The Morning After

After a night of fruitless fishing, it had happened before, the disciples did not recognize the risen Lord upon the shore. How much of our labor is in vain because it is our own poor little expedition! But our labor is not in vain when it is in the Lord.

There is a beautiful progression in this story. John recognizes the stranger. “It is the Lord!” Peter immediately leaps into the water and heads for shore. He has denied his Lord and had been out of fellowship, but when he heard Jesus was on the shore, he went toward Him, not from Him.

Jesus invited them to a prepared meal, and they knew it was the Lord. He becomes real to all who accept His invitation and take what He offers. Has it been a fisherman’s failure with you? Has your little venture come to nought? See the Lord upon the shore. Heed His instruction, and a night of defeat will give way to a morning of delight.

[Vance Havner]

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Luke 5:5 ... And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

John 21:4 ... But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

Psalm 30:5 ... For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.❤

Get Through To Jesus

In the maze of present-day confusion, the chaos of conflicting voices, how often have we wished that we might just press through and touch Jesus as in the day of His flesh. They were not bewildered then by scholars and sectarians, each claiming the only perfect right to introduce anyone to Him. This poor sick woman came all by herself and for herself and it worked. Whether she had pure, unadulterated, unalloyed faith I know not, but she got through to Jesus!

Are you troubled and dizzy with a dozen voices shouting in your ears? Have you, like the father of the demonized boy, brought your problem to the disciples-this church or preacher-to find that “they could not“? Don’t go away. Jesus is saying, “Bring your problem to me.”  Push through the crowd and touch Him for yourself. You need no middleman to present you. As many as touch Him are made whole.  “Be whole of thy plague,” He told the woman. Bring your plague to Him. Let no one stop you short of Him. “As many as touched Him….”

[Vance Havner]

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Mark 5:28 ... For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

Matthew 9:22 ... But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Luke 8:50 ... But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. ❤

End and Beginning

Isaiah was come to the end of himself. Like Moses in Midian, like Job when he saw God, like Daniel with his comeliness turned to corruption and Habakkuk with rottenness entering his bones; like Peter at Tiberias and Paul with his thorn, he has come to the end of all feeling and trying and praying, the end of all he is and has, to where God begins.

Blessed is that hour of holy desperation when a man reaches that extremity which is God’s opportunity and moves out of the wreck of himself into Christ. Nothing in his hand he brings, but just as he is without one plea he takes up residence with Christ in God. He puts no value on anything he has or is, attaches no importance to his feelings or faith or prayers. Christ is everything. We waste many years trying to construct some sort of refuge out of the rubbish of ourselves, until we abandon it all and dwell in Another. From then on we have no confidence in the flesh but humbly look unto Him for salvation and the “all things” that go with it, His sufficient grace for the whole man, for every day, for any need, that we, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

[Vance Havner]

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Isaiah 6:5 ... Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

Galatians 6:14 ... But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Matthew 6:33 ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.❤

Hurt Before Healing

There can be no normal Father-and-son fellowship until sin has been dealt with and put away. It is all very well to talk of just leading a normal daily Christian life without having to be “revived,” but most Christians are not ready to lead such a life. One might as well tell a sick man to get out in the sunshine and follow his usual habits. We are subnormal and abnormal, and sometimes drastic measures are necessary before we can be normal Christians again. Even surgery may be indicated and the offending eye or foot or hand must be removed. We let Christians and churches go on in their sick condition rather than remove infection and employ spiritual catharsis. Sometimes radical procedure is necessary, and it may be disturbing to sick souls who prefer to be unmolested, but there can be no recovery without it.

Paul followed this course with the Corinthians, and our Lord called for repentance among the ailing churches of Asia. Sometimes we must feel worse before we can feel better. Hurt often must come before healing.

[Vance Havner]

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 4:17 ... For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

2 Corinthians 1:6 ... And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.❤

Your Cross

The reproach of Christ and our cross-bearing do not mean the common troubles to which all flesh is heir. Some think they are bearing their cross every time they have a headache. Almost everybody has headaches and you can usually stop them with an aspirin tablet. Your cross means the trouble you wouldn’t have if you were not a Christian.

