Milo

February 25
BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS
John Fawcett, 1740–1817
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. (1 John 2:10)
“We just cannot break the ties of affection that bind us to you dear friends.” As Mary Fawcett assured the little congregation at Wainsgate, England, of the bond of love that she and her husband felt for their poor peasant parishioners, Pastor John decided to express his feelings in a poem about the value of Christian fellowship.
The following Sunday, John Fawcett preached from Luke 12:15: “A man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things he possesses.” He closed his sermon by reading his new poem, “Brotherly Love.”
At the age of 26, John Fawcett and his new bride, Mary, began their ministry at an impoverished Baptist church in Wainsgate. After seven years of devoted service in meager circumstances, they received a call to the large and influential Carter’s Lane Baptist Church in London. After the wagons were loaded for the move, the Fawcetts met their tearful parishioners for a final farewell. “John, I cannot bear to leave. I know not how to go!” “Nor can I either,” said the saddened pastor. “We shall remain here with our people.” The order was then given to unload the wagons.
John and Mary Fawcett carried on their faithful ministry in the little village of Wainsgate for a total of 54 years. Their salary was estimated to be never more than the equivalent of $200.00 a year, despite Fawcett’s growing reputation as an outstanding evangelical preacher, scholar, and writer. Among his noted writings was an essay, “Anger,” which became a particular favorite of King George III. It is reported that the monarch promised Pastor Fawcett any benefit that could be conferred. But the offer was declined with this statement: “I have lived among my own people, enjoying their love; God has blessed my labors among them, and I need nothing which even a king could supply.” Such was the man who gave us these loving words:
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love! The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
Before our Father’s throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.
We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear; and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.
When we asunder part it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.

For Today: Psalm 133; Matthew 18:20; John 13:34, 35; Hebrews 13:1

Appreciate anew your Christian friends and fellow church members. Seek to show, as John Fawcett did, a loving concern for the needs of others.

February 24
SAVIOR, TEACH ME, DAY BY DAY
Jane E. Leeson, 1807–1882
If anyone loves Me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23)
It is wonderful to have experienced God’s gift of love in days past, but the real challenge of victorious Christian living is knowing God in a new and fresh way each day. This is what gives our lives zest and enables us to face any new challenge. But this daily learning about our Savior is more than merely pursuing theological knowledge. Biblical knowledge must always be joined with a loving relationship with Christ, since knowledge in itself can easily develop into a false spiritual pride. For many of us, our greatest need is simply to be reminded of what we already know and to translate our knowledge into loving action. Our love for God is not really genuine until we have learned to share it with others.
There are numerous laws on the statute books of our land that attempt to teach us to be better people. The Christian, however, is also governed by two other basic commands: “Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind … thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). And even beyond this, we are to treat one another with the same tender spirit that we have experienced from our Lord (Philippians 2:5).
“Savior, Teach Me, Day by Day,” which was originally written for children, spurs us on to the kind of service our Lord was talking about. Its basic theme—learning to love Christ who first loved us—involves a response of action: obedience (stanza 1); “prompt to serve” (stanza 2); “strong to follow” (stanza 3); and living joyously (stanza 4). The hymn was first published in 1842.
The author, Jane Eliza Leeson, was a rather unknown English writer of religious verse. She was a member of a strange and spurious sect known as the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. In later life Miss Leeson became a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Yet her one enduring hymn still speaks to each of us of every age:
Savior, teach me, day by day, love’s sweet lesson to obey; sweeter lesson cannot be, loving Him who first loved me.
With a child’s glad heart of love, at Thy bidding may I move, prompt to serve and follow Thee, loving Him who first loved me.
Teach me thus Thy steps to trace, strong to follow in Thy grace, learning how to love from Thee, loving Him who first loved me.
Love in loving finds employ, in obedience all her joy; ever new that joy will be, loving Him who first loved me.

For Today: Psalm 18:1; 2 Corinthians 10:17; Philippians 1:9; 1 John 3:18

Ask the question, “What have I learned about God during the past few days?” Also, “What new insights do I wish to learn this day

