Gems from November 2009

November 1

“What shall the end be of them
that obey not the gospel of God? “
(1 Peter 4:17)

You can choose eternal anguish,
Live the life that suits you best;
Turn your back on heavenly treasures;
Vainly seek for peace and rest;
God will never make you serve Him.
Never force you to be saved;
You can go to judgment Christ-less,
And the price forever pay!

“Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 22:13)

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
(Acts 16:31)

(SUBMITTED BY A READER OF THE "GEMS" - T.R.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3875

November 2

"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?"
(Song of Solomon 8:5)

Ah me, I'm never well
But when I on my Best Beloved lean,
And then I'm never ill:
Crosses and trials all are right
And pain is sweet and trouble light,
When Christ my heart doth fill.
(ANON)

God sends rain and fruitful seasons, but though they come, they never come in the same way in any one year, and I find that, as a rule, when I need anything, that it come from a quarter that I never expected, and that from the quarter where it had come before it does not now. Thus God keeps the eye on Himself and not on the donor. The tendency is to lose dependence when we are enjoying the results of dependence. (FOOTPRINTS FOR PILGRIMS)

N.J. Hiebert - 3876

November 3

"The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him." (Lamentations 3:25)

The fact that God and His claims must be supreme - is beautifully illustrated in an incident of which I recently (1958) read. A man, addressing some children, said: "You all know the verb 'I am, thou art, he is' ; and you know that verbs in English, French, German, Italian and Latin run in this way: 'I love, thou lovest, he loves' ; or, 'I walk, thou walkest, he walks'. But how many of you know that the old Hebrew people arrange their verbs the other way round: 'He is, thou art, I am'?"

Then he said to them: "That is the way to look at life. Say to yourself, looking up to God: 'He is' ; then look at your neighbour, and say: 'You are' ; last of all, think of yourself, and say: 'I am'. First God, then your neighbour, then yourself. That is the best way to think and live." (HEAVEN'S CURE FOR EARTH'S CARE)

N.J. Hiebert - 3877

November 4

"With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
(Ephesians 4:2,3)

Not My Yardstick

It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the unity of the Spirit cam be kept in a legal way. It must be grace. It must be the fruit of communion with Christ, and living of His life. I cannot take my own yardstick and measure everybody else by that. I cannot lay down my interpretations of Scripture and say every man must walk by this rule. That is to make law of Scripture and put everybody on legal ground. This is the worst kind of legalism.

If our minds are formed by the Word and Spirit of God, others will feel the power . . . and they will be edified. If I am handling the Word of God in a legal way, I will only provoke the flesh, and no good will result. I cannot teach you the Word of God with a sledge hammer. The teaching must be through the operation of the Spirit. And grace characterizes this operation. So I must be gracious, patient, and loving.

Let brotherly love abound, and bitterness be put away -- edifying one another in love. (A.H. RULE AS SUBMITTED BY M.S.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3878

November 5

"If riches increase, set not your heart upon them."
(Psalm 62:10)

Once in Malaysia an aged Indian friend came to me with a smile on his face and a gift in his hand - a million ringgit note! But it was worthless, being old Japanese currency introduced during World War II and of no value when the war ended. Soon all earth's currencies will count for nothing; soon all material things will fade away. "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out" (1 Timothy 6:7). Where is your treasure? (W.P.W McVEY)

Out of this world I shall never take
Things of gold and silver I make;
All that I cherish and hoard away,
After I leave, on the earth must stay.

N.J. Hiebert - 3879

November 6

"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus."
(Romans 15:5)

He presents God in the very character in which we need Him. Our small stock of patience would soon be exhausted in seeking to meet the varied characters which cross our path, even in relationship with our brethren. There are constant claims upon our patience and forbearance; and most surely others have need of patience and forbearance with us. Where are we all to get the means of meeting all these claims? At the exhaustless treasury of "the God of patience and consolation." Our tiny springs would soon dry up if not kept in unbroken connection with that ever-flowing Fountain. The weight of a feather would be an overmatch for our patience; how much more the ten thousand things that come before us even in the Church of God! (C.H. MACINTOSH)

N.J. Hiebert - 3880

November 7

"But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
(Hebrews 13:16)

A little girl was playing with some alphabet blocks, arranging them to make various words. Suddenly she exclaimed, "O mother, look! I can get two words out of this one. See, if I take GOOD, I can make it say GO and DO." The mother smiled her approval. She thought to herself, my child unknowingly has just preached a powerful sermon: A believer must translate faith into daily practice. I must go and do if I am to be a good ambassador for Jesus Christ.

We've all heard the old saying, "Talk is cheap." It reminds us as Christians that appropriate action must always accompany our words, lest they be nothing more than pious platitudes and we lose our testimony before the world. The genuineness of our salvation is seen when we live a Christ-centered, sacrificial life that reaches out in love to others. The author of Hebrews therefore strongly cautions against a mental assent to Divine truth that does not result in warmhearted giving. He wrote, ". . . to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

Even the weakest, humblest believer can radiate a wondrous light of blessing in his daily round of activity. He does this not only by his kind words, but also by giving sympathetic attention to those who cross his pathway. He must clearly mirror to everyone the attitudes and actions of the Saviour, who "went about doing good."

Yes, to be a good Christian means we will be constantly looking for opportunities to go and do the things that please the Lord and bring joy to others. (H.G.B.)

Your theology is what you are when the talking stops and the action starts.

N.J. Hiebert - 3881

November 8

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
(Romans 8:28)

The secret of a disciple's quietness under trial, is the knowing that things do not happen by chance. If we see them in the light of God, we have rest immediately; not only rest in the future, but rest for to-day. Seeing things in the light, and under the power of the hand of God, makes all the difference as things roll in upon you. My walk may be inconsistent and unsteady, I may need deep humiliation, and have loss and very dearly bought experience, in order to be able to say that I see the Father's hand present in everything. (GLEANINGS OF G.V.WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert - 3882

November 9

"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made."
(John 1:3)

How awesome to gaze up into the night sky and view the vast universe above us. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has an estimated 200 billion stars, and a diameter of 100 light years, meaning that if we were able to travel at 386,000 miles per second, it would take 100 years to cross our galaxy alone! We are looking at a universe with the imprint of the infinite, eternal God upon it. Yet wonder of wonders, the Creator came among us in lowly guise. He visited this insignificant planet and gave His life to save those who had dared to rebel against the God of the universe. What mercy! What grace! (W.H. BURNETT)

Thou Lord of all transcendent, Thou life creating sun
To worlds on Thee dependent, yet bruised and spit upon.
(GERHARDT)

N.J. Hiebert - 3883

November 10

"That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."
(1 Thessalonians 4:12)

The tone and spirit of our walk is an important point. Confidence in God, and gentleness of spirit, is that which becomes the saint. For this, we must be at home with God. The effect of thus walking in Christ, setting the Lord ever before us, is always to make us walk with reverence, lowliness, adoration, quietness, ease, and happiness. Because of the heart's joy in God, anxieties disappear, and it will move through the ten thousand things that would trouble and prove anxieties to another, without being troubled. No matter what it may be, we bring quietness of spirit into all circumstances while abiding in God. (CHRISTIAN TRUTH - VOL. 14 - FEBRUARY 1961)

N.J. Hiebert - 3884

November 11

"He that is slow to wrath is of great UNDERSTANDING."
(Proverbs 14:29)

"A man of UNDERSTANDING holdeth his peace."
(Proverbs 11:12)

"He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man
of UNDERSTANDING is of an excelled spirit."
(Proverbs 17:27)

"Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath UNDERSTANDING."
(Proverbs 14:33)

"My mouth shall speak of wisdom;
And the meditation of my heart
Shall be of understanding."
(Psalm 49:3)

N.J. Hiebert - 3885

November 12

"I can do all things through Christ Who strengtheneth me."
(Philippians 4:13)

It seems like distrust of oneself, and deep lowliness of spirit, to shrink from heavy responsibility, but all we need to inquire is, Has God imposed that responsibility? If so, He will be assuredly with me in sustaining it; and having Him with me, I can sustain anything. With Him, the weight of a mountain is nothing; without Him the weight of a feather is overwhelming. (FOOD FOR THE DESERT)

N.J. Hiebert - 3886

November 13

November 14

November 15

Gems from October 2009

October 1

"The joy of the Lord is your strength."
(Nehemiah 8:10)

The story is told about a man who was invited to become a Christian by someone with a very unhappy countenance. The man replied that he had enough worries of his own without becoming involved with the Christian's! What message do we give to the world around us by our demeanor? Do they see us as sour, ill- pleased, discontented, pessimistic, depressed sorts? Or do we reflect the joy that should belong to those who know their sins forgiven, and their heaven secure? Take a look in the mirror. What do you see? May the Lord enable us to show the joy of the Lord in our daily lives, and thereby attract others to Christ.
(W.H. BURNETT)

N.J. Hiebert - 3844

October 2

"But when he was a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."
(Luke 15:20)

Compassion is what makes a person feel pain when somebody else hurts.
________________________________________________________

"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 of God."
(James 1:25)

Freedom is not the right to do what we want - but the power to do what we ought.
________________________________________________________

"Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel."
(Proverbs 27:9)

Everything is nicer when shared with a friend.
________________________________________________________
(SELECTED)

N.J. Hiebert - 3845

October 3

"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world . . ." (2 Timothy 4:10)

The want of a distinct apprehension of the difference between the flesh and the Spirit, keeps people in a very low state. They may be safe for eternity, and yet may grieve and quench the Spirit. If you have got salvation but have worldly notions and a worldly walk, you will be incessantly grieving the Spirit, accrediting something in your walk which God wants to strip off. God cannot accredit Demas's love of present things. He cannot accredit anything of the flesh in Christians. If the Spirit of Christ is in me, all that is of myself must be judged.

In a cup of water, how could you displace the water? By putting something heavier into the cup. If you have a heart full of lusts and vanities, how are you to give them all up? By the precious gold of God poured into the vessel - all there will be displaced by it. (GLEANINGS - G.V. WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert - 3846

October 4

"That it may bring forth more fruit."
(John 15:2)

Two years ago I set out a rosebush in the corner of my garden. It was to bear yellow roses. And it was to bear them profusely. Yet, during these two years, it has not produced a blossom!

I asked the florist from whom I bought the bush why it was so barren of flowers. I had cultivated it carefully; had watered it often; had made the soil around it as rich as possible. And it had grown well.

"That's just why," said the florist. "That kind of rose needs the poorest soil in the garden. Sandy soil would be best, and never a bit of fertilizer. Take away the rich soil and put gravelly earth in its place. Cut the bush back severely. Then it will bloom."

I did - and the bush blossomed forth in the most gorgeous yellow know to nature. Then I moralized: that yellow rose is just like many lives. Hardships develop beauty in the soul; they thrive on troubles; trials bring out all the best in them; ease and comfort and applause only leave them barren.

The finest of flowers bloom in the sandiest of deserts as well as in the hothouses. God is the same Gardener.
(SPRINGS IN THE VALLEY)

N.J. Hiebert - 3847

October 5

"We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6)

All that I know of the world's path, spirit, affections, and conduct is, that it has crucified my Lord; not in its affections and lusts merely, but by wicked hands it has crucified my Master. Suppose it were but yesterday that you had seen Pontius Pilate the governor, and the chief priests, and the elders, putting Christ to death, would you feel happy to-day in holding communion with them? The stain of Christ's blood is as fresh in God's sight as if it had been done but yesterday; the time which has elapsed since them makes no difference in its moral guilt. (J.N. DARBY)

N.J. Hiebert - 3848

October 6

"Put on as the elect of God, kindness."
(Colossians 3:12)

There is a story of an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. And thus he passed through life lubricating all hard places and making it easier for those who came after him.

People called him eccentric, queer, and cranky; but the old man went steadily on refilling his can of oil when it became empty, and oiled the hard places he found.

There are many lives that creak and grate harshly as they live day by day. Nothing goes right with them. They need lubricating with the oil of gladness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. Have you your own can of oil with you? Be ready with your oil of helpfulness in the early morning to the one nearest you. It may lubricate the whole day for him. The oil of good cheer to the downhearted one - Oh, how much it may mean! The word of courage to the despairing. Speak it.

Our lives touch others but once, perhaps, on the road of life; and then, mayhap, our ways diverge, never to meet again. The oil of kindness has worn the sharp, hard edges off of many a sin-hardened life and left it soft and pliable and ready for the redeeming grace of the Saviour.

A word spoken pleasantly is a large spot of sunshine on a sad heart. Therefore, "Give others the sunshine, tell Jesus the rest." (STREAMS IN THE DESERT)

N.J. Hiebert - 3849

October 7

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Hm which died for them, and rose again."
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

What are we living for? A weighty question, I need not say; and it is of moment to our souls that we should not shrink from answering it, and that we should answer it in the fear of God. "He died for all, that they which live"; that is, the believers, "should not henceforth live unto themselves . . ." All were dead, believers and unbelievers alike, all were ruined men before God. And the death of Christ is the proof of the condition of every soul naturally; that is, all are lost, all lifeless toward God; that even the Son of God, who is everlasting life, should need to suffer, should find no portion but death in this world, is the proof that there is no life in it. Everything lay so irretrievable in death, that for Him to die is the only door of deliverance out of it. And, "He died for all." (CHRISTIAN TRUTH - DECEMBER 1962 - VOL. 15)

N.J. Hiebert - 3850

October 8

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: . . . He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
(Hebrews 11:6)

If you want your faith to grow, there are four rules that you must adopt.

1. Be willing to have a great faith. When men say they cannot believe, ask, "Are you willing to believe?" because if the will is toward faith, the Holy Spirit will produce a great faith.

2. Use the faith you have; the child with its slender arm muscles, will not be able to wield the sledgehammer unless he begins step by step to use them. Do not, therefore, stand on the boat's edge and wait to be able to swim a mile, but throw yourself out from its side into the water and swim a yard or two; for it is in these smaller efforts that you are to be prepared for the greater and mightier exploits.

3. Be sure to put God between yourself and circumstances. Everything depends on where you put God.

4. Live a life of daily obedience to God's will.

Observe these rules and your faith will grow. (F.B. MEYER)

Faith cannot grow in the atmosphere of doubt.

Our unbelief ties the hands of His omnipotence.

"All the scholastic scaffolding falls, as a ruined edifice, before one single word - faith!" - Napoleon 1.

N.J. Hiebert - 3851

October 9

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?"
(Luke 12:6)

As far as man is concerned, the sparrow is a worthless, useless bird. In New Testament times, two sold for a farthing (half a cent), and five for a cent, (one was thrown in for free). It is neither a singer nor beautiful to look at, yet God remembers the sparrow and even more than that, He cares for each one individually. Not one of them is forgotten before God. Did you ever see a thin sparrow? (LEONARD SHELDRAKE)

He chirps through his little life's daytime -
I'll praise for eternity,
And love, for His marvellous kindness
The God of the sparrow and me.
(L.S.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3852

October 10

"Peace . . . which passeth all understanding."
(Philippians 4:7)

One great evidence of my abiding in Christ is quietness. I have my portion elsewhere, and I go on. . . . No matter what it may be, we bring quietness of spirit into all circumstances while dwelling in God. The soul is not only happy in God for itself, but it will bring the tone of that place out with it.

Does all trouble find your heart so resting on God as your Father, that when it is multiplied, it leaves your spirit at rest, your sleep sweet, lying down sleeping, and rising as if all was peace around you, because you know God is, and disposes of all things? Is He thus between you and your troubles and troublers? And if He is, what can reach you?

The soul in communion with God will live in the spirit of peace. There is nothing more important, to meet the turmoil of the world, than getting into this spirit of peace.

Nothing keeps the soul in such peace as a settled confidence in God. Without this a person will be continually excited, in haste, and full of anxiety. If the peace of God keep your hearts, you will have the triumph of it; nothing can be heard that is distinctive from it and that does not perfectly harmonize with it. (PILGRIM PORTIONS FOR THE DAY OF REST - J.N.D.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3853

October 11

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)

I am not what I was, (Ephesians 2:12,13)
I am not what I shall be. (1 John 3:2)
I am not what I should be. (Ephesians 4:1)
I am not what I would be. (Philippians 2:12,13)
But by the grace of God, I am, what I am. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

When I trace the way He's led me
In the many years gone by,
Kept us thru the many trials,
Sent us succour from on high,
Kept us in the sore temptations,
When the tempter's voice was heard,
In my soul I hear Him whisper;
Child of God, Hold fast my word.

When I look into the future,
Think of what I yet may meet,
And of how the subtle tempter,
Spreads his snares to catch my feet.
Then my eyes will turn to Jesus
Seated on the Father's throne,
See Him there my intercessor
Pleading for His feeble one.
(SELECTED)

N.J. Hiebert - 3854

October 12

"He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him."
(Isaiah 59:16)

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

Some seek to demonstrate their strength by rolling up their shirt-sleeves and arm wrestling another. Likewise, Isaiah metaphorically uses the arm eleven times to speak of God's delivering strength - Calvary being the greatest display. At Calvary, God's bare arm hung between heaven and earth, took the nails I deserved and brought deliverance to my soul. What strength! (WARREN HENDERSON - CHOICE GLEANINGS)

Jehovah lifted up His rod - O Christ, it fell on Thee!
Thou wast forsaken of Thy God; no distance now for me.

N.J. Hiebert - 3855

October 13

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 1:7)

What a change from Judaism! - the free favour of God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and peace to all the beloved of God in Rome. Do our souls enter into this? Instead of law justly requiring perfect obedience from man, now we have perfect peace with God, on the principle of free, unmerited favour. Israel, if faithful, could only have known God as Jehovah; we know Him as Father. (Romans - CHARLES STANLEY -The Evangelist from Sheffield England - 1800)

N.J. Hiebert - 3856

October 14

"Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
(Acts 20:35)

It seems to me that some people must confuse a grave facial expression with spirituality. Most of us will never look handsome, but there's no reason we can't look happy. The Saviour who puts a new song in our mouths also puts a smile on our lips. The type of Christianity that thrives on stern looks, arched eyebrows, and disapproving glances is not likely to attract young people to Christ - and it isn't going to impress people at all who are at least temporarily happy in their sins.

Man would fain make God a receiver instead of a giver; but this cannot be, for "It is more blessed to give than to receive"; and assuredly God must have the more blessed place. (SELECTED)

N.J. Hiebert - 3857

October 15

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."
(2 Corinthians 9:15)

- People with a heart for God have a heart for people.

- The joy of living comes from a heart of thanksgiving.

- In the desert of grief, God provides an oasis of grace.

- Selfish gratification will lead to spiritual stagnation.

- Running with patience is perseverance in the "long run."
(SOME THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER - R.K.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3858

October 16

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Love That Exceeds

The ascending affections are never equal to the descending. A child never loves a parent with the intenseness with which a parent loves his child. Yes, and more than this - the parent is satisfied to have it so. A father is satisfied to know that his love will never get its "recompense in the same" from the bosom of the child.

