Gems from November 2010

"But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss."
(Acts 27:21)

As mentioned, the truth hurts. But confessing that it is because you have sinned against God that all now seems so dark and hopeless in your life, is the first and most vitally important step you will take on "restoration road". Do you remember what David said when he repented of his dreadful sin (adultery)? "For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest" (Psalm 51:3,4). How it must have grieved dear David to say that - but those are the only words which could open the door to blessing for him.

Notice another thing - it was after a long abstinence that Paul spoke to those whose hope had been taken from them. Why did the apostle wait so long? Why didn't he keep arguing with the centurion and the crew until they listened to his warning? Because they had already rejected what he said - they did not want his advice. (The Journey of life - D.N.)

N.J. Hiebert - 4238

November 1

"And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!"
(Matthew 27:29)

"His eyes were a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself."
(Revelation 19:12)

The King, once so despised and ill-treated, will be manifested in all conquering power. His head, once pierced by sharp thorns, will soon be adorned with "many diadems" (R.V.) these symbols of kingly greatness He shall wear with undisputed authority, for He is "KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS" (v. 16) (G. Hall)

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November 2

"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
(Hebrews 10:17)

What is the secret of forgiveness? It is not enough to simply say, "I forgive you." You must begin to live it out. That means acting as though their sins, like yours, have been buried in the depths of the deepest sea. If God can remember them no more, then neither should you. The reason your resentment keeps coming back to you is that you keep turning them over in your mind. Please, just trust God with your thoughts. He will renew your mind. (This Day is the Lord's - Corrie Ten Boom)

N.J. Hiebert - 4240

November 3

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

It is not too much to say that if we accept these words at their true value, all worry will be banished from our lives. "The days of our years are three-score years and ten" (Psalm 90:10); but remember that they come to us one at a time, and that our whole life is but a day repeated. "Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain," says Marcus Aurelius. When a helpless cripple who suffered twenty years of pain was asked how he endured it, he replied: "Just by living a day at a time." Yesterday is with God; tomorrow is with God; today only is with us.

When our Lord bade us limit our cares to the day that is passing over our heads, He consulted our earthly life no less that our spiritual life; for the chief sources of most men's uneasiness are chagrin at the past, and forebodings of what is to come. But it can be definitely affirmed that no man sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to it that the weight is more than one can bear.

"I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of the year to a great bundle of sticks, far too large for us to lift," says John Newton. "But God does not require us to carry the whole at once; He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today; and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow; and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day." (In Pastures Green - George Henderson)

N.J. Hiebert - 4241

November 4

"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there with to be content." (Philippians 4:11)

That is, indeed, the greatest of all life's lessons, and happy is the one who has learned it. Various have been the definitions of the grace of contentment, and almost innumerable the eulogies that have been heaped upon it. Joseph Addison says that upon the whole, the greatest blessing that a man can enjoy in this world is the blessing of a contented heart. It has been described as a cordial acquiescence in the arrangements of heaven; as the joyful condition of soul in which we can say: "I have enough." (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert - 4242

November 5

"Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: but whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him."
(1 John 3:6)

This verse gives the characteristic state of a man who lives in sin. A man that sins does that which characterizes a sinner. It is a denial of Christianity, in which we have salvation from sin. In the first epistle of John we have repeatedly the contrast between the Christian and the unconverted man - the one being characterized by a life according to God, and the other by a life of sin. The whole teaching shows that there is no license in grace. We are saved by grace and for glory, but from sin now; saved from its mastery, to live without it; hence, if we sin, we are practically denying our calling, and the Word touches the conscience and pulls us up at once. "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him neither known Him."

But at the same time, such is God's wondrous grace that He has made a perfect provision for His children in case we do sin. We ought not to. But "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father . . ." (1 John 2:1). We do not lose our Saviour or our salvation or our relationship. Grace took us up at the start, and grace will bring us through to the end. If God cast us off when, through unwatchfulness, we sin, He would never have taken us up; for then we were doing nothing else... If a Christian sins, it is as a child of God, and no longer as an enemy. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) (E.H.C.)

