Christ Cares for You

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

A Sympathizing Savior

In this world, we are exposed to innumerable foes and overwhelmed by personal afflictions. We have seasons of physical suffering, of losses, and of painful trials. We endure solitary sorrows and national distresses. Not only must we bear our own troubles, but the sorrows of others lie on our hearts. Nothing can exempt us from suffering so long as we live this side of Heaven.

Through all our infirmities, the Lord is not an idle spectator. He consoles us as one who has himself fought the battle. Christ “was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…” Isaiah 53:3, 4 Because he assumed our nature and suffered our infirmities, he is able to be touched with the feelings of our weaknesses. He has a first-hand knowledge of what we suffer. He suffers with us.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15,16

It is comforting to know that when we are pursued by sin and sorrow, we have a safe hiding place in Christ. We are not alone in our struggles. He is a “very present help in trouble.” His care extends to every Christian; the young and the aged, the weak and the strong, the poor and the wealthy, the doubting and the confident. Believer, He cares for you:

For whom? For you, who are begotten again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; who are born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever. For you, who are strangers and pilgrims on the earth as all your fathers were. For you, who are placed in humble circumstances, being numbered with the poor of this world. For you, who are compassed about with so many cares, and who enjoy so few comforts; who are surprised at the fiery trials which try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you. For you, who are worried and harassed by Satan, who as a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he may devour. For you, who are persecuted by the world, and hated by all men for your Savior’s sake. For you, to whom Christ is precious, as he is to every one who really believes in him. For you, sinful as you are. For you, depressed and discouraged as you are. He careth for you. He cares for you individually, and according to the circumstances in which you are placed.

What does he do? He careth for you. He thinks of you. He watches over you. He sympathizes with you. He feels the deepest interest in you. He ever seeks your welfare. He infallibly secures your good. Your misery touches his heart, your wants lie open to his view, and your cries enter into his ears.

He cares for you, and his care is paternal; it is the care of a father for his child, the child whom he tenderly loves, and for whose welfare he feels the deepest concern. He cares for you, and his care is perpetual; he will never care for you less than he does at present; when age weakens you, when wants pinch you, when death appears just before you, he will care for you as much as he did in youth, or as he does at this moment. He cares for you, and his care is beneficial; it prevents innumerable evils, and secures the greatest possible amount of good.

This we know, that God will care for us, and caring for us, will fulfill his promises to us, and make all his goodness pass before us. If God cares for us, then let us cast all our cares upon him. James Smith

Under His Wings

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm 36:7

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matthew 23:37

Storms of affliction can overtake us without warning. We need to be persuaded that God will take care of us. He promises that we are preserved in safety under his protecting care, just as the hen cherishes her chicks under her wings. Whenever danger approaches, the mother hen quickly gathers her chicks. They bury their head in her feathers and they are warm and comfortable. She will protect them even if her life is threatened. The young animals thrive under her constant care.

No figure, then, could be more happily chosen to express the infinite love of Christ, and his ardent desire to deliver his people from the sin and misery of their fallen condition, his watchful care, and powerful protection, and the safety and happiness of those that believe in his name. It beautifully expresses the singularly tender care with which God watches over our safety.

He Careth For You

Are you weary or troubled, perplexed or distressed?
In Christ there is comfort, joy, safety, and rest;
Go tell Him your sorrows, cast on Him your care,
He waits in His pity your trials to share.

He sees all your footsteps, He marks all your way,
In kindness, in wisdom, He’s planned every day;
He knoweth, He loveth, as none else could do;
Go tell to Him all things, “He careth for you.”

Perhaps no one else seems to pity or know,
None think of your welfare, nor mark where you go;
But your loving Redeemer, so patient, so true,
Is full of compassion, “He careth for you.”

Assured of His presence, protection and peace,
Of fellowship holy, let burdens all cease;
Though trials be many, and friends may be few,
Oh! what does it matter, “He careth for you.”

He careth for you ‘mid the sunshine and shade,
‘Mid the cheer of the upland, the gloom of the glade;
He thinketh upon you when poor and in need,
Oh! His is the sympathy sweetest indeed.