Our heavenly Father knows that His love will ever be the larger. He will ever be the One to "exceed" - as David with Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:41). For He is in the higher place; and that place will maintain its rights and attributes. And it is among the attributes of the descending affection (which comes out of the higher place), to flow with the richer and more generous current; and all that faith has to do is to allow this, and to rejoice that it is so. Faith ascends to God, and makes that journey in silence. (TCNL)

N.J. Hiebert - 3859

October 17

"This is My commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

D.L Moody pointed out, the words which delineate the lovely traits of character set forth in Galatians 5, are but various forms of love.

- Joy is love exulting;
- Peace is love in repose;
- Long-suffering is love enduring;
- Kindness is love in society;
- Goodness is love in action;
- Faithfulness is love on the battlefield;
- Meekness is love at school;
- Self-control is love in training.
(HENRY DURBANVILLE)

N.J. Hiebert - 3860

October 18

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
(Psalm 119:105)

The Bible is all for the Christian, but not all about him. God in government, or Messiah and the kingdom, might express the general character of the Old Testament, while God in grace, or Christ and the Church, would characterize the New Testament. Moses, by inspiration of God, opened the canon of divine revelation; Paul completed the subjects of which it treats -

"I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the Word of God." (Colossians 1:25).

John closed it with the Revelation. This blessed Book is assailed on every hand - its inspiration is openly denied, its divine authority unblushingly called in question, and its heavenly doctrines made the sport of an unbelieving world. Yet its subjects are grand, momentous, and divine; its themes are heavenly and eternal. It is the Word of God, and therefore it lives and abides forever. (W. SCOTT)

N.J. Hiebert - 3861

October 19

"Like a lamb dumb . . . so opened he not His mouth."
(Acts 8:32)

"Philip opened his mouth . . . and preached . . . Jesus."
(Acts 8:35)

Philip was able to open his mouth as the result of the Lord remaining mute at His trial. "When He was reviled, he reviled not again" (1 Peter 2:23). He was about to die an atoning death for a world of sinners who stood with their mouths stopped and guilty before God. How thrilled must Philip have been that day to open his mouth and make known the gospel, especially to one whose ear and heart were wide open to receive it. Is your mouth open? (W.P.W. MCVEY)

N.J. Hiebert - 3862

October 20

" . . . the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys."
(Exodus 40:36)

Spend and be spent would we,
While lasts life's brief day;
No turning back in coward fear,
No lingering by the way.
Onward we press in haste,
Upward our journey still;
Ours is the path the Master trod,
Through good report and ill.
The way may rougher grow,
The weariness increase;
We gird our loins and hasten on,
The end, the end is peace.
(AUTHOR UNKNOWN)

N.J. Hiebert - 3863

October 21

"God is faithful" - 1 Corinthians 1:9

"God is faithful." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

This short, yet profound, phrase occurs twice in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. The first time in chapter 1 reminds us that God was faithful in calling us. But, lest we get discouraged by the hardships of the Christian life, we are later encouraged by the fact that He remains faithful throughout all of life's trials. He has not abandoned us, nor will He allow any trial to become "too difficult." Let us thank Him today for His continued interest and faithfulness in each of our lives. (CHOICE GLEANINGS - C. MARK HOGAN)

Oh, you that are sad, take heart again!
You are not alone in your hour of pain;
The Father stoops from His throne above
to sooth and comfort us with His love.

N.J. Hiebert - 3864

October 22

"And Jesus, which is called Justus . . . these only are my fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me." (Colossians 4:11)

Jesus, or Justus. Paul gave him his full title - Justus the just one. That man's outstanding characteristic was that he was a just man. That is not to be despised. We should all seek to be just. If there is anything that should characterize a Christian, it is moral integrity.

- Downright honesty,
- By the grace of God to speak the truth and be men of our word,
- To be those that can be trusted,
- Those upon whom our neighbours can look as honest men,
- Men who pay their debts,
- Men who have no unfulfilled obligations.
(C.H. BROWN - WHEN HE WRITES UP THE PEOPLE)

N.J. Hiebert - 3865

October 23

"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves."
(Romans 15:1)

Pleasing our selves, directly condemned in Romans 15:1, is a common form of seeking our own. It is seen in great and little things - in our choice of work for the Lord, in our choice of residence, of companions, of dress, of occupation, and in many petty ways in which we daily indulge, instead of denying ourselves. Oh, how ashamed we feel when we just sit awhile and think of our dreadful self-pleasing in little things - always looking out for number one. So contrary are we in spirit to our beloved Lord. (PLAIN PAPERS FOR YOUNG BELIEVERS - A.T. SCHOFIELD)

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October 24

"Them that honour Me I will honour."
(1 Samuel 2:30)

Every breathing of our hearts by the Spirit of God is precious in His ear; every cup of cold water given in His name; every service rendered to His saints; every sigh over that which grieves Him; every thrill of joy for what brings glory to Him; every step trodden, or word spoken in furtherance of interests dear to His heart is written with an eternal pen and treasured in the archives of heaven; nor will He fail to requite even those who think upon His name (Malachi 3:16)

Children of sorrow we may indeed be, of whom the world has no record, and knows neither whence we come nor whither we are bound; but if our hearts be in the secret of the Lord, we are not only of the royal line, like Jabez, but, like Jabez, also of the line of faith; our requests are answered, our record is on high for eternity, heavenly resources are ours in their richest plentitude, and an opened heaven will soon receive us into its bosom. Then shall be fully displayed what only faith accepts now - the immutability of that word, "Them that honour Me I will honour." (W.R.)

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October 25

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart." (Deuteronomy 6:6)

Check Your Blind Spots

When I was in high school, I had a driving instructor who gave me some sound advice. "You think by looking in the rearview mirror you know what is on your left side, but your vision is limited," he said. "Always look over your shoulder before changing lanes. There may be another car in your blind spot." His wise instruction has kept me out of more potential wrecks than I care to think about.

Moses had some wise instruction for the people of Israel. They were to make the study and contemplation of God's commandments an integral part of life. Moses said, "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). In short, God's words were to permeate every aspect of their lives.

The Bible is our instruction manual from God for navigating life's journey. But merely owning a copy is not enough. It must be studied, applied, and passed on to others.

Just as checking our blind spot should become an automatic response while we drive, applying God's Word should be our natural response as we encounter the hazards of life. It will help us avoid a spiritual crash. (DENNIS FISHER)

The bible will transform our lives
And turn us from our sin,
If we will read it and obey
God's principles within. (SPER)
__________________________________________________________________
The Bible will tell you what is wrong before you have done it! (MOODY)

Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2005), Grand Rapids, MI. Printed permission.

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October 26

"For a good work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God."
(John 10:33)

So men thought. But actually, the reality was just the opposite. He was eternally God (John 1:1), yet became a Man (John 1:14).

- It was as a Man that He was born at Bethlehem,
- That He passed through youth and young manhood.
- It was as a Man that He was condemned to death on Calvary.
- And as a Man that He died for our sins and was acknowledged as righteous by the centurion (Luke 23:47).
- It is as a Man that He now mediates with the Father (1 Timothy 2:5) (GARRY W. SEALE)

Jesus is God! The glorious bands of golden angels sing,
Songs of adoring praise to Him, their Maker and their King.
He was true God in Bethlehem's crib, on Calvary's cross true God,
He who is heaven eternal reigned, in time on earth abode.
(F.W. FABER)

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October 27

"Ye are the salt of the earth."
(Matthew 5:13)

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt."
(Colossians 4:6)

With Grace

I have just read a statement of a Christian writer to the effect that the salt of the earth needs to be applied - even if it smarts.

I have heard and read many developments of this same theme. The outline usually runs the same course: salt seasons, purifies and preserves. But somebody ought to remind us that salt also irritates. Real living Christianity rubs this world the wrong way. "The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world" (John 15:19). Godly living is in itself a rebuke to this age, and this world resents the light that exposes its corruption.

We are going to a lot of trouble these days developing a brand of Christianity that will not irritate this world. The only salt that will not irritate is "salt without savour," and our Lord said such salt, whether table salt or spiritual salt is "good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men." (SELECTED)

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October 28

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:7)

When you have a need, instead of worrying and fussing about it, you need to present your need to our Father right away. Stop what you are doing; get on your knees and pour your heart out to the Father. Our loving God and Father is waiting and wants to hear all about it. He will not always say yes, but He will always give us His peace. If we will but trust Him and put our cares before His heart, He will put His peace into ours.

"It is a wonderful thing to be so satisfied with the Lord Jesus' company, that we can be tranquil about everything. You will often find that it is the one of the most anxious temperament who finds most in Him, when such an one begins to know Him. I remember when I used to think that I should be happy beyond conception if I were able to say, 'I will fear no evil,' 'my heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.' In order to reach this, you must find Him enough, without anything else. We all say that He is enough, but it is quite a different thing to know it practically. You can never prove the worth of anyone, until you are absolutely dependent on him." -J.B.S.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
(Submitted by a reader - S.L.)

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October 29

"What is in thine hand?"
(Exodus 4:2)

Let us examine honestly whether it is something which He can use for His glory or not. If not, do not let us hesitate an instant about dropping it. It may be something we do not like to part with; but "the Lord is able to give thee much more than this," and the first glimpse of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord will enable us to count those things loss which were gain to us.

But if it is something which He can use, He will make us do ever so much more with it than before. Moses little thought what the Lord was going to make him do with that rod in his hand! The first thing he had to do with it was to cast it on the ground, and see it pass through a startling change. After this he was commanded to take it up again, hard and terrifying as it was to do so. But when it became again a rod in his hand, it was no longer what it was before, the simple rod of a wandering desert shepherd. Henceforth it was "the rod of God in his hand" (Exodus 4:20), wherewith he should do signs, and by which God Himself would do marvelous things (Psalm 78:12). (OPENED TREASURES - FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL)

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October 30

"How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth and thy want as an armed man."
(Proverbs 6:9-11)

You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.
__________________________________________________________________


"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
(Galatians 6:2)

Test your strength by lifting a burden from another's shoulder.
___________________________________________________________________

"We spend our days as a tale that is told---for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."
(Psalm 90:9,10)

A minute is a little thing, but minutes make a day. So crowd in some kind deeds before it slips away.
___________________________________________________________________


"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
(Proverbs 11:25)

No man can be good to others without being good to himself.
___________________________________________________________________
(SELECTED)

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October 31

"For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better . . ."
(Philippians 1:23)

The last for which the first was made - that was Paul's highest aspiration, to be with Christ. But do not forget that Christ is with us now. We are hampered by our limitations and not as aware of Him as we should be. There, no longer blinded by our eyes, we shall know as we are known and we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. But He is with us all the days when we see through a glass as in a riddle and to know Hm better now is our chief business. Tomorrow can wait and we have only today. (ALL THE DAYS - VANCE HAVNER)

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Gems from September 2009

September 1

"The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
(1 Corinthians 2:10)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139:23,24)

If there is a corner of my heart that Christ has not searched down to the very bottom, I am undone. Would I have a blind Christ, one whom I should not like to search out every part of my heart? Ah! I would rather have Christ pointing out everything, than friends praising. I adore God that gave Him to me. Who am I, that my Lord should so condescend to search me? And where there is evil in me, that is just where God lets His streams flow into me. He sees everything that hinders and chokes - would I stay His hand? (GLEANINGS of G.V. WIGRAM)

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September 2

"Spread the sail." (Isaiah 33:23)

Picture a vessel lying becalmed on a glassy sea - not a breath of air stirs a sail. But, presently, the little pennant far up on the masthead begins to stir and lift! There is not a ripple on the water; not the slightest movement of the air on deck, but there is a current stirring in the upper air! At once the sails are spread to catch it!

"So in life," says Dr Miller, "there are higher and lower currents. Too many of us use only the lower sails, and catch only the winds blowing along earthly levels. It would be an unspeakable gain to us all were we to let our life fall under the influence of these upper currents." (SPRINGS in the VALLEY)

Spread your sails to catch the upper currents!

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September 3

"In My Father's house are many mansions."
(John 14:2)

Spoken to His disciples . . . their earthly sun was sinking, but the stars were coming out in the sky to tell of a greater and a grander universe. Somewhere in that great universe, in the infinite realms of space, God has a place which He calls His "Home"; a house of many mansions, to which, one by one, He welcomes His children; and to which, sooner or later, He shall conduct all who are His.

"My Father's House! No strange and foreign land;
No wonderful new world, too coldly grand;
But Home - and a Father's outstretched, welcoming hand."

Those whose experiences in this world have made them conscious of homelessness and loneliness, can look forward to mansions of eternal abode, to couches of eternal rest, to the board of an eternal festival. Meantime, they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth: strangers because they are from Home; pilgrims because they are going Home. (HIS LAST WORDS - HENRY DURBANVILLE)

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September 4

"For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God."
(1 Peter 2:20)

Anyone can endure reproof when he knows it is deserved. It takes grace to enable one to accept undeserved blame without complaining; but to God it is acceptable, or well-pleasing, for this is to follow Christ's blessed example. "It is hard to be blamed for what you did not do!" So said a troubled young Christian lately. But in this portion of God's Word we are bidden to take our blessed, adorable Lord Himself as our example in this as in all else.

He was falsely accused and bitterly persecuted for wrongs He had never done. As He left everything in the Father's hands, so should we. Nature will rebel when we have to say, as He did, "They laid to My charge things that I knew not." (Psalm 35:11). But grace will enable us to triumph and to rejoice when men speak evil of us and persecute us (Matthew 5:11).

If we endure patiently, as seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27), we shall be vindicated in His own way and time, and reward will be sure at His judgment-seat (1 Corinthians 4:5). (SELECTED)

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September 5

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." (Psalm 42:1)

The body craves for material things, so we buy food and clothes and houses and cars - things for the body. But the body eventually dies. The mind cries for intellectual things, so we build schools and buy books. We read and study and cultivate friendships. But toward the end the mind fails. The spirit calls for spiritual things. It needs God. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." The spirit craves for something that material things can never supply. It craves after God. There is an emptiness in each human life that only God can fill.

"Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
(SELECTED)

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September 6

The Best System

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)

"Do you think it wrong for me to learn the art of self-defense?" asked a young man of an an older brother.

"Certainly not," he answered. I learned it in youth myself, and I have found it of great value during my life."

"Indeed, sir! Did you learn the old English system or Sullivan's system?"

"Neither. I learned Solomon's system."

"Solomon's system?"

"Yes; you will find it laid down in Proverbs 15:1, "A soft answer turneth away wrath." It is the best system of self-defense of which I know."

(TCNL)

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September 7

" . . . let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1,2)

"Lay aside," he says, "these useless and hurtful things; leave them behind." It is easy, when we look unto Jesus; but impossible unless our thoughts and affections are centered in Christ - unless we behold Him as our Lord and Bridegroom, our strength and joy. This is the only method of the new covenant. We are not under the law, but under grace. It is not by introspection, by self-discipline, by attempting first to lay aside our weight and our sin, that we gain the victory. These things do not precede the look unto Jesus.

- It is the light which dispels the darkness;
- It is the love of Jesus which separates us from the world;
- It is the grace of Christ that delivers us from all fear and doubt.
(EPISTLE to the HEBREWS - ADOLPH SAPHIR)

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September 8

"And the serpent said unto the woman (Eve - in the garden of Eden), ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4,5)

Wretched man thought that God did not wish to give him something through jealousy of his happiness, but this was the lie of Satan. God who seemed to refuse a fruit to man, innocent, has given His Son to man a sinner. And the heart of man is so perverted that he has no confidence though God has given His Son. The effect of the death of Jesus is to inspire us with perfect confidence. The death of Jesus puts us in relationship with God without fear and without difficulty, because it clothes us when we are naked and miserable. This confidence give us peace and obedience, because nothing is more precious than the love of God; and this love makes us prefer obedience and its consequences in spit of all the difficulties. (CHRISTIAN TRUTH - VOL. 15 - APRIL 1962)

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September 9

"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
(Acts 16:31)

God does not call upon a sinner to believe in anything that Christ did, but to believe in Christ. He knows what He did, and accepts the sinner who believes in Him according to His own knowledge of the value of Christ's work, and not according to the knowledge the sinner possesses of it; still it deepens and strengthens the believer in the knowledge of God and His grace, as the soul comprehends how the judgment of God for sin has been borne by the Son of God - how He ended in Himself that to which the judgment attached - and, rising out of the dead, is the One in whom every one believing in Him lives. (F.G. PATTERSON)

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September 10

"A bruised reed shall He not break, and a smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory."
(Matthew 12:20)

A bruised shall He not break: the poorest shepherd boy on our South Indian hills is careful to choose, for the making of his flute, a reed that is straight and fine and quite unbruised. But our Heavenly Shepherd often takes the broken and the bruised, and of such He makes His flutes. But life, like His book, is full of parables of tenderness; and one of these has often come into this room of late. For he whose name means God's Peace has brought his autoharp to play to me, and has first tuned it while I expectantly waited for the music which I knew would follow the tuning.

Is music to come from our harp? music of prayer, of praise, of consolation? The strings are relaxed, or perhaps too tensely stretched. Illness can cause either condition. But we have a Tuner.

Tune Thou my harp;
There is not, Lord, could never be,
The skill in me.

Tune Thou my harp,
That it may play Thy melody,
Thy harmony.

Tune Thou my harp;
The Spirit, breathe Thy thought through me,
As pleases Thee.
(AMY CARMICHAEL - ROSE FROM BRIAR)

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September 11

"But thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness."
(1 Timothy 6:11)

On June 15, 1957, a brand-new car was buried in a concrete vault under the courthouse lawn in Tulsa. In June 2007, the car was unearthed as the city celebrated Oklahoma's 100th year of statehood. Writing in the Tulsa World, Randy Krehbiel said: "Now we know what 50 years in a hole does to a Plymouth Belvedere." Water seeping into the vault had turned the once shiny car into a rusted monument to the past. A hot-rod expert hired to start the engine pronounced it "hopeless."

Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul like moisture acting on metal. Paul urged Timothy, his young protege, to "follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness." (1 Timothy 6:11) This command had no expiration date attached to it. The spiritual disciplines require continued attention throughout our lives. If rest becomes our goal, then rust is right behind.

Oswald Chambers said: "The intellect works with the greatest intensity when it works continuously; the more you do, the more you can do. We must work hard to keep in trim for God. Clean off the rust and keep bright by use."

Our capabilities may vary with age, but pursuing the righteous life to which God has called us should never end. Don't rust out! (DAVID MCCASLAND)

Spiritual inactivity corrodes the soul.

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_____________________________________________________________
"Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (August 2008), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission."

