Gems from July 2008

July 1

"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4:6,7)

"Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26) If you are a believer, He has sent the Spirit of His Son into your heart, whereby you cry Abba, Father. The heart gets its blessed rest in sonship simply by believing in Christ Jesus. The Spirit of His Son in the heart enables its happy throbbings to be expressed, crying this wondrous new name, unknown to the Jews, of Abba, Father. God has set me in His presence as a son, and life flows down to me, so that I can look up and contemplate there the delight which the Father has in His Son; I can have communion and sympathy with the joy of the Father's heart in that Son: and it is this which gives the church its highest point of glory. (Gleanings - G.V. Wigram)

N.J. Hiebert # 3386

"In My Father's house are many mansions . . . I go to prepare a place for YOU. . . . I will come again and receive you unto MYSELF." (John 14:2,3)

The Father's House is for ALL the Father's children. We fear a great many strange things these days. Some people would try to tell us that it is only the deeply spiritual people of God that will be caught up with the Lord Jesus at His coming. When people talk like that, how little understanding they have of the Father's heart! Think of a normal father and mother here on earth, with say eight or ten children, and that is quite a family; is it not? The father's house is open to all the children. I pity the home, and pity the children, where the father or the mother makes distinctions among their children. I think it is a sad thing when out of a number of children one perhaps occupies a special place in the heart of the father and the others are held at a distance. "Oh," but you say, "maybe one or two are naughty children. Of course the father could not love naughty children as much as he loves the good children." Is that true? Why even the naughty children are so dear to the father's heart that they give him many sleepless nights as he thinks about their naughtiness. He loves them and truly longs to see them all that they ought to be. There is always a welcome for them at the Father's house. (H.A. Ironside - John)

N.J. Hiebert # 3387

July 2

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14,15)

The strength of a temptation lies in the response of our nature to its suggestions. It is said that the germs of the potato and vine disease are always floating in the air; but they can find no place of operation - no bed - in healthy plants. But directly plants become degenerate and unable to resist their attacks, then they sweep away the farmer's hopes in dreadful ruin. So it is with us; if only we were like our Lord, we should pass unscathed through a whirlwind of temptations; they would find nothing in us. It is because our hearts are so desperately wicked that we need to stand in constant watchfulness. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

There is no sin in having certain tendencies, appetites, and desires; else there would be sin in hunger, and in drowsiness leading to soft sleep. But the danger lies in the fear that they should be gratified to an immoderate excess, or from wrong and improper sources. Human nature is very liable to this. (F.B Meyer - Joseph)

N.J. Hiebert # 3388

July 3

"Kept by the power of God." (1 Peter 1:5)
"The Lord is thy Keeper." (Psalm 121:5)

- The Lord will go before you (Isaiah 52:12).
- The glory of the Lord shall be thy rear guard (Isaiah 58:8).
- The Lord is round about His people (Psalm 125:2)
- Underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27)
- His banner over me is love (Song of Solomon 2:4)

God is before me, He will be my Guide;
God is behind me, no ill can betide;
God is beside me, to comfort and cheer;
God is around me, so why should I fear?
(Choice Gleanings)

N.J. Hiebert # 3389

July 4

"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
(Revelation 19:10)

The scripture above, is a deeply interesting statement. It is one of the few sentences in Scripture which can be reversed. We can say equally well, "The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus."

It brings out a thought dear to every Christian who understands that prophecy has in all its parts a relation to Christ. This is true, whether the prophecy is direct or indirect as to Christ, whether it has to do with the Church, which is His body; the Jews, who are His earthly people; or the Gentiles over whom He will rule eventually as Son of Man. HE is the Centre of prophecy, and all its predictions are related to that Centre. That being so, how absorbingly interesting the prophetic word becomes.

Alas! the misuse of prophecy is not uncommon. Its details are too often discussed simply as appealing to the intellect, and the conscience is not exercised, and the heart's affections are not stirred. Let us ever remember that God never records the past, nor reveals the future, without designing to affect us by His word in the present.

