Reflections: Evangelical Messages for the Modern World

By Aleksandar Birvis

A series of political crises led to the break-up of a country. Despite the ravages of civil war, God did not cease to act. One testimony to this can be found in this book of sermons, each of them the product of authentic experience.
These spiritual experiences stood in contrast to the failures of the system. People were abandoning God, but God had not abandoned them.
The book contains a selection of moving messages such as: The Lord’s Prayer during the civil war, In the school of blessing, Pardon and witnessing about pardon, Trials—the test of the Kingdom of God, Who belongs to Christ?, I believe in love, Life in the light of the Spirit, Five prayer miniatures, and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781512785746

Aleksandar Birvis

Dr. Aleksandar Birvi, professor emeritus, polyglot, Bible translator, pastor, and writer, the author of numerous books, articles and other publications, and translator of ten books of the Bible into Serbian from the original languages. He held (Hon.) DD (1991) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the USA, and BA in Oriental studies (1961) and BTh (1953) from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Towards the end of his life Dr. Birvi lived and wrote in Novi Sad, Serbia, where he died on February 1st 2015, aged 87.

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Copyright © 2017 Aleksandar Birviš.

Translated from the Serbian by Christopher Daniels. Proofread by Mark Daniels.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-3177-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8574-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905750

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/12/2019

Contents

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

AKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE LORD’S PRAYER DURING

THE CIVIL WAR (1991)

Foreword

Introduction

The Heavenly Father

His holy name

The Kingdom of God

The Will of God

Give us this day

Forgiveness for forgiveness’ sake

As Christ has forgiven you

Trials — an everyday challenge

Deliverance from the evil one

For Yours is the … forever

REGULAR SERIES OF SERMONS

I THE LORD SANCTIFY

A MAN WHOSE NAME WAS JOHN

CHRIST — GOD INCARNATE

THE GLORY IS NEAR

A TEMPLE NOT MADE WITH HANDS

The dwelling place of a holy God

The temple of a new people

A Spiritual House

The temple and its court

The Holiest of Holies

THE RICH FOOL

Indifference towards the time that we live in

This night but not unexpectedly

Think today

Belonging to Christ — now

IN THE SCHOOL OF BLESSING

Teaching and missionary aspects of blessing

ABOUT FOREGIVENESS

The art of small steps

CHRIST THE HEALER

WITNESSING

Our part in God’s work

Witnessing about God and man

The enemy wants to shake man

PARDON AND WITNESSING ABOUT PARDON

ABOUT OUR TESTIMONY

Some aspects of our testimony

TRIALS — THE TEST OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Righteousness in the Holy Spirit —what are the temptations of righteousness?

Peace in the Holy Spirit — what are the temptations of this peace?

Joy in the Holy Spirit — what are its temptations?

FROM CONFLICT TO CONFLICT – CHRIST

I LOVE MISSION

Mission is a question of love

Mission is the work of the Holy Spirit

We are not alone

BEFORE THE THRONE AND BEFORE THE LAMB

ETERNAL KING — ETERNAL KINGDOM

HOW TO DEEPEN YOUR FAITH

WHO BELONGS TO CHRIST?

Measures of closeness

Fulfilling God’s will

Authentic belonging

CHRIST HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD!

BREAD FROM HEAVEN

CHRIST — THE GOOD SHEPHERD

What do I expect from the Good Shepherd?

Christ has fulfilled all our expectations

The Shepherd — our confidence

WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE

BROTHERS AND DISCIPLES

THE BIBLE HAS COME TO US FROM THE JEWS

The Word communicated

The Word received

The Word passed on

Our debt to the Jews

Somewhere, far away

THE SAVIOR GOES AWAY — WE REMAIN

THE ASCENSION

Meditation for the Lord’s Supper

WHAT SHALL WE SAY ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT?

