Gems from March 2019

March 1

“And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.”

(Matthew 11:6)

All of us are sometimes troubled by questions.

Why is the secret of healing not opened more fully?

Why is that key not put into wise and loving hands?

Why does He whose touch has not lost its ancient power not come immediately and touch and heal?

Why have the wicked such awful power?

Why are we ourselves sometimes like the little ship on the sea of Galilee beaten by the winds?

And even after we have heard our dear Lord’s Peace, be still, why is it 

that there is not always instantly a great calm, a lasting calm? 

Why do the winds return again?

We could go on forever, piling question on question.  Why? Why? Why?

But faith is not “trusting God when we understand His ways” — there is no need for faith then. Faith is trusting when nothing is explained.  

Faith rests under the Unexplained.

Faith enters into the deep places of our Lord’s words,

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.  

Faith, having entered into those deep places, stays there in peace. 

(Whispers of His Power - Amy Carmichael)

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March 2

"Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding."

(1 Chronicles 29:15)

“Remember how short my time is.”

(Psalm 89:47)

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

(Psalm 90:12)

But Thou, O God, hast life that is eternal;

That life is mine, a gift through Thy dear Son;

Help me to feel its flush and pulse in all,

Assurance of the morn when life is done.

Help me to know the value of these hours;

Help me the folly of all waste to see;

Help me to trust the Christ who bore my sorrows,

And thus to yield for life or death to Thee.

(Christian Calendar)

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March 3

THEN THE LORD

“When my father and my mother forsake me, 

then the Lord will take me up.”

(Psalm 27:10)

My father and mother went to heaven long ago.

My dearest wife left this world some time ago.

Almost all of my immediate family live on the other side.

But God remains and I am not alone.

Those I love have not left me forever.

I am just lagging behind a little! Forsaken?

Yes, for a moment.  Then the Lord!

"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

(Hebrews 13:5)

(All the Days- Vance Havner)

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March 4

FAITHFULNESS

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.”

(James 1:12)

The story is told of an event that took place many, many years ago in the rural English countryside. A farmer was working his fields, planting them for the coming year’s crops.  Hearing a commotion in the distance, he looked up to see a group of sportsmen on horseback entering his property.

The field he had just planted was one which he was very concerned they not ride through.  Calling one of his young helpers he told the boy, “Shut the gate to this field and on no account allow it to be opened”.

Quickly obeying, the lad was barely finished securing the gate when the party of riders stopped and ordered him to open the gate.  The young lad refused, explaining that he had received orders from his master to keep it closed—orders he intended to keep.  Threats and bribes from the party of sportsmen had no effect on the faithful lad.

Finally, one of the riders, an elderly man, spoke to him in commanding tones. “My boy, you do not know me.  I am the Duke of Wellington* and I command you to open that gate so that I and my friends may pass through." 

*(The Duke of Wellington was the famous general who had defeated Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo)  

The young lad very respectfully lifted his cap, and stood uncovered before the great military man whom all England delighted to honour.  Speaking in firm but courteous tone, he said:  “Sir, I am sure that the esteemed Duke of Wellington would not want me to disobey orders.  I have been ordered by my master to keep the gate shut, not allowing anyone to pass through except with his permission”.  

The elderly Duke was silent a moment, then with a broad smile he lifted his own hat saying; "I honour the boy or man who can neither be bribed nor frightened into doing wrong!”  Handing the boy a gold coin, the Duke of Wellington and his group of sportsmen turned their horses and galloped away. 

Dear believer, our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ has told us to be faithful to Himself: “be faithful unto death”.  Daily we are tempted by Satan to do or say those things which are clearly disobedient and displeasing to our blessed Lord and Master.  Do we put to death, as we may say, these wrong desires?  Let’s all remember the divinely inspired words of James 1:12. 

(The Christian Shepherd - December 2010 - Doug Nicolet)

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March 5

PATIENCE AND HOPE

“What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God?” (2 Peter 3:11,12)

Live up to thy hopes, Christian; let there be a decorum kept
between thy principles and thy practices—

thy hope of heaven, and walk on earth.

The eye should direct the foot.

Thou lookest for salvation; walk the same way thy eye looks.  

