Gems from September 2016

“Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.”

(Proverbs 24:32)

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

(Colossians 3:2)

The way up is taking the low place

"During the great Reformation in Europe, Luther and Zwingli found themselves at odds in their concern for the movements they were leading.

Early one morning, Zwingli walked out on the mountains 

of Switzerland and a soul-stirring sight confronted him.

He saw two goats making their way over a narrow path on the 

mountain. One was ascending the trail, the other descending.

He also noticed that they must pass at a point where the 

trail was so narrow that there was room for only one

goat.  He watched to see what would happen.

The animals rounded a turn in the path which brought then in full view of each other.

They backed up, as though ready for a lunge, and then the most amazing thing happened.

The goat on the trail below lay down in the path, while the goat above him walked over his back.

The first animal then arose and continued his journey up the trail.

To Zwingli this meant that the way down is the way up.  Christ humbled 

Himself so that men could walk over Him into the Kingdom of light,

knowing that afterward He would be exalted.”

(With thanks - D. Hopkins)

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“To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 

might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

(Ephesians 3:19)

God, in giving me eternal life, has also given me a nature and capacity to enjoy Him for ever.

I am brought into an association with God, a relationship to God, 

and an enjoyment of God, which the angels know not, 

although holy in their nature, and exalted.

We are thus brought near 

that we might -

“know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, 

that ye may be filled to all the fulness of God.”

(J.N. Darby)

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September 1

“Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee 

the desires of thine heart.”

(Psalm 37:4)

If I am really delighting myself in the Lord,

I will want only those things which will glorify 

God, I will not be asking from a selfish viewpoint.

I shall want God to do for me that which will magnify 

Christ in my life and make Him more precious to my soul.

(Selected)

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September 2

“BEHOLD, HOW GOOD AND HOW PLEASANT IT IS FOR

BRETHREN TO DWELL TOGETHER IN UNITY." 

(Psalm 133:1) 

Lo, how pleasant and how well,

When in unity saints dwell:

Like the hands and feet together,

Serve and love and help each other.

Like the precious ointment poured

On to Aaron’s head and beard:

Flowing to his garment’s skirt,

Making all the house smell sweet.

As the dew of Hermon’s mount

Of refreshment is the fount:

So when brethren dwell in love

Blessings flow from Thee above.

All Thy words are true and sure,

They bring peace and pleasures pure:

Peace, how good and pleasant now,

E’en like heaven here below. 

(From Chinese)

(Sacrifices of Joy - G. Christopher Willis)

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September 3

“Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.”

(Esther 2:20)

Oh, but there are enemies, and Esther had not made herself know as to being 

a Jewess.  Mordecai, sitting in the gate, was despised and rejected. 

It makes us think of the Lord Jesus and His pathway down here.

God had arranged so that the captive maiden was brought 

in to the very centre of the kingdom of 127 provinces. 

And He so ordered it that in the finality Esther  

was the one who dictated all the terms.

Is not this just like God?

Have you come up against that stone wall which you could  

not possibly get through, and the door opened and you went through?

Faith will take you where nothing else will.

It will take you right into the very presence of God Himself, 

you cannot get here any other way. Possibly  —  (Hebrews 11:33) 

“…through faith subdued kingdoms” refers to Esther.

All the time that she was in the palace ordering her domestic responsibility,

she was in constant contact with Mordecai, receiving instructions 

from him and bowing to those instructions,

because she knew he was a man of God.

What simplicity of faith!

These are the simple principles of a happy Christian life, a path leading us into 

blessing and blessing for others, keeping our own souls in the 

right path of communion and enjoyment.

(Esther - C.E. Lunden)

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September 4

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.”

(Ephesians 6:14)

It does not make any difference what I think.
My thoughts do not amount to anything.

The great question is, What has God said?
What is written in the Word?

If the Word does not speak we have no right to attempt to speak,

but where it has given a clear definite declaration, 

we should be positive and sure in our faith.

That is what it is to have the loins of the mind
girt about with the truth of God,

our thoughts all brought into subjection to His Holy Word.  