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRINITY

THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY:

THE WILL OF THE FATHER

Fear not, little flock

Little Flock

The Will of the Father

The Kingdom is given

GOOD NEWS FOR EVERY CREATURE

GOD CREATES A NEW MAN

I BELIEVE IN LOVE

LIFE IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT

STRENGTH, PROTECTION AND VICTORY

THE TRANSFIGURATION

HOW CHRIST WOULD THINK

FIVE PRAYER MINIATURES

1. More of the Gospel

2. Deeper faith

3. Greater calmness

4. Richer love

5. Strengthened hope

ADDRESSES ON SPECIAL OCCASSIONS

THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES IN RELATION TO THE CHURCH

Authority

The Scripture

Experience

A Book about God

Certainty

Enlightenment

The Church

Nevertheless…

ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

THE DESIRED TIME

FOR THE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

A word about ministry

A word about mirrors

A word about the laver

EDUCATION: CONDITIONS, DEVELOPMENT AND PURPOSE (I)

Beginning of the academic year

Watchmen throughout the country

An ordered life

EDUCATION: CONDITIONS, DEVELOPMENT AND PURPOSE (II)

The academic year

Primary education

Secondary education

Higher education

Consequences

Appendix

WHY I WRITE OUT MY SERMONS

Notes

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

Sermons, like other forms of public speaking, should be read slowly and at a rate of not more than one a day. It is better to read one several times over a period of two days, rather than two or three a day.

We recommend the reader keeps a Bible by him. Lovers of good reading material will read a sermon and then take the trouble to find the passages quoted in the sermon and spend a few minutes meditating on them. As they then read the same sermon again, they will understand the things they have enjoyed as well as enjoying what they have understood.

Reading like this is not entertainment. It is hard work. It requires the use of the mind and the imagination. None of these sermons was written for strangers but for a specific audience. Each one was preached in a church service, mainly at the First Baptist Church in Belgrade (Slobodanke Danke Savić 33), but also in other places. Largely the same group of widely-differing people listened to these sermons, Sunday by Sunday and Wednesday by Wednesday, as they sought to hear the Word and to experience God.

The aim of this book is just that.

Aleksandar Birviš

AKNOWLEDGMENTS

On 17th August 1994, Dr. Čedomir Drašković, a retired professor from the Belgrade Orthodox Theological Faculty, was buried at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. The writer of this book is thankful to God for the many pleasant hours he spent from 1951 to 1953 as a student of the late professor, listening to his lectures in preaching, pastoral theology and other areas of practical theology. If there is anything of any value in these sermons, that is due to Dr. Drašković. The weaknesses are the writer’s, because the late professor undoubtedly deserves better and more commendable students.

THE LORD’S PRAYER DURING

THE CIVIL WAR (1991)

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done

In earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil:

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

(Matthew 6:9-13)

Foreword

Many young men’s lives have been snuffed out. Their names will no longer be called out at roll call. Their officers will no longer deploy them on the front line. No one will send for them anymore. Some of them will have a proper burial. Some will have no burial at all. Strangers will bury them, who knows where. Their friends and family will be informed with just a few short words, if at all.

Were they on the right side or the wrong? They didn’t know. In a year or two that won’t matter.

So-called resourceful people are already taking advantage of their death and their shed blood. The careers of well-known people and the recognition they receive will prosper on their marked graves. The right side will accuse the wrong side. The wrong side will continue to devise means of revenge and await their moment.

The glorious heroes will soar on the wings of achievement, where there are no traffic tailbacks. Taxes will go up, purchasing power will decrease, and the economy will go into decline, as many get rich quick. There will be new upheavals.

Those who have grown wings will soar above all this. As everything else deteriorates, they will prosper.

Nobody will take any notice of the young men, women and children, just as they did on the Srem Front in 1944-45. Today, those responsible for what happened then are joining forces again to polish their medals and talk about the victories they won. They have no remorse for those they callously sent to their deaths.

What is there to say in these tough times? Is there any point in preaching when no one will listen? I am not so pessimistic. No one wants to listen to those who have spoken only untruths and continue to do so. But there will always be ears open to hear the truth. There are those whose hearts have not been hardened - not everyone is evil. Not all evil people are without hope. The Lord’s power has not disappeared.

