Gems from January 2013
God Knows How Much Pressure We Can Take
"Looking unto Jesus . . . who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame . . ."
(Hebrews 12:2)
Those who have gone through some "long night of the soul" realize that
there is a limit to man's ability to live without joy!
The strongest steel breaks if kept too long under unrelieved tension.
Believe it that God knows exactly how much pressure each one of us can take!
He knows how long we can endure the night, so He gives the soul relief, first by welcome glimpses
of the morning star and then by the fuller light that harbingers the morning.
Slowly you will discover God's love in your suffering.
Your heart will begin to approve the whole thing.
You will learn from yourself what all the schools in the world could not teach you -
the healing action of faith without supporting pleasure!
You will feel and understand the ministry of the night; its power to purify, to detach, to humble,
to destroy the fear of death, and what is more important to you at the moment, the fear of life.
And you will learn that sometimes pain can do what even joy cannot, such as exposing
the vanity of earth's trifles and filling our heart with longing for the peace of heaven! (A.W. Tozer)
N.J. Hiebert - 5023
January 1
God Leading Us On
"He leadeth me beside the still waters . . .
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake . . . Thou art with me . . .
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me . . ."
(Psalm 23)
I am persuaded that when you look back over that part of life which you have passed,
you see how God does, according to His promise, somehow or other, bring us on.
How He will do so, we can never tell beforehand;
but, when He is leading,
He does lead on somehow or other;
and as He has done for you and yours,
through the years that are past,
through the years that are past,
so He will do for the future also:
He changes not.
(The Young Christian - Vol. 17)
N.J. Hiebert - 5026
January 2
". . . He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
(Deuteronomy 31:6)
We live in an age of change, and the trend of circumstances seems uncertain and confused. Past generations remind us of the unreliability and declining value of the things of this world. Genesis 47:15 says that "money failed in the land of Egypt"; Job cries out in distress, "My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me" (Job 19:14); the psalmist exclaims, "My flesh and my heart fail" (Psalm 73:26); and the writer of Ecclesiastes, noting the diminishing energies of the aged, declares that "desires shall fail" (Ecclesiastes 12:5).
All of this would tend to make us morose as we face a new year if it were not for the fact that God's good promises and tender compassions are sure and unchanging (Joshua 21:45; Lamentations 3:22). Millenniums ago Moses assured the children of Israel that the Lord would constantly go with them. Although their enemies threatened, they could always depend on the loving protection of Jehovah, for their leader assured them, "He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee!"
A small lad was asked to go down a strange road to get some groceries at a store. "Mother," he said in troubled tones, "it's pretty far, and I never went there before. I'm not 'zactly afraid but - couldn't you go a little ways with me?" Seeing his concern and touched by his boyish appeal, she said quietly, "Mother will go all the way with you, son!" With his hand in hers, he walked the unknown path with confidence.
As we stand at the beginning of a new, uncharted way, this promise heartens us for the year ahead: "HE WILL NOT FAIL THEE!" (H.G.B.)
Standing at the portal of the opening year, Words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear:
I, the Lord, am with thee, be thou not afraid! I will keep and strengthen, be thou not dismayed!
(Frances Havergal)
The Christian's future is as bright as the promises of God!
(Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI Reprinted permission)
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January 3
"This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you."
(Exodus 12:2)
The month when Passover was celebrated was to be the beginning of the year for Israel,
when their calendar of redemption commenced.
Central to Israel's history still, it celebrates their exodus from bondage to freedom.
If our New Year does not start with the Lord and the sprinkling of the blood of the Passover Lamb,
how can we expect blessing?
To start the day, the week, the month, the year with God is the path of wisdom,
and the way of pleasantness and peace.
Lord, keep us in the Way throughout the year.
(Choice Gleanings - Les Rainey)
The New Year, untried is before me, I know not what it may bring,
But my Father in heaven has bidden me trust Him for everything.
(N.M.B.)