N.J. Hiebert - 4243

November 6

"Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end."
(John 13:1)

All believers are included in this number. Someone has translated that last expression, "He loved them all the way through." Through what? Through everything. He loved Peter all the way through his boasting and failure, and He loved him back to victory and faithfulness. And, thank God, when once He takes up a poor sinner in grace, he loves him all the way through. It can be said of every Christian, "Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end." "For He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) (H.A. Ironside)

N.J. Hiebert - 4244

November 7

"If a man love Me, he will keep My words."
(John 14:23)

With the Christian it is not always a matter of getting a definite command. He reads his Bible, and as he reads he sees that God has expressed His mind in such a way that the obedient Christian can discern what the will of the Lord is, and so he is glad to keep His word and thus render devoted service. (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert - 4245

November 8

"Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory."
(Psalm 73:24)

Prayer and faith, the universal remedies against every want, and every difficulty; and the nourishment of prayer and faith, God's holy word, helped me over all the difficulties. I never remember, in all my Christian course, a period now (1895) of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the word of God, but I have been always directed rightly. But if honesty of heart, and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow-men to the declaration of the word of the living God, I made great mistakes. (George Mueller)

N.J. Hiebert - 4246

November 9

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

"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."
(Isaiah 30:15)

Prayer is:

- The peace of our spirit.
- The stillness of our thoughts.
- The evenness of our recollection.
- The seat of our meditation.
- The rest of our cares.
- The calm of our tempest.
- The issue of a quiet mind, of untroubled thoughts.
- The daughter of charity and the sister of meekness.

He that prays to God with a troubled and discomposed spirit, is like him that retires into a battle to meditate, and sets up his closet in the out-quarters of an army, and chooses a frontier garrison to be wise in. (Jeremy Taylor)

Take time to get quiet before God. He has messages for your soul, but how can you hear them if your mind is preoccupied by many other things which trouble you. Let the Lord Jesus speak peace to your troubled Galilee. It was not in the storm of wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, that Elijah heard God's voice, but in the stillness that followed.

N.J. Hiebert - 4247

November 10

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
(John 14:13)

"That the Father may be glorified in the Son." It is to this end that Jesus on His throne in glory will do all we ask in His name. Every answer to prayer He gives will have this as its object: when there is no prospect of this object being obtained, He will not answer. It follows as a matter of course that this must be with us, as with Jesus, the essential element in our petitions; the glory of the Father must be the aim and end, the very soul and life of our prayer. . . . Let us make His aim ours; let the glory of the Father be the link between our asking and His doing: such prayer must prevail. (Andrew Miller)

Here is a point where searching self-examination is needed. Will the answer to my prayer glorify God? Is that what I desire above all things in asking? Is self-interest in any way influencing the character of my praying? Prayer often remains unanswered because we pray for something to consume upon our own lusts, and do not aim purely at God's glory. (Selected)

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November 11

"Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

SOUL-WINNING

The first essential in soul-winning is love. The "publicans and sinners" were irresistibly drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the great Evangelist; they were drawn to Him by the power of that divine love that filled His heart for them. The skill displayed in His dealing with individual souls, and the gracious words which fell from His lips upon the ears of listening multitudes, were alike the outcome and the revelation of the love that He had for sinful man.

"Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." The secret of soul-winning is found in this command of our Lord. How otherwise could this skill be obtained? Where else could this wisdom be found? Its price is "above rubies"; "neither shall it be valued with pure gold"! As we follow Him we shall catch the yearnings, the throbbings of His great heart of love, and shall as a result become a feeble reflex of Himself.

