Gems from July 2025
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. Exodus 17:10,11
While Joshua fought, Moses prayed. As long as Moses held up his hands in prayer, Israel prevailed in battle, but when his hands drooped, Amalek prevailed. This battle was not won by Israel's fighting ability, since they were not experienced soldiers nor adept at warfare.
The battle was won by Moses through prayer. What a reminder as to the value, power, and absolute necessity of prayer! Have you prayed today?
W. Ross Rainey
Behold the throne of grace!
The promise calls us near!
To seek our God and Father's face,
Who loves to answer prayer.
Thy rich atoning blood,
Which sprinkled round we see,
Provides for those who come to God
An all prevailing plea.
My soul, ask what thou wilt;
Thou canst not be too bold;
Since His own blood for thee He spilt,
What else can He withhold?
Beyond thy utmost wants
His love and pow'r can bless;
To praying souls He always grants
More than they can express. John Newton
N.J. Hiebert - 9990
July 1
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Let us consider Christ's work on the cross and what has been accomplished by it. But who is able to speak worthily of this theme of all themes? Who can fathom the solemn yet blessed fact, the death of the Son of God on the cross? What tongue or pen can describe the sad, yet glorious truth, that the Just One died for the unjust, that Christ died for the ungodly! And what human mind can estimate the wonderful results of His work on the cross!
There can be nothing deeper than the death of God's Son on the cross. Depths are here which are unfathomable. We must ever turn back to the cross. Always we shall learn something new. With unspeakable Glory upon us and greater glory before us in eternal ages to come, the cross of Christ and the Lamb of God which has taken away the sin of the world can never be forgotten. But we shall never know what that death on the cross meant for Him and what it meant to God.
"Through the eternal He Spirit offered Himself without spot to God" (Hebrews 9:14). The Holy Lamb of God, with no spot or blemish upon Him, shed His precious blood on the cross, to procure redemption. But what it all meant for Him who was as truly Man as He is God! Here was a Being perfectly holy, One who had always pleased God and did His will, yea, His meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent Him.
Sin was the horrible defiling thing to Him. He, too, like the Holy God hated and hates sin. And yet such a One was made sin for us. He had to stand in the place of guilty sinners and all the waves and billows of divine judgment and wrath had to pass over Him. He drank the cup of wrath to the last drop.
A. C. Gaebelein (1861-1945)
N.J. Hiebert - 9991
July 2
Looking unto Jesus. Hebrews 12:2
Only three words, but in those three words is the whole secret of life.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS in the Scriptures,
to learn there what He is, what He has done, what He gives, what He desires; to find in His character our pattern, in His teachings our instruction, in His precepts our law, in His promises our support, in His person and in His work a full satisfaction provided for every need of our souls.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS Crucified,
to find in His shed blood our ransom, our pardon, our peace.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS Risen,
to find in Him the righteousness which alone makes us righteous, and permits us, all unworthy as we are, to draw near with boldness, in His Name, to Him Who is His Father and our Father, His God and our God.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS Glorified,
to find in Him our Heavenly Advocate completing by His intercession the work inspired by His loving-kindness for our salvation; (1 John 2:1) Who even now is appearing for us before the face of God (Hebrews 9:24), the kingly Priest, the spotless victim, bearing the iniquity of our holy things (Exodus 28:38).
LOOKING UNTO JESUS Who gives repentance,
as well as forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31) because He give us the grace to recognize, to deplore, to confess, and to forsake our transgressions.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS NOW, if we have never looked unto Him,--
UNTO JESUS AFRESH, if we have ceased doing so,--
UNTO JESUS ONLY, STILL, ALWAYS, thus awaiting the hour when He will call us to pass from earth to heaven, and from time to eternity,--when at last "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2 Theodore Monod
N.J. Hiebert - 9992
July 3
Looking unto Jesus . . . Hebrews 12:2 (Continued from Gem # 8530)
Only three words, but in those three words is the whole secret of life.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS to receive from Him the task and the cross for each day, with the grace which is sufficient to carry the cross and to accomplish the task;
the grace that enables us to be patient wth His patience, active with His activity, loving with His love;
never asking "What am I able for?" but rather: "What is He not able for?" and waiting for His strength which is made perfect in our weakness.