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January 4
". . . without faith it is impossible to please Him. . . ."
(Hebrews 11:6)
". . . the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."
(Galatians 2:20)
"The LORD saith . . . them that honour me I will honour . . ."
(1 Samuel 2:30)
Unbelief reckons upon everything but God. Faith reckons upon God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The simplicity of a life of faith has charms that they do not know who never tired it.
One does not get rid of the difficulties of the path of faith by trying to avoid them,
one must surmount them by the power of God.
A difficulty may be a real one, but it is only for the unbelief of hearts that it is an obstacle,
if on the path of God's will; for faith reckons upon God . . .
and difficulties are as nothing before Him.
Experience ought to strengthen faith; but there must be a present faith to use experience.
It is by faith that God is honoured."
(J.N. Darby)
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January 5
"Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."
(1 Peter 2:17)
Sometimes when I want to start a fire, the wind puts it out.
But when I try to keep a fire burning, wind keeps it going.
So, in the first situation, I label wind “bad” because it thwarts my plans; in the other,
I label it “good” because it helps me accomplish what I want to get done.
This paradox illustrates how we judge things by the way they affect us.
We declare circumstances or people “bad” if they thwart our plans or cause us inconvenience.
We judge circumstances or people “good” if we agree with them and they support our cause.
But God is the One who determines what is good or bad,
and He does so not by how it affects our plans but by whether or not it accomplishes His.
His plan is that we would be “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar [special] people."
And His purpose for us is to
“Show forth the praises of Him who hath called you [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
To accomplish God’s good purpose, we are to respect all people, love other believers, fear God,
and honour those who rule over us—even when something doesn’t seem good to us (v.17).
These kinds of actions may fan a spark of belief in those who observe our responses
to “bad” circumstances and most of all bring praise to God.
Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here.
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
(Berg)
When things look bad, remember God is good.
N.J. Hiebert - 5030
January 6
"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance."
(2 Peter 1:12-13)
Restless nature might say . . . have you nothing new to tell us?
Why are you perpetually dwelling on the same old themes?
We know all you have got to say, we have heard it again and again.
Why not strike out into some new field of thought?
Would it not be well to try and keep abreast of the science of the day?
If we keep perpetually moping over those antiquated themes, we shall be left
stranded on the bank, while the stream of civilization rushes on.
Pray give us something new.
Can science improve upon upon Christ?
Can human learning add aught to the great mystery of godliness, which has for its foundation
God manifest in the flesh, and for its top-stone a Man glorified in heaven?
Can we ever get beyond this?
To take a lower range, and look at the works of God in creation; do we ever tire of the sun?
He is not new; he has been pouring his beams upon this world for six thousand years,
and yet those beams are as fresh and as welcome to-day as they were when first created.
Do we ever tire of the sea?
It is not new; its tide has been ebbing and flowing for six thousand years, but its
waves are as fresh and as welcome on our shores as ever.
True, the sun is often too dazzling to man's feeble vision, and the sea often swallows up,
in a moment, man's boasted works; but yet the sun and the sea never lose their power,
their freshness, their charm. Do we ever tire of the dew-drops
that fall in refreshing virtue upon our gardens and fields?
Do we ever tire of the perfume that emanates from our hedge-rows?
Do we ever tire of the notes of the nightingale and the thrush?
What are all these when compared with the glories which cluster around the
person and the cross of Christ?
What are they when put in contrast with the grand realities of that eternity which is before us?
(C.H. Macintosh)
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January 7
A Purposeful Pressure
"Thy hand presseth me sore."
(Psalm 38:2)
Have you ever watched the exceeding delicate and yet firm pressure of the hand of a skillful tuner of string instruments? He will make the string produce a perfectly true note, vibrating in absolute accord with his own never changing tuning-fork.
The practiced hand is at one with the accurate ear, and the pressure is brought to bear with most delicate adjustment to the resistance; the tension is never exceeded, he never breaks a string; but he patiently strikes the note again and again, till the tone is true and his ear is satisfied, and then the muscles relax and the pressure ceases.