It has been rightly said that every evangelist is some little reflection of Christ, but alas that we should reflect Him so little! Tears are not often found upon our cheeks, nor sighs in our spirits. If we felt more in secret, as we contemplated the state of the unconverted, there would surely be more tender pathos in our pleadings, and souls would feel, at least, that we loved them. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." (Christian Truth - Volume 21 - November 1968)

N.J. Hiebert - 4249

November 12

"He (Jesus) humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
(Philippians 2:8)

No one cares for another, so that if a man does not care for himself he will be sure to be pushed down low enough. Then, again, so deceitful are our hearts that it is possible we should be willing to humble ourselves if we could get anything by it, even the approbation of men. On the other hand, if we, in the usual sense of men, merely seek to imitate Christ in this it will be but legal effort. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). He humbled Himself. First, "He made Himself of no reputation" (Philippians 2:7). That is, He emptied Himself of His glory to become a Man. In doing this He left the Father's glory to become a Man. This was a great descent, though we think a great deal of ourselves. But was that all? No. He humbled Himself to death, even the death of the Cross. (The Man of Sorrows - J.N.D.)

N.J. Hiebert - 4250

November 13

" . . . a name which is above every name."
(Philippians 2:9)

What's in a name? Before Christ was born, the mother of Jesus was told exactly what to call Him. The angel said, "Call His name Jesus." Notice some things about this lovely Name.

1. It is an easy Name. It is pronounced almost the same in every language. It has only two syllables and a child can be taught it as easily as the word "mama."
2. It is a beautiful Name. Beautiful because of its association with a beautiful person. Some names are repulsive and arouse disgust because of whom they suggest.
3. It is a comforting Name. For it means: "God is our Saviour." It is the only name under heaven whereby we can, and must, be saved.
4. It is a mighty Name. At that name the demons tremble. Some day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that "Jesus is Lord."
5. It is an enduring Name. Born in obscurity 2000 years ago, dying like a criminal at the age of only 33 - He has the most well-known name in the world.
6. It is the best Name. Our Saviour has many, many names but the name of Jesus is above them all.

Whatever the name we may bear here upon the earth, when Jesus comes we shall forever have written upon our foreheads the name Jesus. For "they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads" (Revelation 22:4) (Selected)

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Not can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name,
O Saviour of mankind!
(Bernard of Clairvaux)

"Jesus was born to die, died to save, lives to bless, and will come to reign - what a wonderful Person; what a worthy Name!"

N.J. Hiebert - 4251

November 14

"That . . . we might have a strong CONSOLATION, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."
(Hebrews 6:18)

The Consoler

The Scriptures reveal to us very clearly that the Triune God is engaged in the work of consolation. In Romans 15:5, Paul addresses our heavenly Father as "the God of patience and consolation"; and in 2 Corinthians 1:3, as "the God of all comfort". The prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus includes the precious promise that He would comfort those that mourn (Isaiah 61:2); while the name chosen for the manifestation of God during this age, by the third person of the Trinity, is "The comforter".

The Consoled

God comforts and consoles His people (Isaiah 40:1); that is, those who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before them (Hebrews 6:18). In Luke 8:48 we have a lovely picture of how the union between Christ and His people is formed, and of the blessedness which flows from that union. "He said unto her, 'Daughter' " - there is the relationship; "be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole" - there is how the relationship is formed; "go in peace" - there is what follows in the history of the redeemed one.

The establishment of that relationship separates us from, and brings us into, conflict with the world which knows us not; the result oftentimes being sadness of heart, distress of mind, and, at certain periods of the history of the Church, physical suffering. In the midst of it all, however, the heart may be kept in perfect peace; for He comforts those who mourn (Matthew 5:4); those who are cast down (2 Corinthians 7:6); and those who suffer for His name (2 Corinthians 1:5)

The Consolation

- We have the comfort of His merciful kindness which covers all the guilty PAST (Psalm 119:76; Isaiah 49:13; Ephesians 2:4,5);
- Of His rod to direct and His staff to protect in all the needy PRESENT
(Psalm 23:4);
- And of glad reunion with our Christian dead through the eternal FUTURE
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
(Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care)

