Gems from February 2017
"To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:19)
O Lord! Thy rich, Thy boundless love no thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Oh give our hearts its depths to prove, and reign without a rival there.
From Thee, O Lord, we all receive, Thine, wholly Thine, alone we’d live.
(Gerhardt)
“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
(1 John 1:3)
Fellowship with the Father is to be filled with His thoughts,
His desires, His objects and His affections.
It is also so with fellowship with the Son. . . . It is our privilege to be taken out
of ourselves altogether—to be lost in the affections and aims of the Father and the Son! . . .
Self disappears before such a blessed possibility.
Shall I cling to my own thoughts and purposes when
I may be occupied with those of the Father and the Son?
Shall I have my own affections when I may be possessed with
those that fill the heart of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ?
Far be the thought!
Rather let me be lost in this illimitable sea of
bliss opened out before me in the marvellous grace of God.
(Divine Possibility - Edward Dennett - with thanks - F.P.)
N.J. Hiebert - 6516
February 1
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.”
(2 Timothy 4:7)
For more than two decades, Andrew Carroll has been urging people NOT to throw away the letters written by family members or friends during a time of war. Carroll, director of the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University in California, considers them an irreplaceable link to tie families together and open a door of understanding.
“Younger generations are reading these letters,“ Carroll says, “and asking questions and saying, ’Now I understand what you endured, what you sacrificed.’ “
When the apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome and knew his life would soon end, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote a letter to a young man whom he considered a “son in the faith,” Timothy. Like a soldier on the battlefield, Paul opened his heart to him:
“The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that Day: and not to
me only, but unto to all them also that love His appearing.”
(2 Timothy 4:6-8)
When we read the inspired letters in the Bible that the heroes of the Christian faith have left for us and grasp what they endured because of their love for Christ, we gain courage to follow their example and to stand strong for those who come after us.
(DAVID MCCASLAND)
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2015), Grand Rapids, MI Reprinted permission
N.J. Hiebert - 6517
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADDENDUM - The Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Philippians 2:5-8 left a letter which exceeds all, and more than all that man could ever do.
“Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
February 2
“For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.”
(Psalm 32:6)
"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.”
(Psalm 34:7)
Sometimes I walk in the valley, sometimes on the mountain crest,
But whether on low or high land, the Lord is manifest.
Sometimes I walk in the desert, sometimes in waters cold,
But whether by sands or streamlets the Lord does me enfold.
N.J. Hiebert - 6518
February 3
“Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.”
(Psalm 51:4)
All sin is against God; and it is a painful thing to have to do with God about our sin.
But right into the presence chamber of of the Holy One we must go,
just as we are, if we would get rid of the awful burden of sin.
There, and there only, can we find full relief.
The weeping penitent must lay down the multitude of his sins,
side by side with the multitude of God’s tender mercies.
Only there can he learn what that word means,
“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).
The Father meets His child, blessed be His name, in the boundless grace of His heart,
on the ground of the precious blood of Jesus.
As the rising wave from the fathomless ocean hastens to meet and embrace the
descending stream, and overflow all its limits, so does grace meet the
penitent sinner, and obliterate for ever all trace of his sin.
Its course, like a river, may have been long and deep,
but now its very course and limits are untraceable.
“O love divine, Thou vast abyss! my sins are swallowed up in Thee;
Covered is my unrighteousness from condemnation I am free;
While Jesu’s blood, through earth and skies, Mercy! free, boundless mercy! cries.”
(Andrew Miller)
N.J. Hiebert - 6519
February 4
“I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.”
(Philippians 3:8)
The legalist teaches that we must surrender earth in order to get heaven. But how can fallen nature surrender that to which it is allied? How can it be attracted by that in which it sees no charms? Heaven has no charms for nature; yea, it is the very last place it would like to be found in.
Nature has no taste for heaven, its occupations, or its occupants. Were it possible for nature to find itself there, it would be miserable. Thus, then, nature has no ability to surrender earth, and no desire to get heaven. True, it would be glad to escape hell and its ineffable torment, gloom and misery; but the desire to escape hell, and the desire to get heaven, spring from two very different sources.
The former may exist in the old nature; the latter can only be found in the new. Were there no “lake of fire,” and no “worm” in hell, nature would not so shrink from it. The same principle holds good in reference to all of nature’s pursuits and desires.
The legalist teaches that we must give up sin before we can get righteousness. But nature cannot give up sin; and as to righteousness, it absolutely hates it. True, it would like a certain amount of religion; but it is only with the idea that religion will preserve it from hell fire. It does not love religion because of its introducing the soul to the present enjoyment of God and His ways. (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert - 6520
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
February 5
“Much people . . . came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.”