To see how God will have all things headed up in Christ, to see aright how His ways in grace and government are all leading to this grand goal, is to secure these two things - a conscience exercised and affections deepened. (A.J. Pollock - Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass)

N.J. Hiebert # 3390

July 5

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

In all things . . . instead of disquieting ourselves . . . we ought to present our request to God with prayer, with supplication . . . so that, even while making our petition to Him, we can already give thanks, because we are sure of the answer of His grace, be it what it may. . . . It does not say, you will have what you ask; but God's peace will keep your hearts. . . . Oh, what grace! that even our anxieties are a means of our being filled with this marvelous peace. (Pilgrim Portions for the Day of Rest - JND)

N.J. Hiebert # 3391

July 6

"Take My yoke upon you, and LEARN of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find REST unto your souls."
(Matthew 11:29)

How novel the connection between these two words, "Learn" and "Rest"! How few of us have ever associated them - ever thought that "Rest" was a thing to be learned. Does it not show how entirely new Christ's teaching still is to the world, that so old and threadbare an aphorism (precept or proverb) should still be so little applied? The last thing most of us would have thought of would have been to associate "REST" with "LEARNING." (Peace Be With You - Henry Drummond)

N.J. Hiebert # 3392

July 7

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

Sadhu Sundar Singh passed a crowd of people putting out a jungle fire at the foot of the Himalayas. Several men, however, were standing gazing at a tree the branches of which were already alight.
"What are you looking at?" he asked. They pointed to a nest of young birds in the tree. Above it a bird was flying wildly to and fro in great distress. The men said, "We wish we could save that tree, but the fire prevents us from getting near to it."
A few minutes later the nest caught fire. The Sadu thought the mother bird would fly away. But no! she flew down, spread her wings over the young ones, and in a few minutes was burned to ashes with them.
Let us have love heated to the point of sacrifice!

". . . Though the day be dark and dreary,
Here's comfort for the weary -
We mean a lot to Some One
Who died for you and me."
(Mountain Trailways for Youth)

N.J. Hiebert # 3393

July 8

"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:12)

"The love of many shall wax cold," and no wonder when self-love waxeth so hot. It was foretold also by the apostle (2 Timothy 3:1,2), "In the last days . . . men shall be lovers of their own selves"; and what a regiment follows this captain, sin! If once a man makes self the whole of his aim, farewell loving or praying for others: charity cannot dwell in so narrow a house as the self-lovers heart; yea, it is opposed to it: "Love seeketh not her own." (1 Corinthians 13:5)

(William Gurnall 1665)

N.J. Hiebert # 3394

July 9

"Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

There is immense power in stillness. A great saint once said, "All things come to him who knows how to trust and be silent." The words are pregnant with meaning. A knowledge of this fact would immensely change our ways of working. Instead of restless of struggles, we would "sit down" inwardly before the Lord, and would let Divine forces of His Spirit work out in silence the ends to which we aspire. You may not see or feel the operations of this silent force, but be assured it is always working mightily, and will work for you, if you only get your spirit still enough to be carried along by the currents of Its power. (Hannah Whitall Smith)

N.J. Hiebert # 3395

July 10

"And (Jesus) being found in fashion as a man, He Humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:8)

Some years ago I saw what is called a sensitive plant (Mimosa Eudica). I happened to breathe on it, and suddenly it drooped its head; I touched it, and it withered away. Humility is as sensitive as that; it cannot safely be brought out on exhibition. A man who is flattering himself that he is humble and is walking close to the Lord, is self deceived. It consists not in thinking meanly of ourselves, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. Moses wist not that his face shone. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone. (D.L. Moody)

N.J. Hiebert # 3396

July 11

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men . . . and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
"The word of the Lord endureth forever." (1 Peter 1:25)

There are always Pharisee-like people around who contend for their own ways of religion. They insist that their ideas and customs are to be followed. They criticize those who simply follow the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. For those of us who believe, the Word is our solid rock.

- Christ revealed Himself in His Word.
- He does not change, nor does His Word.
- Read His Word.
- Believe His Word.
- Hold fast to His Word.
- Obey His Word.
- Preach His Word.
- Rejoice in His Word.
- Are you spending time in His Word?
(Ben Tuininga)

N.J. Hiebert # 3397

July 12

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4,5)

Theology wants to know where sin comes from. Jesus tells us how we can get rid of sin. We shall not conquer the world with theology. Knowing that Jesus conquered sin and all the power of the devil when He died on the cross will make us conquerors. (Corrie Ten Boom - This Day is the Lord's)

N.J. Hiebert # 3398

July 13

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1,2)

"Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth
that I desire beside Thee." (Psalm 73:25)

These heart utterances of the saints of old imply that God is a living Person, and that His people can hold conscious and soul-satisfying fellowship with Him even amid the sorrows of earth; "That He is, and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) It is tragically true that some men, because of the pride of their countenance, will not seek after Him, and that they banish Him from their thoughts (Psalm 10:4); but the word of God and human experience alike testify that such men live incomplete lives; that to be without Him is to be without hope in the world; that, indeed, without personal knowledge of Him, life is an existence destitute of significance. We have been so framed that God alone is the adequate portion of our souls; in Him alone can we find enjoyment for ever. It was a keen sense of this that drew from one the oft-quoted exclamation: "Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our heart hath no rest until it rest in Thee." As the eye was formed for the light, the ear for sound, the palate for taste, the intellect for truth, and as these faculties can find pleasure only in their respective objects, so, the soul was formed by God for Himself, and can never know real or abiding enjoyment except in Him. (George Henderson - Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care)