Introduction

The weapon of the Christian is prayer. We pray in exaltation before God. That is worship. We pray when God gives us something, or when He takes something away, when something happens or when it doesn’t happen. That is thanksgiving. We pray when God stirs our consciences and our understanding, as we realize how much sin there still is in us and how many sins we have left behind us. That is confession. After we have confessed, we pray that we may continue to live without sin and without the devil spoiling things. We strive afresh for holiness and sanctification. That is the promise.

But the largest part of our prayer is supplication. There are so many things we need (at least we think we need them). I used to think that our prayer meetings and Bibles studies encouraged supplication. (Lord, give peace to this country! O Lord, save those who are on the front lines! Set the captives free! Bring the leaders to their senses! etc.). But when I began to pray I realized that we shouldn’t ask for the things unbelievers ask for. Our Savior taught us how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer or Our Father is a well-known prayer. Let us apply the lessons of this prayer to the times and events we are living through.

The Heavenly Father

We all have a Heavenly Father. That’s true both for believers and non-believers. God is the Father of those in uniforms and those in civilian clothes. Both those who shoot and those who die belong to Him. He is our Father. He is not my Father, nor the Father of my church, nor the Father of any particular people or country. Every man is dear to Him.

So we find divisions strange, especially when they involve suffering.

Like as a father pitieth His children,

So the LORD pitieth them that fear Him.

For He knoweth our frame;

He remembereth that we are dust (Ps.103:13-14).

People are not aware that they are made of dust. The Heavenly Father wanted us to be made not just of clay and dirt. That is why we are not what we used to be.

The Father is in heaven. How insignificant borders seem. In the regions within those borders, companies go into liquidation, workers are made redundant, employees are not paid (and what they are paid is not worth much), pensions are paid out erratically and many other misfortunes happen before the eyes of the Heavenly Father. He sees it, while those who are responsible do not. He is far off, but He is the Father. Those responsible are on the earth, but they do not behave like fathers even to their own children - instead they force them to commit mindless acts.

This is why we pray to the Heavenly Father. He has not betrayed our trust nor will He. When we are abandoned by all, and when our loved ones become like animals, God remains our Heavenly Father. He never stops loving. God is love, writes the apostle John, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16b).

His holy name

The main trouble with those around us is their lack of respect for God’s name. People have a name that they shout out, that they use as a swear word, that they sing songs and write fairy tales about. Quickly, far too quickly, the people of the Balkans are beginning to reject that same name, to spit on it, to curse it, to ascribe stupid things to it, to say revolting things about it. As time goes by, yesterday’s god becomes the devil, yesterday’s flower an object of shame.

And so we say, Sic passit gloria mundi. But the Word of God says something different (Ps. 135:15-18):

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

They have mouths, but they speak not;

Eyes have they, but they see not;

They have ears, but they hear not;

Neither is there any breath in their mouths.

They that make them are like unto them:

So is every one that trusteth in them.

Idols are a reflection of those who worship them. Those who created the myths about mighty leaders are no better than those leaders. Those who denigrate them today without repenting as God commands, are still idol worshippers - they have just changed their idols in line with changing fashion. They will worship these new ones, because idol worshippers are accustomed to changing the object of their worship. If a particular god is not suitable or if some other power conquers those who trust in one group of idols, they will turn to the gods who win.

Forced conversion was not invented by Islam. There have always been turncoats and there always will be as long as man is on this earth. There are many haters of freedom who have become defenders of democracy overnight.

Christians preach the Holiness of God’s name. That is their duty. That name sets men free from idols. If anyone wants to discover where victory lies and what is really going on among men and nations, let him observe how the Holiness of God’s name is honored. It is the only name that brings salvation (Acts 4:12).

The Kingdom of God

A discussion of the Kingdom of God will take a little more time. The conflicts and worry that are part of our life are the results of a power struggle. Tanks, rockets, grenade launchers, mines, Kalashnikovs and everything else that is coming out onto the streets and heading into the fields and forests, are indications that a struggle for power is being waged, that the kingdoms of this world are doing their worst, because they can do nothing else.

