Gems from October 2016

"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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October 1

“The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live”. 

(John 5:25)

What is a Christian? You say a "living stone.”    

And what is a stone?   A stone is a bit of a rock.

See what security it gives! 

Where first do we get the illustration?    

In Peter’s own case.

Peter is brought to Jesus, and what does Jesus say?

“Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone” (John 1:42) 

This act of the Lord’s is most significant.  

He takes the place of being Simon’s Lord, and his possessor.

Changing the name always indicated that the person whose name was changed, became the possession, or vassal (subject) of the one who changed his name.

How does this change of name take place?

The Lord speaks to Peter.

How do we become living stones?  

Because we have heard the voice of the Son of God. (John 5:25).

(Simon Peter - W.T.P. Wolston)

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October 2

“Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”

(Song of Solomon 1:7)

The word appreciation seems more fitly to express the little I know of this blessed matter, than the idea of the sensations of an earnest, ardent affection.  What is there in existence, I inquire, that I care

more for than my Saviour—that I would prefer to Him?

What is this?    Is it love?

Who else—what else—is loved more?

But, oh! the day draws near, when these eyes shall see the King in His glory. Then shall this cold, dull heart be ravished with His beauty,

and burn for ever with a pure flame of

perfect love for Him alone.

“Soon shall our eyes behold Thee with rapture, face to face;

And, resting there in glory, we’ll sing Thy power and grace:

Thy beauty, Lord, and glory, the wonders of Thy love,

Shall be the endless story of all Thy saints above.”  

(J.G. Deck) 

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October 3

“Who are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they?"  (Revelation 7:13).

When Duncan Matheson, the Scotch evangelist, was working in the Crimea, he was returning one night, worn out, from Sebastopol to the old stable at Balaclava where he lodged.  He was trudging through mud knee-deep, and the siege seemed no nearer to an end, yet above the stars were looking down from the clear sky.  He began to sing, 'How bright those glorious spirits shine.’

Next day he found a soldier shivering under a verandah, with his bare toes showing through his worn-out boots.  Matheson gave him money to buy a new pair.  The soldier thanked him. ‘I am not what I was yesterday.  Last night as I was thinking of our miserable condition, I grew tired of life, and said to myself, “I can bear this no longer, and may as well put an end to it.” 

So I took my musket and went down yonder in a desperate state, about eleven o’clock; but as I got round the point, I heard some person singing, “How bright those glorious spirits shine”; and I remembered the old school and the Sabbath school where we used to sing it.

I felt ashamed of being so cowardly, and said, “Here is some one as badly off as myself, and yet he is not giving in.”  I felt, too, he had something to make him happy which I had not, but I began to hope I, too, might get the same happiness. I returned to my tent, and to-day I am resolved to seek the one thing.’

'Do you know who the singer was?’  I asked the missionary.  ’No,’was the reply.  'Well,’ said Mr. Matheson, ‘it was I.’  Tears rushed into the soldier’s eyes, and handing back the money, he said, ’never, sir, can I take it from you after what you have been the means of doing for me.’

How bright these glorious spirits shine! Whence all their white array?

How came they to the blissful seats of everlasting day?

Lo! these are they from sufferings great who came to realms of light;

And in the blood of Christ have washed those robes which shine so bright.

Now with triumphal palms they stand before the throne on high,

And serve the God they love amidst the glories of the sky.

His presence fills each heart with joy, tunes every mouth to sing;

By day, by night, the sacred courts with glad hosannas ring.

Hunger and thirst are felt no more, nor suns with scorching ray;

God is their sun, whose cheering beams diffuse eternal day.

The Lamb, Which dwells amidst the throne  shall over them still preside,

Feed them with nourishment divine, and all their footsteps guide.

Midst pastures green He’ll lead His flock where living streams appear;

and God the Lord from every eye shall wipe off every tear.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the God Whom we adore,

Be glory, as it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

(Isaac Watts - 1674-1748)

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October 4

THE SANDS OF TIME ARE SINKING  

“As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: 

I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness."

(Psalm 17:15)

What beautiful pictures of Christ and our relationship to Him as His bride are portrayed for us in this lovely hymn text which was inspired by the dying words of a 17th Century Scottish preacher.  The colourful imagery enhances the truths of these very thoughtful lines.