All power is His–He is mighty to aid,
So that none of His children should e’er be afraid;
You will never need aught that His love cannot do,
So trust in the promise, “He careth for you.”

   From Thoughts of Peace

   Photo Credits:
   Kelsey Lovefusionphoto
   Sukanto Debnath

No, Not the Love Without the Blood

No, not the love without the blood;
That were to me no love at all;
It could not reach my sinful soul,
Nor hush the fears which me appall.

I need the love, I need the blood,
I need the grace, the cross, the grave,
I need the resurrection-power,
A soul like mine to purge and save.

The love I need is righteous love,
Inscribed on the sin-bearing tree,
Love that exacts the sinner’s debt,
Yet, in exacting, sets him free.

Love that condemns the sinner’s sin,
Yet, in condemning, pardon seals;
That saves from righteous wrath, and yet,
In saving, righteousness reveals.

Love boundless as Jehovah’s self,
Love holy as His righteous law,
Love unsolicited, unbought,
The love proclaimed on Golgotha.

This is the love that calms my heart,
That soothes each conscience-pang within,
That pacifies my guilty dread,
And frees me from the power of sin.

The love that blotteth out each stain,
That plucketh hence each deadly sting,
That fills me with the peace of God,
Unseals my lips and bids me sing.

The love that liberates and saves,
That this poor straitened soul expands,
That lifts me to the heaven of heavens,
The shrine above not made with hands.

The love that quickens into zeal,
That makes me self-denied and true,
That leads me out of what is old,
And brings me into what is new.

That purifies and cheers and calms,
That knows no change and no decay;
The love that loves for evermore,
Celestial sunshine, endless day.

From: Grace and Truth by W.P. MacKay

Looking Unto Jesus

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22

Behold, the Lamb of God

Behold, The Lamb

My main object throughout this post is to entreat you to look unto Jesus. I  especially have in mind those of you who have never looked to Jesus as  “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” You have looked elsewhere for hope and happiness. At the name of Jesus you turn away indifferently.

The name Jesus holds in it the thought of salvation. Jesus saves. His arm, unaided, brought salvation. To save is the prerogative of Jesus. The condition required of us is looking away from everything else and from ourselves to Jesus alone. Look to Jesus and be saved. Look and live.

See that meek and gentle One coming unto John the Baptist! Who is he? Listen to the answer: “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Yes, it is the Lamb of Calvary, slain from the foundation of the world. The Messiah, the Prince of glory, the King of kings. He comes from the throne of eternal honors. He comes a paschal Lamb, an offering for sin, to suffer and die for a race of rebels. He knows he will be despised and rejected, and be made a curse for his heartless enemies: still he comes, the patient sufferer, waiting for that hour of amazing sacrifice. He was wounded and scourged that you and I might be healed. He was arrayed with scorn in the purple robe that he might procure for us sinners the robe of righteousness and salvation. He stood speechless that we might have an all-prevailing plea; he thirsted that we might drink of the water of life; he bore the wrath of the Father that we might enjoy his favor; he was numbered with the transgressors that we might be ‘equal with angels;’ he died that we might live for ever. Edward Norris Kirk

Do not turn your eyes away from the eternal Son of God. He stepped down        from heaven to walk on earth as a man of sorrows, that he might save you. He is beholding you at this moment. Your indifference, your unbelief, grieves him.

To what or whom will you go? He is now offered to save you from sin. He is calling you to commit your soul to his hand. He offers to take away your sin. And do you not wish it to be taken away? Can you carry the load any longer, and live and die under the dominion and defilement and curse of sin? Dare you turn in scorn and indifference from him? Remember that he is not only the Lamb of God, but also the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He invites with gentle persuasion. But he also commands with divine authority. And the sin of sins is the rejection of Christ. Behold the Lamb of God! He stands before you, — spotless, gentle, patient, submissive to every blow your sins have deserved; for when they smote him “he opened not his mouth.” Have you looked into those eyes beaming with tenderness and compassion? Brother man, have you a heart to turn away in contempt or indifference? Pause and reflect what it means. He comes to “take away the sin of the world “— yours among others. And while he is offering to take yours away, he is listening to your heart that he may hear its response to his offer. And what is its answer? Edward Norris Kirk

The naysayers of these later days entirely fail to find a better way of peace than the old path of looking to the vicarious death of Christ. Millions are  vainly hoping that they will find some better way to heaven than the old-fashioned way of the cross. They will never find it. If they love life, they will have to turn at last to Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God.