Not until people accept the rule of the living God, will they have true life. They will exist, go about and multiply, consume food and dump dangerous waste, but they will not live. In particular, their common life will be tense, artificial and full of obstacles. There is no life for the oppressed, but there is no life for the oppressors either. There is no life for those who are governed, but those who govern do not live happily either.

The Lord offers us His rule. That is the Kingdom which we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. Other forms of power may be similar to or different from the Kingdom of God. But they are not true Kingdoms. They cannot be until they completely return to God, in other words until they come to sincere repentance.

The man who repents has realized that sin is a reality. Our understanding of the world may differ, but our attitude to sin, that is our own sin, must be profound and in complete agreement with Scripture. In it we read, The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one (Psalm 14:2-3). If this is what God’s Word says, then man has no choice but to confess: a) his sinful nature and sin, that is, his tendency to sin and his attachment to sin, and b) his individual sin. Neither individuals nor whole nations have any right to believe in their own sinlessness and innocence. To believe in sinlessness is to disregard the conclusions of God’s Word.

Awareness of sin leads to confession of sin. Blessed are the people and the nations who receive from God the strength to confess their own sin and who take advantage of that mercy before it is too late. That willingness is what distinguishes a repentant man. He knows that the perfect rule of God cannot compromise with sin. I have met people who have grasped this in a very simple way. They come to me immediately after their conversion to talk about their own personal sins and ask me: Do I need to say this before the whole church? Can I do it straightaway on Sunday? Such an attitude should not be anything unusual. I would like every new convert to cultivate in himself or herself a readiness to confess sin. It is, of course, important to see this in the context of the Kingdom of God, as there are those who are not aware of their sin and are so insensitive that they say, I would confess my sin if I had any. The Kingdom of God is not for those who are steeped in self-deceit.

In order to experience the Lord’s rule it is necessary to feel sorrow for sin. Sin is an insult to God. I cannot expunge that sin by my own means. By falling I mock God: Satan uses the sin that I commit to mock God’s perfection. Because of my mocking attitude I am powerless to redeem myself before His righteousness and goodness. And so I mourn. Without profound sorrow I cannot enter into joy. Without sorrow for the sins of those around me, the state of the nation in which I live will not improve.

Sorrow is a good thing. But it is not enough. We must cry out for forgiveness. The Lord is willing to forgive those who turn to Him. The Almighty promises: I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins (Is. 43:25). I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee (Is.44:22). And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer.31:34) etc.

How can God not forgive? He has given these and other promises, and on top of the promises He has given His only-begotten Son. God expects His people to begin to forgive others and not to do, or even think of doing, evil. Not to talk about what has happened - that can’t be changed - but to bring restitution and restoration and to ask for forgiveness. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt.6:14-15). The incorruptible and eternal Judge forgives those who reject their sin and try not to sin any more (John 5:14; 8:11).

People usually expect the Kingdom of God to be a list of rules and institutions. That is the nature of this world’s kingdoms. If the truth be known, man has grown accustomed to such forms of power and finds it strange that there can be forms with different incentives and different structures. The Kingdom of Heaven is different. It does not place the emphasis on the coercive methods of this world but on righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, as the apostle Paul puts it (Rom.14:17).

May righteousness in the Holy Spirit come. The righteousness offered by countries and societies has nothing to offer, nothing for us to hope for as Christians. Worldly righteousness will always be imperfect, and nobody can guarantee that it will not be opposed to Christ. We are not saying that it will not be helpful to some churches and religious fellowships, societies and associations. By its very support for such groups, the righteousness of this world will diverge from the Savior and the redemptive news of Christ.

We await peace in the Holy Spirit. Today there are many who hope for peace. This is understandable. War has broken out. A shaky ceasefire has been agreed. Foreign politicians come to bring local leaders to their senses. Young men are losing their lives, their parents protest, and reports flow in from all sides. Everyone would like peace, but a peace without God or at least a peace that will be indifferent towards the Lord. That is why God says back in the Old Testament, There is no peace unto the wicked (Is.48:22). In order for peace to be established evil acts must cease. Unregenerate men will never give up evil, especially if that evil brings them profit without effort and encourages them in their desire to assume power and to continue in their disobedience towards God. Peace must be in the Holy Spirit, and not in the spirit of existing decisions and regulations, especially if the proposed rules aim to maintain injustices that have already been achieved.