(John 12:9-11)
From the grave to the supper table, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.
Many came to see him and believed on Jesus as a result.
Lazarus was a living witness.
Has this same Jesus given eternal life to you?
Are you a witness to His life-giving power?
Do others believe after seeing your new life?
Oh that we would consistently show others what Christ can do for those who once were dead.
(Ken Gross)
Living for Jesus a life that is true, striving to please Him in all that I do.
Seeking the lost He died to redeem, bringing the weary to find rest in Him.
(Thomas Obediah Chisholm 1866-1960)
N.J. Hiebert - 6521
February 6
“The shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.”
(Jonah 1:6)
Good, sensible shipmaster! He well knew what Jonah ought to be doing, surely not sleeping at such a time! Arise, call upon thy God! It is a message from the heathen about us that we all would do well to hear.
We cannot all go out to the heathen, but we all can arise and call upon our God. Was not this just the point? Jonah could not arise and call upon his God nor do we hear that he even tried to do as the shipmaster commanded him.
How could Jonah call on the name of the very One from whose presence he was even then fleeing?
No, dear fellow-Christian, you and I know very well that sin and prayer do not go together: we must give up one or the other. Sad to say, Jonah had chosen sin, and he could not pray.
As we noted before, he did not even try to pray. He knew perfectly well what was the cause of
that storm, and he knew equally well the remedy. This was not a time for prayer, but a time for confession, and bowing to the just punishment that he so rightly merited for his sin against his God. Though indeed confession and prayer might, and should, have been found together in the same breath.
(G.C. Willis)
N.J. Hiebert - 6522
February 7
WHICH IS DESERT
“Arise and go toward the south unto the way. . .which is desert.
And he arose and went: and behold . . .”
(Acts 8:26-27)
Philip is in the midst of a great revival in Samaria when suddenly there comes a strange turn in the Divine direction. I am sure friends must have said: “What! From a revival to a desert? Are you sure God wants you to leave these thrilling meetings for a desolate trail?” But he went and behold . . . the evangelist meets the eunuch.
Has God called you from a Samaria to a Sahara? Has health failed, has adversity shut down, have loved ones gone, must you undertake a hard work among strangers?
Does the sudden shift in His orders seem so abrupt that you hesitate and argue that it doesn’t make sense? Ah, but His ways are not ours. If He sends you to the desert He can furnish streams of water there. Philip had an appointment with the eunuch and didn’t know it.
If God orders you out on the lone road He has an appointment for you to keep with someone, maybe with some bewildered soul, maybe with Himself.
Jesus must needs go through Samaria to meet one needy woman; perhaps you must needs leave Samaria because somewhere out on a dismal way, not at all where you like to travel, someone needs you.
Philip “arose and went . . . and behold.” He Who has said,
“go ye therefore . . .” has said “Lo, I am with you.”
As you obey, you may not see the why of it,
but you shall see the Who. He Who
says “Go” goes along.
(Vance Havner)
N.J. Hiebert - 6523
February 8
THE DANGER OF DESPONDENCY
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11).
The book of Psalms, it has been said, contains the whole music
of the heart of man swept by the hand of his Maker.
"In it are gathered
the lyrical outburst of his tenderness - the moan of his penitence -
the pathos of his sorrow - the triumph of his victory -
the despair of his defeat - the firmness of his confidence,
the rapture of his assured hope.”
(Heaven’s Cure for Earth’s Care)
N.J. Hiebert - 6524
February 9
"A brother is born for adversity.”
(Proverbs 17:17)
It often happens that a season of adversity softens the heart,
and renders it susceptible of kindness.
The claims of a brother’s trouble are answered by the
affections of a brother’s heart.
Genuine faith, while it always renders us independent,
never renders us indifferent.
It will never wrap itself up in its
fleece while a brother shivers in the cold.
(Food for the Desert)
N.J. Hiebert - 6525
February 10
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.”
(Lamentations 3:22-23)
Past failure does not excuse present disobedience.
Past failure—no matter by whom—is not an excuse for present disobedience—no matter what.
Past failure never justifies present disobedience.
We tend to excuse our past or present failure because of
other past or present failure—on our part or on the part of others.
But God does not, will not and can not lower His standards to
accommodate our whims, reasonings or failures.
All human action is accompanied by failure.
That is why principles, not precedents, must direct all present action.
And that is also why even principles themselves will not be rightly
applied if we are not walking in communion with God.