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
LOOKING UNTO JESUS to go forth from ourselves and to forget ourselves; so that our darkness may flee away before the brightness of His face; so that our joys may be holy, and our sorrow restrained;
- that He may cast us down, and that He may raise us up;
- that He may afflict us, and that He may comfort us;
- that He may deprive us, and that He may enrich us;
- that He may teach us to pray, and that He may answer our prayers;
- that while leaving us in the world, He may separate us from it, our life being hidden with Him in God, and our behaviour bearing witness to Him before men.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS and at nothing else,
as our text expresses it in one untranslatable word (aphoroontes),
which at the same time directs us to fix our gaze upon Him, and to turn it away from everything else.
Theodore Monod
N.J. Hiebert - 9993
July 4
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Matthew 28:20
Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear. Rather look at them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto; do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms.
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow, and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
Frances de Sales
The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 23:1
Not was, not may be, nor will be. "The Lord is my Shepherd," is on Sunday, is on Monday, and is through every day of the week; is in January, is in December, and every month of the year; is at home, and is in China; is in peace, and, is in war; in abundance, and in penury.
J. Hudson Taylor
N.J. Hiebert - 9994
July 5
The trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:3
Again and again we see it, that suffering instead of knocking the truth of the gospel out of the young convert most effectually knocks it in, and if you want to find stabilized Christians, strengthened Christians, settled Christians, you will have to discover tested Christians.
The strong winter winds shake the sapling down to the utmost ramifications of its roots; and it is that shaking, that testing that the young tree gets, that enables it to break up the soil round the roots and get ready for the underground growth of the spring, when above the ground the fresh leaves and twigs appear. The process is going on beneath the surface and even the winter winds prepare the ground for the strengthening and establishment and settlement of that tree in the site where it has been placed.
James tells us that the trying of our faith, "works patience." It is the testing of your faith that works endurance. The common notion is that temptations and testings and trials are merely dreadful weights. We say, if only I were not tied down by these difficulties what a good kind Christian I could be. But again I have had to revise my thoughts. I discovered after all I was not right.
A little lad flies his kite in the March winds. It goes soaring into the sky and here he is down beneath. He has hold of the cord and if you could give that kite a mouth it might reason to itself, "Look how well I am flying and, doing all this in spite of the aggravating circumstance. That annoying lad continually hangs on to the end of the string. Does he think I am going to lift him as well as myself in the wind? Seeing I fly so well under this handicap, I think I could fly up and hit yonder moon if only I got free. What could I not do if I were not tied down in this foolish way?"
Then the little lad is inattentive for a moment, the string goes slack, and the kite going up again with a jerk, the string snaps. The kite goes wobbling down, and gets tangled in the old oak. A poor sorry thing it looks. Supposing the kite could speak what would it say now? "Well I never! The very thing I thought was keeping me down was keeping me up."
It is the trials, the testings, the awkward circumstances you and I have to face that are God's education for us. We are learning what God can do for us in the midst of those temptations. F. B. Hole - with thanks to Bill Weiss
N.J. Hiebert - 9995
July 6
The Man Daniel - Early Choices
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. Psalm 25:14
If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine. John 7:17
Daniel was cruelly uprooted and transported to Babylon when he was a teenager. It would have been easy for him to forget his past, and his God, but even as a youth, he took a stand for God, and remained faithful to Him during a long life of active service. This was the kind of man to whom God revealed His secrets. There are a number of lessons for us here.
First, It is never too early to take a stand for God. Most of the major decisions that will determine the course of our entire life do not face us when we have decades of experiences behind us, but when we are in our teens and twenties. It is in these years that we make all the major decisions--what career we will pursue, who we will have as a partner for life, the standards that we will maintain, etc. So it is in our spiritual lives.
The critical decisions that will determine our spiritual priorities, and our commitment to God and His things, are made in the early formative years of our lives. Daniel made some weighty decisions as a teenager, and we encourage the young reader to do the same.
Secondly, knowing the mind of God is not merely a matter of intellectual capacity, or of determination to study the Word, but rather of being intimate with Him, and faithful to Him in the matters of everyday living. It is to such that God will unveil the treasures of His Word. God will reveal Himself to those who are humble of heart and submissive to the Holy Spirit's teaching and guidance.