September 12

"He was moved with compassion."
(Matthew 9:36)

"The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
(James 5:11)

Jesus . . . could say, "I have glorified Thee." The more evil there was done here, the more the Father was glorified. Never did irritation enter into Him; no contradiction ever prevented His having the same heart for man and for God.

When we study Christ's life down here, and what His heart and motives were, how shallow we are, . . . and how deep and far beyond our view the sufferings of His soul down here!

A broken heart is suited to a heart-healing God.
Whatever produces a care in us produces God's care for us.

There is much more reality in a living loving care of us than we are aware of. The Lord takes pains to assure us of His love, to persuade us of His love.

"Ye are of more value than many sparrows."
(PILGRIM PORTION FOR THE DAY OF REST - J.N.D.)

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September 13

"This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13,14)

I shall never forget Dr. R.A. Torrey saying to me as a young preacher, "Young man, make up your mind on one thing and stick to it." The Christian life should be like a sword with one point, not like a broom ending in many straws. Such a single purpose forgets the past, reaches toward the future, and presses on. There is no time or place for side issues, diversions to the right or to the left. There is no place for hands on the plow with eyes looking back. Paul was a one-track man, but you can go a long way on one track! (VANCE HAVNER - ALL THE DAYS)

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September 14

"Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame." (Hebrews 12:2)

For us the Lord "endured" the cross. He deliberately and consciously persevered through the anguish of Golgotha. For us he "despised" the shame. He thought little of all the cruel beatings, and mockery and judgment that He would bear for our redemption. What have we endured for Him? What shame have we received for the name of Christ? It is shameful how shameless we are. The joy that motivated the Lord was the knowledge that one day we would be with Him, and this made the cross worth bearing. What is it that will motivate us today? (SAJU MATHEW)

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September 15

" . . . I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, . . . that I may win Christ."
(Philippians 3:8)

When Mahoud, the conqueror of India, had taken the city of Gujarat, he proceeded, as was his custom, to destroy the idols. There was one, fifteen feet high, which its priests and devotees begged him to spare. He was deaf to their entreaties, and seizing a hammer he struck it one blow when, to his amazement, from the shattered image there rained down at his feet a shower of gems - pearls and diamonds - a treasure of fabulous value, which had been hidden within it! Had he spared the idol, he would have lost all this wealth. Let us not spare our idols. It is to our interest to demolish them. If we shatter them, there will rain about our hearts the very treasures of heaven, the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; but if we spare our idols, we miss the riches unsearchable.

If you do not crown Him Lord of all, you do not crown Him Lord at all.
(JOHN MAC NEIL)

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September 16

"And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." (Exodus 3:2)

What a sight as the Lord appeared to Moses in the midst of the burning bush! When you feel the fire of trial and temptation, don't forget that God is in the midst of that fire. In the heat of your trial, keep trusting, for you will not be overcome by it. Remember God's faithfulness. He said, "I have surely seen the affliction . . . and I am come down to deliver them" (Exodus 3:7-8) (JAMES COMTE)

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided -
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

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September 17

"Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16)

The old house is breaking down; with some of us the roof is thatched now with white hair, and we are reminded that day by day we shall soon move out unless Christ Himself returns. But we are not disheartened, we are not discouraged, for "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." My hope is brighter now than it ever was; my joy in Christ is greater than it has ever been; the world means less to me today than it has ever meant, and the applause of men means less. But the approval of the Lord means more than it has ever meant. (EXTRACT)

Heaven is commenced already for the heart that is in the joy of resurrection,
and in association with Christ.

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September 18

"Come up in the morning . . . and present thyself unto Me in the top of the mount." (Exodus 34:2)

The morning is the time fixed for my meeting the Lord. The very word morning is a cluster of rich grapes. Let us crush them, and drink the sacred wine. In the morning! Then God means me to be at my best in strength and hope. I have not to climb in my weakness. In the night I have buried yesterday's fatigue, and in the morning take a new lease of energy. Blessed is the day whose morning is sanctified! Successful is the day whose first victory was won in prayer! Holy is the day whose dawn finds thee on the top of the mount! (STREAMS IN THE DESERT)

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September 19

"Blessed us with all spiritual blessings . . . in Christ."
(Ephesians 1:3)

It is easy to be earthly minded, caught up in those things that depress and distress. Instead of thinking about the mundane, try a different view today. Think of these spiritual blessings.

- We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:19);
- Regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5); and,
- Reconciled by the Father (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).

We who were by nature rebels, reprobates, and condemned, are now cleansed, forgiven, and fit for heaven. Truly we are a blessed people, with much to be thankful for. Have you blessed Him for how He has blessed you? (FRANK BURGESS)

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September 20

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures."
(1 Corinthians 15:3)

- The plan of deliverance was divine,
- The provision of the sacrifice was divine,
- The shedding of the blood was divine,
- The sprinkling of the blood was divine,
- The record as to the result was divine:
- In short it was all divine.

It is not that we should undervalue realization, or, to speak more correctly, communion, through the Holy Spirit, with all the precious results of Christ's work for us. But then, we are no more saved by realization, than the leper was cleansed by it. The gospel, by which we are saved, is that "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) There is nothing about realization here. No doubt, it is happy to realize. It is a very happy thing for one, who was just on the point of being drowned, to realize himself in a life-boat; but, clearly, he is saved by the boat and not by his realization.

So it is with the sinner that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is saved by death and resurrection. Is it because he realizes it? No, but because God says it. it is "according to the Scriptures." Christ died and rose again; and, on that ground, God pronounces him clean. (C.H. MACINTOSH)

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September 21

"He was despised and rejected of men."
(Isaiah 53:3)

Jesus of Nazareth was hated by the world - the very people He came to save. The lowly man of Sorrows was persecuted and treated as an outcast. His disciples were martyred for His name's sake. Christians throughout the ages have also been hated and persecuted by the world. Because of our association with the rejected Christ, we live in a foreign environment. As ambassadors of Christ we are here to minister the gospel. We should have no part with the world who crucified our Lord. When we sense the world's animosity and disdain, we will know that we are walking as He walked (E. MAC-LELLAND)

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September 22

"And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel." (Luke 2:34)

Do you know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ proves either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death? You sometimes hear people say: "We will go and hear this man preach. If it does us no good, it will do us no harm." Don't you believe it! Every time one hears the Gospel and rejects it, the hardening process goes on. The same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay. The message that would have moved to action a few years ago makes no impression now.

There is not a true minister of the Gospel who will not say that the hardest people to reach are those who have been impressed, and whose impressions have worn away. It is a good deal easier to commit a sin the second time than it was to commit it the first time, but it is a good deal harder to repent the second time than the first. (D.L.MOODY)

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September 23

"And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of One speaking unto him from off the mercy seat."
(Numbers 7:89)

In prayer we speak to Him; by His Word He speaks to us; and both are necessary for the maintenance of heart communion with the Lord. God fades out of the life of the man who ceases to use them. He may retain a vocabulary; but to living experience of the power and presence of God he will be a stranger, and his heart and life will become a spiritual Sahara (desert). On he other hand, "How much God has to speak into the stilled and waiting heart - precious secrets that will set the joy-chords vibrating throughout the entire being. There is nothing selfish in the gladness which throbs at the heart of Jehovah - He longs to pour of its wealth into the hearts of His people; but it is only as they come into utmost union with His plan for their lives that this can be. How wonderful are those moment of communion." (HEAVEN'S CURE FOR EARTH'S CARE)

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September 24

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
(1 Thessalonians 4:17)

As the whole mind of Christ, when down here, was set on showing His delight in the Father, so now in heaven it is the whole pleasure of God's mind to show out His delight in the Christ, seated at His own right hand, as the accepted sacrifice. He wants our hearts to be filled with nothing else, and when occupied with that, no question can come in as to our perfect acceptance.

To meet the Lord in the air -- What a volume in those words! Nothing can give cheerfulness in the thought of treading a path never trod before, but the Lord Himself being there --- meeting Him there. (G.V.W. - THY PRECEPTS - V2 - P9 - As submitted by K.W. --- Tasmania)

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September 25

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: But love covereth all sins."
(Proverbs 10:12)

In 1 Peter 4:8, it is written, ". . . and above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity (love) shall cover the multitude of sins." It is not, as some have foolishly supposed, that kindliness and benevolence, on the part of one otherwise guilty before God, will atone for his transgressions, thus covering them in the day of judgment. Other's faults, not my own, I am called upon to cover. Not by indifference to evil, but by faithfully, in love and grace, showing my brother his sin, and seeking to exercise his conscience in the presence of God, that confession may be made, and thus the sin be covered. Where love is lacking, it is a common practice to play the part of a talebearer, which only tends to add to the evil; for the repeating of sin is defiling, and often leads to life-long unhappiness and misunderstandings. (H.A. IRONSIDE - NOTES ON PROVERBS)

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September 26

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort (encouragement)."
(2 Corinthians 1:3)

- Faith is never too bold to please Him. In the days of His flesh He often rebuked the reserves and suspicions of little faith, but never the strength and decision of faith that aimed as at everything and would no go without a blessing.

- Would that we knew our God as He is to be known, for His praise and our comfort! Love delights to be used. Love is wearied with ceremoniousness. . . . The intimacy of faith is according to His grace, and ceremony is but a weariness to Him.

- The hand of God can do the business of God, though it have but a sling and a stone, or the jaw bone of a donkey, or lamps and pitchers; and the Spirit of God can do the business of God with souls, though He use but a word, or a look, or a groan.

- The simpler we are, the more like children, who learn their lesson rather than discuss it . . . the more surely shall we find Him, and reach Him, and know Him.

- It is hard to believe that God is doing your business in this world. It is much easier to us to do Christ's work than to believe He has done ours. (J.G. BELLETT)

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September 27

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

An important part of praying is a willingness to become part of the answer.
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"Let another man man praise thee and not thine own mouth; a stranger and not thine own lips." (Proverbs 27:2)

You can't push yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.
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"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth!"
(James 3:5)

The tongue - being a wet spot, is very apt to slip.
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(SELECTED)

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September 28

"Behold the Man!" (John 19:5)
"Behold your king!" (John 19:14)

It is a remarkable instance of the sovereignty of God that a pagan Roman governor should be compelled to quote Scripture twice on that sad morning of the crucifixion. Little did Pilate know, when he called their attention to the lowly Man with the purple robe, and to the King with the thorn crown, that he was quoting from Zechariah 6:12 and 9:9. How true the word of that word of the psalmist, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee" (Psalm 76:19). (JIM FLANIGAN).

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Them anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah What a Saviour!
(PHILIP P. BLISS)

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September 29

"Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me . . . Go unto the vessels, and drink . . ."
(Ruth 1:20; 2:9)

Naomi felt that God had stopped the flow of blessing in her life. But the word bitterly here is expressed in the Hebrew as a "trickle" or a "drop." Instead of a fountain springing up within her, she was down to a drop-by-drop experience in her life. But Ruth responded to those drops, meager though they were, and was abundantly blessed, for when she arrived in the land of blessing, she was encouraged to drink deeply. The Gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28 asked only for the crumbs. What blessing is waiting for those who seek after God, even though they know little of Him! (L. NICHOLSON)

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September 30

"Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18)

Every so often when I walk into my office in the morning, I find a surprise on my desk. Not long ago the item was a sunflower coffee mug dropped off by a fellow employee. She had seen it in a shop and knew it would cheer up my wife - so she bought it and left it on my desk with an encouraging note.

It was my pleasure to take that gift home to my wife Sue and give it to her in the name of the woman who wanted to encourage her.

This person could have simply thought about my wife. She could have talked to someone about her in a positive way. But those things don't come close to providing the encouragement that comes from taking action.

In 1 John 3:18, John talked about what we are to do when we see others in need. He told us to have active compassion: "Let us not love in word neither, in tongue, but in deed." When we see a need, it's good to talk about it, but we must also do something about it. We are instructed: "Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).

Ask the Lord to place someone on your heart to help in Jesus' name. Then take action. Make a difference today. Send a card. Give a gift. Offer a ride. Make a call. Love in deed is love indeed. (DAVE BRANON)

Lord, when I learn that someone is hurting,
Help me know what to do and to say;
Speak to my heart and give me compassion,
Let Your great love flow through me today.
(K. DE HAAN)
____________________________________________________________
Compassion is love in action.
____________________________________________________________

(Our daily Bread, RBC Ministries, copyright (2007), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission.)

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Gems from August 2009

August 1

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
(2 Timothy 2:15)

We have been given God's inspired Word. Its work is to bring us to spiritual maturity (2 Timothy 3:17). Our responsibility is:

- To diligently study it;
- Read it the way it has been given (in its context);
- Spend time meditating on what it says;
- Compare it with the rest of Scripture.

In this way, we will "rightly divide" it so that we can apply it to ourselves and teach it to others. Such diligent working on our part will mean we will not be ashamed when we see Him - the Author of it all. (David Croudace)

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"Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way?" (Luke 24:32)

Go with me, Master, by the way,
Make every day a walk with Thee;
New glory shall the sunshine gain,
And all the clouds shall lightened be.
Go with me on life's dusty road
And help me bear the weary load.

Talk with me, Master, by the way;
The voices of the world recede,
The shadows darken o'er the land,
How poor am I, how great my need.
Speak to my heart disquieted
Till it shall lose its fear and dread.

Bide with me, Master, all the way,
Though to my blinded eyes unknown;
So shall I feel a Presence near
Where I had thought I walked alone.
And when, far spent, the days decline,
Break Thou the bread, dear Guest of mine!
(Annie Johnson Flint)

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August 2

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying,that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29)

There are words that heal and words that hurt. An article told of a little, left-handed girl who was teasingly told that left-handed people don't go to heaven. This wounded the child's sensitive spirit and took her years to overcome. James 3:11 asks, "Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" Harsh or condemning words are cruel and intimidating, whereas good words will inspire and build up. May we carefully think, before blurting careless words.

May we use our speech in an honourable way. (E. Dyck - provided by a reader B.R.)

Hurtful words oh, let them never,
From our tongues unbridled slip,
May we heed the Spirit's warning,
Set a guard at heart and lip. (Anon)

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August 3

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." (Luke 1:46,47)

Here was a spontaneous burst of praise and worship, occasioned by Mary's understanding that she was to be the mother of the Lord. Notice that both components of Mary's inner self - soul and spirit together - formed this exaltation. There is a need for both in our worship. May our soul's emotion and our spirit's understanding combine that there might be fullness in our adoration. Paul said, "I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also," (1 Corinthians 14:15).

O Lord, we know it matters not how sweet the song may be;
No heart but of the Spirit taught makes melody to Thee.

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August 4

"Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." (John 14:6)

"Without the way there is no going;
Without the truth there is no knowing;
Without the life there is no living.
I am the way which thou oughtest to follow,
The truth which thou oughtest to trust,
The life which thou oughtest to live":

The inviolable way,
The infallible truth,
The endless life.

He is the way in the practical sphere,
The truth in the intellectual sphere,
The life in the spiritual sphere:

The way out of sin, The way through life, The way home to God.

The claims implicit in the words of verse 6 are exclusive, absolute, universal; and they demonstrate the truth that Christianity is Christ.

Platonism could exist without Plato, Buddhism without Buddha, Confucianism without Confucius; But Christianity could not exist without our risen Lord.

He not only sets forth the ideal, but is Himself the dynamic Power by which alone it can be realized (Galatians 2:20). (Henry Durbanville - His Last Words)

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August 5

"None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases forever." (no payment is ever enough). (Psalm 49:7,8)

"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
(1 John 1:7)

Different Conversions

It is sweet to inspect the way in which the light of God approached and entered the soul. Sometimes it was gentle; sometimes it was full of force and rapidity; sometimes it intimated a work more fully on the heart; and sometimes a work more on the conscience or understanding. But it was always God's work, that we know, though the material operated on may have been various, and the mode of operation various.The Eunuch was evidently in the hand of God before Philip met him - he was under the drawings of the Father (John 6). And that his heart was deeply engaged is evident, because he forgot the common order, of the world, when he bid Philip come up to him in his chariot. He waited for no introduction. The stranger was no stranger, since he referred to that subject which at that moment was everything to his heart. He was another Zaccheus, who forgot his place in society, and pressed through the crowd after Jesus.

Look at Saul. He was full of religious zeal - the zeal of an inquisitor.

Look at Cornelius. He was full of religious devotion - gentle, benevolent, disposed (instead of persecuting others) to judge that all others were better than himself.

All of them equally needed Jesus. There was no life in any or for any, but through Jesus. (J.G. Bellett)

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August 6

"That the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:1-7)

In the days of John Wesley, lay preachers with limited education would sometimes conduct the church services. One man used Luke 19:21 as his text: "Lord, I feared Thee, because Thou art an austere man." Not knowing the word austere, he thought the text spoke of "an oyster man."He explained how a diver must grope in dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters. In his attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. After he obtains an oyster, he rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands." The preacher added, "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into . . . sinful human society, in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven. His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest."

Afterward, 12 men received Christ. Later that night someone came to Wesley to complain about unschooled preachers who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on. The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said, "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."

Our best may not always measure up to the standards of others. But God takes our inadequacies and humble efforts and uses them for His glory. (CINDY HESS KASPER)

The Master can use what you have to offer,
Though you may consider it small;
His work here on earth is done through His children,
So give Him your best, give your all. (HESS)

Do what you can where you are with what you have.

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(Our daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2008), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission.)

August 7

"And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." (1 Kings 19:7)

Is it not good and comforting to know that the angel of the Lord came again the second time? We never reach the place where we pass beyond the compassion of our God: His compassions fail not; they are new every morning; never tiring of us, always strong for our help.

