous pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to Jim Kaat, another great pitcher, “Koufax was the only major-league pitcher whose fastball could be heard to hum. Opposing batters, instead of being noisily active in their dugout, would sit silently and listen for that fastball to hum. They would then take their turn at the plate already intimidated.”

Satan is an intimidating adversary. He is the master of deceit, the motivator of murder, and the instigator of false teaching. But fascination with his tricks and fear of his tactics must not become central in our minds. Rather, we must focus on who we are – God’s children. We have already overcome the evil one through faith in Christ (1 John 4:4), and we can overcome him now through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

There are victories to be won in the Christian life, but not if we concentrate on Satan’s frightening roar (1 Peter 5:8). Discernment to detect error and strength to overcome evil can be ours because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. – Dennis J. De Haan

And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us. – Luther

Satan’s ploys are not match for the Savior’s power.

• July 30, 1992, Our Daily Bread

Orange Peels (1 Corinthians 10:12)

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Back in 1991, a stuntman named Bobby Leach went over Niagara Falls in a specially designed steel drum – and lived to tell about it. Although he suffered minor injuries, he survived because he recognized the tremendous dangers involved in the feat, and he had done everything he could to protect himself from harm.

Several years later, while walking down a street in New Zealand, Bobby Leach slipped on an orange peel, fell, and badly fractured his legs. He was taken to a hospital where he died of complications from that fall. He received a greater injury walking down the street than he sustained in going over Niagara Falls. He was not prepared for danger in what he assumed to be a safe situation.

Some of the great temptations that roar around us like the rushing waters of Niagara will leave us unharmed, while a small, seemingly insignificant incident may cause our downfall. Why? We simply become careless and do not recognize that potential danger. We mistakenly think we are secure (1 Corinthians 10:12).

We must always be on guard against temptation. A victorious Christian is an alert Christian who watches out even for those little “orange peels.” – Richard De Haan

Take the name of Jesus ever

As a shield from every snare;

If temptations round you gather,

Breathe that holy name in prayer. – Baxter

Whenever we fall, it is usually at the point where we think we are strong.

• July 29, Vol. 12, Our Daily Bread

Peace Through Prevention (Matthew 5:9)

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All believers are citizens of the heavenly kingdom that is ruled by the Prince of Peace. Therefore, they should do everything within their power to maintain a life of peace – especially in the family. This is not always easy, however. The fragile thread of thrust and serenity within the home can be easily broken, resulting in strife and conflict. To prevent this from happening, we must respect confidences, build loving relationships, and seek the good of others. We must be peacemakers.

In his classic work on the Beatitudes titled The Heavenly Octave. Frank William Boreham included this passage: “The ideal peacemaker is the man who prevents the peace from being broken. To prevent a battle is the best way of winning a battle. I once said to a Jewish rabbi, ‘I have heard that at a Jewish wedding a glass is broken as part of the symbolism of the ceremony. Is that a fact?’ ‘Of course it is,’ he replied. ‘We hold aloft a glass, let it fall and be shattered to atoms, and then, pointing to its fragments, we exhort the young people to guard jealously the sacred relationship into which they have entered since, once it is fractured, it can never be restored.’”

Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” This applies to us if we love peace and quickly try to resolve problems before permanent damage is done. We must also examine our own behavior honestly to make certain that we are not the cause of hostility. A peacemaker has learned that peace is best achieved through prevention. – David C. Egner

O Prince of Peace, keep us, we pray,

From strife and enmity;

Help us to speak with loving words

That quell hostility. – Branon

Never invite trouble – it always accepts.

• July 28, 1984, Our Daily Bread

The Revisable Edition (2 Timothy 3:16)

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Randall Peterson, a retired autoworker, thinks there could be an interest for a new kind of Bible. He sarcastically says that a publisher ought to create an electronic Bible that would allow for editing from the pew. That way individuals and churches could make the Bible say what they want it to say. He says if could be called the “LAME” Bible: “Locally Adaptive Multifaith Edition” and “could be sold to any church regardless of what it believes.”

He’s joking, of course, but we might be tempted by such a product. Jesus gives us some hard teachings! As believers, our desire is to be obedient to Him in our choices and attitudes, but at times we resist the Word of God and may wish we could soften His commands.

Some of Jesus’ hard teachings are found in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, He says: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (v. 44). That’s what He tells us to do, so we know we can’t just delete it. We need to apply it to our personal situation with the Holy Spirit’s enablement.

God’s Word is to be obeyed by His people.  We’re the ones who need to be “revised” – not the Scriptures. – Anne Cetas

The laws of God are true and right;

They stand as firm today

As when He put them in His Word

And told us to obey. – Fasick

To love God is to obey God.

• July 27, Vol. 15, Our Daily Bread

Fear, Love, and Honesty (Deuteronomy 5:19-20)

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Addielou is a crossroads too small for the map. But it has a Baptist church, a feedstore, and lots of honesty. Boyd Harmening runs his business on the latter. He opens his Addielou Feed and Farm Supply Store around 7 a.m. and locks up about noon to work his cattle farm. But he leaves the warehouse door open so farmers can pick up feed. All he asks is that they record what they take and sign the clipboard that hangs on the door. They can pay later – and they do.

Most businesses could not operate that way. But in Addielou, honesty works. Why?  In part because there is a strong trust between Boyd and his neighbors. But I believe there’s a deeper reason – their love for God includes a healthy fear of Him. People who deeply reverence and love God learn to trust each other and won’t try to cheat each other.