(Nuggets of Truth - J. Kaiser)
N.J. Hiebert - 6526
February 11
“Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
(Matthew 28:20)
“The Lord is my Shepherd.”
(Psalm 23:1)
Not was, not may be, nor will be.
“The Lord is my shepherd,” is on Sunday, is on Monday,
and is through every day of the week; is in January, is in December,
and every month of the year; is at home, and is in China;
is in peace, and, is in war; in abundance, and in penury.
(J. Hudson Taylor)
HE will silently plan for thee, object thou of omniscient care;
God Himself undertakes to be thy Pilot through each subtle snare.
He WILL silently plan for thee, so certainly, He cannot fail!
Rest on the faithfulness of God, in Him thou surely shalt prevail.
He will SILENTLY plan for thee, some wonderful surprise of love.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard, but it is kept for thee above.
He will silently PLAN for thee, His purposes shall all unfold;
The tangled skein shall shine at last, a masterpiece of skill untold.
He will silently plan FOR THEE, happy child of a Father’s care,
As though no other claimed His love, but thou alone to Him wert dear.
(E. Mary Grimes)
Whatever our faith says God is, He will be.
N.J. Hiebert - 6527
February 12
THE CREAM PITCHER
“Ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within. . . . “
(Matthew 23:25)
Restaurants sometimes serve ordinary milk in a cream pitcher,
but a cream pitcher does not change milk into cream.
“It takes more than than a better grade of china to heighten the
flavour of indifferent tea.”
From pulpits today, a lot of skim milk is served in cream pitchers!
The wrapper does not match the contents.
The Bible abounds in figures of external appearance that belies what is within.
“. . . Whited sepulchres” (Matthew 23:27),
“. . . in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).
“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him . . .” (Titus 1:16).
“. . . for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
We need to produce better contents instead of majoring on better cups!
(Vance Havner)
N.J. Hiebert - 6528
February 13
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” (Romans 8:8-9)
In the history of God’s people, whether we look at them as a whole, or as individuals,
we are often struck with the amazing difference between what they are in
God’s view, and what they are in the view of the world.
God sees His people in Christ.
He looks at them through Christ; and hence
He sees them “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.”
They are as Christ is before God.
They are perfected forever, as to their standing
in Christ. “They are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.”
But in themselves, they are poor, feeble, imperfect, stumbling, inconsistent creatures;
and, inasmuch as it is what they are in themselves, and that alone, that the
world takes knowledge of, therefore it is that the difference seems
so great between the divine and the human estimate.
He ever puts Himself between His people and every tongue that would accuse them.
He does not not answer the accusation by a reference to what
His people are in themselves, or to what they are in the
view of the men of this world, but to what
He Himself has made them, and
where He set them.
(C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert - 6529
February 14
"Pilate said unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
They all say unto him, Let Him be crucified."
(Matthew 27:22)
“A missionary may go forth with compassion for the poor, tenderness for the sick, and
pity for the enslaved; but he will never relieve poverty of spirit, sickness of soul,
nor bondage of will --unless he takes them the gospel of Christ crucified.”
(J.C. Ryle 1816-1900 - with thanks to Tim Roach)
"For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1Corinthians 2:2)
N.J. Hiebert - 6530
February 15
“Let love be without dissimulation.
Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
(Romans 12:9
Love Must Be Sincere
I was working on my sprinkler system, which had an ineffective sprinkler.
The grass was brown from lack of water.
I removed the sprinkler head and found a very small pebble lodged in
the groove where the water sprays out.
It was an impediment, ever so small, but it stopped the free flow of water.
I thought, how true it is in my spiritual life when sin, ever so small,
comes between my heart and the Holy Spirit.
The flow of God's love through me ceases,
and my spiritual life becomes ineffective and lifeless.
Love must flow within our hearts unhindered, free from
every impediment, with our lives made bare before
God, overflowing with His life from within.
(Adapted from Daily Devotions)
N.J. Hiebert - 6531
February 16
"Teach me Thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path." (Psalm 27:11)
How is it that some Christians break down?
How is it their needs are not met? How is it some get into confusion and perplexity?
The answers to these questions are in many cases because
they have gotten out of the path of God's will.
In that path, we get full supplies, provided we are in constant dependence on Him.
We must always be receiving from Him.
It is like a water wheel going round. What makes it go round?
The water that went over it yesterday? No!
The stream that may flow tomorrow? No!
What then? The water passing over it just now. If that stops, the wheel stops.
So we are dependent moment by moment.