There have been times for nearly all of us when we have felt the truth of the angel's word, "The journey is too great for thee"; but have we not always found the Bread of Life and the Water of Life ready for our sustenance? And in the strength of that meat we have gone on, and shall go, on unto the Mount of God. (Amy Carmichael - Rose From Brier)

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August 8

"I being in the way, the Lord led me. . . ." (Genesis 24:27)

Everything depends on our being in the way. God has not promised to lead and to bless us when we are in the wrong way. Sometimes the way seems long and hard and we may grow fearful that we have missed it. A traveler in the jungle said to his guide, "But there is no path, no road, no way." The guide replied, "There is no road, I am the way!" Our Lord is not the way-shower, He is THE WAY. When we abide in Him, we need no chart or compass. The Holy Spirit has come to guide us into all truth. He is the One called alongside to help. We may be perplexed at times and see not the way ahead but let us take our bearings and, if our hearts condemn us not, then let us take heart and keep going. We being in the way, He will lead us. (Vance Havner - All the Days)

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August 9

"And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)

Sandu Sundar Singh was one who had an experience similar to that of Paul. When this great Hindu saint was visiting England a modernistic professor asked him to explain what there was in Christianity that he could not find in his Hindu religion that cause him to change his faith. He answered simply, "IT WAS CHRIST!" The professor wasn't satisfied. "What teaching or doctrine is there in Christianity distinct from that of your former faith," he asked again. The Hindu saint replied, "It wasn't a teaching or a doctrine. It was THE LIVING CHRIST!" Still the professor objected, "Perhaps I haven't made my meaning clear. What is there in the philosophy of Christianity different from the philosophy of Hinduism which caused you to embrace Christianity?" "IT WAS CHRIST!" was still his answer. Not just a creed, or a doctrine, or a philosophy, but a TRANSFORMING CHRIST - crucified, risen, ascended, interceding, and coming again! Christ, divinely revealed to our hearts by the Holy Ghost - Christ in us the hope of glory! (MOUNTAIN TRAILWAYS FOR YOUTH)

"And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:28)

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August 10

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
(1 John 4:8)

When I say, "God is love," what do I mean by it? Why this, that God sent His only-begotten Son that we might have life in Him. We still carry about the old nature; but, blessed be God, many a time as Satan has caught me, he has never destroyed me; there is the propitiation, - I am inside, sheltered by the blood, and forgiven. (GLEANINGS of G.V. WIGRAM)

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August 11

"God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that that Jesus Christ is Lord."
(Philippians 2:10.11)

THINGS THAT ACCOMPANY SALVATION: SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE

Jesus spoke to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road saying, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5). Saul replied, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). Addressing Jesus as Lord at the moment of his conversion, Saul recognized His authority and manifested his own surrender, his submission to Him as Lord and Master, and his willingness to obey and serve Him.

Surrender of one's self to Christ as Saviour, and submission and obedience to Him is the very essence of Christianity - the name Christian means one who has become a follower and disciple of Christ. Therefore obedience and submission to Christ are definite things which accompany salvation and should be found in all who say they are Christians.

Have you ever thought that we are to accept Christ as our Lord, not just as our Saviour from sin and judgment? The One whom we have accepted as Saviour is also the One to whom God has given the place of Lord over all. Something is wrong if we take Christ as our Saviour to get all the benefits of His work on the cross for us and then fail to submit to Him as our Lord and Master in devoted obedience.

To accept Jesus as as Lord means to acknowledge His rights and authority over me, to surrender my will to Him, and to endeavor to please and serve Him. This is evident from the Lord's words, "Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?" (Luke 6:46). He expects us to do what He desires and His desires are plainly expressed in the Bible. (R.K. CAMPBELL)

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August 12

"They looked unto Him, and were lightened."
(Psalm 34:5)

O Lord! we would delight in Thee,
And on Thy care depend,
To Thee in every trouble flee,
Our safe unfailing Friend.

When human cisterns all are dried,
Thy fulness is the same,
May we with this be satisfied,
And glory in Thy name.
(RYLAND -1777)

Which would you rather have, a smooth path, or a path so rough that the Lord is compelled to show His face to you every step of the way?

Christ wept; but He wept as in the sight of God. . . . Let us see to it that the sorrows we have flow from Himself, and flow toward Him in God; they will be all the deeper, I am sure, but what is from God and to God is sustained by God, and so we can give thanks always for all things.

"What pleases Thee, Lord, pleases me" is a grand motto for rest and peace and quiet, and for the stopping of all repining about what we have not got.

It is a great thing for each to be . . . ready to act on and from his own responsibility, but never going beyond that which he sees to be his own duty, never acting under the light which others have. . . . I would rather act under God's measure of light vouchsafed to me, or not act, because I had none such, than be the one to carry out the mind of any man, without my being assured his mind was God's mind for me. (G.V. WIGRAM - FOOTPRINTS for PILGRIMS)

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August 13

"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (Luke 14:11)

GOD'S WAY

"The way to be master is to be servant;
The way to get up is to get down;
The way to receive is to give;
The way to be rich is to be poor;
The way to be wise is to be a fool;
The way to be exalted is to abase one's self;
The way to live is to die."
(ANON)

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August 14

"And some said, what will this babbler say? other some, he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he (Paul) preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."
(Acts 17:18)

CHANGED

Christ's resurrection:

- Changed Mary from a mourner into a messenger;
- Changed Thomas from a doubter into a believer;
- Changed Peter from a denier into a preacher, and,
- Changed Paul from a persecutor into a missionary.

The early Christians went forth preaching "Jesus, and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18). Some mocked, some procrastinated, and some believed. For those who believed, the event became a personal experience, a cleansing, life-changing, transforming experience!

From the empty tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ has flowed the a warm gulf stream of salvation which has changed the lives of millions of people. Has it changed yours? (SELECTED)

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August 15

"Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."
(John 6:37)

No limit is set to the duration of this promise. It does not merely say, "I will not cast out a sinner at his first coming," but, "I will in no wise cast out." The original reads, "I will not, not cast out," or "I will never, never cast out." The text means, that Christ will not at first reject a believer; and that as He will not do it at first, so He will not to the last.

But suppose the believer sins after coming? "If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But suppose that believers backslide? "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away from him." But believers may fall under temptation! "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." But the believer may fall into sin as David did! Yes, but He will "purge them with hyssop, and they shall be clean; He will wash them and they shall be whiter than snow;" "From all iniquities will I cleanse them."

"Once in Christ, in Christ for ever,
Nothing from His love can sever."

"I give unto My sheep," saith He, "eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." What sayest thou to this, O trembling feeble mind? Is not this a precious mercy, that coming to Christ, thou dost not come to one who will treat thee well for a little while, and then send thee about thy business, but He will receive thee and make thee His bride, and thou shalt be His for ever? Receive no longer the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby thou shalt cry, Abba, Father! Oh! the grace of these words: "I will in no wise cast out." (DAILY READINGS - C.H. SPURGEON)

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August 16

"Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."
(Job 5:7)

THE PREVALENCE OF SORROW

"Man is born to sorrow as the sparks fly upward.

- All history narrates it;
- All poetry sings of it;
- All biography confesses it;
- All experience teems with it;
- There is not one beating heart among us all that does not know it.

And mark that while righteousness brings blessedness and peace, it does not bring exemption from life's bitter trials."

So said a great preacher of the Victorian era; and the testimony of the Bible and the experience of the saints right down the centuries bear witness to the truth of his words. Philosophers may deride the third chapter of Genesis, but they cannot account for the facts of life without its aid. For that little section of the Book of God not only explains how sin came into the world, but also throws light on the sorrow which ever accompanies it (Genesis 3:16,17)

In a world which has been completely disarranged by sin, the experience of sorrow in one form or another is inevitable; that nevertheless God, Whose prerogative it is to bring good out of evil, uses it for the enrichment of the character and the deepening of the spiritual life of His people; that indeed it is an indispensable prerequisite in all who would attain to skill in comfort's art, and who would strengthen those that mourn. In other words, sorrow is common, purposeful, beneficent. (HEAVEN'S CURE FOR EARTH'S CARE)

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August 17

"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment."
(John 12:2-3)

In this passage John points out three postures of those who drew near to the Lord;
- Serving,
- Sitting, and,
- Kneeling.

The centre of attraction was Jesus, their Master and Lord. We might have thought it would be Lazarus, back from the dead, totally alive. But without their Lord's intervention there would have been no desire to;

- Serve,
- No resurrection life,
- No ability to to sit in His presence, and,
- Certainly no wish to celebrate Him in worship.

He is all in all. May we too be motivated to serve, sit and to kneel in worship at His feet. (DREW CRAIG)

More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show,
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for Me.
(HEWITT)

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August 18

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels."
(2 Thessalonians 1:7)

The enemy has, of course, no real good or blessing to hold out; but he can and and does work most effectively through fear of evil, especially where the conscience is bad or gets troubled. Therein lies his great power in awakening terror, availing himself of God's own threatened judgments on a guilty world. He may deceive the unbeliever by flattering him with false peace and false hopes; from this the believer is freed by the gospel, but if not filled with the hope of Christ, he might easily be distressed by the pressure and the variety and the continuance of affliction, especially if Satan got him under the fear that they were judicial inflictions from God on the world in which he was involved like others.

Where the heart is kept in peace and confidence before God, the mind can judge soundly. Fear unnerves the soul that is occupied with painful circumstances and throws all into confusion; for God and the word of His grace no longer guide, in the calm trust of a love that never fails, and that gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (W. KELLY - THE EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS)

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August 19

"In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
(Ephesians 1:7)

"If we walk in the light, as He is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
(1 John 1:7)

"I can never forgive myself"! Are you struggling with some past failure which cannot be changed? You have come to the Lord in brokenness and honesty, confessing that sin and, yet you still cannot forgive yourself? His blood, not your remorse, is what cleanses from sin - from all sin. Simply take God at His Word. Don't try to earn what God has already given you; rejoice in what you have in Christ - forgiveness, full and free! (DAVID CROUDACE)

This is my story, to God be the glory,
I'm only a sinner saved by grace.
(J.M. GRAY)

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August 20

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth (or displayed, or painted, or portrayed, or depicted), crucified among you?"
(Galatians 3:1)

Paul had told them the story of that terrible day at Golgotha outside the gates of Jerusalem when the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. Paul had told them that story till the Galatians saw it all. They saw the mocking, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the purple robe. They saw the holy Son of God go forth bearing His cross. They saw Him stripped of His clothes, and those cruel nails driven through His hands and feet. They saw Him hanging on the cross between two thieves and they gazed on all His agony. Then they had watched the sun darkened, and they had heard that bitter, bitter cry, "Eli, Eli, lama Sabachthani," - "My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?"

They had seen all this, even portrayed before their very eyes. They had heard it all. They had heard that cry, "It is finished." But how little had it entered into their souls! True, no living man has ever known the depths of sorrow and anguish that our Lord Jesus suffered when the Lord "laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). No eye has ever seen the load our Saviour bore in those hours of darkness and not one can ever measure the depths of bitterness in that bitter cry,"Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

But this had all been portrayed before the eyes of the Galatians. They had seen it. They knew what Paul meant when he wrote "Grace to you and peace, from . . . our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for out sins."

That is the price their sins had cost our Lord Jesus Christ - HIMSELF!.
God is satisfied with that price, but the "senseless Galatians" had forgotten that great Saviour portrayed before them, and they wanted to add their own works, circumcision, and the law, to the price that Christ had paid.
(MEDITATIONS on GALATIANS or BEAUTIFUL GRACE - G.C, WILLIS)

N.J. Hiebert - 3802

August 21

"For whosever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)

Jesus declared the second great commandment is "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." James designates this the royal law. It sums up man's responsibility to his neighbour. He who fulfills it will love all men and look with contempt on none. Therefore, to have respect to persons, preferring one above another, is to violate the letter and spirit of this sacred precept, and so to commit sin and be convicted of the law as a transgressor.

For such an one to pretend to be righteous before God was sheer folly. The law was violated already and so he had no title to expect blessing on the ground of legal obedience. It is not necessary to break every commandment of the law in order to stand condemned as a criminal in the sight of God. To offend in one point is to be guilty of all. The slightest infringement of the law indicates the self-will and insubjection of the heart. Suspend a man over a precipice by a chain of ten links; how many of these need to snap to plunge him into the abyss below? The breaking of the weakest link shatters the chain, and the man falls to his doom.
The same law which forbade adultery, prohibited murder. One need not be guilty of both to be under judgment. To violate either command marked one out as a transgressor of the law. How hopeless then the efforts of anyone to be justified on the ground of his own obedience! (H.A. IRONSIDE - NOTES ON JAMES)

N.J. Hiebert - 3803

August 22

"God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)."
(Ephesians 2:4,5)

The display of the grace in Christ did not hinder the wickedness in Judas, and the display of Judas' wickedness did not hinder the Lord's grace.

The sin of Judas was so black because it was in the presence of grace. There was a constant incessant hardening in the presence of Jesus. He took the money that grace gave the Lord, to live upon, and he went on and on till he came to that point where grace was most fully manifested. Then his wickedness comes to the highest point. Satan enteres into him; he goes and kisses Him when he had betrayed Him; he uses the familiarity grace had given him with Christ to betray Him. (BILBLE TREASURY)

N.J. Hiebert - 3804

August 23

"For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not."
(Job 33:14)

"If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."
(1 Corinthians 11:31)

Watchful Love

God always sends a testimony before the thing itself. He does not strike before He warns. It is so in His dealings with with us every day. What Christian has a chastening upon him before he is admonished of the Spirit of God? There is always a sense of wrong, and a lack of communion sensible to the spirit before the Lord inflicts the blow which tells of His watchful love over our careless ways. He gives the opportunity, if one may say so, of setting ourselves morally right; and if we do not heed the teaching, then comes the sorrow. (SELECTED - TCNL)

N.J. Hiebert - 3805

August 24

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15,16)

When Christ had gone into heaven, the way of approach for us was made through the rent veil of His flesh, and He made His throne a throne of mercy. If free to approach boldly, is it anything in self that gives you liberty? No; it comes forth from Him, through the blood sprinkled there. You could not have right to say, even, "God be merciful to me a sinner," unless you knew the blood to be there. In no other way could you have got into a place where the light is never eclipsed, having always boldness there, in virtue of the rent veil. (GLEANINGS FROM the TEACHING of G.V. WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert - 3806

August 25

"But they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified."
(John 19:15,16)

Pilate, the people, and the Lord - these are the three parties actively or passively involved in the diabolical actions of these hours. Pilate, the Roman governor, the Gentile, was at least partly aware of the seriousness of this moment; he would never have taken so much trouble to speak for the Lord and defend Him before the people if he had not been spell bound by this divine Person. Still, he loved honour and human favour; so, as long as there was still time, his heart did not reach a decision. To him particularly the words of the Lord apply: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). Pilate had offered up the Lord and his own soul for the favour of Caesar, but after only a few short years, this favour too was gone.*** (FRITZ VON KIETZELL - BEHOLD the LAMB of GOD)

*** According to history, in the year 36 A.D., six years after the Lord's crucifixion, Pilate fell into disgrace with Caesar; his life ended in suicide or execution.

N.J Hiebert - 3807

August 26

"The last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink."
(John 7:37)

"Severe water shortages affecting 400 million people today will affect 4 billion in 2050," warns a UN report issued in 2003. This alarming statistic regarding the shortage of physical water is of deep concern. How thankful we should be for Jesus' words about the "Water of Life." There is an abundance of it available today for the spiritually thirsty who realize they can only be satisfied by the One who said, "Come unto me and drink." Will you come for a soul-satisfying drink of the everlasting Water of Life today? (A.P. MCINTEE)

Is the wilderness before thee?
Desert land where drought abides?
Heavenly springs shall there restore thee,
Fresh from God's exhaustless tides.
(J.N. DARBY)

N.J. Hiebert - 3808

August 27

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell."
(James 3:6)

This little member, the tongue, is likened to a fire which, though small in the beginning, proves devastatingly ruinous as its results spread far and wide. A word has tremendous power for good or ill.

All species and varieties of birds and beasts, even slimy serpents and creatures of the sea, have been tamed by patient handling and attention. But no man can tame his own tongue. It is an irrepressible rebel, an insubject and wicked malefactor, capable of stirring men to every kind of iniquity, and "full of deadly poison." We speak of a scandal-monger as having a serpent tongue, and the simile is in full accordance with the damage such an evil speaker inflicts. The amazing thing is that even after one has been brought to know the Lord, he still finds he has trouble with his tongue. This is because of the fact that the believer has two natures: the old, corrupt nature inherited from the first Adam, the head of the old creation; and the new and holy nature received from the Last Adam, the head of the new creation.

Such is the power of the old nature that unless there is constant watchfulness and unceasing identification by faith with Christ in His death to sin, it will manifest itself through the tongue long after other evil propensities have been brought into subjection through the power of the cross as applied to the flesh.
(H.A. IRONSIDE - NOTES ON JAMES)

N.J. Hiebert - 3809

August 28

"Christ is all and in all." (Colossians 3:11)

True service is love in work clothes.

To gain self control, give Christ control!

Our love has limits but God's love is boundless.

Contentment is realizing that God has already given me all I need.

Attachment to Christ is the secret of detachment from the world.

Confession is the soil in which forgiveness flourishes.

(SOME THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER - R.K.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3810

August 29

"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1)

D.L. Moody said one of the greatest mistakes he ever made occurred October 8, 1871. On that night he addressed the largest crowd he had ever spoken to in Chicago. His message dealt with the trial of Jesus in Pilate's hall, and was based on the text, "What then shall I do with Jesus?" He concluded his sermon by saying, "I wish you would take this text home with you and seriously consider it, and next Sunday we will speak on the cross, and we will decide what we should do with Jesus." Speaking of this incident later, Moody called it a tragic error and "one of the greatest mistakes of my life; for I never saw that congregation again." When the sermon was finished, he asked Mr. Sankey to sing, "Today the Saviour Calls." Almost prophetically the third verse ran:

"Today the Saviour calls; for refuge fly;
The storm of justice falls and death is nigh."

It was the last song sung in that hall, for even as Sankey sang, his voice was drowned out by the clanging of fire engine bells in the street. It was the night of the great Chicago fire, in which Mr. Moody's hall was left in ashes and in which one thousand perished, some of them undoubtedly from that audience. Moody said he learned the lesson, "When preaching Christ, press for an immediate and definite decision." He explained, "I would rather lose my right hand than ever again give an audience a week or a day to decide for Christ." (SELECTED)

Don't put off till tomorrow what you should do today.

"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance; but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination."
(AUGUSTINE)

N.J. Hiebert - 3811

August 30

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort."
(2 Corinthians 1:3)

In one of his letters, Adolph Monod tells how he found in his hardest moments that it was enough to take firm hold on a single promise. It sustained him in the sorest difficulties. He loved the words Father of Compassions, as 2 Corinthians 1:3 has it in French.

When one is in great pain or trouble, or caught suddenly by fierce temptation, it is the word of strength or comfort that is set deep in the memory that takes life. It speaks in a new tone, and becomes to us at that moment more than we could have ever believed it would be. John 14:26 explains this: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever, I have said unto you."

So let us fill the storehouse of our mind with the treasure of God's word. Every day offers opportunities. When we go to bed tonight, let us think, "What treasure did I put in my storehouse today?" (AMY CARMICHAEL - WHISPERS OF HIS POWER)

N.J. Hiebert - 3812

August 31

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
(Hebrews 2:9)

But We See Jesus

I don't look back, God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets,
I leave them all with Him who blots the record,
And mercifully forgives, and then forgets.

I don't look forward, God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face with me its every trial,
And bear for me the burdens that may come.