“And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land” were the final triumphant words spoken by Samuel Rutherford, a forceful evangelical preacher who suffered much persecution in Scotland.  His open opposition to the state church resulted in banishment from his pulpit and home.

When his courageous loyalty to Christ continued throughout his life, Rutherford was eventually charged with high treason, which could mean being beheaded.  Already on his death bed, however, he sent back this message: “I behoove to answer my first summons, and ere your day for me arrive, I will be where few kings and great folks come.”  

Two hundred years after the death of Rutherford in 1661, his victorious life, writings, and final words so impressed Anne Ross Cousins that she was moved to write this remarkable text.  Mrs. Cousins describes vividly the glories of heaven.  Her wonderful closing proclamation that “the Lamb is all the glory” is a fitting climax to the hymn’s vibrant exaltation of Christ and His eternal abode.

The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks; 

The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes.

Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but day-spring is at hand,

And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Oh Christ! He is the fountain, the deep sweet well of love!

The streams on earth I’ve tasted, more deep I’ll drink above!

There, to an ocean fulness, His mercy doth expand,

And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Oh! I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved’s mine!

He brings a poor vile sinner into His “house of wine”!

I stand upon His merit, I know no safer stand, 

Not e’en where glory dwelleth, in Immanuel’s land.

The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom’s face;

I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of Grace—

Not at the crown He giveth, but on His pierced hand:

The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.  (Anne Ross Cousins)

(Kenneth W. Osbeck)

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October 5

“God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

(Hebrews 6:10) 

You remember David made it a rule “ . . .but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike” (1 Samuel 30:24).

They were having joint participation in the war.

But gifts are not the only way of showing fellowship in the Gospel: there are countless other ways. Epaphras laboured fervently in prayer: and so may we.

What a cheer an encouraging letter is!

Some hold the hats of those preaching in the open air; some help with the singing: Some bring friends to the meetings.  Love of the gospel, and love of the One who is the theme of  the Gospel, will devise means to have a share in the interests of the Gospel.

(G. Christopher Willis)

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October 6

PASSING THROUGH

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee . . .”

(Isaiah 43:2)

“Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well . . .”

(Psalm 84:6)

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee . . .”

Tell me friend is this true comfort? My Lord walks with me.

Passing through the weeping valley, let’s make it a spring;

Thus we read: Psalm 84:6, God our joy shall bring.

And passing through the rivers, they shall not o’erflow thee;

Sweet the promise of our Saviour, He will with us be. 

As with those three Hebrew children, there was that fourth Man; 

Standing with them in the furnace, all as God had planned.

We don’t stay in those rough waters, we’re just passing through;

Safely on our earthly journey, this our God will do.

Thus our journey: onward, upward, with our Shepherd, Friend;  

Onward He doth lead His children safely to the end.

We are pilgrims on our journey traveling on to Home;

To be with our Lord in Glory, never more to roam.

Home at last! With Him who loved us, led us all the way;

Leaning upon our Beloved into heavenly Day. 

(C.H. Krause - June 2008)  

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October 7

“And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.”

(Judges 2:12)

Some move rapidly, some progress slowly, 

but one thing is constant about infections—they spread.

The decay of society is a constant danger and we must guard our thinking, so it does not become infected with the mind of this age.

Daily immersion in God’s Word and daily contact with Him through 

prayer are the only things that can vaccinate 

the Christian against such infections.  

Heaven’s prescription!.

(Rick Morse)

"What has stripped the seeming beauty, from the idols of the earth;

Not the sense of right or duty, but the sight of peerless worth!" 

(Anon)

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October 8

“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(Romans 15:5-6) 

One of the many wise counsels which was given by an older preacher to young preachers was that, if they constantly preached to broken hearts, they would never want for an audience; and, in his closing message to the world, another preacher declared that, if he had his life to live over again, he would speak more frequently than he had done 

WORDS OF COMFORT, CONSOLATION, AND CHEER. 

As men and women grow older, and are compelled to face the storms of life, they discover how urgently they need a shelter in such times of stress.  Consequently the doctrine of divine consolation becomes exceedingly precious to those who are of riper years, and we do well to keep such a truth in the forefront  of our expository and experimental considerations.

With our Bibles in our hands, we are to think of the Consoler, the consoled, the consolation; and we shall finish up with a word to those who are inconsolable.