How important that is when you have to face the devil, 

because he works through wily error, 

 presenting all kinds of false systems 

and views and evil-speaking in regard to Christ.

(H.A. Ironside)

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September 5

“And God heard their groanings and God remembered His

covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and Jacob.”

(Exodus 2:24)

This verse teaches us that it is not wrong to sigh and groan at times.

Tell the Father about your misery and problems—

we are guaranteed a listening ear, and we 

are assured of a response.

Although the Lord allows His own to experience times of suffering,

there is aways a good reason, and they are always 

accompanied by sympathy and deliverance.

(Brian Russell)

There’s not a secret sigh we breathe,

But meets the ear divine,

And every cross grows light beneath,

The shadow, Lord, of Thine.

(Mrs. Crewdson)

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September 6

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

(Philippians 4:11)

“He satisfieth the longing soul."

(Psalm 107:9)

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  (John 4:14)

To ensure that this blessing may be permanently yours, read meditatively and frequently 

Philippians 4, and note the wondrous treasures 

that meet you there at every turn: 

- Abiding joy (v. 4) 

- Celestial peace (v. 6 and 7)

- Divine companionship (v. 8 and 9)

- Absolute contentment (v. 11)

- Omnipotent strength  (v. 13)

- Illimitable wealth (v. 19)

- Matchless grace (v. 23)

Let your contented heart revel in all the wonder of it:

Above—Overshadowing wings (Ruth 2:12).

Around—Guardian angels (Psalm 34:7).

Underneath—Everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Within—God’s peace (Isaiah 26:3).

    (In Pastures Green - George Henderson)

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September 7

"So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?  He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.  

He saith unto him, Feed My lambs.”

(John 21:15)

This thrice repeated question seared into Peter’s consciousness.

But the Lord had earlier given to His disciples and

to us a simple test of love for Him.

“If a man love Me, He will keep My words.”

(John 14:23)

It is remiss to profess love for Christ unless 

we are obedient to the Word of God. 

If we love Him we will obey Him.

(Doug Kazen)

"Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were an offering far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my heart, my life, my all."

(Isaac Watts) 

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September 8

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

(2 Timothy 3:7)

All throughout history the quest for new and different things has been an almost insatiable lust of mankind.

New this, modern this, the latest . . . and the best this, seem to be the mantra of humanity.

2 Timothy 3 is a long series of verses that describe the last days.

That list is ugly but accurate, and the above indictment surely applies.

Granted, there are a lot of advantages to some things new, but when it comes to satisfying the craving of our spirit, only one thing brings the peace so sought after.

Here’s a clue:

“Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” 

(Jeremiah 6:16). 

The Bible provides us with the truth we long for, the direction we need, the peace that seems to elude us and the joy which is deep and enduring.  It introduces us to Jesus, God’s eternal Son, who is the way (path), the truth, and the life.

“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

(Matthew 11:28). 

Are you standing at the crossroads?

Then “take the road of the cross,” as a friend used to say.

Yes, it may be an ancient path, but it is the only one that counts.

(Lifelines - F.P.)

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September 9

“And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee,  He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” 

(Deuteronomy 31:8)

Every page in our heart is laid open under His eye.

Does He read you, and occupy Himself with every thought and intent of 

your heart? Does He see all in you that is of the flesh judged? or 

does He see things germinating for self, and for time?

Ah! if He does read in us what is contrary to His mind, will He turn from us?  No; but He will have us know what sort of a people we are;

He knows all our weakness, and we must know it too.

“And when I (John) saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. 

And He laid His right hand upon me,

saying unto me, Fear not; I am 

the first and the last."   

(Revelation 1:17)

If John is lying at His feet, it is indeed that He may say, “I shall touch you and make you feel what my strength is; but you must feel your own weakness.” 

All who know Christ have a deeper and deeper sense of that as they go on. But all the way through the wilderness we have Him for us, saying, “You cannot take a step without me, and I am going before you.”