February 23
LET US BREAK BREAD TOGETHER
Traditional Spiritual
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer … All the believers were together and had everything in common. (Acts 2:42, 44)
The local church has been described as a laboratory where believers learn to love one another regardless of color, nationality, or financial status. Our common heavenly citizenship is the one dominant tie that binds our hearts together. One of the basic results of our weekly corporate worship should be the growing bond of love and unity that develops between believers. This bond of fellowship should result in God’s family members learning to care, honor, and serve one another in love. We should treat others with the same tenderness and understanding that we have experienced from God Himself. This determination to live in a love relationship with fellow believers is infinitely more important than the issues or differences that may separate us.
Christian unity does not mean that we must eliminate all diversities. We should be able to differ with each other while maintaining love, respect, and a warm, unified spirit. When our differences get out of hand and hard feelings develop, however, the communion service should always be a reminder that we must reconcile our differences and once more restore a spirit of unity within the body of Christ. The bread and cup of the Lord’s Supper should remind us of this truth each time we participate together (1 Corinthians 11:17–34).
Let us break bread together on our knees; let us break bread together on our knees; when I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us drink the cup together on our knees; let us drink the cup together on our knees; when I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let us praise God together on our knees; let us praise God together on our knees; when I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

For Today: Psalm 133:1; Matthew 26:26–30; Luke 24:30; Romans 15:5, 6; Hebrews 10:25

Reflect on this statement: I should value not only those for whom Christ died, but above all those in whom Christ now lives. Consider how a more loving and caring relationship could be promoted among the members of your local church. Ponder this important matter—

Henry Ward Beecher, (born June 24, 1813, Litchfield, Conn., U.S.—died March 8, 1887, Brooklyn, N.Y.), liberal U.S. Congregational minister whose oratorical skill and social concern made him one of the most influential Protestant spokesmen of his time.

He was the eighth of the Rev. Lyman Beecher’s 13 children and showed little promise at various schools until he went to Amherst College in 1830. Though never distinguished as a scholar, he became a superior speaker and popular leader.

After three postgraduate years in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Lane Theological Seminary, of which his father became president in 1832, Beecher in 1837 became minister to a small Presbyterian congregation at Lawrenceburg, Ind. He gradually cultivated his pulpit technique, there and in a pastorate at Indianapolis, Ind. (1839–47), and came to believe that a sermon succeeds by focusing on the single objective of effecting a moral change in the hearer. A highly successful preacher and lecturer, Beecher furthered his reputation through Seven Lectures to Young Men (1844), vivid exhortations on the vices and dangers in a frontier community.

Henry Ward Beecher Facts

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), American Congregational clergyman, was an outstanding preacher and lecturer. He was probably the best known and most influential Protestant minister in the United States between 1850 and 1887.

Henry Ward Beecher, the fourth son of Lyman Beecher (whose mantle, reputation, and personality he inherited), was born on June 24, 1813, at Litchfield, Conn. Though an undisciplined student with a greater gift for speaking than studying, he graduated from Amherst College in 1834 and Lane Theological Seminary in 1837. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church (New School) in 1838, serving first a small parish at Lawrenceburg, Ind., and then the larger Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis after 1839. Here he developed the oratorical style—a singleness of aim which sought to achieve a moral response and change in his hearers—that enabled him to become the most conspicuous preacher in the nation for several decades.

In 1847 Beecher moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., to become pastor of the newly formed Plymouth Church. He remained there the rest of his life and made it one of the most renowned and influential American pulpits, attracting crowds of 2, 500 regularly every Sunday. His striking appearance, dynamic delivery, and ability to speak directly on topics of popular interest gained him a national audience. A stenographer recorded his sermons, which were regularly published and widely read.

With Beecher’s uncanny sensitivity to the mood of the nation and the inherent egotism of a showman, his ministry exerted great power. From various platforms he spoke about political as well as religious issues. He was as well known for his Republican party affiliation and advocacy of political issues as for his liberalizing theological views. Frequently he took up the pen and as both author and editor gave his ideas broad circulation. When he became editor of The Christian Union in 1870, he created the first nondenominational religious journal.

Beecher left a legacy of over 40 published volumes, but only a few deserve note. The Life of Jesus the Christ (1871, expanded 1891) revealed his unorthodox views and led to charges of heresy that were intensified after he espoused evolution in Evolution and Religion (1885). His ideas generated some hostility but showed little originality or lasting significance. In contrast, his Yale Lectures on Preaching (3 vols., 1872-1874) revealed him at his best as lecturer and preacher.

Charges of adultery involved Beecher in church investigations and civil trials from 1870 to 1875, but he was never proved guilty and the publicity seemed to have little impact on his popularity. Increasing criticism of his liberalizing theological ideas led him to withdraw from his Congregational Association in 1882 to protect his colleagues. He served Plymouth Church until his death, on March 8, 1887, after a cerebral hemorrhage.

On the outbreak of the Civil War his church raised and equipped a volunteer regiment. He edited the religious publications The Independent and The Christian Union during the 1860s and 1870s, and among his many books is Evolution and Religion. In 1874, he was acquitted on an adultery charge after a sensational trial.