But I look up - into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled,
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.
(FLINT'S BEST-LOVED POEMS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3813

"The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
(1 Corinthians 2:10)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139:23,24)

If there is a corner of my heart that Christ has not searched down to the very bottom, I am undone. Would I have a blind Christ, one whom I should not like to search out every part of my heart? Ah! I would rather have Christ pointing out everything, than friends praising. I adore God that gave Him to me. Who am I, that my Lord should so condescend to search me? And where there is evil in me, that is just where God lets His streams flow into me. He sees everything that hinders and chokes - would I stay His hand? (GLEANINGS of G.V. WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert - 3814

Gems from July 2009

July 1

"Let us (Christians) draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)

An evil conscience is the result of persistence in sin. If men continue to defile themselves, the time will come when the conscience becomes thoroughly evil, and sin is no longer dreaded.

When we come to Christ our hearts are sprinkled from an evil conscience. If men do not come to Him but insist on sinning against the light and refusing to heed the invitation which God has extended to all men to turn to Him in repentance and be saved, then eventually the conscience ceases to be active: it becomes seared.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their consciences seared with a hot iron."
(1 Timothy 4:1,2)

This is most solemn. Sin hardens. The conscience becomes like flesh which has been seared with a hot iron; it no longer responds; it can no longer be depended upon. In this state men may commit the most wicked and abominable things, and apparently there is not the least exercise of conscience. It is because they have gone so far in disobeying that which they knew to be right that they no longer have any concern whatever. They are given up to a seared conscience and a reprobate mind, and with that goes utter hardness of heart. But if men are willing to turn to God; if they realize they have an evil conscience, and they long for a pure and a cleansed conscience, they may obtain it through the work of the cross. (HARRY A. IRONSIDE)

N.J. Hiebert # 3752

July 2

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling."
(2 Timothy 1:9)

Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as persons who are in a hopeful state, and may ultimately be saved, but they are already saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon the dying bed, and to be sung of in a future state above, but a matter to be obtained, received, promised and enjoyed now. The Christian is perfectly saved in God's purpose: God has ordained him unto salvation, and that purpose is complete. He is saved also as to the price which has been paid for him; "It is finished" was the cry of the Saviour before He died. . . .

Salvation must be of grace, because the Lord is the author of it: and what motive but grace could move Him to save the guilty? Salvation must be of grace, because the Lord works in such a manner that our righteousness is for ever excluded. Such is the believer's privilege - a present salvation; such is the evidence that he is called to it - - a holy life. (C.H. SPURGEON - MORNING & EVENING DAILY READINGS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3753

July 3

"We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Not merely in the words you say,
Not only in you deeds confessed,
But in the most unconscious way
Is Christ expressed.

Is it a beatific smile?
A holy light upon your brow?
Oh, no: I felt His presence while
You laughed just now.

For me 'twas not the truth you taught,
To you so clear, to me still dim;
But when you came to me, you brought
A sense of Him.

And from your eyes He beckons me,
And from your heart His love is shed,
Till I lose sight of you and see,
The Christ instead.

(WINSOME CHRISTIANITY)

N.J. Hiebert # 3754

July 4

"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I (Jesus) have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Cheerful Confidence

The word means "take heart", "be confident". It is both an exhortation and a promise. The word has been reserved to the last moment. Jesus spoke nothing prematurely. Only when the end comes, does He conclude His teaching in the flesh with a final saying, which might breathe courage and confidence into the disciples whom He leaves, and into those who, in all generations, should believe on Him through their testimony. So it is provided that the last word of the last discourse shall sound the note of victory for ever: "Be of Good Cheer; I have Overcome the World." (H.D. - HIS LAST WORDS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3755

July 5

"As in Adam all die . . ." (1 Corinthians 15:22)

"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin . . . by one man's offense death reigned . . . " (Romans 5:12,17)

We see how sin entered the world, because of the open rebellion by disobedience of the first of the race. Now comes the very important question. How was sin transmitted from generation to generation until it reached its present situation in the world to-day? The Word of God gives us definite information about this matter. God tells us that sin entered into the world by Adam. He also declares that sin entered the race because of Adam's sin. Some have attempted to argue that it was not just for God to call one man to account for the sins of another. Let no man mistake the facts. We are sinners by choice, every one of us, and there would be enough in that alone to hold us accountable before the bar of perfect of justice and to condemn us as guilty.

But God does not deal with symptoms; He deals with the real causes. He knows, and has declared, that men are not sinners merely because they sin, but that they sin because they are sinners.

God looks at the problem from a perspective quite different from that which must of necessity control man's viewpoint. In man's way of looking at things, one is not a thief until he has stolen; one is not a murderer until he has killed. God sees the heart and knows how the natural law of inheritance has operated so that we inherit two arms instead of one and one head instead of two. The same laws hold good in the spiritual realm, and the very nature of sin comes down the race from generation to generation.

He knows and has told us that a man steals because he has a heart with the roots of of sin. He knows and has told us that a man kills because he has a heart with the roots of sin. In some cases through those restrictions that society and environments build around an individual some of these fruits of sin are not seen, but the roots are there nevertheless. If you are honest with yourself you must admit that you have within you the possibilities of every kind of lawlessness. (DONALD GREY BARNHOUSE - HAPPY THOUGH POOR)

N.J. Hiebert # 3756

July 6

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be comparedwith the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

Settle this in your minds so that you will not have to settle it again; there is no promise of ease for any soldier on any field. Search the New Testament; you will not find one such promise. It is made quite clear that things are not going to be made easy. So to be surprised and troubled when they are difficult is foolish and unreasonable too. Why is there so much inward stress, sometimes sharp trial, or what the New Testament calls tribulation? We are not told; but we are told that there will be this sort of thing, and that it is "not worthy to be compared with the glory" -- not worthy to be compared. (AMY CARMICHAEL - EDGES OF HIS WAYS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3757

July 7

"Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives." (Acts 27:10)

The ship in which you take the journey of life is carrying precious lading (cargo). Think of that cargo as being those things which your loving God and Father, who delights to bless, has entrusted to you - faith, hope, love, purity of mind and body . . . oh! such precious cargo! But if you disregard the warnings of God's Word through His servants, all of this cargo may be lost in the coming storms of life. The sad results of a course of self-willed disregard for God's Word can very likely cause you to lose your physical purity, mental abilities - can even overthrow your faith, cause your love to grow cold, or extinguish the bright hope which properly belongs to a believer. Though it is certainly true that a real believer can never lose his (or her) eternal salvation, what a terrible price to pay for self will! Listen to the loving warnings God has graciously given, no matter what vessel (person or manner) He uses to send them to you. (THE JOURNEY OF LIFE - DOUG NICOLET)

N.J. Hiebert # 3758

July 8

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My (Jesus) word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not comeinto condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. . . . the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live."
(John 5:24,25)

Mordecai Ham used to say that the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 was God's object lesson to America, but we never learned it. Many ships have gone down, but that this "unsinkable" masterpiece of ship building should go down on its first trip and that simply by encountering a massive hunk of ice, still seems uncanny - not just an accident but an event accompanied by strange and sinister circumstances that allow no explanation.

We are living in an hour when we seem to be on a toboggan slide out of control, worshipers of ourselves in the putridity of this age of humanism. "Judgment Day" and "end of the world" have disappeared from our vocabulary. The remedies for the world's troubles proposed by experts are pitiful. Recently I heard the observation that the remedies offered for our malignancy are about as sensible as changing the chairs on the deck of a sinking Titanic!

One day each man has to face death whether he likes it or not, unless he has accepted God's offer of salvation through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The Scriptures envision judgment day and heaven and hell. We have a date with destiny and an appointment with the Almighty. Every person has such an hour in God's book whether he has noted it or not. We are nearing that time. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
Any effort to arrange for eternal life otherwise is like changing deck chairs on a sinking Titanic. (VANCE HAVNER - DON'T MISS YOUR MIRACLE)

N.J. Hiebert # 3759

July 9

"And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee." (Psalm 39:7)

This is a searching question for the heart; but it is oft-times a most salutary (beneficial) one, inasmuch as we may constantly detect ourselves in an attitude of waiting for things which, when they come, prove not to be worth waiting for. The human heart is very much like the poor lame man at the gate of the temple, in Acts 3. He was looking at every passer by, "expecting to receive something"; and the heart will ever be looking for some relief, some comfort, or some enjoyment in passing circumstances. It may ever and anon be found sitting by the side of some creature stream, vainly expecting that some refreshment will flow along its channel. It is amazing to think of the trifles on which nature will, at times, fix its expectant gaze,

- A change of circumstances.
- Change of scene.
- Change of air.
- A journey.
- A visit.
- A letter.
- A book.

Anything, in short, is sufficient to raise expectations in a poor heart which is not finding its center, its spring, its all, in Christ. Hence the practical importance of frequently searching our hearts with the question "What wait I for?" Doubtless the true answer to this enquiry would, at times, furnish the most advanced Christian with matter for deep humiliation and self judgment before the Lord. (CHRISTIAN TRUTH - VOL. 21 - MARCH 1968)

N.J. Hiebert # 3760

July 10

"Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me,and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."
(Jeremiah 29:12-13)

What a precious promise these verses contain: "You pray, and I will hearken; you seek, and you will find Me." But we must notice the phrase, "For ye shall search for Me with all your heart." The lips can often say very much while the heart is somewhere else completely. The Lord has said of Israel before through Isaiah: "This people draw near with their mouth . . . but their heart is removed far from Me" (Isaiah 29:13). True prayer must come from the heart. One of the reasons the Lord allows us to go through difficulties is to learn how to pray to Him from the heart. We see often in God's Word that when people go through severe trials they cry to the Lord and He hears them; this crying to the Lord is a prayer truly from the heart.

But the heart also must be searched before it can pray. We read in Psalm 66:18, "Had I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear."To pray from the heart and to have a cleansed heart are two "musts" before we can expect answers to our prayers. So we read in Hebrews 10:19,22, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesu . . . let us draw near with a true heart . . . having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience."

Thus we must learn to pray with perseverance, and to pray from clean hearts with a true sense of need. it is only then that we may expect answers to our prayers . (A.M. BEHNAM)

Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Saviour, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free. (J.E. ORR)

N.J. Hiebert # 3761

July 11

"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35)

An interesting study reports that only 15% of one's success at work depends on job knowledge and technical skill. It goes on to say that 85% of a person's success at work is determined by his attitude and ability to relate to others. There is a spiritual lesson in this for us all. Christian fruitfulness depends not only on what we believe, but also on how we live it out.In the upper room the Lord Jesus instructed His disciples at least five time s to love one another. He told them this would mark them as His disciples. True Christian love is not a feeling that comes and goes. It is an act of the will. It should be the motivation of our daily lives. The instruction to love one another is given at least sixteen times in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus said that all the law and Prophets hang on two commandments: Loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Romans 13:8 instructs us to "Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Genuine love should be the controlling principle in every Christian's life.

Loving one another is not only the law of Christ, but is also something that God Himself teaches us (1 Thessalonians 4:9). His love toward us has been demonstrated when He gave his only-begotten Son while we were still in rebellion against Him (Romans 5:8). His love has now been poured out into the heart of every believer (Romans 5:5). God is love, and since He has shed His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit we too ought to love one another. In fact, love is evidence that the Spirit of God is at work in and through us. May loving one another mark each of us today! (T.P. HADLEY)

N.J. Hiebert # 3762

July 12

"Feed (shepherd) the flock of God which is among you."
(1 Peter 5:2)

One of the main thoughts in relation to shepherding is that of feeding. This is why the verb "shepherd" is often translated "feed." We learn some very important lessons from this. First of all, no one will feed others if he himself is starving. One must first be well nourished with the Word of God in order to be of help to others. The flock of God has suffered much throughout history because of "shepherds" who themselves were badly nourished. A shepherd must also be familiar with the pastures in order to lead the flock to them. David was very happy because his Shepherd made him to lie down in green pastures and led him beside still waters.

Then shepherding also involves restoring the sheep that go astray. There is a natural tendency with sheep to go astray. Isaiah said: "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way." And Peter said: "For ye were as sheep going astray but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (overseer) of your souls." (1 Peter 2:25) But most beautiful of all are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "What man of you having an hundred sheep, if he loose one of them, doth not . . . go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when He hath found it, He layeth it on His shoulders, rejoicing." (Luke 15:3,4)

Shepherding then requires concern, compassion, and commitment. It requires love for the sheep in spite of their tendency to wander away from the right path. David was a shepherd and knew much about sheep. But he also knew about himself as a sheep among the flock of God, and thus spoke of his Shepherd and said: "He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." May we learn lessons from our Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. (A.M BEHNAM)

N.J. Hiebert # 3763

July 13

"If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:23)

We have in this portion two things, the proof of love first, in having and keeping our Lord's commandments; and next, in keeping His words. . . . the more we weigh the words, the more evident and all-important is their truth. It is clear our Lord was not speaking here simply of what is moral, or the ten commandments. A man might be found most rigorous in that, like Saul of Tarsus, and yet not have a particle of love to Christ. . . .

This touches upon what is more closely personal. We know that in ordinary life if there is any one we care for or love in a special way, a word from such a one will have immense weight on the spirit. Where there is love, there is amazing quickness in knowing what the will is, what the desire is, - and bearing it in mind. But on the other hand if there is frivolity of spirit, there will be carelessness and forgetfulness of what is desired; and this is true of us with the Lord. . .

Love to Christ will make us delight in His commandments. Confidence in His love will make us not afraid of examining them; but on the contrary search into them as a light to our path. But that is not enough. (John 14:21) In the keeping of His commandments, there will be further manifestations of the Lord to the soul. It is only as we walk in obedience that there is communion with the Lord. . . . Then you get the fullness of love in return. "I will manifest Myself unto Him." Not only My will, but "Myself." . . .

He looks for love. Warm expressions are not enough - they may not always be trusted - maybe rather a proof of want of reverence. But He looks for our love. And suppose the soul does love, how will it show itself? Will there not be the desire to ponder every word, in whatever way the Lord Jesus shows His will? Will there not be delight to be near Him, His love filling our hearts? (The Bible Treasury - W.F.B.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3764

July 14

"I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known:I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." (Isaiah 42:16)

What a thought for me, a poor vessel carrying the incorruptible seed, that Christ is watching to lift me over every difficulty, to enable me to overcome. The only way to be an overcomer is just to have faith in that Christ of God. God can trust Christ to get us over all difficulties and extremities. God is using the wilderness as the place where every step leaves traces of His mercies. The whole place recalls to God the way He led each believer on to His paradise; the very difficulties being an occasion of nearer association with His Christ.
(GLEANINGS of G.V. WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert # 3765

July 15

"Then they said one to another, we do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace." (2 Kings 7:9)

Four starving lepers (2 Kings 7:3-11) who had just found food, raiment, and riches in abundance, reminded themselves that others were also starving all around them: "This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace." So, they spread this good news to others. God's people have even greater news to tell; how perishing sinners can have His gift of eternal life. If we keep silence, then truly we do not well. May God give us grace to open our mouths today. (R.J. STEELE)

"Freely ye have received, so give,"
He bade, who hath given us all.
How shall the soul in us longer live,
deaf to their starving call ? (A. ALEXANDER)

N.J. Hiebert # 3766

July 16


July 17

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38,39)

When the apostle Paul wrote that nothing shall separate us from the love of God - "neither trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword" -- he was referring to struggles that were dangerously real to him and the people to whom he was writing. And he said we are more than conquerors in the midst of such hardship, not because it isn't all that painful or because God will remove it form us, but because none of these things can take away our relationship with God in Jesus Christ. His love is more enduring than famine or suffering. It is stronger than death, as unyielding as the grave. How do we put this in to words without trembling?

In the midst of a despair greater than most have know, one hymnist made an attempt. In fear and trembling, he prayed:

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

When I find myself stumbling over words to describe the hope I profess, I am broken again by the mystery of it and my frequent misplacing of it. I have been stopped by my loss of its realness, my overlooking of the immensity of Christ, the immovability of His love, the assurance of truth as a person. In the silence of my tangled thoughts, the one behind the creeds I profess bids me again to follow.

- He has died;
- He has risen;
- He is coming again.
(A SlLICE of INFINITY)

N.J. Hiebert # 3768

July 18

Perfect Love . . . Is it Mine?

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matthew 7:12)

Slow to suspect Quick to trust
Slow to condemn Quick to justify
Slow to offend Quick to defend
Slow to expose Quick to shield
Slow to reprimand Quick to forbear
Slow to belittle Quick to appreciate
Slow to demand Quick to give
Slow to provoke Quick to soothe
Slow to hinder Quick to help
Slow to resent Quick to forgive
(SELECTED)

N.J. Hiebert # 3769

July 19

"So are ye in Mine hand." (Jeremiah 18:6)

Ole Bull, the world's most noted violinist, was ever wandering about. One day he became lost in the interminable forests. In the dark of the night he stumbled against a log hut, the home of a hermit. The old man took him in, fed and warmed him; after the supper they sat in front of a blazing fireplace, and the old hermit picked some crude tunes on his screechy, battered violin. Ole Bull said to the hermit, "Do you think I could play on that?" "I don't think so; It took me years to learn," the old hermit replied. Ole Bull said, "Let me try it."

He took the old marred violin and drew the bow across the strings, and suddenly the hermit's hut was filled with music divine; and, according to the story, the hermit sobbed like a child.
We are battered instruments; life's strings have been snapped; life's bow has been bent. Yet, if we will only let Him take us and touch us, from this old battered, broken, shattered, marred instrument, He will bring forth music fit for the angels. (SPRINGS in the VALLEY)

I never knew the old, brown violin,
That was so long in some dark corner thrust,
It strings broken or loose, its pegs run down,
Could ever be of use again. The dust
Of years lay on its shabby case, until
One day a Master took the instrument,
And with caressing fingers touched the wood,
Adjusted pegs and strings; his mind intent
On making music as he drew his bow.
Then from the violin, long silent, sprang
Once more arpeggios, runs, trills.
The wood Quivered, leapt into life, and joyous sang.

I now believe that any broken life,
Jangling with discords, unadjusted, tossed
In some far corner, wasted, thrown aside,
Can yet be of some use; need not be lost
From Heaven's orchestra. A Master's Hand
Scarred with old wounds, can mend the broken thing
If yielded to Him wholly; and can make
The dumb life speak again, and joyous sing
In praise of One who gave His life that none Need perish.
And this message, glad, most blest,I now believe; for placing in His Hand My life, I find my world is now at rest. (Dorothy M. Barter - Snow)

N.J. Hiebert # 3770

July 20

"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus . . ." (John 12:3)

The Cost of Following God

It cost Abraham the willingness to yield his only son.
It cost Esther the risk of her life.
It cost Daniel being cast into the den of lions.
It cost Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being put in a fiery furnace.
It cost Stephen death by stoning. It cost Peter a martyr's death.
It cost Jesus His life.