Daniel - Godly Living in a Hostile World - William Burnet
N.J. Hiebert - 9996
July 7
And Jesus took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in his arms, He said unto them, whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me. Mark 9:36,37
On the way to Capernaum Jesus had been speaking of His coming humiliation, of His sacrifice and death for the sake of others; but the disciples, when they supposed Jesus did not hear them, were disputing as to which of them was greatest. Could we imagine a more pitiful contrast, or on the other hand a more striking illustration of the lesson Jesus found occasion to teach? The One among them who was incomparably great was He who was about to stoop to the death of the cross, that others might live.
The disciples are ashamed to have Jesus know of their dispute; they must have felt, in His presence, that there was something wrong about their pride and jealousy and deceit and anger. Some modern disciples might be ashamed of their disputes if they realized the presence of their Lord. However, He does not rebuke them severely; He calls them to Him and says, "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all." (Mark 9:35).
Then Jesus Impresses the lesson by an acted parable of peculiar beauty: (Mark 9:36). To care for a little child, or for one who like a little child needs our sympathy, our protection, our guidance, our help, is really to do a great thing; so great, indeed, that to do so in the name of Christ, and for the sake of Christ, is really to render the service to Christ. It is even more, if more can be; it is to render a service directly to God (Mark 9:37).
True greatness, then, consists not in attaining the first place in the notice and praise of the world, not in being served by many, but in being willing to stoop down to a humble place, not for the sake of self-effacement, not in timid diffidence, but in order to serve others for the sake of Christ. Charles Erdman
N.J. Hiebert - 9997
July 8
"The thief said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him...today shalt thou be with Me in paradise. Luke 23:42,43
There is no scene in the history of the world like that which is before us in Luke 23. There is a page in God's Word, and a page in the history of man's world, that stands alone, stands unique, because you have there the death of the only absolutely sinless, spotless, holy Man, by the side of two men who were sinners, and one of them becomes the companion of that sinless Man for eternity. The other got his chance but missed it.
Between these three seen here, each nailed to a cross, there is an immense difference. Of One I can say this--there was no sin in Him; although there was sin on Him. Then I come to the man who had no sin on him, though there was sin in him. And there was a third of these men, who had sin on him and sin in him. So he died. Ah! do not you be the eternal companion of that third man, I implore you.
You may perhaps say, what do you mean? One of these three had no sin in Him, and yet had sin on Him, when He was nailed to that tree! Yes! that was Jesus. Perfect He was. He was the holy, spotless Man; and the charm of this scene is this, that the thief confesses not only his own guilt and his own sin, but he makes, if I may say so, a public confession of what his faith is in regard to Christ. "This man hath done nothing amiss" (verse 41), was his true and blessed declaration.
That man reversed everybody's judgment; that man stood alone that day in his witness, and in his testimony, to Jesus. If you glance through what went before, you will find that everybody was against Christ,--Judas, Pilate, Herod, priests, scribes, populace, everybody; there was nobody for Him. Not one solitary soul stood for Him in all that company that day. What a scene! Betrayed by a false friend, denied by true friends, and deserted by all His followers; with the chief priest, who instigated the populace to demand His death, against Him; The governor against Him; the king against Him; the world against Him; everybody against Him. The dying thief changed his company and fell in with God in rich appreciation of Christ.
There was no sin on that thief, though there was sin in him. How is this? His sins were laid on Christ; they were taken off the poor thief who trusted Him. Seekers for Light - W. T. P. Wolston M.D.
N.J. Hiebert - 9998
July 9
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1:22,25.
We find here an important expression-- "The law of liberty." If I tell my child to remain in the house when he wishes to go out, he may obey; but it is not a law of liberty to him; he restrains his will. But if I afterwards say, "Now go where you wish to go;" he obeys, and it is a law of liberty, because his will and the command are the same; they run together.
The will of God was for Jesus a law of liberty. He came to do His Father's will, He desired nothing else. Blessed state! It was perfection in Him, a blessed example for us. The law is a law of liberty when the will, the heart of man, coincides perfectly in desire with the law imposed upon him--imposed in our case by God--the law written in the heart.
It is thus with the new man as with the heart of Christ. He loves obedience, and loves the will of God because it is His will, and as having a nature which answers to what His will expresses, since we partake of the divine nature; in fact it loves that which God wills.