The string may be a poor little thin one, yielding a very small note; but that does not matter at all; it is wanted in its place just as much as a great bass one that can yield a volume of deep sound. The tuner takes just the same pains with it, and is just as satisfied when it vibrates true to the pitch retaining its own individual tone.
That string could not tune itself, and no machine was ever invented to accomplish it; nothing but the firm and sensitive pressure of the tuner's own living hand can bring it into tune.
Will you not trust your Tuner, and begin a note of praise, even under the pressure?
'Tis Thy dear hand, O Saviour, that presseth sore,
The hand that bears the nail-prints for evermore.
And now beneath its shadow, hidden by Thee,
The pressure only tells me, Thou lovest me!
(Opened Treasures - Frances Ridley Havergal)
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January 8
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!"
(Luke 13:34)
Truth-hating, mercy-spurning, prophet-killing Jerusalem - what a story of rejected love!
They could have had the outpouring of the very heart of God.
He would have given them protection, warmth, love and rest;
but like sheep, they chose their own way.
Eventually God will give us exactly what we ask for, too -
"Depart from Me; I never knew you."
God loves you.
Will you respond or go your own way?
It is surely time to examine where we stand.
(Drew Craig)
N.J. Hiebert - 5033
January 9
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."
(Psalm 23:1)
Psalm 23 is the sheep speaking about the Shepherd; John 10 the Shepherd speaking about His sheep.
In the former, although the writer was inspired by the Holy Spirit,
David's experience of the Shepherd must necessarily have been limited.
In the latter the Good Shepherd knows all about His sheep perfectly,
knows what poor wandering things we are,
and in spite of it speaks of our not perishing, and having eternal life!
How wonderful!
What ample provision He has made for His own!
There are two negatives in Psalm 23 lying like two precious
glittering gems amid all the positive blessings that David enumerates:
"I shall not want." (Verse 1)"
"I will fear no evil." (Verse 4)
If I do not want in the present, and do not fear for the future, then surely I am in a happy position.
David himself had been a shepherd, and as a king he was called to shepherd Jehovah's people,
and he knew something of what it meant.
If he could say the Lord is my Shepherd, "I shall not want" was a necessary deduction.
("Comforted of God" - Compiled by A.J. Pollock)
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January 10
"He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed."
(Isaiah 53:5)
The sins of all who, in their hearts, believe that testimony, are gone.
They are out of reach - Psalm 103:12;
Out of sight - Micah 7:19;
Out of mind - Hebrews 10:17;
Out of existence - Isaiah 44:22.
This is splendidly celebrated in a poem composed by an Irish factory girl.
She is writing on the words of Micah 7:19:
"Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,"
"I will cast in the depths of the fathomless sea,
All thy sins and transgressions, whatever they be;
Though they mount up to heaven, though they sink down to hell,
They shall lie in the depths, and above them shall swell
All my waves of forgiveness, so mighty and free;
I will cast all thy sins in the depths of the sea.
In the depths, in the depths, where the storm cannot come,
Where its faint echo falls like a musical hum,
Where no mortal can enter thy faults to deride,
For above them for ever flows love's mighty tide;
Of their sepulchres vast, I, thy God, hold the key,
And I bury them there in the depths of the sea.
In the deep silent depths, far away from the shore,
Where they never may rise up to trouble thee more,
Where no far-reaching tide with its pitiless sweep,
May stir the dark waves of forgetfulness deep -
I have buried them there where no mortal may see,
I have cast all thy sins in the depths of the sea."
(In Pastures Green - George Henderson)
January 11
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers . . . many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him."
(John 12:42)
Don't stop half way!
For years you have believed that the Lord Jesus died for the sins of the world
but you have never taken the next step -
to come personally to Christ and depending upon His sacrifice for you,
receive from Him forgiveness for all your sin.
Why not come right now and be saved for all eternity?