There is a decorum, which if a Christian doth not observe in his walking,

he betrays his high calling and hopes unto scorn.

To look high and live low, how ridiculous it appears?

(The Christian in Complete Armour)

(William Gurnall  1617-1679)

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March 6

“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”

(Psalm 92:12)

These trees are not trained and pruned by man: palms and cedars are trees of the Lord, and it is by His care that they flourish; even so it is with the saints of the Lord; they are His own care!

These trees are evergreen and are beautiful objects at all seasons of the year. Believers are not sometimes holy and sometimes ungodly; they stand in the beauty of the Lord under all weathers. 

Everywhere these trees are noteworthy: no one can gaze upon a landscape in which there are either palms or cedars without his attention being fixed upon these royal growths. The followers of Jesus are the observed of all observers: like a city set on a hill, they cannot be hid.  

The child of God flourishes like a palm tree, which pushes all its strength upward in one erect column without a single branch.  It is a pillar with a glorious capital.  It has no growth to the right nor to the left, but sends all its force heavenward, and bears its fruit as near the sky as possible.  Lord, fulfill this type in me!

The cedar braves all storms, and grows near the snow, the Lord Himself filling it with a sap which keeps its heart warm and its boughs strong. Lord, so let it be with me, I pray!

(Charles H. Spurgeon)

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March 7

“In whom (Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.”

(Ephesians 1:11)

God has ordained that every believer be with Him in heaven.

The Lord Jesus, by His death has not only redeemed man but has been established in heaven having obtained glories through His work which He delights to share with all believers.

We now have a place in heaven with Him that awaits us, kept by His promise and power for us to share in His glories and all the riches of heaven.

(Bry’n Ross) 

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March 8

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."

(Ephesians 4:31-32)   

Believers collectively are the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit.  We

are reminded that as individuals we are sealed by the Spirit.

God has marked us out as His own in view of the 

day of redemption by giving us the Spirit.

We are to beware of grieving the Holy Spirit by allowing bitterness, 

the heat of passion, wrath and noisy clamour,

injurious language and malice.

In contrast to the evil speaking and malice of the flesh, we are to be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving towards one another in the consciousness of the way God has acted towards us in forgiving us for Christ’s sake.

(The Epistle to the Ephesians - Hamilton Smith)

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March 9

“He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.”

(John 16:14)

Some souls often say, “I believe all the value and efficacy of Christ’s work, 

but I cannot apply it.”

Who asks you to do so?  It is God who applies it, and He has applied it to you, if you believe in its value and efficacy. The moment we believe in Christ, we have the Holy Ghost as bearing witness:

“He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.”

Just as the Son came down to do God’s will, and then ascended up again into heaven, so, at the Son’s ascension, the Holy Ghost came down as a person on the earth; for the Holy Ghost is always spoken of as being now on earth, and it is this which gives the true and peculiar character of the Church of God.

(J. N. Darby)

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March 10

Refreshed By God

“For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them:

and that Rock was Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 10:4)

All the way my Saviour leads me—

cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial, 

feeds me with the living bread.

Though my weary steps may falter 

and my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me, Lo! 

A spring of joy I see.

(The Treasury of Fanny Crosby)

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March 11

A Home

“Let us make a little chamber . . .(2 Kings 4:10)

This woman from Shunem recognized that Elisha was a holy man of God.  She wanted to provide for him and after consultation with her husband she prepared a little room and furnished it.  We could learn from what this dear lady provided for the man of God: just a bed, a table, a stool and a candlestick.

The bed speaks of rest, the table of fellowship, the stool of instruction and the candlestick of testimony. A godly home is a place of rest and peace where sweet fellowship is enjoyed.  The things of God are honoured and discussed there and it is a testimony, a light in a dark place.

There was a home in Bethany that was all of these things to the Saviour.  There He rested (Matthew 21:17), enjoyed sweet fellowship (John 12:2), and there He taught the scriptures (Luke10:39). What a testimony that home was.  It seems that all Paul longed for in Philippians 3:10 was there.

“That I may know Him (the Saviour), and the power of His resurrection (Lazarus), and the fellowship of His sufferings,” (Mary and Martha).