(Christian Truth Vol. 23 - with thanks D. Hopkins)
N.J. Hiebert - 6532
February 17
"Shall not the judge of all the earth do
right?” (Gen. 18:25)
When there are mysteries in life too deep for us
to fathom, we can relax in the confidence that the Judge of all the earth is the
God of absolute and infinite righteousness. Men puzzle over why God ever allowed sin to
enter.
We often stand dumb in the face of tragedies, of
poverty and hunger, of horrible physical and
mental impairments. Doubt continually murmurs, “If God is in control, why does
He permit it all?” Faith replies, “Wait till the last chapter is
written. God makes no
mistake.
When we are able to see things from a clearer
perspective,
we will realize that the Judge of all the earth has done right.”
God writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,—
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this—His way was right.
we will realize that the Judge of all the earth has done right.”
God writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,—
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this—His way was right.
(John
Oxenham )
N.J.
Hiebert - 6533
February 18
let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance . . .”
(Hebrews 6:1)
Some of us stay at the cross, some of us wait at the tomb,
Quickened and raised together with Christ, yet lingering still in its gloom;
Some of us bide at the passover feast with Pentecost all unknown—
The triumphs of grace in the heavenly place that our Lord has made our own.
If the Christ who died had stopped at the cross His work had been incomplete,
If the Christ who was buried had stayed in the tomb He had only known defeat;
But the Way of the Cross never stops at the Cross, and the way of the Tomb leads on
To victorious grace in the heavenly place where the risen Lord has gone.
So, let us go on with our Lord to the fulness of God He has brought,
Unsearchable riches of glory and good exceeding our uttermost thought;
Let us grow up into Christ, claiming His life and its powers,
The triumphs of grace in the heavenly place that our conquering Lord has made ours.
(Annie Johnson Flint’s Best-Loved Poems)
N.J. Hiebert - 6534
February 19
“Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But the LORD is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:19-20)
What a contrast between God and idols.
People speak to their idols and get only silence.
When God speaks, all are to be silent. Yet even when He is silent, God speaks.
As a sheep, silent before its shearers (Isaiah 53:7), the Lord Jesus spoke
volumes about His hatred of sin and love for sinners.
“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not
His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so He openeth not His mouth.”
As the Just suffered for the unjust, He taught us about God’s
justice and grace, His mercy and wrath.
Friend, listen to God’s message and trust Christ today.
(George Ferrier)
“Jesus bruised and put to shame, tells the glories of God’s name;
Holy judgment there I found, grace did there o’er sin abound."
(R.C. Chapman)
N.J. Hiebert - 6535
February 20
"I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”
(Philippians 1:23-24)
How often we are apt to think, to depart and be with Christ will be to escape the
trials and anxieties and perplexities and reproach of this wilderness path:
and so we think it is better to depart: but such a thought never
crossed the mind of the Apostle: the attraction, on the
one hand, was CHRIST: and nothing else.
On the other hand, there was the need of the saints.
Nor was it in any way that he put the saints
before Christ: but it was for Christ’s sake
he would care for Christ’s flock.
You will notice the Apostle does not say he had a desire
“to die,” but to depart and be with Christ.
(G. Christopher Willis)
N.J. Hiebert - 6536
February 21
“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”
(Daniel 1:8)
The only way to go on with God is by being faithful in little things. He who honours the Lord by conscientious adherence to His Word in what some would call minor details is likely to be exercised about greater things.
I have heard Christians refer to certain precepts in the Scriptures as non-essentials. But we may rest assured there are no non-essentials in our Bibles. “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” (Psalm 12:6)
When people talk of non-essentials in regard to anything concerning which God has revealed His mind, it is well to ask, “Essential or non-essential to what?”
If it is be a question of the soul’s salvation, undoubtedly the one great essential is faith in His blessed Son, whose finished work alone avails to put away sin and procure peace with God.
But if it be a question of what is essential to the enjoyment of communion with God - essential to obtaining the Lord’s approval at the judgment-seat of Christ—then it is well to remember that in everything the believer is sanctified to the obedience of Christ.
And it is here that we should seek to imitate Daniel, who had “purposed in his heart”
that he would not defile himself.
(H.A. Ironside)
N.J. Hiebert - 6537
February 22
“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
(1 Corinthians 15:55)
“Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
(Revelation 22:20-21)
The Lord Himself shall come, and shout a quickening word;
Thousands shall answer from the tomb: "Forever with the Lord!"
Then, as we upward fly, that resurrection-word
shall be our shout of victory: "Forever with the Lord!”