(Heaven’s Cure for Earth’s Care)

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”

(2 Corinthians 1:3) 

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October 9

“. . . the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” 

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)  

I remember reading years ago of a gentleman who said that one day in every month he went to a certain city, a place where there were great steel mills.  These mills were going constantly, pounding, pounding, pounding, and he wondered how people could sleep; but the citizens were so used to the noise that it did not bother them.

He could get no sleep during the one night a month which he spent in that town. Then one time, in the middle of the night, something happened to the electric power, and in a moment the mills stopped.  Suddenly the whole town woke up.  They were so used to the noise that it put them to sleep.

Well, the world has heard the gospel down through the centuries and still sleeps on.  But some day the “Church” of God will be gone, and the gospel as now preached will be silenced.  Then the world will wake up to find that it is just entering upon the day of the Lord. 

The day of the Lord will so come as a thief in the night. (Note verse quoted above, (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)

(H.A. Ironside)

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October 10

Crucified With Christ

"I am crucified with Christ;"

(Galatians 2:20-21)

Crucified with Christ were “our old man” (Rom 6.6), and “I” (Gal 2.20).
There are only two races of people: Adam’s and Christ’s. “Our old man” refers to Adam’s race and anyone who is not “in Christ” (through faith) is “in Adam”. 

Sin had so corrupted Adam’s race that it was incapable of pleasing God, and at the cross He judged it. That judgment clearly extended to us individually as belonging to Adam’s fallen race.

This is a humbling thing. We have nothing of ourselves in which we can boast before God. The life we now live is through faith in the Son of God who “loved me, and gave Himself for me”. 

There were people around Galatia who were boasting in thinking that they could and should add to what Christ had done for them by law keeping, but Paul shows us that all that we have is from the Son of God because He gave Himself for us.

Somebody once said that the only reasonable response to “Himself for me” is, “me for Himself”.  This is the response of love to the love of Calvary.  He gave all and demands our all.

(Christian Living Today)

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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October 11

Hast Thou Heard Him, Seen Him, Known Him?

“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  When Jesus therefore saw her weeping . . . He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. . . . Jesus wept.” (John 11:32-35) 

Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him? 
Is not thine a captured heart?

Chief among ten thousand own Him, 
joyful choose the better part.

Idols once they won thee, charmed thee, 
lovely things of time and sense;

Gilded thus does sin disarm thee, 
honeyed lest thou turn thee thence.

What has stripped the seeming beauty 
from the idols of the earth?

Not a sense of right or duty, 
but the sight of peerless worth.

Not the crushing of those idols, 
with its bitter void and smart;

But the beaming of His beauty, 
the unveiling of His heart.

Who extinguishes their taper 
till they hail the rising sun?

Who discards the garb of winter 
till the summer has begun?

'Tis the look that melted Peter, 
’tis the face that Stephen saw,

'Tis the heart that wept with Mary, 
can alone from idols draw:

Draw and win and fill completely, 
till the cup o'erflow the brim;

What have we to do with idols 
who have companied with Him?

(Miss Ora Rowan - 1834-1879)

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October 12

The Three-Fold Promise

“They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:31)

Oh, wonderful promises given to those who wait on the Lord;

Strength for the faint who have fallen, power for weakness outpoured.

Blessed the three fold assurance thrilling the soul like a song:

They shall mount up as the eagles on wide wings and swift wings and strong;

Run with the stride of the racer, leaping unwearied and free,

Till he comes to the end of his journey and the crown of his effort shall see.  

But the word for the worn and the weary, who know not the rapture of wings, 

Who know not the joy of the runner, what infinite comfort it brings!

Walk and not faint; the slow steppings, the plodding dull round of the days,

The toil and the heat and the burden, the wearying halts and delays.

Oh, promise for those who are walking, who falter and stumble and fall,

The courage, the strength and the patience, this is the sweetest of all.

(Annie Johnson Flint)

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October 13

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

(Hebrews 8:12)

The “I will” statements of God in Hebrews 8:8-12 are in stark contrast with the “I will” declarations of Lucifer.

"For thou  (Lucifer) hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, 

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: 

I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; 

I will be like the most High.” 