I would like us all to be clear about this. God does not forbid us to pray for peace. On the contrary, in the Epistle to the Hebrews He encourages us (12:14): Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. This should be the aspiration of every Christian. If it be possible, writes the Apostle Paul, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men (Rom.12:18). But there are situations when God does not want peace. He tells us through the prophet Jeremiah (6:13-14): For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Where greed has taken hold of the servants of God, (and we don’t need to look at other fellowships to find that), there is no peace. So, instead of praying for peace, let us first drive out the unclean spirits of greed and lies, let us pour out the riches we have amassed and help those in need. Let us right injustices, let us bring order to disorder, let us settle accounts as honesty demands, and then we can ask for peace at least amongst ourselves. As far as the men of evil are concerned, let us pray for their conversion. Let us not be concerned which side they are on, for they are on the side of sin wherever they are, until they receive the Gospel.

Likewise, the Kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Spirit. Where does this joy come from, when all is so miserable? Joy in the Spirit does not depend on unspiritual influences. When we seek the Kingdom of God, we have accepted in advance the conclusion that Christ has to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Where the devil stops working, sin loses its power and joy commences.

Joy in Christ makes us stand out against the general mood of the nation. How can a father rejoice at the knowledge that his child has been killed in an attack from the rear or killed by the officer who until yesterday was sitting beside him? No, that father cannot rejoice. But if we Christians help him in his grief and worry, his sorrow will reduce, and that is a step closer to joy.

God reigns. Let us accept His rule. Let us set our hearts on it and we will transcend the boundaries of men and time and space. We are truly at home only in the Kingdom of God. Outside of that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Heb.11:13b).

It needs to be said that in longing for the Kingdom of God Christians do not bring down the kingdoms of this world. They crumble by themselves. The involvement of the Christian in this is not necessary.

Belgrade, 10th July 1991

The Will of God

Christians honor God’s will in good times and in bad. In heaven, that is in the world of spiritual existence, the will of God is carried out without hesitation or objection. The Lord does not enforce it Himself but the angels and all the hosts of heaven joyfully carry out every command of the Lord.

All our knowledge, including our knowledge of God’s will is limited by human imperfection. But that knowledge is by no means small. In fact, everything that our God reveals about Himself gives us the answers to two questions: What does God want? and, Who is God? According to some rules of thinking this second question should come first. But, in terms of importance the Will of God comes before thinking about the nature of God.

The question of who God is is one for philosophers. For believers that question is resolved through experience. Man has experienced God and no further thinking can add anything to that. But experience, of course, does not like to be alone. The believer is joined to the body of Christ, which is the Church. It is within the Church that he now lives, in the sense that it is the Church that holds out to him the Savior who is life.

The question of what God wants belongs to the realm of philosophy and theology. For Christians this has always been a question of everyday life. In today’s world we hear of wars and rumors of wars (Matt.24:6). We know that this must be so, in other words, God wants it that way or at least has allowed it to happen. So then, how can we lose our fear or at least our anxiety?

Ferment, unrest, and even wars are not something that is meant to be, nor are they something that was not meant to be. They are not against God’s will. But those evils are not part of the will of God in heaven for which we pray to the Almighty. God has not given up on His intention that His Will be done on earth as it is in heaven, in perfect harmony. Driven by human weaknesses and the storms of the flesh, we give up on God’s plan, not of course every time, but frequently enough.

Experiential knowledge of God’s will is still linked to events on earth. We are focused on heaven and strive to enter it. This we do through our prayers, study of the Scriptures, by fasting, and especially by worshipping God. But no matter whose we are and where we belong we still live on the earth. And so no one should be surprised at the presence of fear and apprehension. Even very spiritual people sometimes lose their calmness and boldness.

We can begin to see why Christ declares, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me (John14:1). The will of God has been revealed and we know it by faith. We don’t close our eyes to the unrest and war around us. We just open one more pair of eyes, our spiritual eyes, and see what the Lord has prepared. We don’t close our ears to wars and rumors of wars. We simply open our spiritual ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying.