Does it cost you anything? (SELECTED)

N.J. Hiebert # 3771

July 21

"A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side . . . some fell upon a rock . . . some fell among thorns . . . other fell on good ground . . ." (Luke 8:4-8)

The seed is sown indiscriminately, and although man rejects it because his will is opposed, nevertheless it is sown in his heart, for this parable shows how the Word of God is perfectly adapted to the need of man, meeting his conscience and heart. "Never man spake like this Man" (John 7:46). Christ's Word came with a power that reached the heart and affections; the will is corrupt, and therefore resists it. It is not abstract grace here, but the condition of man that is recognized, therefore we find the Word so perfectly suited to the need, not claiming righteousness from man, but coming in with power to show him that he is a sinner, and laying open the thoughts and intents of the heart. When the heart is thus detected the Word comes with all gentleness and comfort for healing and rest, because there is grace to meet a soul in whatever state it may be found. The heart is spoken to, and therefore the Gospel leaves man without excuse. (J.N. DARBY - THE MAN of SORROWS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3772

July 22

"Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

A dead and risen Christ is the groundwork of salvation. To see Jesus by the eye of faith nailed to the cross, and seated on the throne, must give solid peace to the conscience, and perfect liberty to the heart.We can look into the tomb and see it empty; we can look up to the throne and see it occupied, and go on our way rejoicing. The Lord Jesus settled everything on the cross on behalf of His people; and the proof of this settlement is that He is now at the right hand of God. A risen Christ is the eternal proof of an accomplished redemption; and if redemption is an accomplished fact, the believer's peace is a settled reality. (C.H. MACINTOSH)

N.J. Hiebert # 3773

July 23

"The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11)

Remember, if we are in entire dependance, the temptation does not meet us at all. Jesus does not say, "Shall I not go through all these trails?" but "The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" He does not see Pilate or Judas or Satan, but His Father. When the trial actually comes, it is already gone through with God. He presents Himself before them - His captors - saying, "Whom seek ye?" (John 18:7) as calmly as if going to work a miracle. (SELECTED)

N.J. Hiebert # 3774

July 24

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:5,6)

We can never be too careful
What the seed our hands shall sow;
Love from love is sure to ripen,
Hate from hate is sure to grow.
Seeds of good or ill we scatter
Heedlessly along our way;
But a glad or grievous fruitage
Waits us at the harvest day. (ANON)

N.J. Hiebert # 3775

July 25

"Much people of the Jews therefore knew that He was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also,whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus." (John 12:9-11)

Today we are in danger of putting the emphasis on guarding the truth, but down playing living the truth. One of the best ways to guard the truth is to put it into practice. It is good to be defenders of the faith, but we must not forget to be demonstrators of the faith. Lazarus did not have to give lectures on the resurrection. People had only to look at him and they believed. (THE CHRISTIAN NEWSLETTER)

N.J. Hiebert # 3776

July 26

"The word of the Lord came unto Jonah, saying, Arise go to Nineveh . . . but Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish . . ." (Jonah 1:1-3)

Jonah was commissioned to go with a message to Nineveh, but instead of going east across the desert, he fled westward to the seacoast and there boarded a ship going farther west. At the seaport of Joppa he found everything convenient; a ship was there ready to sail; and so sometimes our enemy makes things very convenient for us to go in the wrong direction and even gets us to plead that circumstances indicated we should do this or that instead of obeying the Lord. (CHRISTIAN TRUTH - VOL. 21 - DECEMBER 1968)

N.J. Hiebert # 3777

July 27

"If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13)
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

The Word of God is "living" and "abiding." It has ever an unchanged freshness and living power for the heart of the Christian. This must be so, for it reveals:

- God in all His infiniteness,
- His love,
- His grace,
- His near and blessed relationship as Father.

It gives us, by inspiration, the life, the very words of Jesus Himself, Who, as the living Word, tabernacled (dwelt) among men, full of grace and truth. (F.G.B.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3778


July 28

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

"Tempted in all points" means of course that appeals were made to Him by Satan from the three standpoints whereby alone any of us can be tempted: " . . . the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." Tempted on these three points, Eve capitulated completely.

"She saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food" - the appeal to the lust of the flesh;
"It was pleasant to the eye" - the appeal to the lust of the eye;
"and a tree to be desired to make one wise" - the appeal to the pride of life.

She failed on every point. To our Lord in the wilderness the same appeals were made.
"make these stones bread" - an appeal to fleshly desire;
"he showed Him all the kingdoms of earth in a moment of time" - the lust of the eye;

then in the suggestion that our Lord should cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to be borne up by angels before the wondering eyes of the populace, we have the appeal to the pride of life. But He met every suggestion of evil by the Word of God. And now as the enthroned Conqueror, He sits exalted on the right hand of the Majesty on high, interceding for us, and we are bidden to come boldly unto the throne of grace there to obtain mercy because of failure, and find suited grace for seasonable help when exposed to temptation. (H.A. Ironside)

N.J. Hiebert # 3779

July 29

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." (Ephesians 4:15)

A Christian once said to John Wesley, "My talent is to speak my mind." "Well, brother," replied the great preacher, "The Lord would not mind if you buried that talent." "Speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) is much better. (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert # 3780

July 30

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)

Whenever the subject of blame or fault comes about in any sector of life, whether economic, societal, or individual, scapegoating is a far more common reaction than confessing. Most of us are most comfortable when blame is placed as far away from us as possible. Even the word "confession," the definition of which is concerned with owning a fault or belief, is now often associated with the sins of others, which an outspoken soul happens to be willing to share with the world. Responding to the question of a newspaper seeking opinions, G.K.C. answered the question, "What's wrong with the world?" in one sentence. "Dear Sirs," he replied, "I am." In our confessions of dark realities, can our own hearts really be excluded? It was with visions of war and brokenness around him that David prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." This is the cry of humanity's best confession. (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert # 3781

July 31

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
(2 Timothy 2:15)

We have been given God's inspired Word. Its work is to bring us to spiritual maturity (2 Timothy 3:17). Our responsibility is:

- To diligently study it;
- Read it the way it has been given (in its context);
- Spend time meditating on what it says;
- Compare it with the rest of Scripture.

In this way, we will "rightly divide" it so that we can apply it to ourselves and teach it to others. Such diligent working on our part will mean we will not be ashamed when we see Him - the Author of it all. (David Croudace)

N.J. Hiebert # 3782

Gems from June 2009

May 31

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise." (Proverbs 12:15)

A man with a fallen nature and in a fallen world to confide in himself is to play the fool. God is not in any of his thoughts. He is sure he needs no advice; he is right in his own eyes. What can his eyes do but help him to judge according to sight, which the Lord contrasts with judging righteous judgment? and what so dangerous as every question of self? For there is nothing a man dislikes more than thinking ill of himself, unless it is of believing good of God. Truly the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. He that is wise distrusts himself and hearkens to counsel; nor does he cheat God and his conscience by seeking counsel of the weak and easy-going, but of the godly. (William Kelly - The Proverbs)

N.J. Hiebert # 3721

June 1

"Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, 'PEACE BE UNTO YOU'. And when He had so said, He showed unto them His hands and His side." (John 20:19, 20)

The billows had rolled over Him; the storm had exhausted itself upon Him; the sword had found its sheath in His bosom, when, risen out of the grave, He announced, "PEACE" - peace established in resurrection power, peace eternally secure. And having proclaimed peace, Jesus showed the divine evidence of it: His hands and His side. He bade His disciples look upon Himself. We behold Jesus risen from the dead, and see in His once wounded hands and feet and side the evidence that our sins have been borne, and that the justice of God has raised the Sin-bearer from among the dead. There is no other evidence of peace having been made like the Person of Him who made it. (H.F. Witherby)

N.J. Hiebert # 3722

June 2

"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth . . . all things were created by Him, and for Him." (Colossians 1:16)

I was tired and sat down under the shadows of the great pines in a Swedish forest, glad to find such a cool retreat from the broiling sun. I had not been there long before I noticed a fragrant odour and wondered what it could be and where it came from. No, Marechal Niel rose grew on that barren soil, nor could the sun penetrate the shades of the forest to extract its perfume even if it had; I looked around, and found by my side a tiny flower about half the size of an ordinary daisy, nearly hidden from view by the moss. It was the little "Linea blomma." Oh, how fragrant it smelled. Again and again I held it near my face, enjoying the perfume, and then I looked up and thanked God for that tiny flower, so insignificant, growing in a wild, almost untrodden forest, yet bringing cheer and refreshment to me. I thought, why is it so obscure, when it is a flower with such fragrance, and surely worthy of a place in the most stately grounds? I learned a lesson by it, and it spoke powerfully to my heart. I thought, If I cannot be a pine in God's forest, I may be a tiny flower to sendforth the fragrance of Jesus in this world of sadness. (Traveling Toward Sunrise)

N.J. Hiebert # 3723

June 3

"Neither give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:27)

We must realize that temptation is not sin. Christ Himself was tempted, yet He did not sin. So temptations will be our lot, but they do not make us sin. It is the yielding to temptation that is sin.

Was it not Luther who said: "I cannot keep the birds from flying around my head, but by the grace of God I can keep them from making their nests in my hair?" We are told that we are not to give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). So Satan will attack us, but God has made provision for our defense.

We have seen the nature of temptation when it is sent to the unbeliever. It is anything that will keep him from the cross of Jesus Christ. What about the temptations that come to a believer? For the fact that we have accepted Christ as our Saviour does not mean that our old nature has been removed. The Christian is just as subject to temptation after he has been born again as he was before. In fact he will find that temptation is much greater after he has believed, but that the temptation takes on new and different aspects.

A Christian is not a person from whom the possibility of sin has been removed but a person from whom the penalty of sin has been removed. This is a judicial act on the part of God and of this the Christian is the object. At the same moment that the penalty of sin is removed judicially, there is credited to the account of the believer a righteousness that is perfect - God's own righteousness. Now the struggle in the life of the Christian really begins. In Simon God has planted the Apostle Peter; with Jacob the swindler comes to dwell Israel, prince with God. The Apostle Paul must live with Saul. Two natures, utterly foreign to each other from source to destiny, are together in the same body until our life becomes a battlefield. The fleshly nature of man, which, we have seen to be Satan's enemy in the unsaved, becomes Satan's ally in the Christian. (Donald Grey Barnhouse - Happy Though Poor)

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

N.J. Hiebert # 3724

June 4

"Sir, we would see Jesus." (John 12:21)

I have six honest serving men; they taught me all I know,Their names are what and where and when; and how and why and who.

WHAT: "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30)
WHERE: "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9)
WHEN: "Now is the accepted time: behold now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
HOW: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31)
WHY: "The wicked shall be turned into hell." (Psalm 9:17)

WHO: "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17) (Submitted by a reader, T.R.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3725

June 5

A GIFT TO BE RECEIVED

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

The great Scottish minister W.G. Scroggie once said that the heart of the Bible is the New Testament, the book of John its center, and the third chapter its vital pulse. "In other words," concluded Scroggie, "John 3:16 is the heart of the heart of the heart of the gospel." Peter Mackenzie, a preacher of a generation ago said, "There are two striking things about this text: When God loves, He loves a world. When He gives, He gives the best that heaven has - His Son." What remains, therefore, is for sinful man to receive Jesus Christ as his Saviour, the greatest of all gifts.

Dr. Walter L. Wilson told of using John 3:16 to lead a boy to the Lord. Quoting the verse, he stressed the word "gave," and explained that the Lord was offering him salvation, full and free. Then he asked him pointedly, "Does the giving of the gift make it yours?" "Well, no. I suppose you must take it." "Exactly," said Wilson. "Look at it this way. I'm not your doctor, am I?" "No," said the boy. "Why not?" asked Wilson. "Because I didn't ask you to be." "That's right! The same thing is true of Christ. He is not your Saviour unless you ask Him to be. Wouldn't you like to do that right now?" Bowing his head, the boy invited the Lord Jesus into his heart. Dr. Wilson then opened the Scriptures, and explaining several passages, he led him to the full assurance of salvation.

The Bible says that "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." But to make it yours, you must personally receive the wonderful redemption God offers. Have you done this? If not, do it now! (H.G.B.)

I do receive, I will believe
That Jesus died for me!
That on the cross He shed His blood,
From sin to set me free. (Anon.)

Although salvation is free, you must still ask for it.

N.J. Hiebert # 3726

Our daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (1979), Grand Rapids, Michigan - Reprinted permission

June 6

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
(Isaiah 41:10)

A SONG
All those tasks which fret and try thee,
Chafe thy spirit, seem so long,
With thy Saviour close beside thee,
Undertake them with a song;
Jesus knows and understands,
Ne'er too much His love demands;
With thy Saviour close beside thee,
Undertake them with a song.
(Unknown)

N.J. Hiebert # 3727

June 7

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." (Colossians 3:23)

We must give Him unreserved control of our lives.

John Spencer says that in the Gospels we find that Christ had a four-fold entertainment among the sons of men.

- Some received Him into house, but not into heart, as Simon the Pharisee who gave Him no kiss nor water for His feet.
- Some into heart, but not into house, as Nicodemus.
- Some into neither heart nor house, as the graceless Gadarenes.
- Some into both house and heart, as Lazarus.

When He has unrestricted access to the many-roomed house of life, a thousand difficulties will automatically solve themselves. When this is done we no longer divide our life into two artificial sections, one of which is secular and the other sacred; for, from this point of view, all life is sacred. Whether it be to sweep a crossing or preach to the multitudes, to serve behind a counter or to rule a kingdom - whatsoever we do, we will do it heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). The sense of duty will be lost in the delight. (George Henderson - Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care)

N.J. Hiebert # 3728

June 8

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead." (2 Corinthians 5:14)

The whole story of the cross is involved in this constraining love. Its first effect upon us is to compel us to a right judgment. "We thus judge." Have we a right judgment of our selves? We are prone to judge others; how very easily we sit in the critic's chair; but if we know the constraining love of Christ, we judge ourselves.What is this judgment we are constrained to accept? "That if one died for all, then were all dead." Thanks be to God for the largeness of the extent of the benefits and blessing of Christ's death; certainly, He "died for all." The teaching here is that His death for all evidenced that all were dead.

Christ's death for all does not put all there, it proves that all are there, and if that is true, then that is our condition - DEAD. I am sure that it is good for us to be constrained to this judgment.

The love of Christ brings us to it - the grand starting point from which we can go forward in the things of God. (N. Anderson)

N.J. Hiebert # 3729

June 9

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."
(Colossians 1:11)__________________________________________________________

"We know Him as we could not know
Through heaven's golden years;
We there shall see His glorious face,
On earth they saw His tears;
The touch that heals the broken heart
Is never felt above;
His angels know His blessedness,
His way-worn saints His love."

We shall thank Him for all eternity for every trial along our pilgrim path that gave Him a new opportunity to display His grace and to manifest His heart to us, His needy people, so dependent upon His power and grace.

As we thus go on with Him, we will be strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, and this "unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." How much have we here upon which our souls may well meditate? It is He who supplies strength, giving all needed power in order that we may overcome in every adverse circumstance, according to the might of His glory. What room is there for discouragement, as temptations and trials surround me and seem about to overwhelm me, if I realize that the very same spiritual dynamic, that wondrous energy which raised Christ form the dead, operates in me by the Spirit, that I may be even more than victorious through Him who loves me! (H.A. Ironside - Lectures on Colossians)

N.J. Hiebert # 3730

June 10

"My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." (John 4:34)

Yet I will wait, in labour still,
In Thy blest service here;
What Thou hast given me to fulfill -
Thy will - to me is dear!

If I have no motive but my Father's will, how astonishingly it simplifies everything. If you never thought of doing a thing, except because it was God's positive will that you should do it, how many things of your life would at once disappear; not in a constant struggle against one thing and another, but in the quiet consciousness that the grace of God has provided for everything, that you do not take a step, but what His love has provided for. . . .

Be assured that, if we are near enough to God, we shall not be at a loss to know His will.
The Father's will was His (Christ's) motive for everything. There are thousands of things we do from habit, and we say we must do them: there is not "must" for me, but Christ's will.

Where there is spiritual discernment, things get simple and clear as daylight. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." . . . Where there is the fear of the Lord, there will be the understanding of His word and mind. But the word of God will not be simple without subjection to him. (Pilgrim Portions for the Day of Rest - J.N.D.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3731

June 11

"And the word of the Lord came unto him (Elijah), saying, Get thee hence and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee THERE. . . . Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell THERE: behold, I have commanded a widow woman THERE to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was THERE. . . "
(2 Kings 17:2-4, 9,10)

I do not believe that the ravens would have fed Elijah anywhere else, nor would the widow woman have appeared anywhere else except "THERE." God did not say, Elijah, ramble around as you please and I will provide for you." "THERE" was the place of God's will for Elijah:

- The place of His Purpose,
- The place of His Power, and,
- The place of His Provision.

"THERE" was the place of God's purpose. God has a "THERE" for you, somewhere He wants you to be, something He want you to do. You can never be truly happy elsewhere, nor can you please God anywhere but "THERE." You may do lovely things and become a "success," but always there will be the haunting sense of having chosen life's second best. (The Best of Vance Havner)

N.J. Hiebert # 3732

June 12

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. . . . And there are diversities of operations,but it is the same God which worketh all in all." (1 Corinthians 12:4,6)

Diversity is not division, for it displays itself in unity. In 1 Corinthians 12 we find diversity and unity closely brought together in the church. (Note verses quoted). Also note, "For as the body is one and hath many members" (this is diversity in unity), "and all the members of that one body being many are one body" (this is unity in diversity), "so also is the Christ." We are united in one body, the Christ, and yet every child of God has his appointed work which no one can accomplish for him. Each one is entrusted with a different service; I cannot do yours, nor you mine. (TCN)

N.J. Hiebert # 3733

June 13

"Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you." (2 Corinthians 13:3)

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

Do you know there is a difference between life and abundant life? Many Christians say, "I believe in Jesus; that is all I need. I have eternal life, so why these problems about abundant life?"

Once I saw a very sick person who could hardly move. Then a nurse entered the room. She was full of energy and strength, and came to help. Both had life. One just had life, the other had abundant life.

Too many Christians are like the sick person. They have life, yes, but they are not strong and cannot help others. (Corrie Ten Boom - This Day is the Lord's)

N.J. Hiebert # 3734

June 14

"Because thou art luke warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16)

Since the first decline of the Church, there is nothing that the saint should more fear, than anything bordering on lukewarmness; because that is the condition of the Church characteristically when it shall be spued out of Christ's mouth - when it shall for ever cease to be for Him here on earth; and the moment we see anything in ourselves, tending to this lukewarmness, we should earnestly attend to His word, "be zealous and repent." To do this, would be not only to refuse and denounce all neutrality, but to be valiant for the truth.