Creating a godly atmosphere in a home does not take much money but it does take time and love. If the love is there, time will be made; so really, it boils down to love. Love for the Lord, love for His people, love for His word.

(Daily Devotions - B.L.)

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March 12

“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

(Luke 14:11)

”God be merciful to me a sinner.”

(Luke 18:13)

The man who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” went down to his house justified rather than the other. It is written, “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

In some of the great halls of Europe may be seen pictures not painted with the brush, but mosaics, which are made up of small pieces of stone, glass, or other material.

The artist takes these little pieces, and, polishing and arranging them, he forms them into grand and beautiful pictures.  Each individual part of a picture may be a little worthless piece of glass or marble or shell; but, with each in its place, the whole constitutes the masterpiece of art.

“So I think it will be with man in the hands of the great Artist. God is picking up the little worthless pieces of stone and brass that might be trodden underfoot unnoticed, and is making them His great masterpiece.”    

(Streams in the Desert)

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March 13

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:"

(Numbers 6:24)

"The Lord Bless Thee!”

How shall He bless thee?

With the gladness that knoweth no decay,

With the riches that cannot pass away,

With the sunshine that makes an endless day —

Thus may He bless thee!

“And Keep Thee!”

How shall He keep thee?

With the all-covering shadow of His wings,

With the strong love that guards from evil things,

With the sure power that safe to glory brings —

Thus may He keep thee!

(Comforted of God - A. J. Pollock)

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March 14

“Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles ; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. . . . they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.”

(Matthew 17:4-6)     

We think it strange to read that the disciples "feared as they (Moses and Elias) entered into the cloud”. They had no need, for the more we know what it is to dwell in the Father’s presence the happier for our hearts will it be.

But the lesson they had to learn here was that, though they might disappear, Jesus abides. “And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.”

Ah! that is very sweet.  Moses may go and Elias may go, but if you have Jesus left you have everything your heart can desire.

Have you found out yet what it is to have Jesus only for your heart, or is somebody or something else absolutely essential to your happiness?  If so, if will be an awful day for you when that persons is taken away. 

Your heart will be left utterly desolate then, for you have not found out what it is to have Jesus as the incomparable One.

If you have Jesus first in the bright day, you will have Him first, I need not say, in the dark day. The crash may come, you know not how soon, but if you have Jesus your heart cannot be desolate and lonely. 

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

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March 15

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Romans 8:8

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

(Romans 8:18)

  

There is an Asian Legend about a poor man who approached his king with a complaint concerning his poverty. "The only things I own are these rags,” he said.

“I’ll give you riches,” the king replied, “pleasures, and honours on the condition that you give me half of what you now own".  The poor man thought it sounded like a good deal. After all, he only owned rags.

“You have two boys,” the king continued, “give me one. You have two eyes, two ears, two arms, two feet, two hands, give me one of each.”  It was then that the beggar realized how blessed he was.

What he had in his poverty was worth far more than any riches, any honours, or any pleasures that the king could give him.

So too, you may be looking at what you don’t have. 

But what you have in God is worth far more than anything you don’t.

If you had the riches of the entire world, but not the Lord, you would have nothing.  But if you’re saved,  (see John’s Gospel chapter three),  you are more blessed than the richest of this world. Rejoice in your blessings.

(With thanks - Dr. C. Fenwick )

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March 16

Jesus Loves Me

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”  (John 3:16-17)

ANNA WARNER and her sister, Susan, grew up near West Point Military Academy, where they became known for leading  Sunday School services for the young men there. After the death of their father, a New York lawyer, the sisters supported themselves with their various literary endeavours. 

Susan became known as a best-selling novelist. Anna also wrote novels and published two collections of poems. She wrote this simple hymn in 1860 to be included in one of her sister’s novels. In the story, it was a poem of comfort spoken to a dying child.

Today millions of voices around the world sing these words:  “Yes, Jesus loves me!” Once, when asked to summarize the essential truths of  the Christian faith, the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth gave this simple answer:

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” 

This profound yet simple truth is certainly worth singing about!

 Jesus loves me! this I know,

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died

Heaven’s gate to open wide;

He will wash away my sin,

Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me!  He will stay 

Close beside me all the way;

Thou hast bled and died for me,

I will henceforth live for Thee.