[Vance Havner]

2 Corinthians 12:10 ... Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Romans 15:3 ... For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

1 Peter 4:14 ... If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.❤

That Last God to Go

Self-love takes many forms. Not only pride and vanity and worldly ambition, but a sickly preoccupation with one’s own troubles, physical or otherwise. Such self-centered, ingrown souls make themselves the center of their universe. Self thrives on attention. It grows as it is petted and coddled, until it becomes a colossus dominating one’s lives and all others it can by making friends and loved ones the slaves of such self-worshipers.

The best treatment is neglect by becoming preoccupied with something or someone else. Such ailments disappear when ignored. The supreme preoccupation is not a mere person or cause but Christ Himself. That is why He asked us to deny self, take up the cross, and follow Him. That is why He bade us lose our lives to find them. When he fills our minds and hearts and lives other gods vanish. And no god is harder to topple from its shrine than self. It will gladly give up all lesser idols if only it be allowed to retain the throne.

[Vance Havner]

2 Timothy 3:2-4 ... For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Matthew 16:24 ... Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luke 9:24 ... For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.❤

Friends of God

Of all the preachers and teachers and religious folk of our day, how few impress us that they know God! Able and successful, earnest and aggressive, we find in them much that is good. But can we not count on our fingers those who have gone far into the deeper things of the Spirit, who have learned those precious secrets of intimacy with God? To how few could we go in an hour of deepest trouble, to how few dare we tell our inmost problems!

This age of Phenobarbital and psychoses does not lend itself to a closer walk with God. The price is great nowadays, and he who chooses to be God’s friend may be overlooked in the worship of celebrities. But in our better and needier moments we turn from heroes to seek some lowly soul who has learned those rare lessons of the school of Enoch who walked with God. Our efficient American Christianity is too busy putting things over to be interested in the quiet, slow saints who take time to be holy instead of just singing about it.

Give us more friends of God!

[Vance Havner]

James 2:23 ... And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Proverbs 22:11 ... He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

John 15:14 ... Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.❤

Anytime, Anywhere

No old-fashioned preacher need feel like a country boy come to town in this sophisticated age. Any born again, Bible-believing, Spirit filled preacher can be used by God to make Jesus Christ relevant to anybody, anytime, anywhere.

[Vance Havner]

2 Timothy 4:2 ... Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

1 Timothy 2:7 ... Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

Matthew 28:19-20 ... Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.❤

The New Year Ahead

The twinge of sadness when Christmas passes is relieved by the prospect of New Year next week. There is the excitement of a new beginning no matter what it may bring.


But Christmas in the heart, through the indwelling Christ, brings not only a new year that starts immediately, but a new life that never ends. We don’t wait a week to begin; eternal life does not start at death, but now. We have it now as surely as we will ever have it, although the hereafter will bring fresh glories beyond our comprehension.

For the Christian, there is not only a New Year on the calendar but a New Forever in the heart!

[Vance Havner]

John 17:3 ... And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

1 John 5:20 ... And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Titus 3:7 ... That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

1 Timothy 6:12 ... Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.❤

God is Strong

God is not waiting to show us strong in His behalf but Himself strong in our behalf. That makes a lot of difference. He is not out to demonstrate what we can do but what He can do. But God is on the lookout for candidates with hearts perfect toward Him. He is not a talent scout looking for somebody strong enough or good enough. He is looking for someone with a heart set on pleasing Him and an eye single to His glory. He will do the rest.

 

What a wonder that God will use our lives to demonstrate Himself! But we like to demonstrate ourselves and do great exploits in God’s behalf. That reverses the process and God does not get the glory. We have seen enough of what men can do for God; we need to see more of what God can do through men.

 

 

He has shown Himself strong in our behalf many a time. And what He has done for others, He will do for you.

 

[Vance Havner]

 

 

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2 Chronicles 16:9 ... For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

 

 

Isaiah 52:10 ... The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

 

 

Psalm 138:8 ... The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

 

 

 

Philippians 1:6 ... Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:❤ 

Prove Me Now

We are inclined to pray as though this world were in the grip of cold, fixed laws, with only the remote possibility that God might occasionally break through. We timidly whisper a few feeble petitions barely hoping, but certainly not believing that we shall receive. But God is not a prisoner in His own universe. Jesus is the Lord of all creation, King of kings and Lord of lords. The devil can go only so far as God allows him to go.

 

 

God is waiting to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. He invites us to prove Him. He longs to demonstrate what He can do, exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, great and mighty things which we know not.