N.J. Hiebert - 4252

November 15

"Seek ye My face . . . Thy face, Lord, will I seek."
(Psalm 27:8)

"Seek the Lord, and His strength: seek His face evermore."
(Psalm 105:4)

In prayer I have not only to ask for things, but to REALIZE THE PRESENCE of Him to whom I speak. The power of prayer is gone if I lose the sense of seeing Him by faith. Prayer is not only asking right things, but having the sense of the Person there. If I have not that, I lose the sense of His love, and of being heard. (Comforted of God - A.J. Pollock)

N.J. Hiebert - 4253

November 16

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
(Matthew 6:34)

Nothing to do With Tomorrow

I have nothing to do with tomorrow,
My Father will make that His care,
Should He fill it with trouble and sorrow,
He'll help me that sorrow to bear.

I have nothing to do with tomorrow,
Its troubles then why should I share,
Its grace and its strength I can't borrow,
Then why should I borrow its care?
(Selected)

N.J. Hiebert - 4254

November 17

"And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, when your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land."
(Joshua 4:21,22)

"These stones" were the evidence of God working in the nation's life. God told the Israelites to build them up as a memorial that He had miraculously brought them through the Jordan River and had fulfilled all His promises. They may have looked like a mere pile of stones, but in reality they were a simple, yet profound reminder of God's awesome providence. Do we have those stones in our lives? Hopefully, we do. Have we commemorated them in some way? It's good to be able to look back and remind ourselves of God's faithfulness. It strengthens us for present challenges and gives us hope for the future. (Craig Funston)

N.J. Hiebert - 4255

November 18

"Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in you minds."
(Hebrews 12:3)

O to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, will, and strength! Nothing else matters in this life but doing His will. Your life has no purpose except that it be given wholly to the One who bought it with His precious bleed. Give Him the due reward for His suffering. What the future holds doesn't really matter as long as right now you are where God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do. Consider Him and escape your weariness. (C. Wilson)

N.J. Hiebert - 4256

November 19

"The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain."
(2 Timothy 1:16)

The Church needs more believers like the refreshing brother Onesiphorus. He ignored personal comfort, even to the point of endangering his own life, for the sake of encouraging an imprisoned fellow Christian. The ignominy (disgrace or dishonour) of Paul's legal situation did not deter this faithful saint from visiting his brother in the Lord. Onesiphorus is one who merits the Lord's description "I was in prison, and ye came unto me" (Matthew 25:36). Today believers are faced with an array of difficult circumstances. Are we refreshing our suffering brothers and sisters? (Keith Keyser)

N.J. Hiebert - 4257

November 20

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me. . . . Lord who is it? Jesus answered, he it is, to whom I shall give a sop . . . he gave it to Judas Iscariot."
(John 13:21, 25,26)

The Eleven, stunned, as it seems, by this terrible disclosure, fail to grasp the meaning of the Lord's words. Judas having been entrusted with the bag, they judge the Lord's words must have some reference to meeting the needs of the feast or to relieving the poor. Judas has no misapprehension. The presence of the Lord has become intolerable to this devil-possessed man, so having received the sop he immediately arises and, without a word, passes into the night, only a little later to pass into a deeper night - that horror of great darkness - from whence there is no return.

It has been remarked that in all this solemn scene there is no denunciation of Judas, no reproach is heaped upon him, no word of expulsion is uttered against him, no demand to depart is given to him. The presence of a false one is revealed; the sin he is about to commit is foretold, the man who will commit it is indicated, and then, amidst a silence more terrible than words, he leaves the light that was too searching, the holy Presence that he no longer could endure, and passes into the night for which no morning will ever dawn. Let us remember that but for the grace of God, and the precious blood of Christ, we should each one follow Judas into the night. (Hamilton Smith)

N.J. Hiebert - 4258

November 21

"I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."
(1 Timothy 2:8)