Your friends may mock but God says,
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised Him from the dead thou shalt be saved."
(Romans 10:9)
(D. Croudace)
With a lowly contrite sprit, kneeling at the Saviour's feet,
Thou cans't know this very moment pardon,
Precious pure and sweet.
O be saved, His grace is free!
Oh be saved, He died for thee.
(Fanny Crosby)
N.J. Hiebert - 5036
January 12
"I Will Sing"
"What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."
(I Corinthians 14:15)
How can I stop singing, so wondrously blessed?
The sins that defiled me, the cares that distressed,
Are all swept away, and my soul is set free;
I cannot but praise Him, He's so good to me.
He's the Star of my midnight, the Sun of my day,
The Bread on my table, the Strength of my way;
My Joy beyond telling, my measureless Peace;
I must, I will praise Him - O how can I cease!
Though fig-tree and vineyard no substance should yield,
Though the stall should be empty, and barren the field;
Yea, all through the Valley, my praise shall ascend
To Him, my Redeemer, my Shepherd, my Friend.
Then, life and its trials all over and done,
The warfare accomplished, the victory won;
No jar in the music, no sob in the song,
I'll praise Him and bless Him, eternity long!
(Bells & Pomegranates - James M.S. Tait)
January 13
"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."
(Exodus 33:14)
The rest comes not only in the fact of His presence but in the feeling of it. There is the knowledge of His presence and sense of His presence. I do not ask God to be with us in the assembly meeting. He is! "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). He is there. Why pray, "Lord, be with us"? But we may pray for an awareness, a consciousness that He is there, a sense often lacking in our meetings.
Here is rest when all else fails. We can take a vacation within if not one without. You need not seek rest in the mountains or by the sea if you do not have it in your heart. You cannot get away from it all if you carry it all with you. Paul did not end his days basking in a village by the sea writing his memoirs. He was awaiting an executioner's axe but his heart was at rest.
He carried a sense of His presence within and there he withdrew to renew his strength. So did our Lord who had no place to lay His head. You too must find that retreat within for no earthly hideaway can give you rest without.
Take your vacation all along and when your life is hid with Christ in God you learn in whatever state you are to be content, gloriously independent of time or place. As Madam Guyon put it:
To me remains not place nor time; my country is in every clime:
I can be calm and free from care on any shore, since God is there.
(Thought I Walk Through the Valley - Vance Havner)
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January 14
"To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His Name
whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins."
(Acts 10:43)
What did the Apostles Peter and Paul mean when they so unreservedly preached the forgiveness of sins to those who listened to them? Did they really mean to convey to their hearers the idea that no one could be sure that he possessed this forgiveness of sins?
When in the synagogue of Antioch, Paul said to his audience: "We declare unto you glad tidings," did he entertain the notion that no one could be sure that his sins were forgiven? How could the Gospel ever be called "glad tidings" if its only effect were to leave the soul in doubt and anxiety?
If indeed it be true that no one can enjoy the assurance of pardon, then the whole style of apostolic preaching should be reversed. We might then expect to find Paul saying to his hearers, "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that no one can ever know, in this life, whether his sins are forgiven or not." Is there aught like this in the entire range of apostolic preaching and teaching?
Do not the apostles everywhere set forth, in the fullest and clearest manner remission of sins as the necessary result of believing in a crucified and risen Saviour?
Is there the most remote hint of that which is so much insisted upon by some modern teachers, namely, that it is a dangerous presumption to believe in the full forgiveness of all our sins, and that it argues a pious and humble frame of soul to live in perpetual doubt?
Is there no possibility of ever enjoying, in this world, the comfortable certainty of our eternal security in Christ?
Can we not rely upon God's Word, or commit our souls to the sacrifice of Christ?
Can it be possible that the only effect of God's glad tidings is to leave the soul in hopeless perplexity?
Christ has put away sin; but I cannot know it?
God has spoken; but I cannot be sure?