N.J. Hiebert # 3399

July 14

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)

I have heard finely educated men in prayer-meeting talk in sentences of Miltonic affluence, yet their words fell dead upon the meeting; but when some poor, uneducated man arose, and said, "I suppose you fellers think that because I don't know nothing, I haven't no right to speak. But Christ has converted my soul, and you know I was the miserablist chap in town; and if God will pardon me, He will pardon you. Come to Jesus! Come now!" - The prayer-meeting broke down with religious emotion. (T.De Witt Talmage)

N.J. Hiebert # 3400

July 15

"I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure." (Genesis 33:14)

What a beautiful picture of Jacob's thoughtfulness for the cattle and the children! He would not allow them to be overdriven even for one day. He would not lead on according to what a strong man like Esau could do and expected them to do, but only according to what they were able to endure. He knew exactly how far they could go in a day; and he made that his only consideration in arranging the marches. He had gone the same wilderness journey years before, and knew all about its roughness and heat and length, by personal experience. And so he said, "I will lead on softly." "For ye have not passed this way heretofore." (Joshua 3:4) (Frances Ridley Havergal)

N.J. Hiebert # 3401

July 16

"I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you . . . by which also ye aresaved . . . Christ died for our sins . . . He rose again the third day . . . we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye . . . the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. . . ."
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 51-52)

- Nothing ever brought out the real state of man's heart toward God but the coming of Christ.
- Christ not merely "died for our sins, according to the scriptures," but He was "made sin for us." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
-There can be no such thing known as peace or joy, until we see all our trespasses forgiven and our sin judged at Calvary.

(Food for the Desert)

N.J. Hiebert # 3402

July 17

"Lo, I come (in the volume [roll] of the book it is written of Me,)
to do Thy will, O God." (Hebrews 10:7)

He came to finish the perfect eternal work of redemption. "Wherefore it behooved Him in all things to be made like to His brethren" (Hebrews 2:17), and to be a partaker of flesh and blood. (Hebrews 2:14) He "Made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant." (Philippians 2:7); yes, "in likeness of sinful flesh." (Romans 8:3)

Such was Thy grace, that for our sake
Thou didst from heaven come down;
With us of flesh and blood partake,
And make our guilt Thine own.

(Behold the Lamb of God - Fritz Von Kietzell)

N.J. Hiebert # 3403

July 18

"To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22)

The first and most important point in the training of children is to teach them the blessedness of obedience. They must learn obedience to properly constituted authority, which is the foundation of all moral excellency, not only in childhood, but all through life. If a child never learns to be obedient at home to the God-given authority of its parents, it will be disobedient to authorities of the Government.

Obedience to God is the very essence of a happy Christian life and if we would desire our children to be converted and be obedient Christians, we must teach them obedience at home from the very beginning. A child that has never learned obedience to its parents will seldom be an obedient Christian, if ever converted. Obedience to parental authority is essential to subjection to God's authority.

The parent's will should be supreme with a child, because the parent stands in the place of God in relation to the child. It is self-will, the inborn tendency of every child of Adam, that is the very essence of sin, and this will need to be brought into subjection to God. Upon parents, mothers especially, God has laid the task of beginning the work in childhood. Children should be trained to implicit and unquestioning obedience to their parents and to all authorities. We are living in the last days described in 2 Timothy 3, when disobedience to parents and all the various forms of self-will and rebellion are rampant everywhere, therefore it is all the more necessary that parents train their children in obedience.

(The Christian Home - R.K. Campbell)

N.J. Hiebert # 3404

July 19

"Thou anointest my head with oil." (Psalm 23:5)

FRESHNESS AND FULNESS - By comparing the scriptures which speak of it we learn that this "anointing" produces freshness (Psalm 92:10); and joy (Psalm 45:7); just as its absence denotes mourning (2 Samuel 14:2); and sadness (Matthew 16:16-18). And it is evident that Psalm 45:7 applies primarily to the Lord Jesus, Who, though a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, was, nevertheless, anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows (Isaiah 53:3; Hebrews 1:8,9).