 

This is our Father’s world. God is still on the throne of creation. Call on Him and He will answer.

 

[Vance Havner]

 

 

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Ephesians 3:20-21 ... Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

 

 

Jeremiah 33:3 ... Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
 

 

 

Hebrews 4:16 ... Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.


Matthew 21:22 ... And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.❤

Venture

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.

[Vance Havner]

Psalm 37:23 ... The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.


Proverbs 3:5-6 ... Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 16:9 ... A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Galatians 5:25 ... If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ❤

Nowhere or Now Here

An atheist had a sign on the wall of his office that read, “God Is Nowhere.” A little girl saw it and exclaimed, “Look! It says, ‘God Is Now Here!’”

 

Today godless and lawless millions deny God’s very existence. But there are still many who have not bowed to this Baal, who know that the Word became flesh and that in the Holy Spirit God is not only with us but in us.

 

The struggle is between the “Nowheres” and the “Now Heres.” “Is the Lord among us, or not?” (Exodus 17:7) – that is the issue.

 

The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God,” because God is not in his heart.  The Christian says there is a God, because God is in his heart. He means more than merely that God is or that God is somewhere.  He says God is now here, because God is a present, living reality.

You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart!

These are they who know that the tabernacle of the Lord is with men because He lives in us, the temples of His Holy Spirit.

 

 

[Vance Havner]

 

 

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Psalm 14:1 ...  The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

 

 

Matthew 1:23 ... Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 

 

John 14:17 ... Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ❤

Have You a Reservation?

How good it is when the weary traveler can walk up to the hotel desk and find a room ready and waiting, while others may ask in vain and all because his name is on the book; he made a reservation.

 

We cannot walk up to the gate of heaven after death and obtain a dwelling-place merely by asking for it. Our abiding place up there is secured in advance while we are down here. Our Saviour has gone to prepare a place, but there are places only for those who make reservations.

 

Is your name in the book?

 

Many will come in that day and make various claims, but he will say, “Depart, I never knew you.” The dying thief made a reservation: “Remember me.” Reservations are made, not on the basis of our merit, but on His merit and our simple faith in Him.

 

[Vance Havner]

 

 

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John 14:2-3 ... In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
 

 

 

1 Peter 1:4-5 ... To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

 

 

Revelation 19:9 ... And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.


John 6:47 ... Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.❤

Citizen

If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.

[Vance Havner]

Hebrews 11:13 ... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Ephesians 2:19 ...  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Philippians 3:20 ...  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ❤

Here or Hereafter

You cannot love and live for two worlds at a time. The love of the world and the love of the Father simply do not coexist in the same heart.  Are you in love with this age or with the one to come?  It makes a difference!

[Vance Havner]

1 John 2:15 ... Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

James 4:4 ... Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

2 Timothy 4:8 ... Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.❤

Victory Garden

Observe the source of our victory – “Thanks be unto God.”

Consider the nature of our victory – “which giveth us the victory.”

It is the gift of God. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”

And behold the means of our victory – “through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It is total victory over sin, death, and the grave. It is daily victory. Every heart ought to be a “victory garden.” And it is final victory.

[Vance Havner]

1 Corinthians 15:57 ... But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 9:15 ... Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Psalm 98:1 ... O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

1 John 5:4 ... For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.❤

Catch Up

The church suffers today from Christians who know volumes more than they practice.  It would be well to let our walk catch up with our talk.

[Vance Havner]

1 John 2:6 ... He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

2 John 1:6 ... And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

Colossians 1:10 ... That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Galatians 5:25 ... If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.❤

Call to Discipleship

What is a New Testament Christian? He is a heart-believer in a crucified and risen Saviour and Lord. But our churches are filled with believers who do not continue in His Word and so are poor disciples. Salvation is free – not cheap- and we have only to trust Christ to be believers. But discipleship calls for all we are and have.

[Vance Havner]

Acts 5:14 ... And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.

John 8:31 ...Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Acts 1:8 ... But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ❤

Dwelling

God is not only our hiding place, He is our dwelling place. He is not merely a Shelter for the night, He is our Staying Place forever. There we are not in hiding, we are at home.

[Vance Havner]

Psalm 90:1 … Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Psalm 32:7 … Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Psalm 119:114 … Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Colossians 3:3… For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.❤

Image: Serving Him at Home