(G.V. Wigram)

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September 10

“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, making a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.  For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”

(Psalm 95:2-3)

 IN THE SECRET of HIS PRESENCE

“In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide!

Oh, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus' side!

Earthly cares can never vex me, neither trials lay me low;

For when Satan comes to tempt me, to the secret place I go.

When my soul is faint and thirsty, ‘neath the shadow of His wing

There is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring;

And my Saviour rests beside me, as we hold communion sweet;

If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet.

Only this I know: I tell Him all my doubts and griefs and fears;

Oh, how patiently He listens! and my drooping soul He cheers;

Do you think He ne’er reproves me? what a false friend He would be,

If He never, never told me of the sins which He must see.

Would you like to know that sweetness of the secret of the Lord?

Go and hide beneath His shadow; this shall then be your reward;

And when e’er you leave the silence of that happy meeting-place,

You must mind and bear the image of the Master in your face.”

The hymn In the Secret of His Presence was written by a remarkable woman, Ellen Lakshmi Goreh 1853.  She was a high-caste native of India, the daughter of of a Christian convert.  Her mother died when she was in infancy, and she eventually went to England, where she was educated.  When she was twenty-seven she returned to India and engaged in mission work among the women in Alllahabad having set aside the social privileges of her caste.  She was found to be a modest, devoted Christian, held in high regard by the missionaries and all who knew her.

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September 11

BED-RIDDEN TRUTH

“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

(John 13:17)

Our Lord conditions true happiness not on knowledge alone but on knowledge of His Word plus obedience.

Coleridge says: “Truths, of all others the most awful and interesting, are too often considered as so true that they lose the power of truth, and lie bed-ridden in the dormitory of the soul, side by side with the most despised and exploded errors.”

Here lies a fearful peril to us all, that we take for granted the very things God never meant should become a matter of course, and because we know them so well and have heard them so often we assume that what is a fact in our heads is a force in our hearts.

May it not be that this is why we never finish the verse,

“Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only"

by adding the most terrific part of it,

"deceiving your own selves”? 

(James 1:22)

We pleasantly assent to a Gospel we ought powerfully to assert.

How it needs to be rescued “from neglect caused by the 

very circumstance of its universal admission”!

What great truth lies bed-ridden in the dormitory of you soul?

(Day by Day - Vance Havner)

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September 12

“For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son . . .”  (John 3:16)

If God is such a great and generous Giver, what ought I to be?

The only proper response is that I should be a most willing and grateful receiver—of either good or ill—since He who so loved me will never send me anything but what will work for my undeserved good, as well as for His well-deserved glory. 

(Nuggets of Truth - J.K.)

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September 13

“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be if good cheer;  I have overcome the world.” 

 (In Me . . . peace.)

(John 16:33)

Paganini, the great violinist, came out before his audience one day and made the discovery just as they ended their applause that there was something wrong with his violin.  He looked at it a second and then saw that it was not his famous and valuable one.

He felt paralyzed for a moment, then turned to his audience and told them there had been some mistake and he did not have his own violin.  He stepped back behind the curtain thinking that it was still where he had left it, but discovered that someone had stolen his and left that old second-hand one in its place.  He remained back of the curtain a moment, then came out before his audience and said:

“Ladies and Gentlemen:  I will show you that the music is not in the instrument, but in the soul.”  And he played as he had never played before; and out of that second-hand instrument, the music poured forth until the audience was enraptured with enthusiasm and the applause almost lifted the ceiling of the building, because the man had revealed to them that music was not in the machine but in his own soul.

It is your mission, tested and tried one, to walk out on the stage of this world and reveal to all earth and Heaven that the music is not in conditions, not in the things, not in externals, but the music of life is in your own soul.

If peace be in the heart,

The wildest winter storm is full of solemn beauty,

The midnight flash but shows the path of duty,

Each living creature tells some new and joyous story,

The very trees and stones all catch a ray of glory,

If peace be in the heart.

(Charles Francis Richardson)

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September 14

"He brought me forth also into a large place;  He delivered me;

because He delighted in me.”

(Psalm 18:19)

And what is this “large place”?