Holiness and happiness are as firmly linked together as are sin and sorrow . Spotlessly holy, His joy was deep, tranquil, and perennial; but in "bearing away the sin of the world", He endured suffering and sorrow of which we can have no conception, but in the contemplation of which we can only worship and adore. And because the dignity of His person adds infinite and eternal value to His redemptive work, the bitter cry which fell from His lips on the hill called Calvary, shall find its echo in the triumph-songs of the redeemed throughout eternity. (The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson)

N.J. Hiebert # 3405

July 20

"Watch unto prayer." (1 Peter 4:7)

Peter's fall began by want of dependence and neglect of prayer. We must be "watching unto prayer" - not merely ready to pray when temptation comes, but walking with God and so meeting it in the power of previous prayer.

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. (Christian Newsletter)

N.J. Hiebert # 3406

July 21

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." (Philippians 1:3)

Use every remembrance of anyone who loves our Lord as a reminder to look up and thank Him. When the thought of such a one floats through the mind, don't let it merely float. Definitely thank God for that one, and ask for anything known to be needed. If nothing is known, "Do Thou for him" covers it all.

There is a good deal about remembering in the Bible, and a good deal about reminders of different kinds. Some of these reminders are like flashes for quickness; others bring a thing gradually to our minds, as the cock crowing caused Peter to "remember gradually" the words of his Lord (Luke 22:61).

The Spirit of God is ready, in His loving way, to bring anyone to mind who needs the help of prayer. If only we are careful not to smother and ignore His soft, reminding whispers, they will come more and more. (Amy Carmichael - Whispers of His Power)

N.J. Hiebert # 3407

July 22

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6)

Keep my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

If we have found help and blessing by going a certain distance in one direction, is it not probable we shall find more if we go farther in the same? And so, if we may commit the days to our Lord, why not the hours, and why not the moments? And may we not expect a fresh and special blessing in so doing?

We do not realize the importance of moments. Only let us consider those two sayings of God about them, "In a moment shall they die," and "We shall all be changed in a moment," and we shall think less lightly of them. Eternal issues may hang upon any one of them, but it has come and gone before we can even think about it. Nothing seems less within the possibility of our own keeping, yet nothing is most inclusive of all other keeping. Therefore let us ask Him to keep them for us. (Kept for the Master's Use - Frances Ridley Havergal)

N.J. Hiebert # 3408

July 23

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deuteronomy 33:27)

I have read of a mountain traveler who was walking near a dangerous precipice at night. His foot slipped and he grabbed a bush to hang on for dear life, fearing that he was hanging over the abyss. His grip finally gave out and he fell - just a few inches to solid ground below! Some of us cliff-hangers fancy we are over the precipice and hang on in frantic desperation. When we finally "let go and let God" we find underneath the Everlasting Arms. (Vance Havner - Though I Walk Through the Valley)

N.J. Hiebert # 3409

July 24

"And when he (Paul) had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred three score and sixteen souls." (Acts 27:33,34)

Paul set the example by giving thanks and eating. See the power and effect of a good example! The rest watched him, saw his confidence, believed his word, and they were of good cheer. Perhaps you have tasted deep sorrow in your life and realized that self-will has brought it about. Now, repentant and forgiven, it is vitally important to follow examples given in the Word of God. God promises not only to forgive confessed sin, but to cleanse . . . from all unrighteousness. Let this give you hope for if God be for us, who can be against us?

You need the food of God's precious Word to nourish, 276 souls on the ship who were desperately in need of taking some meat. You have a far greater number of reasons to take Divine nourishment! Whether in school, at work, in your neighbourhood - whatever the daily contacts of your life, you need food to act for God's glory for every single situation you will face. If the Lord has graciously restored you from a storm resulting from self will, remember - be of good cheer and take some meat. (The Journey of Life)

N.J. Hiebert # 3410

July 25

"Which is the first commandment of all ?" (Mark 12:28)

In other words, the scribe raises the ever recurring question - the question that every devout soul puts up in a more or less articulate way, at some time or other, What does God require of me, What is the one thing I am to seek? What is the supreme good?

We need to observe the way in which our Lord begins His answer. Today, theology is at a discount. We are told it is not a question of how we think of God or Christ, or a matter of creed or doctrine, but of life. Theology need not concern us, say these Modernists. Our Lord overturns at one stroke all such reasoning. He begins by stating a theological proposition, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord." (Mark 12:29)

The necessity of this is obvious. Wrong thoughts about God will give us wrong thoughts about what He requires. Moreover, if to love Him is the supreme thing - and this is what Christ was about to tell His inquirer - we must know the One we are to love. Further, it is due to God that I have right thoughts about Him. Nor is it too much to say that everything begins and ends with knowing Him.