(Isaiah 14:13-14)

God extends promises and covenants for the purpose of saving,

restoring, and blessing repentant sinners.

Satan had no goal of helping others, but rather desired 

heavenly preeminence, the worship of creation,

and the authority to rule it.

He wanted to be God.

May we humbly align our “I wills” to God’s will and follow 

His example of being others-focused in service.

To God be the glory!

(Warren Henderson)

“To God be the glory, great things He hath done,

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.”

(Fanny J. Crosby)

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October 14

“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.”

(1 Corinthians 12:18)

It is a mistake to suppose that all the members of the body of Christ are called to places of prominence, or that any member can select his place in the body.

It is wholly and absolutely a matter of divine appointment.

It is not one man appointing another; still less is it a man 

appointing himself.

It is divine appointment, or nothing, yea, worse than nothing, 

a daring usurpation of divine rights.

(Food for the Desert)

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October 15

“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)

UNTO JESUS and not to our position in the Christian Church, 

to the family to which to we belong, to our baptism,

to the education which we have received,

to the doctrine which we profess,

to the opinion which others have formed of our piety,

or to the opinion which we have formed of it ourselves.

Some of those who have prophesied in the Name

of the Lord Jesus will one day hear Him say: “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22, 23); 

but He will confess before His Father and before His angels

even the most humble of those who

have looked unto Him.

(Theodore Monod - 1874)

-Translated from the French by Helen Willis

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October 16

Stage by Stage

“And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the Lord: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.”

(Number 33:2)

Numbers 33 is a chapter in the Bible we might pass by without reflection. It appears to be nothing more than a long list of places tracing Israel’s pilgrimage from Rameses in Egypt to their arrival in the plains of Moab.  But it must be important because it’s the only section in Numbers that follows with the words: “Moses wrote . . . by the commandment of the Lord." 

Why keep a record of this?  Could it be that this list provides a framework upon which the Israelites emerging from the wilderness could retrace that forty year journey in their thoughts and recall God’s faithfulness at each location?

I envision an Israelite father, sitting near a campfire, reminiscing with his son: “I will never forget Rephidim! I was dying of thirst, nothing but sand and sage for hundreds of miles.  Then God directed Moses to take his staff and strike a rock—actually a hard slab of flint.  I thought, What a futile gesture; he’ll never get anything out of that stone.  But to my amazement water gushed out of that rock! A generous flow that satisfied the thirst of the thousands of Israelites.  I’ll never forget that day."

Psalm 114:8 “Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.”

Numbers 20:8 “Speak ye unto the rock . . . and it shall give forth his water . . .”

Reflect on your life—stage by stage—and remember all the ways 

God has shown you His faithful love.  

(David Roper) 

Count your many blessings, name them one by one. (Johnson Oatman Jr.) 

God’s faithfulness extends to all generations.

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“Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2016), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission."

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

October 17

“Be careful (anxious) for nothing.”

(Philippians 4:6)

It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, 

questioning and mistrusting.  Can we gain anything by it?

Do we not unfit ourselves for action, and unhinge our minds for 

wise decision?  We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet!

Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!

The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own.

We may be sure that every word of His will stand, though the mountains should depart.

He deserves to be confided in. 

 Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and 

lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.

Peace thy inmost soul shall fill 

Lying still!

(Streams in the Desert)

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October 18

"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)

Three hundred years ago Samuel Rutherford wrote:

“No greater testimony of our love to Christ can be, than to feed carefully and faithfully His lambs.”

And Didon wrote: “We have a great need nowadays of self-sacrificing souls to teach the young generation by their very lives.”

The little children of Jerusalem, exactly like little children everywhere, 

noticed what their elders did, and did it too.

They did in the afternoon what their elders had done on Palm Sunday morning—

The children were crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David (Matthew 21:15). 

Children generally reflect those who are about them.

Their clear eyes look through what we say to what we are.

Often there is nothing of sacrifice in our task of bringing up children.

But our Lord Jesus knew what it would cost Peter to feed His 

lambs, and He knows what it costs some of us.

He overlooks nothing, forgets nothing. 

And He says of each hidden sacrificial act,

”Ye have done it unto Me” 

(Matthew 25:40). 