Repentance does not only denounce the wrong, but it scrupulously and earnestly asserts and maintains the right. (Thought for the Day - Reprinted from "A Voice to the Faithful")

N.J. Hiebert # 3735

June 15

"This Paul has persuaded and turned away much people."
(Acts 19:26)

"These men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess." (Acts 19:37)

The second comment was made by the Ephesian city clerk. What a testimony to the value of presenting the truth rather than criticizing error. That Paul's preaching had been effective was evident, but it was done without balspheming the Ephesian's goddess. The Ephesians had been drawn to a greater attraction than even "great Diana of the Ephesians." We need to preach Christ - the flawless alte rnative to the heresies and emptiness of the world's philosophies and religions. Evangelize; don't antagonize. (GARRY W. SEALE)

Caught, and handed onward by the wise,
Truth never dies.

N.J. Hiebert # 3736

June 16

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:14)

THE HUMAN BODY

The Christian anatomist, gazing upon the conformation of the human body, exclaims, "fearfully and wonderfully made."

- No embroidery so elaborate,
- No gauze so delicate,
- No colour so exquisite.
- No mechanism so graceful,
- No handiwork so divine.

So quietly and mysteriously does the human body perform its functions, that it was not until five thousand years after the creation of the race that the circulation of the blood was discovered; and though anatomists of all countries and ages have been so long exploring this castle of life, they have only begun now to understand it. (T. DE WITT TALMAGE - Born 1832)

N.J. Hiebert # 3737

June 17

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22,23)

The fruit of the Spirit begins with LOVE. There are nine graces spoken of, and of these nine Paul puts LOVE at the head of the list; LOVE is the first thing, the first in that precious cluster of fruit. Someone has said that all the other eight can be put in terms of LOVE.

- Joy is LOVE exulting;
- Peace is LOVE in repose,
- Long-suffering is LOVE on trial,
- Gentleness is LOVE in society,
- Goodness is LOVE in action,
- Faith is LOVE on the battlefield,
- Meekness is LOVE at school, and,
- Temperance is LOVE in training.

So it is LOVE all the way; LOVE at the top, LOVE at the bottom , and all the way along down this list of graces (D.L.MOODY - Year Book)

N.J. Hiebert # 3738

June 18

"I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour." (Isaiah 43:11)

"But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:25)

A striking story is told of a colonel at a dinner table loudly declaiming that in his judgment the Koran (the Mohammedan's sacred book) was vastly superior to the Bible. An earnest Christian present, spoke up. He said, "Colonel, may I ask you two questions? Have you ever read the Bible through from beginning to end?" He had to admit that he had not.A second question was then asked, "Colonel, have you ever seen a copy of the Koran?" He had to admit that he had not.Then came the crushing retort, "Colonel, what do you think of yourself? You made a statement that a book you have never seen is vastly superior to a book you have never read from beginning to end." There was an ominous silence for a considerable time at that dinner table. (Why I Believe the Bible - A.J. Pollock)

N.J. Hiebert # 3739

June 19

"His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law dothhe meditate day and night." (Psalm 1:2)

When John Wanamaker, the merchant prince, was eleven years old, he purchased a Bible. In later years he said of this purchase: "I have, of course, made large purchases of property in my time, involving millions of dollars, but it was as a boy in the country, at the age of eleven years, that I made my greatest purchase. In a little mission Sunday School I bought a small red leather Bible for $2.75, which I paid for in small installments. Looking back over my life, I see that that little red Book was the foundation on which my life has been built, and the thing which has made possible all that has counted in my life. I know now that it was the greatest investment and the most important and and far-reaching purchase I have ever mad."

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door, and heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;Then looking in, I saw upon the floor old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

"How may anvils have you had," said I, "To wear and batter all these hammers so?""Just one," said he, and then, with twinkling eye, "The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."

And so, though I, the anvil of God's Word,
for ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
the anvil is unharmed - the hammers gone. (UNKNOWN)

N.J. Hiebert # 3740

June 20

"Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetnessof the lips increaseth learning. Understanding is a well spring of life unto him that hath it." (Proverbs 16:20-22)

- Israel were never to forget amid the milk and honey of the land of Canaan, that which had sustained them during their forty year's sojourn in the wilderness.
- We cannot, if entering into the truth and reality of our position, hoard up.
- It is a deeply solemn thing to learn truth; for there is not a principle which we profess to have learned which we shall not have to prove practically.
- One often trembles to hear persons make high professions and use expressions of intense devotedness, whether in prayer or otherwise, lest when the hour of trial comes, there may not be the needed spiritual power to carry out what the lips have uttered.
- There is a great danger of the intellect's outstripping the conscience and the affections.
(FOOD FOR THE DESERT)

N.J. Hiebert # 3741

June 21

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

Sir Isaac Newton had a friend who, like himself, was a great scientist; but he was an infidel, while Newton was a devout believer. They often locked horns over this question, though their mutual interest in science drew them much together.

Newton had a skillful mechanic make him a replica of our solar system in miniature. In the center was a large gilded ball representing the sun, and revolving around this were smaller balls fixed on the ends of arms of varying lengths, representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, in their proper order. These balls were so geared together by cogs and belts as to move in perfect harmony by turning a crank.

One day as Newton sat reading in his study with his mechanism on a large table near him, his infidel friend stepped in. He was scientist enough to recognize at a glance what was before him. Stepping up to it he slowly turned the crank, and with undisguised admiration watched the heavenly bodies all move in their relative speed in their orbits. Standing off a few feet, he exclaimed, "My! What an exquisite thing this is! Who made it?"

Without looking up from his book Newton answered, "Nobody!" Quickly turning to Newton the infidel said: "Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked you who made this thing?" Looking up now, Newton solemnly assured him that nobody made it - that the aggregation of matter so much admired had just happened to assume the form it was in.

But the astonished infidel replied with some heat, "You must think I'm a fool! Of course somebody made it. He is a genius, and I'd like to know who he is."Putting his book aside, Newton arose. Laying a hand on his friend's shoulder, he said: "This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know. I can't convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which this replica is taken has come into being without either designer or maker. Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion?" No word of argument did the infidel offer. Instead, as a simple believer, at last he owned that "The Lord [Jehovah] , He is the God" (1 Kings 18:39).

"All things were made by Him: and without Him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3)

(CHRISTIAN TRUTH - Vol.22 - July 1969)

N.J. Hiebert # 3742

June 22

"That your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment." (Philippians 1:9)

Paul has prayed that the Philippian believers' love would abound yet more and more. But he places a corollary on his request. This love he speaks of is not some erratic emotion, but a maturing love based on biblical knowledge and spiritual discernment. He expands his concept even more as his prayer progresses. It is:

- A love that discerns and approves things that are excellent (1:10),
- A love that is sincere and never offends (1:10)
- A love that is the key to being filled with the fruits of righteousness (1:11),
- A love that brings glory and praise to God (1:11).

Keep yourselves in that love. (M. HAACK)

N.J. Hiebert # 3743

June 23

"As thy days, so shall thy strength be." (Deuteronomy 33:25)

One day at a time with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain, and its burden of care;
One day at a time we must meet and must bear.

One day at a time to be patient and strong,
To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong;
Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrows shall cease,
It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.

One day at a time - but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong,
O Thou pitiful Christ, be Thou near all the way;
Give courage and patience and strength for the day.

Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet:
'Yea, I will be with thee, thy troubles to meet;
I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve;
I will not forsake thee; I never will leave.'

Not yesterday's load are we called on to bear,
Not to-morrow's uncertain and shadowy care;
Why should we look forward or back with dismay?
Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day.

One day at a time, and the day is HIS day;
He numbered its hours though they haste or delay;
His grace is sufficient, we walk not alone;
As the day so the strength that He giveth His own!
(Annie Johnson Flint)

N.J. Hiebert # 3744

June 24

"For God so loved the world, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

When Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), the Norwegian explorer and oceanographer, tried to measure the depth of the ocean in the far North, he used a long measuring line, and then discovered that he had not touched bottom. He wrote in his record: "Deeper than that." The next day he tried a longer line, only to write again: "Deeper than that." Several times he tried till, finally, he fastened all his lines together, and let them down; but his last record was like his first: "Deeper than that." He left without knowing the depth of the ocean at that point, except that it was deeper than so many thousand feet. Have you noticed that in their attempts to explain the transcending love of God for man, the writers of the Bible take up all the sweet human relationships? They compare it,

- To a bridegroom's affection for his bride (Ephesians 5:25)
- To a father's pity for his boy (Psalm 103:13)
- To a mother's love for her baby. (Isaiah 49:15-16)

Bind all these relationships into one, and multiply them by infinity, and you will still have to use Nansen's phrase "DEEPER THAT THAT;" It passes knowledge (Ephesians 3:14-19)
(George Henderson - In Pastures Green)

N.J. Hiebert # 3745

June 25

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

In this day of grace God would have all men to be saved, and hence we have to beseech - not denounce - all men. You cannot feed souls with denunciations - even though the things denounced are errors. A poet said "Refute error by the statement of the truth" so the presentation of Christ will expose evil and build up the hearers. (EDWARD DENNETT)

N.J. Hiebert # 3746

June 26

"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." (John 17:17)__________________________________

By Thy truth and Spirit guiding,
Earnest He of what's to come,
And with daily strength providing,
Thou dost lead Thy children home.

The simple child of God receives the word as certainly as Christ gives it. Reliance on God's word is the only sure ground. How can you be certain? God has said it. If God's speaking requires proof, I must have something more sure and true than God. . . . If God cannot speak so as to claim authority, without another to accredit what He says, there is no such thing as faith. (J.N. DARBY)

N.J. Hiebert # 3747

June 27

"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from ALL sin."
(1 John 1:7)

If you ask me to measure sin, there is no measure for it but the cross. There alone can you form any idea of what the intolerancy of God is to sin. If looking up by faith to the One crucified there, the cross will be your mark by which to measure everything in you. There is no charge against me, for Christ has met it all, and perfected me for ever. The blood shed for sinners, ever pleads in the presence of God, and not only can I be perfectly free from guilt there, but God delights to give me all that Christ has and is. (GLEANINGS FROM THE TEACHING OF G.V. WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert # 3748

June 28

"The Lord caused the sea to go back . . . all that night."
(Exodus 14:21)

In this verse there is a comforting message showing how God works in the dark. The real work of God for the children of Israel, was not when they awakened and found that they could get over the Red Sea; but it was "all that night."

So there may be a great working in your life when it all seems dark and you cannot see or trace, but yet God is working. Just as truly did He work "all that night," as all the next day. The next day simply manifested what God had done during the night. Is there anyone reading these lines who may have gotten to a place where it seems dark? You believe to see, but you are not seeing. In your life-progress there is not constant victory; the daily, undisturbed communion is not there, and all seems dark.

"The Lord caused the sea to go back . . . all that night."

Do not forget that it was "all that night." God works all the night, until the light comes. You may not see it, but all that "night" in your life, as you believe God, He works. (C.H.P.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3749

June 29

"As soon as the soles of the feet of the priest . . . shall rest in the waters . . . the waters shall be cut off." (Joshua 3:13)

The people were not to wait in their camps until the way was opened, they were to walk by faith. They were to break camp, pack up thier goods, form in line to march, and move down to the very banks before the river would be opened.

If they had come down to the edge of the river and then had stopped for the stream to divide before they stepped into it, they would have waited in vain. They must take one step into the water before the river would be cut off.

We must learn to take God at His Word, and go straight on in duty, although we see no way in which we can go forward. The reason we are so often balked by difficulties is that we expect to see them removed before we try to pass through them.

If we would move straight on in faith, the path would be opened for us. We stand still, waiting for the obstacle to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacles. (EVENING THOUGHTS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3750


June 30

"God is light . . ." (1 John 1:5)

Have you ever sat alone in darkness that was a metaphor for your own soul? Darkness that that could be touched and tasted - thick, cold, obsidian midnight. Suddenly a candle flares and soft gold splashes into every corner. Light. How touching that God would identify Himself completely with light.

- Light is pure
- Light illuminates
- Light warms
- Light comforts

But what of our hearts when they are darkened by failures or disappointments? Streaming from His loving heart, the light of God - His Spirit, His Word, His love - penetrates and illuminates every corner of my heavy heart, gently diffusing understanding, comfort and warmth.
(S. McEachern)

N.J. Hiebert # 3751

"Let us (Christians) draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)

An evil conscience is the result of persistence in sin. If men continue to defile themselves, the time will come when the conscience becomes thoroughly evil, and sin is no longer dreaded. When we come to Christ our hearts ares sprinkled from an evil conscience. If men do not come to Him but insist on sinning against the light and refusing to heed the invitation which God has extended to all men to turn to Him in repentance and be saved, then eventually the conscience ceases to be active: it becomes seared.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their consciences seared with a hot iron."
(1 Timothy 4:1,2)

This is most solemn. Sin hardens. The conscience becomes like flesh which has been seared with a hot iron; it no longer responds; it can no longer be depended upon. In this state men may commit the most wicked and abominable things, and apparently there is not the least exercise of conscience. It is because they have gone so far in disobeying that which they knew to be right that they no longer have any concern whatever. They are given up to a seared conscience and a reprobate mind, and with that goes utter hardness of heart. But if men are willing to turn to God; if they realize they have an evil conscience, and they long for a pure and a cleansed conscience, they may obtain it through the work of the cross. (HARRY A. IRONSIDE)

N.J. Hiebert # 3752

Gems from May 2009

May 1

"Ye are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14)

When Moses was in Egypt, to punish Pharaoh God turned the waters into blood. When Christ was on earth He turned the water into wine. That is the difference between law and grace. The law says, "Kill him"; grace says, "Forgive him." Law says, "Condemn him"; grace says, "Love him." When the law came out of Horeb three thousand men were destroyed (Exodus 32:28). At Pentecost, under grace, three thousand men found life (Acts 2:41). What a difference! When Moses came to the burning bush, he was commanded to take the shoes from off his feet. When the prodigal came home after sinning he was given a pair of shoes to put on his feet. How thankful to be under grace rather than under the law. (D.L. Moody)

N.J. Hiebert # 3690

"Be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
(1 Peter 5:5)

Two ladies who lived in Shanghai were talking one day about the famous missionary Hudson Taylor. They wondered if he was ever tempted to be proud because of his many achievements. Finally they put the question to Mrs. Taylor.

Not knowing the answer, she went to her husband and asked him. Surprised, he inquired , "Proud about what?"His wife replied, "Why, about all the things you've done."Taylor gave this startling answer: "I never knew I had done anything!" He was not expressing a false humility, but merely recognizing that everything he had was a gift from God, and that whatever he had accomplished could be credited to Christ who worked in him and through him.

Let's allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and motives so that we will not think too highly of our selves. Pride accomplishes nothing of lasting value. (Extract)

N.J. Hiebert # 3691

May 2

"But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water; and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it." (2 Kings 6:5-7)

When Elisha restored the lost axe to his disciple, he entirely discarded the old handle, which had become loosened from the iron, and cast into the water another stick which he had cut down, and to which the iron rose. There is a lesson here for us.

The work had been suddenly brought to a stand-still and the cry of distress, "Alas, master!" brought Elisha to the spot. It may be good for us to be halted at times so that we may receive back from the Master the old axe-head with a new handle, and learn to use it aright. It will still be the old axe, and the old truth, but we have been handling it wrongly and so ultimately have lost it.

Our aimless; preaching and our drowsy discussion of worn-out controversies may be the wrong handle and be unsuited to the old axe in these days when our earnest work demands suitable instruments. People will not listen to us simply because we are respected preachers! However, we should not be afraid to have our faith tested as to its vitality and suitability to the needs of men - do we not believe in its divine origin and have we not experienced its power? The cause of Christ will ultimately prosper only if hollow, unthinking assent be replaced by a genuine, earnest inquiry into its truth and then by conviction. (A. Edersheim)

N.J. Hiebert # 3692

May 3

"It is written." (Matthew 4:4)

The Bible is a God-given oracle, carrying His authority, perfectly adapted to every need, every circumstance, and every period of the Church's history. "Do ye not therefore err?" He says to the unbelieving Sadducees. And why did they err? because they knew "not the Scriptures, neither the power of God." Herein was the fault - they knew not the Scriptures. Man, when left to the petty reasonings of his own mind, gets into all kinds of folly; he falls into superstition on the one hand, or infidelity on the other. But both these extremes agree in shutting out God's Word. It has been Satan's object in all ages to cut out the Word of God; or, if he cannot do so, to render it null and void. Sometimes he accomplishes this by insinuating doubts, raising the question, "Is it even so that God has said?" - in our own day this takes the form of "modernism." Sometimes he displaces the Scripture by tradition and the teachings and doctrines of men.

Our Lord Himself answered all such suggestions. He met Satan in person by the all-sufficiency word, "It is written." He met the Sadducees, whom we may call the "modernists" of that day, as He also met the Pharisees and scribes - those tradition mongers of old - by the simple word, "God said," "Did ye never read in the Scriptures?" "What is this then that is written?" He used the written Word to silence every objection and to refute every form of error; and surely if He thus accredited the Scripture, this is enough for all who have reverence for Him. (F.G.B.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3693

May 4

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)

How rich was He? Such a question plunges us into thoughts of His glory that amaze and astonish. His riches include all His glory in deity. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Can we poor finite creatures comprehend that? No. Go back before Genesis 1, go back before the world was, back as far as the mind can go; and when you get there, He "was" there, and He "was God." "All things were created by Him and for Him." (Colossians 1:16) There is no single exception; all was created by Him and for Him.

Go through the Word of God and you will find many verses which tell of His riches. He speaks through Isaiah the prophet, "I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering." (Isaiah 50:3) Yes, He "was rich"; not as man saw Him in His pathway on earth. Here He was with the poor and, according to men's standards, He was poor. We never read of the Lord having had a piece of money. He came into the world in the stable of an inn. He was laid in one man's manger, and when He was to leave the world, He was placed in another man's tomb. Surely when Scripture speaks of His having been rich, it refers to all that He had before He became a man. (Paul Wilson.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3694

May 5

Satisfaction

I. "I shall be satisfied." (Psalm 17:15)

I SHALL be satisfied,
But not while here below,
Where every earthly cup of bliss
Is wisely mixed with woe.
When this frail form shall be
For ever laid aside,
And in His likeness I awake,
I shall be satisfied

II. "He . . . shall be satisfied." (Isaiah 53:11)

He shall be satisfied
When all He died to win,
By loving-kindness gently drawn,
Are safely gathered in.
When in the glory bright
He views His glorious bride,
Sees of the travail of His soul,
He shall be satisfied

These lines were found in the Bible of a young believer after she had departed to be with Christ. Ed. (Christian Friend, Vol. 16, 1889, p. 196 - Submitted, with thanks, from a reader.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3695

May 6

"The love of God manifested toward us." (1 John 4:9)
"Perfected in us." (1 John 4:12)
"Perfected with us." (JND Trans.) (1 John 4:17)

We are called upon to love one another because love is of God, and the character and nature of one born of God is to love. God's love was manifested in the gift of His Son when we had no love for Him; and now, in the midst of a heartless world, we are exhorted to love one another. This has often been spoken of; may we show it in true self-denial and devotedness.
(From - Christian Friend - 1894)

N.J. Hiebert # 3696

May 7

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."
(1 Peter 5:7)
....................................................................................................................