The Holy Spirit has come down; and but I cannot rely upon His testimony?
It is piety and humility to doubt God's Word, to dishonour the atonement of Christ, and refuse the faith of the heart to the record of the Holy Spirit?
Alas! alas, if this is the Gospel, then adieu to peace and joy in believing.
If no one can have this "knowledge of salvation," then to what end has it been given?
(C.H. Mackintosh)
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January 15
"I have called you friends."
(John 15:15)
Are we satisfied with light instead of cultivating love for Christ?
The more light the better if affection goes with it,
but if light be held without the heart it will not benefit us.
John 20 illustrates this.
John had more light about the resurrection than Mary,
yet when he came to the sepulchre and found it empty he went home.
Mary had no light about the resurrection, yet as she waited there, weeping,
Jesus revealed Himself to her.
It is to the heart and and not to the head that Christ reveals Himself,
so the more heart you have the more you will get manifestations of Him.
(Edward Dennett)
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January 16
"He that loveth pureness of heart,
Upon whose lips is grace, the king is his friend."
(Proverbs 22:11)
A righteous ruler delights in a man of pure heart and gracious words.
And to such a one the King of kings is indeed a Friend.
It is the pure in heart who see God,
and they who are truly such will manifest it by obedience to the word,
"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt."
A bitter, acrimonious and fault-finding tongue belongs not to the pure hearted man of God,
but is generally the evidence that one is far from being right himself.
(H.A. Ironside - Notes on Proverbs)
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January 17
"Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously."
(1 Peter 2:23)
When your good is spoken evil of,
your wishes are crossed,
when your taste is offended,
your advice disregarded,
when your opinions are ridiculed
and you take it all in patient, loving silence -
that is victory.
(This Day is the Lord's - Corrie Ten Boom)
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January 18
"And I was afraid, and went and hid Thy talent in the earth: . . . Take therefore the talent from him, . . ."
(Matthew 25:25,28)
It is told of the great violinist, Paganini, that he left his marvelous violin to his native city Genoa, but with instructions that no one was ever to play upon it. This was most unfortunate, for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is handled and used, it wears but slightly, but as soon as it is laid aside or discarded, it begins to decay.
Paganini's violin with its marvelous tones has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case and is worthless as a musical instrument.
Let us allow Christ to speak through us. He desires this more than we do and for that reason prepared the instruments which He would not have remain unused and idle.
Hide not they talent, but trade with it, and thou shalt bring in good interest to thy Master. Use or lose! (Mountain Trailways for Youth)
N.J. Hiebert - 5043
January 19
"Joseph being seventeen years old was feeding the flock with his brethren."
(Genesis 37:2)
He who will yet be supreme must first be a servant.
The place of supremacy is only reached by the path of service, according to the word of the Lord:
"Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26,27).
In this the Lord Himself is the perfect example of His own teaching, for He can say,
"I am among you as He that serveth" (Luke 22:27).
And because He
"took upon HIm the form of a servant . . . and became obedient unto . . .
the Cross," "God hath highly exalted Him and given Him a Name which is above every name."
Thus at once in this history we see that shadowing forth of One that is greater than Joseph.
(Hamilton Smith # 1)
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January 20
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."
(Psalm 23:3)
Joseph is a leader of sheep before he becomes a leader of men.
For forty years Moses must be content to lead a flock of sheep at the back of the desert
before he becomes the leader of God's people through the desert.
And of David, is it not written that Jehovah,
"Chose . . . His servant and took him from the sheepfolds . . .
He brought him to feed Jacob His people, and Israel his inheritance" (Psalm 78:70,71)?
Thus not only in the fact of service but in the manner of service these saints of old prefigure
the great Shepherd of the sheep.
(Hamilton Smith - # 2)
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January 21
" . . .He is not ashamed to call them brethren."
(Hebrews 2:11)
". . . Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:11)
He is not ashamed to call us brethren.
He does not call us servants (slaves) but friends (John 15:15).