God is completely independent. No one is like Him. No one can be His master. He is not responsible to anyone. We know that God’s will is totally free. In times when freedom is obviously being curtailed it is good to know that oppression is not a part of God’s will. God does not like slavery either. If there is oppression and slavery, then they are the consequence of some earlier sinful acts. Subversion and armed conflicts can bring nothing without sincere repentance. When he repents man is ready to accept the will of heaven on earth.

Can anyone oppose the will of God? No. Why? Because God is omnipotent. Whenever you pray for His will to be done, you are praying for the fulfillment of the only will that cannot be thwarted. Once the will of the Almighty is carried out, all other wills vanish. Spiritual growth appears stunted in many cases because of a refusal to accept this fact. Man, insignificant and small as he is, would like to hold on to his own little whims and to be spiritual at the same time.

Autocratic men do not like the will of God. They may love the Church as an organization that gives them political support. And for that reason they are prepared to pay the clergy (they don’t, of course, pay them out of their own money). The moment Christians stop thinking in line with the demands of the world, the authorities will not hesitate to use cruel methods. Christians respect the authorities, but cannot accept perversity and distortion. It can cost them their lives. In the same way that Christians were persecuted by the autocratic Roman Emperor Diocletian around 303 AD, so in Serbia some nine hundred years later Stevan Nemanja ¹ exterminated the Bogumils, ² and Quirin Kuhlman ³ was burnt at the stake in Russia in 1689. We could quote many more examples too. Men paid with their lives for being obedient to the will of God. They were not disobedient to the authorities; they were just more obedient to God’s voice.

We must tell everyone that God’s will is sacrosanct. We dare not take it lightly. God does not approve of men who trifle with His will. God’s will is that men should not perish, that peace should come, while the leaders argue about where they are going to meet. Some of them now refuse to go to the place they used to consider it an honor to be invited to, others won’t go to the capital even though nothing will happen to them there, while others suggest some venue right at the other end of the country and all the time the bloodshed continues ⁴. How foolish!

God’s demands are a reality. Whoever ignores them, ignores reality, and is liable for the repercussions. This applies to individuals, as well as to whole nations. No one can say that God didn’t give him the opportunity to change for the better and to be blessed. Instead of accepting God’s gift, men are carried away by victories, celebrations, and stories. They have forgotten the will of God. They have neglected it and rejected it.

God is not forgetful. He remembers the tears of the righteous, and also the sneers of the unrighteous. Some people are now complaining that they have been forced out of their homes but they conveniently forget how today’s occupants of villas in Dedinje and Topčider ⁵ entered them in 1944 and 1945. It won’t make it any easier for those who have been driven out of their homes to know this, but we must all remind ourselves that our Holy God is carrying out His holy will. He is doing it in the best way possible and just at the right time.

There is no need to sigh. Let us accept God’s will and everything will turn out for the best. The Lord Jesus promises, If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour (John12:26).

Belgrade, 17th July 1991

Image1creditMatijaZaknic.jpg

(credit Matija Žaknić)

Give us this day

Economic problems would largely be solved if people grasped the meaning of the words Give us this day our daily bread. I am not going to spend any time talking about the meaning of ‘our daily bread’. Some say that it means basic food. Some say that it means food for tomorrow. While others say it is talking about bread of a different quality from ordinary bread that we eat every day, supernatural bread, that is Jesus Christ.

These are interesting questions. They are important too, since it is quite possible that the Lord Jesus is talking about himself: Christ our everyday need. Nevertheless, our current circumstances require that I pay more attention to the words Give us this day.

God is the eternal giver. He always gives. According to His standards everyone has the right to His gifts. This day is an infinitesimal part of God’s eternity. But even so a day is the unit of time by which we live. We are not living in some other time, but in the present. Now is the time that we expect God’s gifts.

In business or in other everyday tasks, we do not put off tasks until tomorrow. We expect God to give us everything at the right time. God expects us, too, to fulfill our obligations on time. Today He surely gives what He has always intended to give.