What can it be but God Himself, that infinite Being

in whom all other beings and all other streams of life terminate?

God is a large place indeed.

And it was through humiliation, through 

abasement, through nothingness that David was brought into it.

(Madame Guyon)

“I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto Myself.” 

(Exodus 19:4.) 

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September 15

“I delight to do Thy will, O my God . . .”

(Psalm 40:8) 

Machines work best under restraint.

Unbridled power is destructive.

Character is controlled by the same law.

We are most free and most useful when we work 

within the will of Another—the will of God.

“We are limited until we lose ourselves in His limitless power.”

“Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free;

Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conquerer be.

I sink in life’s alarms when by myself I stand,

Imprison me within Thy arms and strong shall be my hand.

“My heart is weak and poor, until its master find:

It has no spring of action sure—it varies with the wind:

It cannot freely move till Thou hast wrought its chain;

Enslave it with Thy matchless love, and deathless it shall reign.”

(Mountain Trailways For Youth) 

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September 16

“God is love.”

(1 John 4:8)

God loved us—He could not like us. 

But He makes us what He likes—in Christ.

“Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into 

Thy bottle: Are they not in Thy book?”

(Psalm 56:8)

He tells us not to make much of sorrows and afflictions here.

But He makes much of them:

“All our tears are in His bottle.”

He knows more about our sorrows than we do!

(Hunt’s Sayings)

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September 17

“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)

“Tomorrow is God’s secret—but today is yours to live.”

All the tomorrows of our lives have to pass Him before they can get to us.

I heard a voice at evening softly say, 

“Bear not thy yesterday into tomorrow;

Nor load this week with last week’s load of sorrow. 

Lift all thy burdens as they come, nor try 

To weigh the present with the by and by. 

One step, and then another, take thy way—

live by the day.”

(Julia H. May)

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September 18

“Feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.”

(Song of Solomon 1:8)

Having learned the true ground and character of christian communion from the word,

we are responsible to guide the young among us into these paths—

the footsteps of the flock of God.

Divine nourishment, suited both to old and young, will be found there.

The lamb soon learns to follow in the footsteps of its mother, 

and feed on the same pasture.

The Princely Shepherd of Israel cares for the lambs of His flock. 

“He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the 

lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom; 

and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

(Isaiah 40:11) 

The feeblest of the flock were cared for when He led forth 

His people Israel out of Egypt, and through the deep.

“Not a hoof was left behind.”

(Exodus 10:26)

And food was found for all, around their tents in the morning,

as they journeyed through the waste, howling wilderness.

(Andrew Miller)

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September 19

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

And there are diversities of operations, but it is the 

same God which worketh all in all.”

(1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

In these verses we see one God acting in three persons—Spirit, Lord, and God.

Unity and diversity, hand in hand. This is true for believers

as part of the body of Christ.  One body.

Many distinct members.

As we learn to reflect this in our assemblies,

we are learning to reflect the very nature of God.

(Jason Bechtel)

Our eyes cannot hear, our ears cannot see,

The hand cannot tell the foot how to function,

Yet if all those members work together in unity,

We like a human body, can learn to function.

(Irene McGough)

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September 20

“Then believed they His words; they sang His praise.

They soon forgat His works; they waited not for His counsel: but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And He gave them their request; -- but sent leanness into their soul.

(Psalm 106:12-15)

Have you ever known a weakening in the inward places of your soul because you had let slip the memory of what your God did in the past?

You had believed His words, you had sung His praises,

for in very truth you had seen His words fulfilled.

And then, somehow, the memory faded, 

blotted out by a disappointment 

perhaps, and you “forgat 

His works.”

I have known this happen, and I have proved that after such forgetfulness prayer becomes less adventurous, less brave in faith and expectation.  We ask for the smaller rather than the greater things, and then (as in the story from which I am quoting) “leanness" enters into the soul.

May the Lord, by His Spirit, quicken our memories, and help us to do our part by gathering up the forces of memory.  It is worthwhile to do anything that will help us to this.