But there is an index to what is found in the heart, which, more than any other, betrays what is within. This index is the tongue. He who knows how to govern his tongue is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body. (James 3:2)
The appearance of religion is vain if the tongue be not bridled; such a man deceives his own heart. True religion is shown by love in the heart, and by purity--keeping himself unspotted from the world. It thinks of others, for those who are in distress, in need of protection, and the help and support of love, as widows and orphans. The truly religious heart, full of the love of God, and moved by Him, thinks, as God does, upon sorrow, weakness, and need. It is the true christian character. (James 1:26,27) James - JND
N.J. Hiebert - 9999
July 10
Looking unto Jesus . . . Hebrews 12:2 (continued from Gems #8530, 8531)
Only three words, but in those three words is the whole secret of life.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS and not at His enemies or at our own.
In place of hating them and fearing them, we shall then know how to love them and to overcome them.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS and not at the obstacles which meet us in our path. As soon as we stop to consider them, they amaze us, they confuse us, they overwhelm us, incapable as we are of understanding either the reason why they are permitted, or the means by which we may overcome them.
The apostle began to sink as soon as he turned to look at the waves tossed by the storm; it was while he was looking at Jesus that he walked on the waters as on a rock. The more difficult our task, the more terrifying our temptations, the more essential it is that we look only at Jesus.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS and not at our troubles,
to count up their number, to reckon their weight, to find perhaps a certain strange satisfaction in tasting their bitterness. Apart from Jesus trouble does not sanctify, it hardens or it crushes. It produces not patience but rebellion; not sympathy, but selfishness; not hope (Romans 5:3,4) but despair.
It is only under the shadow of the cross that we can appreciate the true weight of our own cross, and accept it each day from His hand, to carry it with love, with gratitude, with joy; and find in it for ourselves and for others a source of blessings.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS with a gaze more and more constant, more and more confident, "Changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18) Theodore Monod
N.J. Hiebert - 10,000
July 11
HE GIVETH MORE
"He giveth more grace," James 4:6
"He increaseth strength." Isaiah 40:29
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied." Jude 2
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labours increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
Annie Johnson Flint
N.J. Hiebert - 10001
July 12
David said to Goliath, this day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 1 Samuel 17:46
David and Goliath's unequal battle--the shepherd lad without a sword or spear meeting the mighty giant of the Philistines striding proudly with his spear and sword and shield to mortal combat in the valley of Elah--is one of the striking pictures in the Old Testament of Golgotha.
David was misjudged by his brethren. Eliab, his eldest brother, said in anger, "Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle" (1 Samuel 17:28). What stinging sarcasm and evil surmising! How untrue the charge of pride and idle curiosity! David was one of the noblest examples of meekness and lowliness in the Scriptures.
"To see the battle"? There was no battle till David came. There would have been no battle had he not come. David was there because his father sent him. David was there because he was needed there. David despised Goliath. "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26). David was fired with zeal for the dishonour that was done to the name of God. "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied" (1 Samuel 17:45).
See the courage and the confidence of David as he meets the towering giant. "David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:48). How soon it was all over! Goliath, like Dagon his god, lay stretched out with his face upon the earth. In the forehead of his pride, Goliath was pierced with the stone from David's sling. Before the men of Israel could scarcely get their breath, there was David standing on the carcass of the giant, swinging above his head the sword he had pulled from Goliath's sheath. Tears of admiration were in many an eye as David returned to the ranks of Israel carrying the head of the boasting enemy of God in his hand. (Leonard Sheldrake)
The record says suggestively, "But there was no sword in the hand of David"
(1 Samuel 17:50) to be a type of the Lord. (Leonard Sheldrake)|
By weakness and defeat, He won the mead and crown;
Trod all His foes beneath His feet, by being trodden down. Whitlock Gandy
N.J. Hiebert - 10002
July 13
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities. . .nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
George Matheson went completely blind when he was eighteen years old. Still, he remained a star student. He went on to become a great preacher in Scotland, assisted by his sister, who learned Greek and Hebrew to help with his research. This hymn was written on the evening of June 6, 1882. "I was at that time alone. It was the day of my sister's marriage. Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering."
What was it that happened to him? Something he was remembering the time he himself was engaged to be married and fiancée broke the engagement when she learned that he would soon be completely blind. Or perhaps it was difficult for him to have his devoted sister getting married. In any case, he was led to ponder God's eternal love, which would turn his "flickering torch" into blazing daylight.
O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray, that in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be. George Matheson
N.J. Hiebert - 10003
July 14
WITS' END CORNER
They reel to and fro . . . and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still . . . so He bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness.
Psalm 107:27-31
Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner" Christian, with troubled brow? Are you thinking of what is before you, and all you are bearing now?
