Truth for Life - March 29, 2017

March 29

He Learned Obedience Through What He Suffered

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. - Hebrews 5:8

We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering; therefore we who are sinful and who are far from being perfect must not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be crowned with thorns while the other parts of the body enjoy only comfort and ease? Must Christ pass through seas of His own blood to win the crown while we walk to heaven dry-shod in silver slippers? No; our Master's experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he could.

But there is one very comforting thought in the fact of Christ's "being made perfect" through suffering--it is that He can have complete sympathy with us. He is not a high priest who is "unable to sympathize with our weaknesses."1 In this sympathy of Christ we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs said, "I can bear it all, for Jesus suffered, and He suffers in me now; He sympathizes with me, and this makes me strong." Believer, grasp this thought in every agonizing experience. Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you follow in His steps. Find a sweet support in His sympathy; and remember that to suffer is an honorable thing--to suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to do this. Just so far as the Lord shall give us grace to suffer for Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far does He honor us.

The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings whom God has anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honored. Let us not turn aside from being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. "If we endure, we will also reign with him."2

1) Hebrews 4:15
2) 2 Timothy 2:12

Family Bible reading plan

verse 1 Exodus 40

verse 2 John 19

The Christian in Complete Armour, Volume 1

Arguably the most significant spiritual and biblical theology ever penned from the English Puritan era, the presentation of William Gurnall's (1616-1679) The Christian in Complete Armour in an accessible, single volume is certainly a landmark, and much welcomed, event.  According to the Apostle Paul, the world is at war. Not a "hot war" but a war in the realm of the spirit. This war, Paul warns, requires special armament, and he explains that armament in Ephesians 6. Anglican cleric Gurnall began to explore Paul's exhortation in sermons and lectures, which he published under the title The Christian in Complete Armor. A perennial best-seller in Gurnall's own lifetime, these teachings became his legacy, influencing well over three centuries of Christians and eliciting praise from the likes of Richard Baxter, John Flavel, John Newton, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards and have been abridged and modernized using more easily understood language.
 

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From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.

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Christianity / Devotionals / Truth For Life Daily, with Alistair Begg / Truth for Life - March 29, 2017