“We will remember Thy love” (Song of Solomon 1:4).

“And thou shalt remember all the way the Lord 

thy God led thee.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

(Edges of His ways - Amy Carmichael) 

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September 21

“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part,

which shall not be taken away from her.”

(Luke 10:42)

ONE THING IS NEEDFUL

Martha was busy preparing a good meal and our Lord did not mean that it was unimportant.

But Martha was flustered and bothered over matters of secondary importance

and our Lord was emphasizing what matters most,

our communion with Him.

To hate father and mother in comparison to our love for Him was a similar emphasis.

Even our religious activity, though sincere and well-intended,

can take precedence over sitting at His feet.

Ephesus (Revelation 2:4) was busy but had left her first love.

(And we can be at so many church meetings that we neglect the 

home, which is the other side of the coin!)

(All the Days - Vance Havner)

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September 22

"The time is short!" 1 Corinthians 7:29

"Redeeming the time!" Ephesians 5:16

"Tis not for man to trifle! Life is brief,

 And sin is here.

 Our age is but the falling of a leaf,

 A dropping tear.

 We have no time to sport away the hours,

 All must be earnest in a world like ours.

"Not many lives, but only one, have we,

 One, only one!

 How sacred should that one life ever be,

 That narrow span!

 Day after day filled up with blessed toil,

 Hour after hour still bringing in new spoil."

       (Horatius Bonar)

"So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom!” 

(Psalm 90:12)

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September 23

THE EVIDENCE GOD HAS GIVEN OF HIS LOVE

"Love suffereth long and is kind. . .”

(1 Corinthians 13:4)

Have we ever thought that if pain and suffering had not entered 

the world we never could have known Divine love, as we know it now?

For the test of love is, how much is it willing to bear for the sake of others?

“Love suffereth long and is kind.” 

Had there been no pain and no suffering to endure, 

then love would have lacked an opportunity to display itself.

Let us never forget that pain, and pain alone, made it possible for God fully to reveal Himself.

Christ felt pain—He groaned—He suffered agony—He shed tears.

Weariness, want, and woe were His portion.

Had no such things existed, what losers had we been!

We never could have known Him as we know Him now.

(Angels in White - Russell Elliot)

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September 24

“Think on (Meditate upon) these things.”

(Philippians 4:8)

God is my only necessity - God is my only resource.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God wants to be everything to every one of us at every moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christianity is CONformative, and not REformative.

We belong to an entirely new thing; every particle of power comes from Christ in glory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God delights in me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Get God’s estimate of God’s things, and God’s estimate of everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our difficulties should be food for faith - not material for failure.

Convert every difficulty into prayer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If we go through a difficulty with God, all that bound us will be destroyed (Daniel 3:24, 25)

and all that is of God will stand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Comforted of God - A.J. Pollock)

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September 25

"And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

(Genesis 5:22, 24)

Twice we are told that “Enoch walked with God”.

His was a walk of complete separation from the world and all else that is opposed to God.

Enoch’s name means “consecration“.  And for 300 years in a dark, difficult day he lived up to it  meaning.

“It is very evident that Enoch knew nothing whatever about the mode of  ‘making the best of both worlds’ (C.H.M.).

To him there was but one world.

Thus it should be with us.

(W. Ross Rainey)

“O Master, let me walk with Thee, in lowly paths of service free;

Tell me Thy secret; help me bear, the strain of toil, the fret of care."

(Washington Gladden 1836-1918)

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September 26

“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”

(Ephesians 3:19)

O what rest . . . for the poor soul when he sees he has to do 

with One who has conquered all enemies for him. . . .

Before he came to the consciousness of this,

the book of his daily transgressions 

appeared to ascend up before God, 

black with the catalogue of his 

offences, on every leaf of 

which was written,

Sin, sin, sin;

But now these blackened characters are effaced,

and on each page is transcribed in letters of

blood, in the blood of God’s dear Lamb, 

Love, love, love.

(Pilgrim Portion for the Day of Rest)

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September 27

“Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they 

shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.”