If our Saviour is willing to acknowledge such intimate communion with us,
it inspires us not only to address and confess Him as Lord,
but also to live our lives in a way that evidences to all who look on that He is our Saviour
and our Lord - to the glory of God the Father.
(Milton Haack)
One there is above all others, well deserves the name of Friend;
His is love beyond a brother's, costly, free, and knows no end:
They who once His kindness prove find it everlasting love!
(J. Newton)
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January 22
"According to your faith be it unto you."
(Matthew 9:29)
We want to be more businesslike and common sense with God in pleading promises.
If you were to go to one of the banks and see a man go in and out and lay a piece of paper
on the table, and take it up again and nothing more;
if he did that several times a day,
I think there would soon be orders to keep the man out.
Those men who come to the bank in earnest present their cheques,
they wait till they receive their money and then they go,
but not without having transacted real business.
They do not put the paper down, speak about the excellent signature,
and discuss the correctness of the document,
but they want their money for it, and they are not content without it.
These are the people who are always welcome at the bank and not the triflers.
Alas a great many people play at praying, it is nothing better.
They do not expect God to give them an answer,
and thus they are mere triflers, who mock the Lord.
(C.H. Spurgeon - 1834 - 1892)
Our Father would have us do real business with Him in our praying.
N.J. Hiebert - 5047
January 23
"The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God."
(Galatians 2:20)
There is One above . . . all able to bring about His thoughts,
and he who has faith will find the sureness of
His hand if He be really waited on.
We are quick at seizing the reigns when we see danger ahead;
but the Lord knows better than we do what has to be done:
in due season He will deliver all who look to Him.
(Pilgrims Portions for the Day of Rest - J.N.D.)
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January 24
"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)
It is a poor thing and a small thing merely to get enough out of God's grace
to give us a spiritual livelihood.
The very end of our blessing is that we may be a blessing to others.
Would it be worth our while to construct an expensive machine simply for the purpose
of having it run and show its perfection?
We construct our machine to accomplish results, to perform work,
to produce something that will pay its cost and benefit mankind.
And so the great object of God in saving, sanctifying, and boundlessly supplying the needs of His
people, is to get them beyond themselves, and prepare them for every good work.
In the presence of these truly great words, let us take fresh heart.
His power is boundless,
His grace is matchless;
and the place at which we come in contact with them is the place of prayer.
(Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care)
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January 25
"Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth."
(Jeremiah 31:19)
Tell Mother I'll Be There
Charles M. Filmore, (1898); wrote this song upon reading of the death of the mother of American president William McKinley. He had a special relationship with his mother, who was very proud of him; in his youth, she boasted he would become a minister (little did she know he would go somewhat farther). When "Mother McKinley" fell ill in the winter of 1897, she lived some distance from the capital, so the president had a special telegraph line installed between Washington and her home town. When word finally came of her impending death, he quickly wired back, "Tell mother I'll be there!"
"Tell Mother I'll be there" has converted more men than any other song written in a decade. A song which critics have tried to cut to pieces, both words and music, but I have never found a song which would take its place. One night in Liverpool while the choir was singing "Tell Mother I'll Be There," one hundred and sixty men arose and publicly accepted Christ before all the people.
(Evangelist Charles M. Alexander)
(Evangelist Charles M. Alexander)
When I was but a little child how well I recollect
How I would grieve my mother with my folly and neglect;
And now that she has gone to Heav'n I miss her tender care:
O Saviour, tell my mother, I'll be there!
REFRAIN
Tell mother I'll be there, in answer to her prayer;
This message, blessed Saviour, to her bear!
Tell mother I'll be there, Heav'n's joys with her to share;
Yes, tell my darling mother I'll be there.
Though I was often wayward, she was always kind and good;
So patient, gentle, loving when I acted rough and rude;
My childhood griefs and trials she would gladly with me share:
O Saviour, tell my mother, I'll be there!