Does all the world seem against you, and you in the battle alone? Remember--at "Wits' End Corner" is just where God's power is shown.
Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner," blinded with wearying pain, Feeling you cannot endure it, you cannot bear the strain--
Bruised through the constant suffering, dizzy, and dazed and numb? Remember--to "Wits' End Corner" is where Jesus loves to come!
Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner," your work before you spread, All begun, lying unfinished and pressing on heart and head,
Longing for strength to do it, stretching out trembling hands? Remember--at "Wits' End Corner" the Burden-Bearer stands.
Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner", yearning for those you love, Longing, and praying, and watching, pleading their cause above,
Trying to lead them to Jesus, wondering if you've been true? He whispers, at "Wits' End Corner," I'll win them, as I won you!
Are you standing at "Wits End Corner?" then you're just in the very spot,
To learn the wondrous resources of Him who faileth not!
No doubt, to a brighter pathway your footsteps will soon be moved, But only at "Wits' End Corner" is the "God who is able" proved! A. Wilson
N.J.Hiebert - 10004
July 15
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. . . JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
John 19:19
The charge that the high priests of Jerusalem had made against Jesus was that He declared Himself to be King of the Jews. Pilate had asked Him "Art Thou the King of the Jews?" It was necessary that Pilate, as the one who condemned Jesus to die, should make out a placard that should indicate the crime of which the crucified one was guilty. He wrote "JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS"-- in Hebrew, the language of religion; in Greek, the language of culture; and in Latin, the language of government.
The charge against Jesus was: "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." That was meant to say, "He is being crucified as a rebel, as an insurrectionist against the Roman Government." Pilate did not believe that for one moment, but on his part it was an ironical, sardonic thing. He wanted to taunt these chief priests and scribes who had hounded him until at last he had condemned, an innocent Man to death.
Pilate designates Him as King of the Jews, and some day it will be found that the title Pilate put over the cross was more true than he or the world realized. For this One who has gone to His Father's throne in heaven will return again for we are told that "They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced." (John 19:37). They will recognize Him, as the true King of the Jews.
It is remarkable how the cross of Christ brings out all that is in the heart of man, shows men up as they really are. In the light of that cross Pilate comes before us in all his cynicism and his lack of conscience. In the light of that cross the chief priests were manifested in all their hypocrisy and bitterness and their hatred of the holy, spotless Son of God. We see the callousness, indifference, greed and covetousness of the soldiers who were gambling for the clothing of the crucified One at the foot of the cross.
Gospel of John - H. A. Ironside
N.J. Hiebert - 10005
July 16
The word of God is quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.
Jonah is not the only prophet of Jehovah who in a fit of disappointment had prayed that he might die. You remember Elijah had prayed, "it is enough: now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."
(1 Kings 19:4) We, too, have had similar thoughts when we have been utterly disappointed with ourselves. How different if all our hopes had been in our Lord, and we had truly learned the lesson that "in me, that is, in my flesh, is no good thing." (Romans 7:18)
How gracious is Jehovah, whether to Jonah, or to Elijah, or to us! He might well have sharply rebuked Jonah for such a prayer as that, or for coming into His presence in displeasure and anger. How gracious is His reply to another question, too: "Doest thou well to be angry?" (Jonah 4:4) Jonah did the very best thing he could have done--he was silent. His mouth was closed. How graciously the Lord answered Elijah's prayer! This time the Lord was silent, and instead of a reply in words, He gave him sweet refreshing sleep under a broom-bush, and then fed him with a cake baked on hot stones. 1 Kings 4:5-7
Was it baked by the same One who prepared the fish on the fire of coals, and the bread, in John 21? He refreshed him with a cruse of water also. That prayer of Elijah's was never answered, for in place of taking away his life in death, as he had wished, the Lord took him home without passing through death at all, in His own chariot of fire. How gently and graciously the Lord has answered us in our times of disappointment and discouragement, giving us better than all we could ask or think, each one may bear witness for himself! but we can all unite in singing:
How good is the God we adore, our faithful, unchangeable Friend,
Whose love is as great as His power, and knows neither measure not end."