The psalmist wrote,
- "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Paul exhorted the Philippians to,
- "Be careful (anxious) for nothing" (Philippians 4:6).

And Peter instructed his readers,
- "Casting all your cares on Him" (1 Peter 5:7).

How can someone stop worrying and be "still"? Only through prayer and trust in the loving God (Philippians 4:6-7). Those who cast their cares on Him can set aside the noise and confusion, ambitions and strivings, and enter into the peace of God (v.7).

This doesn't mean that those who are "still" before the Lord will escape life's dangers and dilemmas, but it does mean they will have the ability to live with tranquility in the midst of them. Though trouble may remain, the confusion, apprehension, and despair begin to fade away. Such people show poise under pressure; they're unshaken by life's alarms; they radiate peace wherever they go.

If you've never acquainted yourself with the depths of God's love and His call for you to live in that love, your life will be filled with anxiety and cares. You'll often be fretful and restless - always looking for that illusive "something more."

When you learn to turn your confidence toward God and cast your cares on Him, you can be calm in the midst of life's demands. (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert # 3697

May 8

"I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies." (Psalm 119:59)

- Drop what weighs you down by giving it to God.
- Through prayer, the public business of the nation can become the private business of the Christian.
- Remembering Christ's death for us should cause us to live for Him.
- To survive the storms of life, be anchored to the Rock of Ages.
- Trials can be God's way of triumph.
- Through prayer, we we have instant access to to our Father.
(Some Thoughts to Consider - R.K.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3698

May 9

"Jesus Christ the SAME yesterday, and today, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)

"ABLE to succour them that are tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)
"ABLE also to save them to the uttermost." (Hebrews 7:25)
"ABLE to make all grace abound toward you." (2 Corinthians 9:8)
"ABLE to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20)
"ABLE to keep you from falling, and present you faultless."
(Jude 24)
(Till HE Come - Oct. - Nov. 1972)

N.J. Hiebert # 3699

May 10

"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. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hurstayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." (Exodus 17:10-12)

It is edifying to mark the contrast between Moses on the hill and Christ on the throne. The hands of our great Intercessor can never hang down. His intercession never fluctuates . "He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). His intercession is never ceasing and all prevailing. Having taken His place on high, in the power of divine righteousness, He acts for us, according to what He is, and according to the infinite perfection of what He has done. His hands can never hang down, nor can He need any one to hold them up. (Extract - Christian Truth - Vol. 21 - August 1968)

N.J. Hiebert # 3700

May 11

THE PREVALENCE OF SORROW

"Man is born to sorrow, as the sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7)

"All history narrates it (Job 5:7); all poetry sings of it; all biography confesses it; all experience teems with it; there is not one beating heart among us all that does not know it. And mark that while righteousness brings blessedness and peace, it does not bring exemption from life's bitter trials." So said a great preacher of the Victorian era; and the testimony of the Bible and the experience of the saints right down the centuries bear witness to the truth of his words.

Philosophers may deride Genesis 3, but they cannot account for the facts of life without its aid. For that little section of the Book of God not only explains how sin came into the world, but also throws light on the sorrow which ever accompanies it (Genesis 3:16,17).

In a world which has been completely disarranged by sin, the experience of sorrow in one form or another is inevitable; that nevertheless God, Whose prerogative it is to bring good out of evil, uses it for the enrichment of the character and the deepening of the spiritual life of His people; that indeed it is an indispensable prerequisite in all who would attain to skill in comfort's art, and who would strengthen those that mourn. In other words, sorrow is common, purposeful, beneficent. (George Henderson - Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care)

N.J. Hiebert # 3701

May 12

SHEPHERD'S CARE

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." (Psalm 23:2)

No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detailed direction, than sheep. For them to lie down:

1. They must be free of fear;

2. Because of the social behaviour within a flock, sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their own kind;

3. If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down; There are many irritations - "being bugged" - frustrations that only can be alleviated by the Shepherd.

4. They must be free from hunger. (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert # 3702

May 13

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

The story is told of two men who were trying to escape from an erupting volcano. As the fiery molten rock gushed out of its gaping crater, they fled in the only direction open to them. All went well until they came to a stream of hot, smoking lava about 30 feet across. Sizing up their situation, they realized that their only hope was to get over that wide barrier. One of the men was old and arthritic; the other was a healthy young track star who could broad jump 25 feet.

With a running start, they each tried to leap to safety. The first man went only a few feet through the air before falling into the bubbling mass. The younger, with his greater strength and skill, catapulted himself much further. Though he almost made it, he still missed the mark. It didn't matter that he outdistanced his companion, for he too perished in the burning lava.Now I don't know whether or not this actually happened, but it does illustrate an important spiritual truth - man cannot save himself. The Bible says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." No one can make it to Heaven on his own. Some may pride themselves in their good works, fine reputation, and charitable deeds, but everyone falls short. To break the law in just one point is to be guilty of all (James 2:10). No matter how good or how bad you are, you need Christ. He lived a perfect life, and His death on the cross has bridged the gap between you and a holy God. So place your trust in the Lord. The Scripture says, "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).
(R.W.D)

'Tis simply to receive Him, The holy One and just;
'Tis only to believe Him - It is not "try" but "trust." (Anon)

We are saved by God's mercy, not by our merit - by Christ's dying, not by our doing!

N.J. Hiebert # 3703
__________________________________________________________
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (1979), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission.

May 14

"He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth His ways shall die." (Proverbs 19:16)

Man was made in God's image, after His likeness. He had dominion given him over fish and fowl, cattle and reptile, and over all the earth too. Yet was he put under commandment. And "he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; as he that despiseth," or is reckless of, "his ways shall die." So Adam proved, and no less Adam's race. Even when no open sin was, man must bow to God. To seek independency of God is his ruin. To look up in gratitude and obey Him is not only the first of human duties, but vital to man whose breath is in his nostrils, and his life but a vapour. When sin entered and death through sin, how very evident and urgent it was that he should be dependent on that God who forthwith held out a Deliverer from the power of evil before banishing him from the paradise he had lost by his disobedience! (William Kelly)

N.J. Hiebert # 3704

May 15

"And say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it." (Colossians 4:17)

Promptness and energy are as important in spiritual service as in anything else. There is an incident related in connection with two leading generals of the Southern Confederacy of America that might well speak to every servant of Christ. General Robert E. Lee once sent word to General Stonewall Jackson that he would be glad to talk with him at his convenience on some mater of no great urgency. General Jackson instantly rode to Headquarters, through most inclement weather. When General Lee expressed surprise at seeing him, Jackson exclaimed, "General Lee's slightest wish is a supreme command to me, and I always take pleasure in prompt obedience." It is to be hoped that this same spirit laid hold of Archippus, and that he profited by the prodding of the aged apostle. (H.A. Ironside - Lectures on Colossians)

N.J. Hiebert # 3705

May 16

"Serving the Lord with all lowliness." (Acts 20:19)

We are but leaden pipes to let the water down from the cistern above - dry till it flows in above and dry if it ceases to flow in. It is good to remember this at all times and to walk humbly in the truth of it. . . . I found it useful (the remembrance of it) in praying before speaking. Oft not a word seemed with me to give, and the spreading out before the Lord His estimate of the worthiness of His Son to be spoken about, and His will that He should be announced, has been followed by a full fresh flow of water of the word of life.

Believe me, you can only plead with God as you know Christ. He alone is the channel by which God can bless. . . . The power of intercession is a great thing to the servant of God.

It ennobles a Christian immensely to know and to feel that he is a channel through which the life of Christ is to flow out.

Happy the person who has an empty vessel and God ever ready to fill. Unhappy they who have no empty vessel. . . . I doubt whether many know the sweetness of going into the presence of God as a channel or pipe to be filled in order to bring out what is wanted for others, saying, "I have got the ear and heart of Christ."

Which is most worthy to occupy our thoughts - the littleness of our love or the fulness of that love which passes knowledge? (G.V. Wigram)

N.J. Hiebert # 3706

May 17

"Whatsoever He saith unto you, DO IT." (John 2:5)

WILLINGNESS - THE SECRET OF KNOWING

How are you to know what He says to you? It is easy to know if we are really willing to know, and willing to obey when we do know! He has spoken so plainly to us in His Word! In that, He tells us exactly what to do. It is most wonderful how He has said everything there for us, told us everything we ought to do. When you read a chapter, listen and watch to see what He says to you in it. There is another way in which He tells us what to do. He speaks to you through your conscience. Now "whatsoever He saith unto you, do it!" Whether easy or hard, do it because He tells you; do it for love of Him, and it will be much better and happier to obey the Lord than to please yourself. "Whatsoever He saith unto you do it!" "DO IT!" Do the exact thing He would have you do, not something a little bit different, or something which you think will be nearly the same, but do "it."And do it at once. It is so true, that the very first moment is the easiest for obedience. Every minute that you put off doing the right thing makes it harder. Do not let your Lord have to "speak twice" to you. "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it" cheerfully, exactly, instantly. (Francis Ridley Havergal - Opened Treasures)

N.J. Hiebert # 3707

May 18

"Put that on mine account." (Philemon 18)

Recently I was buying an item for $4.50 with a friend. At the counter I could not find my wallet. I said to the cashier, "I'm sorry, I forgot my money." A total stranger behind me immediately said, "I'll pay that for you." When I told him about my friend in the store, he repeated very earnestly, "I will pay that for you." I thanked him and waited for my friend. I thought of how we stood before God - sinners, with nothing to pay. Yet there was One, the Lord Jesus, who paid the debt for us. What grace! (Ben Tuininga)

He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay;
I needed someone to wash my sins away;
And now I sing a brand new song,
Amazing grace!
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay. (Choice Gleanings)

N.J. Hiebert # 3708

May 19

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)

There are four great passages in the New Testament which set forth Christian character in all its winsomeness and power:

- Matthew 5:3-12 with its nine beatitudes;
- 1 Corinthians 13, with its sixteen matchless qualities;
- Galatians 5:22,23, with its ninefold cluster of heavenly fruit;
- 2 Peter 1:5-8, with its description of fully developed Christian manhood.

- The words in Matthew 5 present a character schooled in humility, matured by suffering, instinct with gentleness, and purity, and love. "Blessed are the poor in spirit ... they that mourn ... the meek ... they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness ... the merciful ... the pure in heart ... the peacemakers ... they which are persecuted ... blessed are ye, when men shall revile you ... rejoice and be exceeding glad: for your reward is in heaven ..."

- 1 Corinthians 13 is perhaps the noblest assemblage of beautiful thoughts extant in this our world. "And now abideth faith, hope, and charity (love); but the greatest of these is love."

- The paragraph in Galatians 5 unfolds the secret whereby we may have days of heaven upon earth. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

- 2 Peter 1, assuming faith as the foundation rises majestically, step by step, until the structure is crowned with that love which is the fulfilling of the Law. " . . . giving all diligence ... add to your faith virtue ... knowledge ... temperance ... patience ... godliness ... brotherly kindness ... love ... neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(Henry Durbanville - Winsome Christianity)

N.J. Hiebert # 3709

May 20

"Chasten thy son (seeing) there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." (Proverbs 19:18)

The young twig is pliant, and may be bent aright or pruned to bear fruit. Love is not indifferent but takes pains; and chastening is a greater sorrow to a father than to the son that needs it. To allow evil, whatever the plea, is to set one's soul on causing "him to die." We, Christians on earth, endure chastening, which, though painful for the moment, afterward yields peaceful fruits of righteousness to those exercised thereby. (William Kelly - The Proverbs)

N.J. Hiebert # 3710

May 21

"Casting all your cares upon HIM; for HE careth for you."
(1 Peter 5:7)

The Saviour Can Solve Every Problem

The Saviour can lift every burden, The heavy as well as the light;
His strength is made perfect in weakness, In Him there is power and might.

The Saviour can bear every sorrow, In Him there is comfort and rest;
No matter how great the affliction, He only permits what is best.

The Saviour can strengthen the weary, His grace is sufficient for all;
He knows every step of the pathway, And listens to hear when we call.

The Saviour can break sin's dominion, The victory He won long ago;
In Him there is freedom from bondage, He's able to conquer the foe.

The Saviour can satisfy fully The heart that the world cannot fill;
His presence will sanctify wholly The soul that is yielded and still.

The Saviour can solve every problem,The tangles of life can undo;
There is nothing too hard for Jesus,There is nothing that He cannot do.
(Oswald J. Smith)

N.J. Hiebert # 3711

May 22

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

The story is told of a small boy trying very hard to lift a heavy object. His father coming into the room and noting the son's struggle asked him, "Are you using all your strength?" "Yes, of course I am," the boy impatiently exclaimed. You are not" the father answered. "You haven't asked me to help you." If the burden is too heavy to bear, it is time to ask God our Father for help. Our own puny supply of power is so often insufficient for the disappointments and difficulties we have to face. Let us form the habit of asking for God's help. God will allow no suffering, no trial above what we are able to bear. For He says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (tried) above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert # 3712

May 23

"Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but He is risen: REMEMBER . . . And they remembered His words."
(Luke 24:5,6,8)

Joey was a severely disabled student with a terminal disease who attended a Christian school. Spring had come and Easter was near. The teacher spent time teaching her class about the resurrection of Jesus from among the dead. Then she gave each of her students a large plastic egg.

"Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?""Yes, Miss Nelson!" the children responded enthusiastically - all except for Joey. He just listened intently, his eyes never leaving her face. Miss Nelson wondered if he had understood what she had said about the Lord Jesus' death and resurrection? Perhaps she should call his parents that evening and explain the assignment to them, but in the busyness of her day she forgot about phoning Joey's parents.

The next morning, 19 excited children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Nelson's desk. Soon it was time to open the eggs and in the first egg, she found a flower.

"Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is here."

The next egg contained a realistic plastic butterfly. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life, too."

Next was a rock with green moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life.The fourth egg - Joey's egg - was empty. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.Joey spoke up; " Miss Nelson, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" She stammered, "Joey...your egg is empty". But tears filled her eyes as she listened to Joey's explanation.He said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too. Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up to life!" Three months later, Joey died. On top of his casket were 19 empty plastic eggs." Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25)(The Christian Shepherd - December 2008)

N.J. Hiebert # 3713

May 24

"Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight . . . Thou desirest truth in the inward parts . . . wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." (Psalm 51:4,7,9)

This world hates the God of David, because it hates grace. The world rather likes David's taking Uriah's wife (for that is the world's manner of life!). But for Jehovah not to reckon this sin as damning guilt, and freely to forgive David - and that so fully as to give "her that had been the wife of Uriah" another son, and bestow His special love on him (Solomon) to the extent of giving him a personal name, Jedidiah "for Jehovah's sake" (2 Samuel 12:24,25) and placing this woman Bathsheba in the official genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:6); and above all, for God to call David a man "after His own heart" - all this rouses the ire of a vile, self-righteous, neighbour-judging, blind, grace-ignorant, impenitent world - a world that has neither repented, nor means to repent, of the very sins into which David fell, and of which he repented most deeply. (TCN - W.B.N.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3714

May 25

"I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6)

The headline of the National Post read, "Trouble at the Border." It then outlined a number of security gaps which permitted the unwanted to slip undetected into the country. There may be trouble at earthly borders, but there are none at heaven's. No one enters that holy place of purity and joy unless they have confessed to being a sinner and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Only then will they be assured of an entrance. (Arnot P. McIntee)

Only a step to Jesus!
Believe and thou shalt live,
Lovingly now He's waiting,
And ready to forgive. (D.W. Whittle)

N.J. Hiebert # 3715

May 26

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)

When a cloud comes between us and the sun, it robs us for the time of the enjoyment of his beams. It does not prevent Him from shining, it merely hinders our enjoyment of Him. Exactly so is it when we allow trials and sorrows, difficulties and perplexities, to hide from our souls the bright beams of our Father's countenance, which ever shine, with changeless lustre, in the face of Jesus Christ. (Food for the Desert)

N.J. Hiebert # 3716

May 27

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

- How easily we stray whenever we get on the line of expediency. The Lord must have the first place, or we shall soon drift on the rocks.

- Two lessons we need to learn - first to be brought to an end of ourselves and also to be brought to the end of man, and we then expect nothing from self, and nothing from man.

- If our hearts are set on one single thing on which the heart of God is not set, in so far we are out of communion.

(Edward Dennett - Footprints for Pilgrims)

N.J. Hiebert # 3717

May 28

"And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli (Priest). And the word of the Lord was precious in those days;there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see . . . and the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, speak; for Thy servant heareth." (1 Samuel 3:1,2,10)

The Lord always sends refreshment in times of drought. When there was no guidance He sent the prophet Samuel. We must be careful as believers not to have our senses dulled by the prevailing compromise and complacency that we cannot hear God when He calls. We cannot be sleeping but should always be awake and aware of His presence and listen to others for advice on how to prepare our hearts for His Word. (B.R. - Meditations on 1 Samuel)

N.J. Hiebert # 3718

May 29

"Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

If ever there was a day when it was important for every professed follower of Christ to stand fast and to be true to his profession, I believe it is the present day. There is no answer to infidelity like the life of Christ displayed by the Christian. Nothing puts the madness of the infidel and the folly of the superstitious more to shame and silence than the humble, quiet devoted walk of a thoroughgoing, heavenly minded, divinely taught Christian. It may be in the unlearned and poor and despised; but, like the scent of the lowly violet, it gives its perfume abroad, and both God and man take notice of it.

In the experience of almost every believer, there is some turning point, where he either goes onward in devotedness to the Lord, or sinks down into a mere commonplace Christian. Not one of us is too obscure to be tried as to whether we will seek God's honour or present things first. God is very jealous of all man's substitutes and imitations of the power of the Holy Spirit. In stripping ourselves of such things, we may seem to others to be throwing away our influence and our usefulness. But what is usefulness? What is "doing good"? It is doing the will of God. (Christian Truth - Vol. 19 -1966)

N.J. Hiebert # 3719

May 30

"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." (John 12:31)

Two things give character to all true service in the present day. One is, the world has rejected Christ; and the other, God has rejected the world.

These two facts, if practically acted upon, would materially alter the character of that which professes to be the service of God, as well as the labours of many who render true service of God in some respects, but whose chief efforts are now misdirected. "In every good work doing the will of God." A work may be good in itself, but if it is not according to the will of God for the present moment, then it loses its savour to Him, and is deprived of its true value. (H.N.)

N.J. Hiebert # 3720

May 31