When I became a prodigal, and left the old rooftree,
She almost broke her loving heart in mourning after me;
And day and night she prayed to God to keep me in His care:
O Saviour, tell my mother, I'll be there!
One day a message came to me, it bade me quickly come
If I would see my mother ere the Saviour took her home;
I promised her, before she died, for heaven to prepare:
O Saviour, tell my mother, I'll be there!
N.J. Hiebert - 5050
January 26
"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)
We have ever to bear in mind that our one great business is, to obey, and leave results with God.
It may please Him to permit His servants to see striking results,
or He may see fit to allow them to wait for that great day that is coming,
when there will be no danger of our being puffed up by seeing any little fruit of our testimony.
It is our plain and bound duty to tread that bright and blessed path indicated for us
by the commandments of our precious and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
May God enable us, by the grace of His Holy Spirit, to do so.
May we cleave to the truth of God with purpose of heart,
utterly regardless of the opinions of our fellow-men who may
charge us with narrowness, bigotry, intolerance, and such like.
We have just to go on with the Lord!
(C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert - 5051
January 27
"Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: turn you, and take your journey, and go . . . Behold I have set the land before you; Go in and possess the land."
(Deuteronomy 1:6-8)
In the Old Testament, the enemy that threatened Israel the most was the dictatorship of the customary.
Israel became accustomed to walking around in circles and was blissfully content to stay
by the safety of the mountain for a while.
To put it another way, it was the psychology of the usual.
God finally broke into the rut they were in and said,
"You have been here long enough. It is time for you to move on."
To put Israel's experience into perspective for our benefit today,
we must see that the mountain represents a spiritual experience or a spiritual state of affairs.
Israel's problem was that they had given up hope of ever getting the land God had promised them.
They had become satisfied with going in circles and camping in nice, comfortable places.
They had come under the spell of the psychology of the routine.
It kept them where they were and prevented them from getting the riches God had promised them.
(A.W Tozer - Rut, Rot or Revival -1897-1963)
N.J. Hiebert - 5052
January 28
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)
I can never forget my mother's very brief paraphrase of Malachi 3:10.
The verse begins, "Bring ye the whole tithe in," and it ends up with "I will pour" the blessing out till you'll be embarrassed for space.
Her paraphrase was this: Give all He asks; take all He promises.
(S.D. Gordon - Streams in the Desert)
N.J. Hiebert - 5053
January 29
"I... cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."
(Ephesians 1:16)
The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers!
I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my
supplication innumerable times.
What have I asked for?
I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains!
I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides!
My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father's giving:
it is beyond that we can ask.
(J.H. Jowett)
"All the rivers of Thy grace I claim,
Over every promise write my name."
N.J. Hiebert - 5054
January 30
"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
(Luke 15:4)
The persevering energy of love is in the Shepherd Himself.
The Good Shepherd cares for the sheep,
and gives it no trouble in getting home; He carries it on His shoulders.
Herein is seen the perfect grace in which the Lord Jesus has so charged
Himself with bearing our every burden, our every trial and difficulty, all along the road.
Christ is thus the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.
Then mark, in verse 6, the peculiar character of this joy.
"He calleth together His friends and neighbours, saying, Rejoice with Me,
for I have found My sheep which was lost."
There could not be a more genuine picture, or a fuller expression,
of a person being happy than this.
Joy always speaks out.
(The Man of Sorrows - JND)
January 31
The Lord's Second Coming in 1 Thessalonians
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout . . .
The dead in Christ shall rise first . . .
We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: And so shall we ever be with the Lord."
It is the great incentive to service-----------------------
It is the time of reward for soul-winning -------------(Chapter 2)
It establishes the heart in holiness---------------------(
It is the bereaved Christian's supreme comfort-----(Chapter 4)
It is the consecrated Christian's glad hope-----------(Chapter 5)
(The Wonderful Word - George Henderson)
N.J. Hiebert - 5056
posted by soundwords at
January 01, 2013
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