Gems from October 2019

October 1

WHERE  ELSE  CAN  WE  GO?

Lord, to whom shall we go?

John 6:68

Peter gives three reasons for being a Christian.

He begins with the poorest, but it will do to start.

It is a matter of alternatives.

If we do not take Jesus’ way, what

 else can we do?  What are the other options? 

Look up any other road and what do  you see?

It comes to this: it is Jesus Christ or else.  There is only

one Book that has the Answer and Jesus Christ is that Answer.

I do not understand everything in the Book, 
but I stand on everything in it.

I look every other direction and I see only 

depravity, despair, and death.

Where could I go but to my Lord?

Vance Havner

N.J. Hiebert - 7592

October 2

Jonathan and His Times

And Jonathan said to David, go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, the LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.   1 Samuel 20:42

And Barnabas  determined to take with them John whose surname was Mark.  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.  

Acts 15:37-39.

There is a remarkable similarity between Jonathan in the Old Testament and Barnabas in the New. Both were gracious and affectionate; both were signally used of God in their day; but both manifested deplorable weakness in a moment of crisis.

Barnabas broke with Paul, special vessel of the Spirit in his time; and Jonathan parted with David, Jehovah’s choice for the throne of Israel.  In both cases, natural affection was the snare; Barnabas could not give up John Mark, and Jonathan could not give up Saul.  

The break-down of these truly excellent saints is recorded for our instruction.  Perhaps there is nothing that so hinders full loyalty to Christ as natural affection.  We find it so difficult to give Him the place of absolute supremacy in our hearts and lives. 

In Luke 14:26 the Lord Jesus points out a similar path for all who would be His disciples.  The natural must be subservient to the spiritual if we would follow Him.  The rejected One—our God in "the likeness of sinful flesh” laid it down emphatically, “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” Matthew 10:37   

What a test for our hearts!

(W.W. Feredy)

N.J. Hiebert - 7593

October 3

SUNFLOWERS

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Sunflowers lend us a wonderful example, and provide us with a great analogy.  They seek the direct light of the sun and follow it’s trajectory across the sky, always turning their faces toward it.  Shouldn’t we be Son-flowers, looking to the Son, our Lord Jesus, for light and life, following Him as we go through our days? 

Our verse reminds us that the more we expose ourselves to Him, the more we will reflect His glory and become like Him.  When Moses had spent 40 days with the Lord atop Mt. Sinai, his face was shining from that exposure.  It wasn’t that he was trying to shine—he just shone!  We can never get too much exposure to the Son of God.  

Sunflowers don’t just absorb the light and life from the sun, they also bear seeds - the fruit of that life.  Now, how about you and me?  Are our lives producing fruit for God from our following the Son?  Jesus said:

He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.  John 15:5.

Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith. 

L.I.F.E. LINES - F. Pratt - Thanks

N.J. Hiebert - 7594    

October 4

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:7

Why, to be sure, that is a thing of course.  Who would think of asking a person up in heavenly places,  "Are you forgiven?”  Did you ever observe in the parable of the prodigal son that the father never says he forgives him?  How could he?  How could he frame his lips to say, “I forgive you?”

You and I ought to walk in the sunshine of our calling in such a way as to assume forgiveness as a thing at the foot of the hill, while we are up at the heights.  Let the music and dancing, the ring and the shoes, tell me I am forgiven. 

So the Father treats the prodigal, and so the Spirit treats us in Ephesians 1. Yet the soul is constantly busying itself about forgiveness when it should be viewing the magnificence of its calling in Christ.

There is a style in love that love could never rid itself of.  The father would have wept to say, "I forgive you.” Would not you be ashamed to tell one coming back in sorrow, confessing his fault, “I forgive you?”  Talk of a father, on the neck of his weeping, penitent child, saying, I forgive you”!  How little we know of the ways of love!

J.G. Bellett

N.J. Hiebert - 7595 

October 5

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman 

that needeth not to be ashamed.

2 Timothy 2:15

Exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work.

2 Thessalonians 3:12

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

Isaiah 30:15

In the vineyard of our Father daily work we find to do;

Scattered gleanings we may gather, though we are but young and few.

Toiling early in the morning, catching moments through the day,

Nothing small or lowly scorning, while we work and watch and pray.

(Author unknown)

N.J. Hiebert - 7596

October 6

Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.

1 Peter 5:7

Is every illness out of the plan of God?

I should not say so, for after all, we are training for 

higher service, and I know that suffering can be part of that training.

However, giving too much attention to little symptoms is playing into the hands of the enemy.

He uses illness to depress us, until we see things out of all proportions to their real value.

So we must also turn to the Lord with those “little" symptoms.  He knows

how difficult it can be to work when feeling unwell, and He is able

to give the strength needed for that which we must do.

Perhaps He is just saying to us that we should draw apart for a little

while and let ourselves be refreshed by Himself.

This Day is the Lord’s - Corrie Ten Boom

N.J. Hiebert - 7597

October 7

The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.

Romans 2:4

It is His goodness that leads man to repentance, and not man’s repentance that leads God to goodness.

This conviction ends in his conversion.  The prodigal was converted when he rose and came to his father.  He was confessing his sins when he said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. 

He was repentant when he said, I am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Repentance is the judgment which the soul passes upon itself in the presence of God, believing the testimony of God.  Repentance is not the stepping-stone to conversion.

Repentance is taking God’s part against myself, and judging that what God says of me is true, believing His testimony.