Beecher-Tilton Scandal

In the highly publicized scandal known as the Beecher-Tilton Affair he was tried on charges that he had committed adultery with a friend’s wife, Elizabeth Tilton. In 1870, Tilton had confessed to her husband, Theodore Tilton, that she had had a relationship with Henry Ward Beecher. Both men pressured Tilton to recant her story, which she did, in writing. She subsequently retracted her recantation.

Woodhull published a story in her paper, Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, exposing the affair of America’s most renowned clergyman. The story created a national sensation. As a result, Woodhull was arrested in New York City and imprisoned for sending obscene material through the mail. The Plymouth Church held a board of inquiry and exonerated Beecher, but excommunicated Mr. Tilton in 1873.

Tilton then sued Beecher: the trial began in January, 1875, and ended in July when the jurors deliberated for six days but were unable to reach a verdict. His wife loyally supported him throughout the ordeal.

A second board of inquiry was held at Plymouth Church and this body also exonerated Beecher. Two years later, Elizabeth Tilton once again confessed to the affair and the church excommunicated her. Despite this Beecher continued to be a popular national figure. However, the debacle split his family. While most of his siblings supported him, one of his sisters, the nationally known women’s rights leader Isabella Beecher Hooker, openly supported one of his accusers.

Death and Legacy

Grave at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

Henry Ward Beecher died of a cerebral hemorrhage in March, 1887. The city of Brooklyn where he lived declared a day of mourning upon, and the New York State Legislature went into recess to honor him. He was buried on March 11, 1887 in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery.

An advocate of women’s suffrage, temperance and Darwin’s theory of evolution, and a foe of slavery, Beecher held that Christianity should adapt itself to the changing culture of the times. He was also passionately anti-Catholic and was contemptuous towards Irish-Americans in an age that was anti-Irish Catholic due to the waves of Irish immigrants coming to America because of the potato famine.

He raised funds to buy weapons for those willing to oppose slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, and the rifles bought with this money became known as “Beecher’s Bibles.” Politically active, he supported first the Free Soil Party and later the Republican Party.

During the American Civil War, his church raised and equipped a volunteer infantry regiment. Early in the war, Beecher pressed Lincoln to emancipate the slaves through a proclamation. The preacher later went on a speaking tour in England to undermine support for the South by explaining the North’s war aims. Near the end of the war, when the Stars and Stripes were again raised at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Beecher was the main speaker.

MARCH 11

Reading 70

EVENTS OF DAVID’S REIGN 2 Samuel 21–24

“The Lord lives! Praise be my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Saviour!” (2 Sam. 22:47)When you tell someone the story of your life, there are some things that just won’t fit in a chronological report. Here in an appendix the writer of 2 Samuel relates more about David.

Overview

David permitted the Gibeonites to exact revenge for Saul’s violation of an ancient treaty (21:1–14). The Philistine wars are summarized (vv. 15–22). David’s song of praise for deliverance is recorded (22:1–51). After a report of David’s last words (23:1–7) and a list of war heros (vv. 8–39), the book closes with an account of David’s sin in taking a census of fighting men (24:1–25).