You can pray for any need:
- For lengthened life, as Hezekiah did.
- For help, as Daniel did.
- For mercy, as David did.
- For rain, as Elijah did.
- For a son, as Hannah did.
- For grace, as Paul did.
You can pray, too, anywhere:
- In the deep, like Jonah.
- On the sea or housetop, like Peter.
- On your bed, like Hezekiah.
- In the mountain, like Jesus.
- In the wilderness, like Hagar.
- In the street, like Jarius.
- In a cave, like David.
- On the cross, like the dying thief.
You can pray, too anyhow:
- Short, as Peter and the Publican did.
- Long, like Moses at the consecration of the Tabernacle.
- Long, like Solomon at the dedication of the temple.
- You can pray in your secret thoughts, as Nehemiah did before Darius.
- Aloud, as did the Syro-phoenician woman.
- In tears, as Magdalene did.
- In groans, or songs, as David did.
You can pray anytime.
- In the morning, as David did.
- At noon, as Daniel did.
- At midnight, as Silas did.
- In childhood, as Samuel did.
- In youth, as Timothy did.
- In manhood, as the centurion did.
- In age, as Simeon did.
- In sickness, as Job did.
- In death, as Jacob did.
- In death, as the dying Christ did.
(Robert G. Lee)

Careless prayer is presumption; commanded prayer is obedience.

N.J. Hiebert - 4259

November 22

"[Love] beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
(1 Corinthians 13:7)

Herein is love. The Lord Jesus gave His back to the smiters and those who tore the hair from His cheeks. He did not hide His face from shame and spittle. He was despised and rejected of men. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for out sin. The punishment for our sin was laid upon Him. He was oppressed and afflicted yet He opened not His mouth. Jesus Christ took our place and endured the ultimate death for us. Herein is love. (Selected)

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November 23

"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is none else."
(Isaiah 45:22)

Such is the wide aspect of God's salvation. When God spoke as a lawgiver, He addressed Himself to one people; but when He speaks as "a just God and a Saviour," He addresses Himself to "all the ends of the earth."

And may anyone "look"? It is not only that he may, but he ought - not only is he permitted, but commanded. It is a command issued to all the ends of the earth. This includes everyone who hears the message. It includes the reader of these lines. Whoever you are, you are this moment commanded to "look . . . and be saved." Before you can refuse the application of this word to yourself, you must prove that you do not come within the range of "all the ends of the earth." (Christian Truth - Volume 15 - December 1962)

N.J. Hiebert - 4261

November 24

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
(Ephesians 2:6)

Often in a pleasant and profitable meeting of Christians, whose hearts have been touched by the preaching or praying or singing, will publicly thank God that we sit together today in heavenly places, in other words, returning thanks for a good time. But believers sit together in heavenly places every day, whatever may be their emotions. They may be assailed by all the hosts of darkness, they may be burdened with a weight of affliction heavy enough to crush them, they may walk in darkness black as midnight, but they still sit together in heavenly places in Chris Jesus.

Quickened, raised, and in Him seated,
We full deliverance know;
Every for has been defeated,
Every enemy laid low.
(G.W.F.)

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November 25

"Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in, in his season."
(Job 5:26)

Can you believe that God gave to man the gift of life, meaning the first half of it to be the best?

Can you believe that it is His purpose that the most hopeless part of life should be the end? There are, it is true, links with the material world that men shed as they grow older, but these are of the husks of life and not the kernel.

Maturity of mind is a greater thing than maturity of body and comes later. Maturity of soul, the greatest thing of all, does not seem to come here at all. Souls are still growing when they leave the lower school. This is surely not "going downhill." That is surely what God means life to be for all of us - a road that leads "uphill all the way." (Selected)

N.J. Hiebert - 4263

November 26

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
(Jeremiah 33:3)

We are inclined to pray as though this world were in the grip of cold, fixed laws, with only the remote possibility that God might occasionally break through. We timidly whisper a few feeble petitions barely hoping, but certainly not believing that we shall receive. But God is not a prisoner in His own universe. Jesus is the Lord of all creation, King of kings and Lord of lords. The devil can go only so far as God allows him to go.