(Whispers of His Power - Amy Carmichael)

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October 19

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able 

to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” 

(Ephesians 6:16) 

A fiery dart is not a sudden desire to gratify some lust which arises from the flesh within; it is rather a diabolical suggestion from without that would raise a doubt as to the goodness of God. Satan hurled a "fiery dart” at Job when, in his terrible trial, his wife suggested that he should “curse God, and die.”  Job quenched this fiery dart with the shield of faith, for he said, “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:9-10). 

The devil still uses the trying circumstances of life in his endeavour to shake our confidence in God and to drive us from God.  Faith uses these very circumstances to draw near to God and thus triumphs over the devil.

Again, Satan may seek to instil some abominable thought into the mind, some infidel suggestion that burns into the soul and darkens the mind. Such thoughts are not quenched by human reasonings, 

or by falling back on “feelings” or “experiences”, but by simple faith in God and His word. 

(Hamilton Smith)

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October 20

“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, 
which minister questions, rather than godly edifying 
which is in faith: so do.” 

(1 Timothy 1:4)

Today we still need to beware of systems that do not build up our souls, but instead of that only serve to get Christians occupied with unprofitable questions.

There are some people who delight to argue.

John Bunyan has said, “Some love the meat; some love to pick the bones.”

And you will find people who delight in the bones of vital doctrines 

but get very little nourishment from the truth of God’s Word, 

because, instead of being occupied with Christ, 

they are occupied with various side issues.

Now Timothy was to warn the saints to beware of things like that.

That which builds up the people of God is heart-occupation with Christ.  

If we are taken up with Him we will become increasingly like Him.

(Selected)

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October 21

“Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father . . . comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”  (2 Thessalonians 2:16,17)

The wonder is that the Lord condescends to use anything which 

He gives one to say, seeing that we so often adulterate it with our own thoughts.

It is so gracious of Him to give us any encouragement in our service, but I am convinced that, in the issue, the fruit of our labours which we have not seen will be far more abundant than that which we have been permitted to know of, and hence it is that we have to scatter the seed in faith. 

I am certain that we must leave results until the judgment seat of Christ.

In the meantime our one desire must be to gain His 

approbation and be content with that.

Nothing else is worth seeking for.

(Edward Dennett)

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October 22

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, 
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”

(1 John 1:6)

"Will a believer be saved, no matter into what course of sin he may fall and die in?”

A true believer will, infallibly, be saved; but we consider that salvation includes, not only full deliverance from the future consequences of sin, but from the present power and practice thereof.

And, hence, if we find a person living in sin, and yet talking about his assurance of salvation, we look upon him as not a saved person at all.

  

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him 

and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”

(John 1:6)

The believer may fall, but he will be lifted up;  He may be overtaken, but he will be restored;  

He may wander, but he will be brought back, because - 

“Christ is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

(Hebrew 7:25)

Not one of His little ones shall perish. 

(C.H. Macintosh)

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October 23

Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”

(John 17:17)

The important question is not so much to know what is wrong as to learn from the Lord what is right. (A.N. Groves)

My business is love others,
not to seek that others love me. (Robert Chapman)

It is better to speak to God for men than to speak to men for God.

How grand it would be if we could forget our troubles as readily as we forget our blessings—

or at least could recognize the former as the latter, as we one day shall.

Faithful men do not have a following, but their faith does. (D.E. Rule)

What God does in us while we wait is usually more important than the thing we are waiting for.

Most people want to serve God,
but only in an advisory capacity. (A. Rogers)

There is an old saying, “What we possess possesses us.”

that is too true in the natural sense; but it also

ought to be true in the spiritual sense.

Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments,

despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.

(J.S. Baxter)

(Things to Think About)

(John Kaiser)

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October 24

"Is it well with thee?”

(2 Kings 4:26)

This question is asked, not by intrusive inquisitiveness, 

but by friendly interest and kindness. 

Surely then the candid reader will give it  

that attention which its importance demands. 

It is well with all who are in Christ—

whatever their outward circumstances may be. 

But it is ill with all who are out of Christ . . . however moral their character,  however amiable their disposition, or however prosperous their earthly estate. 

In Christ—there is safety, life, and peace! 

Out of Him—there is darkness, danger, and death! 

(Author unknown - 1872)

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October 25

“For if there be first a wiling mind, it is accepted according to 

that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”

(2 Corinthians 8:12)* 

It is important to remember that there is no 

no “much" or “little" in God’s sight,

except as relatively to our means and willingness.  