“Jesus will always be the Lamb, even to the lost; it is ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ that they will dread. The Lamb is always conspicuous; He may be neglected, rejected, refused tonight, but He will be beheld in eternity, and beheld to your everlasting confusion and unutterable dismay if you refuse to behold Him now. Let it not be so with any of you.” Charles Spurgeon

Ye sinners, seek his face,
Whose wrath ye cannot bear;
Fly to the shelter of his cross,
And find salvation there.

Looking Unto Jesus

God does not require of us some great thing. He does not command us to inflict punishment upon ourselves. He suffered for us. He requires no price nor gift. He gave Himself for us and paid the debt. Only look. There is no act easier and more simple than turning around and looking. “Turn ye, turn ye, saith the Lord. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none else.”

There is life for a look at the Crucified One,
There is life at this moment for thee;
Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved,
Unto Him who was nailed to the tree.

Look! look! look and live!
There is life for a look at the Crucified One,
There is life at this moment for thee.

Turning away from sin, and looking to Jesus brings salvation, with peace that passes knowledge and joy unutterable. This is the beginning. The “eyes of our hearts,” once turned toward Jesus and lightened with the light of His life, must never be turned away from Him. We are to continue, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2

“In the phrase ‘looking unto Jesus,’ it is useful and interesting to remember that the Greek word which, in our English Bible, we render ‘looking,’ is only found here in the New Testament. Literally translated it means ‘looking off,’—looking away from other objects to one, only one, and looking on that one with a steady, fixed, intent gaze. And the object we are to look at, you will observe, is a PERSON… a living Person; and that Person is Jesus the Son of God.” J.C. Ryle

Beholding is a steady kind of looking. Believe then, in Christ with a solid, abiding confidence. Come, ye sinners, come, and trust your Saviour, not for tonight only, but forever. Believe that he is able and willing to save you, and trust Him to do so.

Take your eyes off everything else, and behold the Lamb of God! You need not see anything else, nothing else is worth seeing; but behold Him. See how He takes your guilt, see how he bears it, see how He sinks under it, and yet rises from it, crying, “It is finished.” He gives up the ghost, He is buried, He rises again from the dead because He is accepted of God, and His redeeming work is done. Trust Him, trust Him, trust Him. ..

I am not saved by what I can do, but by what He has done; not by what I have suffered, but by what He has endured. There hangs our everlasting hope; we trust to Christ in life and in death, and we are accepted for His sake…

Therefore say I to you, my hearers…fly to Jesus at once, Behold, not tomorrow, but tonight, behold the Lamb of God, each man for himself. Charles Spurgeon

What Will You Do Without Him?

I could not do without Him!
Jesus is more to me
Than all the richest, fairest gifts
Of earth could ever be.
But the more I find Him precious-
And the more I find Him true-
The more I long for you to find
What He can be to you.

You need not do without Him,
For He is passing by,
He is waiting to be gracious,
Only waiting for your cry:
He is waiting to receive you-
To make you all His own!
Why will you do without Him,
And wander on alone?

Why will you do without Him?
Is He not kind indeed?
Did He not die to save you?
Is He not all you need?
Do you not want a Saviour?
Do you not want a Friend?
One who will love you faithfully,
And love you to the end?

Why will you do without Him?
The Word of God is true!
The world is passing to its doom-
And you are passing too.
It may be no to-morrow
Shall dawn for you or me;
Why will you run the awful risk
Of all eternity?

What will you do without Him,
In the long and dreary day
Of trouble and perplexity,
When you do not know the way,
And no one else can help you,
And no one guides you right,
And hope comes not with morning,
And rest comes not with night?