God is waiting to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. He invites us to prove Him. He longs to demonstrate what He can do, exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, great and mighty things which we know not.

"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 4:16)

This is our Father's world. God is still on the throne of creation. Call on Him and He will answer.
(Day by Day With Vance Havner)

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November 27

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits" (Psalm 103:2).

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).

Harvest is ended. There is a song in the air - a song of joy-filled hearts and thanksgiving. Goodness and mercy have followed throughout every day of the year. We have been loaded, yea, overloaded with His benefits and manifold tokens of His love and mercy. "He careth for us." Our testings and trials have been buried beneath His mercies which outnumber the waves of the sea. We praise God that He saw us through the tempests we thought would pull us under. He is our own God; we are the flock of His pasture and the people of His hand. "Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him" (Psalm 67:5-7).

THANKSGIVING DAY is a day for retrospection - a day also for spiritual inventory - a day for family reunions, fellowship with old friends and neighbours, sharing our bounties with those less favored. If throughout the past year earthborn clouds have blotted out the sunshine of your spiritual sky, may there be a rift in the clouds today so that you can see through to the land of pure delights where saints immortal reign.

The story is told of Sir Michael Costa. He was holding a rehearsal one night with his vast array of musicians and hundreds of voices. The mighty chorus rang out with thunder of organ, sounding of horns and clashing of cymbals. Far back in the orchestra one who played the piccolo said to himself, "In all this din it matters not what I do." Suddenly, all was still! The great conductor had stopped. Someone had failed to take his part! The sweet note of the piccolo had been missed.

"Let all the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase and God, even our own God shall bless US."
(Psam 67:3,6)

Try thanksgiving! Let this Thanksgiving Day mark the beginning of a new life of victory, the "praise life!"
(Streams in the Desert)

N.J. Hiebert - 4265

November 28

"That thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." (1 Timothy 1:3)

It is interesting to trace that little word some through 1 Timothy. You will find it frequently:

- "Some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling" (1:6).
- "Some having put away (a good conscience) concerning faith have made shipwreck" (1:19).
- "Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (4:1).
- "Some are already turned aside after Satan" (5:15), and so on.

There were those who were teaching things contrary to the truth of God; so Paul says to Timothy, "Stay there if you will and help the saints, and warn those teachers of false things, and charge them that they teach no other doctrine than that which has been delivered unto the saints."
(H.A. Ironside)

N.J. Hiebert - 4266

November 29

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
(Philippians 4:8)

A.W. Tozer listed seven rules for self-discovery. He stated that we may be known by the following:

1. What we most want.
2. What we think about most.
3. How we use our money.
4. What we do with our leisure time.
5. The company we enjoy.
6. Whom and what we admire.
7. What we laugh at.

In view of these rules may we apply to ourselves the words of today's verse - "Think on these things." (Choice Gleanings - W. Ross Rainey)

May the mind of Christ, my Saviour, live in me from day to day,
By his love and pow'r controlling, all I do and say.
(Kate B. Wilkinson)

N.J. Hiebert - 4267

November 30

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

There is but one place of anchorage for the soul, and that is faith in Jesus. But even where there is that faith, there may not be settled peace of conscience, and that is why it is so important to have a right understanding on the question of works. It is not the question only of getting peace on first coming to God, but of abiding in God's presence with unbroken peace ever after; and this cannot be unless God's idea of works be clearly understood. . . .

Man's thoughts throughout is that he can do something for God. But the thought of our being able to do anything cannot exist with peace of conscience in God's presence. One only could stand there and say, "All that thou requirest I can and will do. In the volume of the book it is written of me, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God."

Paul had thought by his own resources in works to meet God's demands, but when converted, a new principle broke in upon him, he found that that Nazarene was in heaven telling him of gratuity of grace, and he took salvation, not of works, but by faith. (Gleanings of G.V. Wigram)

N.J. Hiebert - 4268