(Psalm 107:43)

On a low branch in the woods up the river, I found a cocoon.

Such a gray, drab little thing, I thought as I rested on a rock near it.

But there was life shut up in that dark bit of unpromising shell—

that would soon emerge with shining colourful wings.  Not all at once.

The little creature would hang tremulously at first to the branch and move

its wings slowly up and down until they took on form and beauty.

Cocoon experiences are not limited to those little creatures, I mused, flipping a 

pebble into the water.  But deep in the heart of life’s grayest days, 

God is preparing wings and delicate beauty and strength.  

Moses spent his cocoon days in the wilderness, but he emerged after 

forty years with strength to accomplish a great work for God.

Wrapped in the gloom of sorrow, trial, perplexity, we may 

spend wintry days, but the spring will come when the 

purpose of those days will manifest itself as 

slowly as the cocoon breaks about us and 

we come out again into sunlit days, 

changed, but more glorious 

than when we went in.

The thickest clouds bring the heaviest shower of blessing.

(Traveling Toward Sunrise)

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September 28

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE WORLD

"And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness". 

(1 John 5:19)

The New Testament teaches that however much the world may change on the surface, it is always under the control of evil and of sin. This admits that the powers of evil can be mollified (calmed) a great deal, and they have been mollified during the passing of the centuries. 

There have been periods when the world has been getting better, but these have been followed by a terrible declension, and the teaching of the New Testament is that the whole time the world has been lying "in the wicked one."

According to the New Testament (and here we get the realism), the world will always be the world; it will never get better. I do not know the future. There may be another period of apparent reform and improvement, but the world will still be lying "in the wicked one," and indeed the New Testament tells us it may "wax worse and worse" (2 Timothy 3:13). 

Indeed the evil of the world is so essentially a part of it and its life that its final outlook will be judgment and destruction. You will find this teaching everywhere. throughout the scriptures.

The evil in the world cannot be taken out; it is to be destroyed. There is to be an ultimate climax, and there will be a terrible end.

(Martyn Lloyd-Jones - Walking with God)

N.J. Hiebert - 6390

September 29

“In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and  prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

(John 14:2-3)

“I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”

(John 14:6)    

No one fully appreciates the gospel who leaves out the blessed hope of the Lord’s return to receive His people to be with Himself in the Father’s house. This is the glad consummation of the believer’s life of faith and love and hope.

Death is never set before the believer as his hope—but always it is the Lord’s return for which he is to wait.

The gospel is God’s good news about His Son, and therefore, when fully preached, necessarily includes the proclamation of His true sinless humanity, His deity, His virgin birth, His vicarious sacrifice, His glorious resurrection, His present session as Advocate  and High Priest at God’s right hand in heaven, and His coming again to reign in power and righteousness when all His redeemed 

will be associated with Him.

All these precious truths are included in the word of the truth of the gospel.

(H.A. Ironside)

N.J. Hiebert - 6391 

September 30

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

(Romans 15:4)

Can you think of a time when you faced a stiff test and God provided a solution? Then, after that, God brought you to a place of rest and peace?

In Exodus there is an account where the Children of Israel 

provided us something from which we can learn a lesson.

Not long after God’s great deliverance of them from Egyptian slavery, and after they had miraculously passed though the Red Sea on dry ground, they found themselves out of water and thirsty.  When they did come to water it was bitter.  They grumbled. 

That place was called Marah, which means “bitter.” We encounter bitter circumstances too. But God showed Moses a particular piece of wood; Moses threw it into the water and the water became sweet.

(Exodus 15:23-25)

Could that piece of wood make us think of the cross of Christ, that wood by which we find life when we put our trust in what took place there?

So, they and all their livestock were revitalized so they could go on.  God then made a decree that if they listened to His voice, paid attention to His commands and kept His decrees, He would spare them from the diseases they’d been exposed to in Egypt. (Exodus15:26)

Where did God lead them next?  To a place called Elim:  “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters” (Exodus 15:27). 

(Adapted - L.I.F.E. lines - F.P.)

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