You could not do without Him,
If once He made you see
The fetters that enchain you,
Till He hath set you free.
If once you saw the fearful load
Of sin upon your soul;
The hidden plague that ends in death,
Unless He makes you whole!

What will you do without Him,
When death is drawing near?
Without His love-the only love
That casts out every fear;
When the shadow-valley opens,
Unlighted and unknown,
And the terrors of its darkness
Must all be passed alone!

What will you do without Him,
When the great white throne is set,
And the Judge who never can mistake,
And never can forget,-
The Judge whom you have never here
As Friend and Saviour sought,
Shall summon you to give account
Of deed and word and thought?

What will you do without Him,
When He hath shut the door,
And you are left outside, because
You would not come before?
When it is no use knocking,
No use to stand and wait;
For the word of doom tolls through your heart,
That terrible “Too late!”

You cannot do without Him!
There is no other name
By which you ever can be saved,
No way, no hope, no claim!
Without Him-everlasting loss
Of love, and life, and light!
Without Him-everlasting woe,
And everlasting night.

But with Him-oh! with Jesus!
Are any words so blest?
With Jesus, everlasting joy
And everlasting rest!
With Jesus-all the empty heart
Filled with His perfect love;
With Jesus-perfect peace below,
And perfect bliss above.

Why should you do without Him?
It is not yet too late;
He has not closed the day of grace,
He has not shut the gate.
He calls you! hush! He calls you!
He would not have you go
Another step without Him,
Because He loves you so.

Why will you do without Him?
He calls and calls again-
“Come unto Me! Come unto Me!”
Oh, shall He call in vain?
He wants to have you with Him;
Do you not want Him too?
You cannot do without Him,
And He wants- even you.

-by Francis Ridley Havergal

Images courtesy of Brooklyn Museum
James Tissot collection

Tidings of Great Joy

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:8-14

Good News

In these verses we have the most joyful message that was ever proclaimed to man. The angel appeared to the humble shepherds to tell them that none other than the Savior of the world had been born. This wondrous child was the long expected Messiah, promised in Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” He was God in the flesh!

When the angel announced the birth of Jesus, he declared himself to be the bearer of  “good news of great joy” and these glad tidings were immediately repeated and confirmed by a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.” The gospel, properly speaking, and in its own words, simply means glad tidings. “Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy;” the original expression is, “This is a gospel of great joy.”

Through the long, dark, weary ages man had been groaning in captivity to the tyrant powers of sin. He was incapable of saving himself. He  needed a deliverer. He needed a Savior. He needed good news. God had sent prophets many times to herald the coming Messiah. When the world was at its darkest, He sent his Son. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” Hebrews 1:1,2

When our blessed Lord began His public ministry, He came proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a Messenger who would publish good tidings to mankind. The Lord Jesus Christ is undoubtedly that Messenger.

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,”The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21

Isaiah is the fullest revelation of Christ in the Old Testament—so much so, that it is often called “the gospel (good news) according to Isaiah.” A wonderful reference to the Lord is found in Isaiah 52:7. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Never were feet so beautiful as those of the Lord Jesus.

I’m going to end this post by quoting pastor John Munro. I think his words will help you understand the greatest Christmas gift that has ever been given to mankind.

Although Jesus was truly a man, at His glorious birth He did not cease to be God. In Jesus Christ, the true light of the world comes, and His followers see “his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

This glory is manifested against the darkness of our sin and rebellion. We are held captive in a prison by sin. We are in a dark pit whose walls are so high that we cannot possibly climb out. We are all in the same darkness. We cannot help one another. But Christmas reminds us that in Jesus the Light of the world has come into our prison. “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16). When Jesus comes He does not come to judge or to condemn, but to save (John 3:17). Jesus means Savior, Rescuer and Deliverer. This is what His glorious birth is all about: He comes to “save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21). John Munro

Be sure to read the rest of John Munro’s article-The Glorious Birth of Jesus Christ. “It is still proclaimed in our ears that to us is born a Saviour, Christ the Lord. These should be glad tidings to all.” (Matthew Henry)