(Note verse quoted above.)*

He knows what we have not, as well as what we have.

He knows all about the low wages in one sphere,

and the small allowance, or the fixed income

with rising prices in another.

And it is not a question of paying to God what can be squeezed  out of these,

but of giving Him all, and then holding all at His disposal, and taking

His orders about the disposal of all.

(Francis Ridley Havergal)

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October 26

“And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the 

LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.”

(Genesis 39:3)

No doubt Potiphar was intrigued with this foreigner, this Hebrew servant (v. 17).

He was watching and observing his every move.

Obviously, Joseph must have talked, but his testimony appeared to be more through 

his behaviour, not his beliefs—his works, more than his words.

Whatever Potiphar saw in Joseph was a reflection of God Himself.

Someone else was looking also (see v. 7), but she had a completely different set of eyes.

Think no one is watching us?

At work, at home, at play?

Think again!

(N. Craig Funston)  

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!

O glorious victory that overcomes the world!

(John Yates) 

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October 27

Apostolic Lodgings

“Up into an upper room.”

(Acts 1:13)

"Paul dwelt . . . in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him.”

(Acts 28:30)

Two houses art thou given wherein to dwell; 

Happy art thou, if both thou uses well.

To one thou climbest high, with willing feet,

Above the world, thy risen Lord to meet.

The other to the busy street stands open free,

That sin-sick men may come to meet with thee.

The breath of Heaven thy “upper room” delights;  

Thy “hired house” the groans of earth invites.

So with a dual grace thy life is crowned:

Communion pure, and sympathy profound;

Love to thy Lord, and love to all around.

(Bells & Pomegranates - James M. S. Tait)

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October 28

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

(James 1:20)

When a part of the body is injured,

the pain causes tensions, 

and tensions in their 

turn cause pain.

It is the same with anger and resentment.

A good bath of forgiveness makes us ready for peace and joy.

But if we give ourselves over to hatred and resentment,

we will receive the opposite of peace and joy.

(This Day is the Lord’s - Corrie Ten Boom)

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October 29

“We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: 

shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”

(Hebrews 12:9)

Madame Guyon used to say that the only difference she knew in places was where she realized 

most of the presence of God; so will it be with ourselves when we have no

will of our own, and when we have no home but God’s presence.

If we knew the heart of God we would never question any of His dealings with us,

nor should we ever desire His hand lifted off us till 

we have learned all He would teach us.

Paul says, “Through evil report and good report”, (2 Corinthians 6:8) he did not stop to explain; a true

servant of God has not time for that, and to defend yourself only leads to further charges.

We are never to seek to vindicate ourselves when it is a personal matter, but

when the Lord’s name is dishonoured for His glory we may speak. 

(Edward Dennett - Footprints for Pilgrims)

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October 30

"Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren

 . . . and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

(Genesis 37:2) 

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, 

because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.”

Genesis 37:3)

And when his brethren saw that their father loved Joseph more that all his brethren,

they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.”

(Genesis 37:4)

And so with Christ, confessing His unique place with the Father, He can say,  

“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). 

Immediately the hatred of the Jews is called forth and 

“they  sought the more to kill Him,”  

and at once the Lord declares that 

“the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things.”

The beloved of the Father is hated by man.

Even so when the Lord witnessed  against the evil of the world,

 and bore witness to His coming glories, like Joseph,

He drew upon Himself the hatred of the world. 

(Hamilton Smith)

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October 31

“The prayer of the upright is His delight.”

(Proverbs 15:8)

It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers,

 how eloquent they may be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; 

nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be;

nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; 

nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be—

which God cares for.

Fervency of spirit is that which availeth much.

There is nothing that makes us love someone as praying for him,

 and when you can do this sincerely for anyone, you have fitted your 

soul for the performance of everything that is kind and civil toward him.

Be daily on your knees in a solemn, deliberate performance of this devotion,

praying for others in such form, with such length, importunity and earnestness 

as you use for yourself; and you will find all little, ill-natured passions 

die away, your heart will grow great and generous.

(William Law)

The prayers of godly men and women can accomplish 

more that all the military forces in the world.

“Prayer-craft is greater than aircraft!"

(Streams in the Desert)

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