Moses linked fearing and loving God to the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 6:1-5), two of which forbid stealing and lying (5:19-20). These two of those laws form the basis for trust in human relationship. Of course, it would be naïve to trust everybody. But if we show ourselves to be trustworthy and honest, people will see that fearing and loving God can make for a more secure world. And we all want that. – Dennis J. De Haan

Of we will fear and love the Lord,

He’ll help us do what’s right;

To live a life of honesty

Is pleasing in His sight. – Sper

Honesty means never having to look over your shoulder.

• July 26, 1993, Our Daily Bread

Outside Our Comfort Zone (Acts 1:8)

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Longfellow wrote, “The vine still clings to the moldering wall, but at every gust the dead leaves fall.” Like the vine, many churches today cling to the crumbling wall of traditional programs, losing members like dead leaves carried away by the biting winds of our times.

To put it another way: We refuse to leave our comfort zones. We like to stick to the familiar, the predictable, the usual.

In some ways our attitude resembles the way Peter felt before the Lord prodded him into new territory. Peter knew that Christ’s strategy was Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). But Peter simply wasn’t comfortable with Gentiles. They were not “his kind of people.” Yet, God shook him loose to go to the house of Cornelius and give them the good news about Jesus.

The church, like Peter, is often locked behind the walls of its brick and shake-shingle fortress. We tend to stay where we feel unthreatened, among the people who make us feel accepted and loved. It takes a clear vision of God’s compassions for the lost to get us beyond our comfort zone to reach those for whom the Savior gave His life.

Have we gotten too comfortable? – Haddon W. Robinson

Go to the lost, in the home, in the mart,

Delay no longer, today make a start;

Tell them of Jesus who bled for their sin –

From byways of darkness bring others to Him. – Houghton

The church is a training center, not a country club.

• July 25, 1993, Our Daily Bread

Too Blessed (Psalm 107:8)

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On my daily commute to and from the office, I have plenty of time for reading – bumper stickers on cars, that is. Some are surly, others clever, and still others downright distasteful. One bumper sticker I saw recently, however, gently challenged by heart about the way I often engage life. The sticker simply said, “Too blessed to complain.”

I must confess that I felt convicted as I pondered those words. Too often I find myself lamenting moments in life that don’t go my way, rather than focusing on the wonderful gifts my heavenly Father has given me. Reading that simple message that day brought me a renewed commitment to be more actively and intentionally grateful because my God has been good to me in more ways than I could ever count.

Psalm 107 is a song that seeks to rectify thankless thinking. The psalmist who (many think was King David) makes a plea to hearts grown cold with ingratitude, repeating four times, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). Even in the worst of times, we have much to be thankful for. May we learn to thank God for His goodness to us! – Bill Crowder

Count your blessings – name them one by one;

Count your blessings – see what God hath done;

Count your blessings – name them one by one;

Count your many blessings – see what God hath done. – Oatman

We don’t need more to be thankful for, we just need to be more thankful.

• July 24, Vol. 21, Our Daily Bread

Wounds (Galatians 6:17)

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In Alan Paton’s novel, Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful, Robert Mansfield, a white South African, resigns as headmaster of the Newcastle High School to protest his government’s racial policies. Emmanuel Nene, a black man who also opposes apartheid, visits Robert to encourage him. at one point Mr. Nene says, “When I go [to heaven], which is my intention, the Big Judge will say to me, ‘Where are your wounds?’ And if I say I haven’t any, He will say, ‘Was there nothing to fight for?’ I couldn’t face that question.”

The Bible doesn’t teach that at Christ’s judgment we will be asked to show our wounds. Our faithfulness will determine our reward or shame. But if we stand true to Jesus, we will be misunderstood, opposed, and possibly even rejected. We will be wounded.

Paul said he bore in his body “the marks of the Lord Jesus.” The word marks refers to brands that identify slaves and animals. Paul’s stoning, beating, and illnesses left scars that marked him as a faithful worker for Christ (2 Corinthians 11:25; 12:7; Galatians 4:13-14).

God doesn’t promise a trouble-free life in exchange for faithfulness. That comes later. Wounds come now. So don’t feel ashamed if your stand for Christ brings reproach. You are in good company. Jesus too was wounded for doing the Father’s will. – Dennis J. De Haan

Let the world despise and leave me,

They have left my Savior too;

Human hearts and looks deceive me –

Thou art not like man, untrue. – Lyte

Battle scars show that we are where the action is.

• July 23, 1990, Our Daily Bread

The Most Influential (Psalm 19:8)

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Many of us own a copy of the Bible. Some of us may have many copies in different versions and even different languages. This ancient book, written originally in Hebrew and Greek, with small portions in Aramaic, is still “the most influential book in history” according to a 1996 survey of United States citizens.

Of the people surveyed, 79.8 percent said that the Bible was the most influential, next on the list was Dr. Spock’s baby book, which received only 4.7 percent of the vote. Then came Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of The Species (4.1 percent) and George Orwell’s 1984 (2.4 percent). The Bible was the overwhelming winner among influential books.

But how many of those who applaud the Bible’s influence ever read it? Do you? Do I? And if we do, do we read it regularly? Do we read a passage here and there, or do we follow some system that will make us familiar with the whole Bible? Do we have a strong desire to know the Word? (Psalm 19:10).

An even more important question is whether we believe and practice what we read. Is this book decisively influencing our lives? Is our relationship to the Bible one of obedience? After all, this book is immeasurably more than a collection of human writings. It is God’s authoritative Word. – Vernon C. Grounds

The books men write are but a fragrance blown

From transient blossoms crushed by human hands;

But high above them all, splendid and alone,

Staunch as a tree, there is a Book that stands. – Frazee-Bower

If a Christian is careless in Bible reading, he will care less about Christian living.

• July 22, Vol. 7, Our Daily Bread