(Anna Bartlet Warner (1820-1915)

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March 17

“I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasuries.”

(Proverbs 8:20-21)

From this point on, the anointed eye loses sight of all else, and is fixed upon Christ; for He it is who is now presented for the contemplation of our souls.  It is Christ as the uncreated Word, yet the Begotten Son by eternal generation; words admittedly paradoxical, but after all distinctly Scriptural.

Some there are who have supposed the term Only-begotten 

necessarily implied a period, however remote, when the 

Son was not.  This John’s gospel clearly refutes, for

“the same was in the beginning with God.” 

He was begotten, not in the sense of having beginning of life, but as being of one nature and substance with the Father.

Never was there a moment in the past Eternity when He reposed not in the bosom of Infinite Love. 

To explain the mystery is impossible, as the apostle himself declares.

“No man knoweth the Son but the Father.”  

Hence the devout heart can rest and adore where the skeptic seeks in vain for rational explanations of a mystery beyond human ken.

(Proverbs - H. A. Ironside)

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March 18

“For He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him.”

(Psalm 45:11)

THE WORSHIP of God is the soul bowing down before God in absorbed contemplation of Himself. Over and over do we read the words, “They bowed their heads and worshipped;" or “They fell down and worshipped.”

It has been well said that “In prayer we are occupied with our needs; in thanksgiving we are occupied with our blessings; in worship we are occupied with Himself.”

God would not have us less occupied with our needs or present them less to Him. Neither would He have us less occupied with our blessings or return thanks less to Him for them; but He would have us, I am sure, more occupied with Himself in intelligent worship.

(R. A. Torrey) 

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March 19

"SAVE Thy people, and BLESS Thine inheritance: FEED them also,

LIFT them UP.”  (Psalm 28:9)

What an inclusive prayer! nothing is left out. The word that speaks to me specially is “FEED”.

I do not think there is anything from the beginning of our Christian life to the end, that is so keenly attacked as our quiet with God, for it is in quietness that we are fed.

Sometimes it is not possible to to get long uninterrupted quiet, but even if it be only ten minutes, “hem it with quietness.”  Enclose it in quietness; do not spend the time in thinking how little time you have.  Be quiet. 

If you are interrupted, as soon as the interruption ceases, 

sink back into quietness again without fuss or worry of spirit.

Those who know this secret and practise it, are lifted up. 
They go out from that time with their Lord, be it long or short, so refreshed, so peaceful, that wherever the go they unconsciously say to others, who are perhaps cast down and weary,

There is a lifting up.

“When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is lifting up; 

and He shall save the humble person.”  (Job 22:29)

(Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael)

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March 20

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

(2 Timothy 4:7)

If we are honest, the little book of Jonah hits most of us very hard indeed, but what comfort it may bring to our wounded souls to remember that Jonah’s God is our God.

We have to confess that the same patience, grace and mercy that followed Jonah from start to finish has also followed us from the start, and we doubt not that it will continue with us to the end.

May He deliver us from our disobedience and selfwill, from our sulks and from our tempers!  May He form and fashion us like unto Himself, and give us a true estimate of the real value of gourds and souls of men; 

and make us vessels, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use!  

(G. C. Willis)

O teach us more of Thy blest ways Thou Holy Lamb of God!

And fix and root us in Thy grace, as those redeemed by blood.

O tell us often of Thy love, of all Thy grief and pain;

And let our hearts with joy confess that thence comes all our gain.

For this, O may we freely count whate’er we have but loss;

The dearest object of our love, compared with Thee, but dross.

Engrave this deeply on our hearts with an eternal pen,

That we may, in some small degree, return Thy love again.

(Hutton)     

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March 21

“He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of a quiet spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:  And  He that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”

(Proverbs 17:27-28) 

It is the simpleton who is always babbling.  The man who has knowledge will not be continually airing his acquirements. He is of a quiet spirit, and can bide his time. 

A man who must always be talking is generally one whose grasp of things in general is very slight; and, among Christians, an ever-running tongue certainly is no commendation to the discerning.