What a profound statement - "The Lord our God is one Lord." (Mark 12:29) "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one." (Galatians 3:20) "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. " (1 John 5:7)

God is one in His essential Being, and equally one in all His ways. "He cannot deny Himself." Nothing inconsistent with His character marks any of His ways. Nor are His ways inconsistent in themselves. (Russell Elliott - Break of Day)

N.J. Hiebert # 3411

July 26

"Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice." (Psalm 63:7)

These are the wings of JOY.

True joy is found only in Christ. The Christian is the only one who has any right to be joyful. But joy is normal for the Christian. As we are under the shadow of His wings, sheltered from judgment and condemnation, we have every right to rejoice.

I have a friend who was saved after he had reached middle age. His life had been rather "rough and tumble," and, having little education, his speech was not exactly an example of choice diction and rhetoric. One day, while giving his own testimony in public, he said something like this, "The Lord saved me a few years ago, and made me a new creature, and started me on the road to glory. And, as I walk with the Lord day by day, it gets gooder and gooder." That's the way it should be with us. Our experience with the Lord should become "gooder and gooder."

There is a most interesting progress of joy outlined in the New Testament.

- There is joy (Galatians 5:22).
- Great joy (Luke 2:10).
- Exceeding joy (1 Peter 4:13).
- Exceeding great joy (Matthew 2:10).
- Abundance of joy (2 Corinthians 8:2).
- Fulness of joy (John 15:11).
- Unspeakable joy (1 Peter 1:8)

(Wendell P. Loveless - Little Talks on Great Words)

N.J. Hiebert # 3412

July 27

"How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them they are more in number than the sand: when I awake I am still with Thee."
(Psalm 139:17,18)

A story from a children's book tells of a railway into Edinburgh, Scotland, which goes through a long tunnel before coming into the city. There was a certain old lady who lived in the country, who had a great dread of the long, dark tunnel. So, although her friends laughed at her, and tried to tease her out of it, she always used to get our at Abbeyhill, before the tunnel, and go into town by taxi.

One day when the train reached Abbeyhill, she was sleeping and her friends did not awaken her. So she passed through the tunnel she so much feared, in her sleep and never knew it, and when she opened her eyes, she was in the city.

Fear can hamstring the soul. (Traveling Toward Sunrise)

N.J. Hiebert # 3413

July 28

"If ye love Me keep My commandments." (John 14:15)

Love and obedience are cause and effect: depth of love is manifest in fulness of obedience. Just as our Lord simplified the old Law, declaring it to be love to God, and to our neighbour (Matthew 22:35-40); so, the new commandment is summed up in the words, "that ye love one another, as I have loved you." (John 13:34) This love is the most practical thing in the world. The cultivation of religious emotion without the development of practical godliness, is injurious to the soul; feeling which does not end in action is wasted. All emotional, mystical experiences must submit to the plain test: do they help to obedience? If they do, they are valuable: if they do not, they are useless. (Henry Durbanville)

N.J. Hiebert # 3414

July 29

"Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." (Daniel 6:5)

What a testimony from his bitterest enemies! Would that it could be said of all of us! He had never taken a bribe, he had never been connected with a "ring." Ah, how his name shines! He had commenced to shine in his early manhood, and he shone right along. Now he is an old man, an old statesman, and yet this is their testimony. Character is worth more than money. Character is worth more than anything else in the wide world. I would rather in my old age have such a character as that which Daniel's enemies gave him than have raised over my dead body a monument of gold reaching from earth to sky. (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert # 3415

July 30

"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." (Luke 5:4)

The Word had authority in the conscience. Peter and Andrew had seen Jesus before, but had not yet stayed with Him. There had not been sufficient power in their faith to attach them to Christ. There are many now, as ever, who own the authority of the Word, yet are not attached by its power to His person; many absorbed by their everyday pursuits, the Word not having laid hold of their souls so as to make them walk thoroughly with Christ. It is one thing simply to hear His word when spoken to them; quite a different thing when the Word reaches them and becomes the spring and motive of all their ways. So here these men had spent a little time with Jesus, had heard Him speak, and owned Him as Messiah; so now also we see obedience to His word when it comes to them. They launch out at His word, and at His word they let down their nets. "And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net brake." (J.N. Darby - The Man of Sorrows)

N.J. Hiebert # 3416

July 31

"I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."(Habakkuk 3:18)

God takes us through many things to purify us. His desire is to make us both dependent and obedient upon Him, the best for us. We must learn to lean upon Him in spite of circumstances that surround us no matter how dim or deceiving. He is able to lift us up above our circumstances leaving us to rejoice in Him alone as our Saviour. (B.R. - Meditations on Habakkuk)

N.J. Hiebert # 3417