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