He whose knowledge is limited is esteemed wise when his words are few.  One who lives in the fear of God sets a value upon words that the careless soul cannot understand; for he remembers that “for every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).  

Even that which he has experienced of God’s love and favour is not always to be told lightly to others. Paul seems to have kept for fourteen years the secret of his having been caught up to the third heaven, till a seasonable time came to relate it (2 Corinthians 12:1-7).

(Harry A. Ironside)

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March 22

"As He (Jesus) sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?"

(Matthew 24:3)

Jesus said that in the last days there would be religious deception by false prophets and false Christs! Famines, disease, earthquakes, wars, distress of nations, humanity gripped by fear, the sea roaring, great evil, lawlessness, violence.

All these things are happening today!

Still the world has yet to go through its darkest night 

(the great tribulation) when catastrophic events will take place. 

Child of God, there is no need to fear, for the Lord is coming to deliver His people from the wrath to come.

(Jim Paul)

Jesus is coming, sing the glad word, coming for those He redeemed by His blood,

Coming to reign as the glorified Lord; Jesus is coming again!  

(D. Whittle)

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March 23

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

(Genesis 6:5)

As to our true state by nature, 

the word of God presents it as one of total and irrecoverable ruin.

Let us adduce the proofs - Note Genesis 6:5 quoted above.

The words “every”—“only”—and “continually,” set aside every idea

of a redeeming feature in man’s condition before God.  

Again, “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:2,3).

Here again, the expressions “all”—“none”—“no not one”—preclude the idea of a single redeeming quality in man’s condition, as judged in the presence of God.

(C. H. Mackintosh) 

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

(Jeremiah 17:9) 

The true condition of nature, it is “lost”—“guilty”—"alienated”—“without strength”— “evil only”—“evil continually.” .

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

”(Romans 6:23)

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March 24

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.  And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

(2 Timothy 2:19)

We may worry about our children and loved ones as to whether or not they are truly the Lord’s. When we look for fruit, we are disappointed.

We need to remember that fruit is not borne continuously,

neither does it necessarily appear every year.

We are aware too that those who look for fruit sometime do not see it

or recognize what they have seen.

The important lesson is that the Lord knows and His knowledge is always better than ours. Things may not be as bad as they look.  Keep praying, the Lord is not finished yet.    

(Choice Gleanings - Roy Hill)

You remember songs of heaven which you sang with childish voice,

Do you love the hymns they taught you, or are songs of earth your choice?

(A. R. H.)

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March 25

EXALTATION AND GLORY - EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION

“And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art; Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.” 

(Genesis 41:39-40)

In accordance with God’s settled plan, Pharaoh is also instructed as to the way God will take to carry out His plans.

Seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of famine, and Pharaoh is told to  “look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt”

(Genesis 41:33)

Two things mark this plan.

First, God ordains that only one man shall be over the land; second, 

God will so order circumstances that all will be brought under the sway of this man. 

Joseph was to be set over all, and all would be brought under Joseph by the seven years of plenty followed by the seven years of famine.

The circumstances and the man would combine to bring

about God’s purposed plan. 

. . . and God has disclosed to us that according to His good pleasure
He has purposed to head up all things in Christ.

(Hamilton Smith)

“That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.”

(Ephesians 1:10)

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March 26

New Beginnings

“For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.  And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.   

(Psalm 30:5,6)

There just have to be times in a person’s life when the past is past, when bygones are bygones, when the gaunt, gray, forlorn memories of a former glory are buried under the supernatural loveliness of a new life from above.

For all of us there have to be new beginnings.

There have to be fresh moments when we stand on a new height of land and look with widening eyes upon fresh vistas of our Father’s great intentions for us.

He and He alone can come down upon our soiled souls, our grieving spirits, our wounded hearts to enfold them in His wondrous ways.

(Songs of My Soul - W. Phillip Keller)

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March 27

“That disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.”

(John 21:7)

“Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus."

(John 11:5)

I am my beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.”

(Song of Solomon 7:10)

So nigh, so very nigh to God,

I cannot nearer be;

For in the person of His Son,

I am as near as He.

So dear, so very dear to God,

More dear I cannot be; 

The love wherewith He loves the Son,

Such is His love to me.