(Montgomery)
N.J. Hiebert - 6538
February 23
My Portion!
“Thou art my portion, O Lord!”
(Psalm 119:57)
Many people are proud of their possessions, and boast of their wealth; yet their possessions are very limited, and their wealth has wings and may flee away at any time!
A Christian may not be proud--but he has great reason to be thankful.
He can look over the whole earth, and say, "My wealth exceeds all this!"
He can look up and gaze on the starry heavens and say, "My property exceeds this vast expanse!"
He may try to conceive of the greatness and glory of the created universe, and then say, "I claim more than all this!"
Looking up to the Author, Owner, and Disposer of all worlds--he can say, “Thou art my portion, O Lord!"
What a privilege! A portion--and such a portion.
God Himself in all His greatness, and in all His goodness.
God with all He is, and all He has--is my portion!
What kind of a portion is this? It is immense, for it comprehends all.
All the attributes of the Divine nature, are for us.
All the perfections of God's character, are on our side.
All the productions of the divine power, are for our good.
Therefore the apostle says, "All things are yours!"
Nothing good is withheld from us!
(Gleams of Grace - 1860)
N.J. Hiebert - 6539
February 24
“And Enoch walked with God.”
(Genesis 5:22)
"The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him,
I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai]; walk before Me."
(Genesis 17:1)
Walk with God; walk before God; walk in fellowship with God.
It is that ordinary every day walk which will be attacked.
And yet we need never crash.
We have two glorious words with which to confront the adversary: But God.
We are all weakness
“My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart" (Psalm 73:26).
Before the command was given to Abram he was told that wonderful name of the Lord.
I am El Shaddai, the Almighty God, the God who is enough.
He is our eternal strength, and with Him we can
walk this day and every day of our lives.
(Amy Carmichael)
N.J. Hiebert - 6540
February 25
“Unite my heart to fear Thy name, I will praise Thee,
O Lord my God, with all my heart.”
(Psalm 86:11-12)
It is not to the one who works most, nor to the one who reads most,
that the Lord confides His mind, but to the one who loves
Him most (as Mary Magdalene).
It is only near Himself that the human mind is so in abeyance
that His mind is in the ascendant.
(Footprints for Pilgrims)
N.J. Hiebert - 6541
February 26
“One thing have I desired . . . to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to enquire in His temple.”
(Psalm 27:4)
- We are not to rejoice so much in the deliverances when they come as in the One who delivers us.
- The deeper the sense of the state from which we have been delivered the more absorbingly intense our affection for the Deliverer.
- Intellectual conviction is always powerless, it occupies itself with the truth, and never leads to Christ Himself.
- A heart possessed of Christ is fortified against the most seductive allurements of the world.
- The state of our souls may be discerned by the effect produced upon us by the name of Jesus.
- Christ Himself is to be our great example of faith, of a life of dependence upon God.
If the holiest man that ever lived were to fill our vision it would only hinder and not help us.
(Edward Dennett 1831-1914)
N.J. Hiebert - 6542
February 27
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the
world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.”
(1 John 3:1)
Shall we, can we, reserve any corner of our hearts from Him?
His love for thee: not a passive, possible love but outflowing, yes
outpouring of the real, glowing, personal love of His mighty and tender heart.
Love, not as an attribute, a quality, a latent force but an acting, moving, reaching, touching, and grasping power. Love, not a cold, beautiful, far-off star but a sunshine that comes and enfolds us, making us warm and glad and strong and bright and fruitful.
His love! What manner of love is it? What should be quoted to prove or describe it?
First the whole Bible with its mysteries and marvels of redemption, then the whole book of Providence and the whole volume of creation.
Then add to these the unknown records of eternity past and the unknown glories of eternity to come, and then let the immeasurable quotation be sung by angels and archangel, and all the company of heaven, with all the harps of God, and still that love will be untold, still it will be
“the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”
(Ephesians 3:19)
(Francis Ridley Havergal)
N.J. Hiebert - 6543
February 28
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
(James 1:17)
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . .”
(Revelation 21:1)
And the 'new heaven’ and the ‘new earth’ will but take up the
same tale of various but exhaustless goodness.
We need only the happy faith which realizes it all to the soul.
“Our Father’s house! no more our souls
At fearful distance bow;
We enter in by Jesu’s blood,
With happy boldness now.
“Our Father! thought had never dreamed
That love like Thine could be—
Mysterious love which brings us thus
So very near to Thee.”
(The Son of God - J.G. Bellett)
N.J. Hiebert - 6544
posted by soundwords at
February 01, 2017
|
0 Comments