Understanding the Text

“It is because he put the Gibeonites to death” 2 Sam. 21:1–14. At the time of the Conquest, nearly 400 years before Saul’s time, Israel had sworn in God’s name not to harm the Gibeonites. Saul broke this treaty and ferociously attacked the Gibeonites, who still held land in Israel. When David learned that a famine which had struck Israel was God’s punishment for breaking the oath sworn in His name, he asked the Gibeonites about reparations. The Gibeonites demanded the death of seven of Saul’s male descendants. David ordered they be executed and their bodies left unburied. Exposure of the dead body was considered a great disgrace in Israel. Old Testament Law prohibits punishing any person for a parent’s sins (Deut. 24:16). Because of this, and because 2 Samuel 21:1 fixes the blame on Saul and “his blood-stained house,” it seems likely that the seven David executed had leading roles in the attempt to exterminate the Gibeonites. Unpunished crime is a rebuke to any nation. It was especially abhorrent to God, who used the famine to bring this terrible crime to David’s attention. “David sang to the Lord” 2 Sam. 22:1–51. The psalm traces David’s rise from a fugitive to a conquering monarch, and praises God as the source of David’s deliverance and his achievements. God protected David when he was in deadly danger (vv. 1–7), and David was in awe of His mighty power (vv. 8–16). God rescued righteous David from his enemies (vv. 17–25), and David acknowledged God’s faithfulness to those who trust in Him (vv. 26–37). God raised David to power and international prominence (vv. 38–46), and David sang praises to the Lord for His unfailing kindness (vv. 47–51). This song of praise, very similar to Psalm 18, reflects David’s awareness that all he was and had become was a gracious gift of God. It was true, when the psalm was penned, that God’s reward was “according to my righteousness.” But this thought is no boast. David simply reflected on the fact that God is faithful in keeping his promise to bless those who keep “the ways of the Lord.” When I was a child I stood in the yard of my uncle’s farm home and watched rain pour down on a field just across the road, while I remained perfectly dry. What David is saying is that by obedience we cross the road and find showers of blessing. God’s blessings are always being poured out. Obedience puts us in the place where the blessings flow. “The last words of David” 2 Sam. 23:1–7. David’s last words praised God. More importantly, they show the basis on which David felt secure. “Has He not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will He not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?” Death found a confident David, resting in the promises God had made to him, certain of his own salvation and of a future after death. The Bible picture’s death as man’s enemy, and fear of death as a stranglehold Satan has on mankind. David’s confidence reminds us that for the believer death is not the end of existence, but the doorway to a glorious future. “David’s mighty men” 2 Sam. 23:8–39. It’s likely that “the thirty” was an elite corps or special military unit, perhaps like our “green berets.” Others assume these war heros served as leaders of David’s legions. Whatever their role, they remind us that David did not win his victories alone. No leader can do it all himself or herself. Every leader needs talented and able persons around him or her. “Go and count Israel and Judah” 2 Sam. 24:1–17. While the chapter indicates that David committed a sin by taking a military census, the text does not indicate why David was wrong. Some suggest the census indicated self-confidence and a failure to rely on God. Others assume God commanded David not to take the census. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus says David failed to collect the half-shekel temple tax required of Hebrew males. Whatever the real reason, even General Joab knew David was wrong and argued against the census. When David persisted, the Lord gave David a choice of punishments. David selected the most severe but shortest of the three. It’s unwise to insist on our own way against the conviction of others that what we intend is wrong. “Burnt offerings that cost me nothing” 2 Sam. 24:18–25. The purchase of Araunah’s threshing floor is theologically significant. This height near David’s city of Jerusalem would be added to the city by Solomon, and become the site of the Jerusalem temple. The same mount is fixed by tradition as the place where Abraham came to offer up his son Isaac at God’s command. Placed here, at the end of the book that records David’s accomplishments, the purchase prepares us for the introduction of Solomon, who constructed the temple that David wanted so much to build. The personal significance of the incident is found in David’s response when Araunah offered to give him the land. “I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” God is not honored by leaving Him “tips” that we hardly miss. The God who loves us so much deserves costly offerings, whether of money or service.

DEVOTIONAL

Who Done It? (2 Sam. 24)

“The devil made me do it” is more than a saying. Sometimes Christians do blame the devil when caught up in some sin. Other times we may blame others. Or childhood trauma. Or any number of things. One of history’s worst serial killers, Ted Bundy, blamed pornographic pictures he saw as a teen for the murders he committed across the country. This chapter raises the question of blame by stating, “He [the Lord] incited David” to initiate the census (v. 1). In another account Satan is the one who incited David (1 Chron. 21:1). Yet in each of these chapters David accepts responsibility for the act and says, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done” (2 Sam. 24:10; see 1 Chron. 21:8). Part of the answer is found in the Hebrew concept of causation. God is the ultimate cause of all that happens. Satan, as an independent being, while acting under the umbrella of God’s permissive will, is an intermediate cause. But while God and Satan can be held responsible for their actions—God responsible for punishing Israel’s sin, and Satan for attempting to harm God’s people—David is ultimately responsible for his own choices as well. Neither God nor Satan made David count Israel. You and I too are subject to many influences. Influence brought to bear by our friends or family. Influences from our childhood. Influences that appeal to our emotions, our baser passions, our desire to do good, etc. Even God the Holy Spirit influences the Christian, and undoubtedly Satan attempts to influence us too. Yet in the last analysis, no one can say, “The devil made me do it.” Or, “My childhood made me do it.” Without in any way arguing for the unrestricted distribution of pornography, we can say with confidence that Ted Bundy’s early exposure to pornography did not make him commit his terrible crimes. Our own will stands between our actions and the many influences that bear on each one of us. Ultimately when we fail we must say with David, “I have sinned greatly.” The fault lies not with God, or with the devil, or with my childhood, but with me. Why is it so important to face this truth and accept responsibility for our failures? Because to admit fault is the first necessary step we take on our journey toward God. When we accept the fact of our sin, we are preparing our hearts to seek, and to find, the forgiveness offered us in God.

Personal Application

There is no one further from God than the person who refuses to accept responsibliity for his sins.

Quotable

“The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.”—St. Augustine