(C. Paget)

“That the world may know that Thou hast sent Me,

and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”

(John 17:23)

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March 28

“Grace to help in time of need.”

(Hebrews 4:15)

If we did but know a little more of the comfort and joy of drinking 

into the fulness of God’s love, we should feel present 

circumstances to be as nothing.

Whenever there is real need in the wilderness,

it is a sin to doubt whether God will 

help us or not. . . .

Tempting the Lord is doubting the supply of His 

goodness in giving all that we need.

(Pilgrim Portions for the Day of Rest - JND)

N.J. Hiebert - 7405 

March 29

Fresh Supply

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

(Matthew 6:11)

Food is one of life's essentials, and we are blessed to live where there is such abundant supply. But even at that, there are many, many in North America who don’t get enough to eat, and we do well to help food pantries, soup kitchens and the like in their quest to provide for the needy.

But what about feeding our spirits? Are we seeing to it that our spirits are receiving a fresh daily supply from the Lord?

Some years ago I heard an illustration about a waterwheel.  The water that drives the waterwheel today is not the water that went through yesterday, nor is it the water that may come tomorrow.

It is the water passing through today.  A waterwheel cannot 

turn on its own to produce power, it must be fueled by the passing water.

That holds true for you and me as well.  We need that daily, 

fresh supply of the water of God’s word for strength and wisdom for today. 

“Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

(Ephesians 5:25-26)

God’s word, with its timeless wisdom, provides truth, comfort, direction, correction, understanding, sustenance and soul healing for us.  Thankfully we have the Bible at our disposal so easily.                     

(L.I.F.E. LINES - F. Pratt) 

N.J. Hiebert - 7406

March 30

“Lord, dost Thou not care?”

(Luke 10:40)

What seems to account for all the care in the world is that the human heart has lost the sense of God’s care. When Martha uttered that pitiful complaint in the ears of Christ as He sat in her house at Bethany,  "Dost Thou not care?” she was not only voicing her own sentiment, but that of the entire human race.

Is not this more or less the cry of every heart at some time or other, though not uttered perhaps with all the distinctness with which Martha uttered it?  Oh, how often the uplifted eyes and heart have spoken thus to God, even if the words never escaped the lips!

How much there seems in the course events are allowed to take, whether in general, or in regard to each of us in particular, to confirm the suspicion that God does not after all care what becomes of us, or how things turn out!  As if, after all, there was no one to look after the world.

Nurses there may be to look after babies, and parents to provide for children, and policemen for general protection; but as to the deepest concerns of life, grown men and women seem left to themselves.  And so the majority of suffering, toiling humanity, perhaps, are quite ready to adopt the language of the elder sister of Bethany, “Dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?”

This is the cry that seems to burst from the heart of one sensible of being wronged. Have not our own hearts sometimes told us that Martha is not alone here? 

But—what a profound truth this is, that God cares!

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” 
(1 Peter 5:7). 

(Angels in White - Russell Elliot)

N.J. Hiebert - 7407    

March 31

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you our of darkness into His marvellous light.”

(1 Peter 2:9)

I know what some of us are thinking.  “Yes I see it all plainly enough in theory, but in practice I find I am not kept. Self goes over to the other camp again and again.  It is not all for Jesus, though I have asked and wished for it to be so.”

"Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee." 

The “all” must be sealed with “only.”  Are you willing to be only for Jesus?  You have not given all to Jesus while you are not quite ready to be only for Him.  And it is no use to talk about “ever” while we have not settled the “only” and the “all”.

You cannot be for Him in the full and blessed sense while you are partly for anything or anyone else. For “the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself” (Psalm 4:3). You see, the “for” Himself hinges upon the “set apart.”  There is no consecration without separation. 

If you are mourning over want of realized consecration,  will you look humbly and sincerely into this point? “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse.”  (Song of Solomon 4:12) saith the Heavenly Bridegroom.”

(Frances Ridley Havergal)

Set apart for Jesus!  Is not this enough,

Though the desert prospect open wild and rough?

Set apart for His delight, chosen for His holy pleasure,

Sealed to be His special treasure!

Could we choose a nobler joy?—

and would we if we might?    

N.J. Hiebert - 7408

April 1