Lessons From Jonah The Prophet - G. C. Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 10006
July 17
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. John 15:4
"Abide in Me." "Learn of Me." Christ really means it, and that it is His own work to keep us abiding when we yield ourselves to Him, that we shall venture to cast ourselves into the arms of His love, and abandon ourselves to His blessed keeping. It is not the yoke, but resistance to the yoke, that makes the difficulty; the whole-hearted surrender to Jesus, as at once our Master and our Keeper, finds and secures the rest.
"Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." Does it weary the traveller to rest in the house or on the bed where he seeks repose from his fatigue? Or is it a labour to a little child to rest in its mother's arms? Is it not the house that keeps the traveller within its shelter? Do not the arms of the mother sustain and keep the little one? And so it is with Jesus. The soul has but to yield itself to Him, to be still and rest in the confidence that His love has undertaken, and that His faithfulness will perform the work of keeping it safe in the shelter of His bosom.
Abiding in Jesus is nothing but giving up oneself to ruled and taught and led, and so resting in the arms of Everlasting Love. Blessed rest! The fruit and the foretaste and the fellowship of God's own rest, found of them who thus come to Jesus to abide in Him. It is the peace of God, that passes all understanding, and keeps the heart and mind. (Matthew 11:28). With this grace secured, we have strength for every duty, courage for every struggle, a blessing in every cross, and the joy of life eternal in death itself. Andrew Murray
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
He will not, He cannot, desert to HIs foes;
That soul, tho' all hell should endeavour to shake,
He'll never, no never, no never forsake! Ribbon
N.J. Hiebert - 10007
July 18
Looking unto Jesus . . . Hebrews 12:2 His strength will communicate itself to our hearts, His praise will break forth from our lips.
UNTO JESUS and not what we are doing for Him.
Too much occupied with our work, we can forget our Master,--it is possible to have the hands full and the heart empty. When occupied with our Master, we cannot forget our work; if the heart is filled with His love, how can the hands fail to be active in His service?
UNTO JESUS and not to the apparent success of our efforts.
The apparent success is not the measure of the real success; and besides, God has not told us to succeed but to work; it is of our work that He requires an account, and not of our success,--why then concern ourselves with it? It is for us to scatter the seed, for God to gather the fruit; if not today, then it will be tomorrow; if He does not employ us to gather it, then He will employ others.
Even when success is granted to us, it is always dangerous to fix our attention on it: on the one hand we are tempted to take some of the credit of it to ourselves; on the other hand we thus accustom ourselves to abate our zeal when we cease to perceive its result, that is to say, at the very time when we should redouble our energy.
To look at the success is to walk by sight; to look at Jesus, and to persevere in following Him and serving Him, in spite of all discouragements, is to walk by faith. T. Monod
N.J. Hiebert - 10008
July 19
THE PURPOSE OF PAIN
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10
At times the very life of the Living Christ which comes to us may appear clouded, maybe even murky. We cannot fully comprehend why the stream of daily events flowing over our little lives resembles the cold, chill glacial streams that bear their burden of "glacial flour." Yet this is the polishing compound that puts the fine polish and smooth satin patina over every stone it touches.
It is the minute pangs of human misunderstandings, the crude, persistent rub of rudeness from others, the little lapses of ingratitude that press in upon us, the subconscious grief of insensitivity that move over us. These are our all Father's "glacial flour" for polishing people in their pangs of pain.
Out of all this there has come to me an acute awareness that nothing is permitted to touch my life except in the gracious good will of my Father for me. In His infinite concern He is shaping a character that not only in time here, but in eternity to come, will reflect something of the wondrous work He did in me.
Out of my stony spirit He has brought something of beauty and worth. It has taken sorrow and suffering. But anything of great value costs a great deal to create and shape. W. Phillip Keller
N.J. Hiebert - 10009
July 20
And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight. Colossians 1:20-22
The Basis of Our Peace with God. As convicted sinners:
- We see in the cross the everlasting foundation of our peace with God.
- We see our sin judged and put away.
- We see God as the sinner's Friend and the Righteous Justifier of the ungodly sinner.
- We see God dealing with sin in such a manner as to glorify Himself infinitely.
The cross displays all His divine attributes:
- Love that captures our hearts,
- Wisdom that baffles demons and astonishes angels,
- Holiness that repulses sin, the most intense expression of God's abhorrence of sin.
- And most of all the grace that sets the sinner in His very presence.
Thus the cross is the basis of the sinner's peace, of his worship, and of his eternal relationship with God.
C.H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 10010
Grace Gems
John 1:14, "We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:16, "From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another."
There is in Jesus, not only a sufficiency of grace, but an all-sufficiency. He has enough to supply all our needs; and not only enough for us--but for all the saints who have ever lived or shall live!
Jesus is a fountain of mercy and grace. From His fullness, as from an overflowing fountain, streams every spiritual blessing. He fills our empty vessels again and again, and still the fountain overflows.
The more grace we draw from Jesus, the more is still in Him. The sun is never the less bright, after all the light we receive from it. In the same way, Jesus is never the less full, after all the grace we receive from Him. Grace from the heart of Jesus, is ever flowing out to His people:
grace upon grace,
blessing upon blessing,
mercy upon mercy.
There is in the crucified Jesus, grace sufficient to all the difficulties, necessities, and desires of His poor people. Jesus is . . .
a garment to cover and adorn them,
a counselor to advise them,
a captain to defend them,
a prince to rule them,
a prophet to teach them,
a priest to make atonement for them,
a husband to protect them,
a father to provide for them,
a foundation to support them,
a head to guide them,
and a treasure to enrich them!
Jesus is the great storehouse of all heavenly treasures. In Him, are laid up all the riches of divine grace. From Him, all believers receive grace, not only at their first conversion, but all along their pilgrim way. His blessings do not come occasionally, but one after another: ceaseless, boundless, sufficient for every step of the Christian life.
Jesus is all-sufficient for a believer. He is . . .
the bread to nourish him,
the physician to heal him,
the rock to support him,
the ark to shelter him,
the sun to enlighten him,
and the fountain to cleanse him!
What more can any Christian desire to save and satisfy him; and to make him holy and happy, in time and in eternity?
Jesus is a treasury of all spiritual blessings, and these are all for His redeemed people! If there is anything lacking in us, it is not because there is any lack in Jesus. The fountain is full, but the hand of faith must be stretched out to receive.
July 21
Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:54 Isaiah 25:8
This is a remarkable statement; twice repeated for confirmation. It is sometimes translated "Death has lost the battle" but I like the King James Version, quoted at the top. "Lost the battle" looks back, which is perfectly valid, but the concept of "victory" looks ahead to the results.
When we think just how powerful a force death is, it is amazing to think of it being "swallowed up" by anything. Death is the portal or gateway to what comes after natural life (whether eternal life or eternal death). No one but our Lord Jesus Christ has ever come back to tell us about that process, but it is because of His death and resurrection power, that the force of death can be declared broken.
Hebrews 2:4 says this: "That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil".
The victory of the Lord's resurrection opens up such marvellous truths as the promise to believers of life forever in company with the Lord, and, while we wait, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Who also unlocks the mystery of the scriptures for us. Lorne Perry
Death and judgment are behind us,
Grace and glory are before;
All the billows rolled o'er Jesus,
There they spent their utmost power.
by Mrs. J. A. Trench
N.J. Hiebert - 10011
July 22
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. Matthew 27:45
At the sixth hour--that is, twelve o'clock, noon--darkness, like a pall, falls over the whole land. What is it? What is this strange eclipse at noon day? Is it God in judgment coming forth to execute vengeance on men--on sinners for their treatment of this Holy One, His beloved Son? Is God about to pour forth His judgment on their guilty heads? Well might they think so. No doubt they did. Well might they believe it was just retribution coming for their murder of Him:
- whom even the dying thief could say, "This man hath done nothing amiss;"
- whom Pilate declared to be a "just person," in whom he could find no fault;
- who even their own guilty consciences must have known was unworthy to die.
But was it God's judgment on a guilty world? No! It was something greater far, deeper far. It was not God dealing with sinful man, but God dealing with His own Son, God dealing with Christ, because of man's sin, that He had taken upon Him. In that terrible hour, when darkness veiled the land, God hid His face from Him.
And those three hours of darkness, those three hours of total eclipse between God and the One on the cross, rolled on, and then at the ninth hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, comes that great, that terrible cry from Him, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He forsook Jesus in that hour, that He might never forsake you and me. There was darkness for Him that there might be only light for us. He bore the judgment that we might go free. Once more, He cries with a loud voice, "It is finished," and gives up His spirit. "No man taketh it from Me, I lay it down of Myself." God is able now to come out in grace to man, in spite of His guilt, because of what Christ has done. The Call of the Bride - W. T. P. Wolston
N.J. Hiebert - 10012
July 23
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posted by soundwords at
July 01, 2025
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