Faith is the soul’s reception of a divine testimony: repentance is the result in the soul of that reception. Some one has well said, “Repentance is the tear drop in the eye of faith.” 

Very wisely and rightly then did Peter preach and press this wholesome moral process upon their souls, with this end in view.  

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out . . . Acts 3:19 .

Simon Peter - W. T. P. Wolston

N.J. Hiebert- 7598

October 8

As iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth

the countenance of his friend.

Proverbs 27:17

As by friction, one iron instrument is sharpened and polished by contact with another, so we may be a help to each other by interesting and profitable comunication and exchange of thought.

A recluse is always a very one-sided man.

He who would be a blessing to his fellows must mingle with them that he may learn to understand their needs and their sorrows, as well as that he may find gain by what in them is superior to his own knowledge or virtues.

Among Christians, fellowship one with another is precious indeed,

and becomes increasingly sweet as the days grow darker.

Proverbs - H. A. Ironside  

N.J. Hiebert - 7599

October 9

ABOUNDING PROVISION

I shall not want.  Psalm 23:1

These words are as firmly linked to the clause which precedes them, as consequence is to cause. With the Shepherd leading on in front of him, and “goodness and mercy”, like two faithful sheep-dogs, following hard behind him, David was as certain that he would not want anything here, as he was that he would dwell in the house of the Lord hereafter.

Now, if for the moment we regard Psalm 23 as a sweet-toned instrument, and faith as the hand which plays upon it,  we shall find that it yields to that touch, music of the most exquisite sweetness.  What is that “I shall not want” The hand of faith runs over the key board and brings out twelve distinct notes.  Listen to them:

I shall not want REST, for He maketh me to lie down.

I shall not want REFRESHMENT, for He leads me by still waters.

I shall not want PRESERVATION, for He restoreth my soul.

I shall not want GUIDANCE, for He leadeth me.

I shall not want PEACE, for I will fear no evil.

I shall not want COMPANIONSHIP, for Thou art with me.

I shall not want COMFORT, for Thy rod and staff comfort me. 

I shall not want SUSTENANCE, for Thou preparest a table.

I shall not want JOY, for Thou anointest my head.

I shall not want ANYTHING, for my cup runneth over.

I shall not want HAPPINESS now, for goodness and mercy shall follow me.

I shall not want GLORY hereafter, for I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson

N.J. Hiebert - 7600

October 10

YOUR  CONSOLATION  BROUGHT  JOY

In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul. 

Psalm 94:19

The believer is not exempt from the adversities of life. He faces the same trials, afflictions, and testing that the unbeliever faces. He encounters reverses in business, exclusion from choice opportunities, and opposition from those who oppose him. But there is a major difference in the resources of each.

The unbeliever stands alone to encounter these difficult times in his own strength and resources.  He may have courage, fortitude, and be able to endure with determination. The believer has a refuge in Jesus Christ that supersedes anything this world has to offer. 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear.  Psalm 46:1-2

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  Hebrews 13:5

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it,  and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.  Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.  Psalm 40:1-4 

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Daily Devotions - Adapted

N.J. Hiebert - 7601

October 11

Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

John 20:29

How strong is the snare of the things that are seen, and how necessary for God to keep us in the things that are unseen!

If Peter is to walk on the water he must walk; if he is going to swim, he must swim, but he cannot do both.  If the bird is going to fly it must keep away from fences and the trees, and trust to its buoyant wings.  But if it tries to keep within easy reach of the ground, it will make poor work of flying.

God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength, and to let him see that in his own body he could do nothing.  He had to consider his own body as good as dead, and then take God for the whole work; and when he looked away from himself, and trusted God alone, then he became fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able to perform.  

That is what God is teaching us, and he has to keep away encouraging results until we learn to trust without them, and then He loves to make His Word real in fact as well as faith. 

A. B. Simpson

I do not ask that He must prove His Word is true to me,

And that before I can believe He first must let me see.

It is enough for me to know ’tis true because He says ’tis so;

On His unchanging Word I’ll stand and trust till I can understand.

E. M. Winter

N.J. Hiebert - 7602

October 12

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye 

see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy 

unspeakable and full of glory.

1 Peter 1:8

Sorrow is a good thing, and makes God a more abundant 

source of joy.

The true affect of real joy in the things of God is to empty us of 

ourselves and to make us think little of ourselves.

(Philippians 4:4)

The apostle . . . exhorts Christians to rejoice: it is a testimony 

to the worth of Christ.

Pilgrim Portions for the Day of Rest - J. N. D.

N.J. Hiebert - 7603    

October 13

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide

under the shadow of the Almighty.    Psalm 91:1

The story below appeared in the "Congressional Record.” It included the Scripture, quoted above.  A 19 year old G.I. who had been awarded a medal for bringing in a large group of Japanese prisoners, single-handed, during World War 2 tells his own story:

“I want someone to know that I don’t deserve that medal.  It happened this way.  I was captured by the Japanese, with five of my pals.  We were marched through the jungle with bayonets at our backs.  I had to see my comrades one by one killed and mutilated.  I said the 23rd Psalm.  I said the Lord’s prayer.  Die I must, but I determined not to let my captors see my fear.  

Trembling from head to foot, marching in mud up to my ankles, with a bayonet sticking in my back, I began to whistle the way I used to when I was a small boy, and had to go through a dark street. So I whistled,” ’We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; the wicked oppressing cease then from distressing, sing praises to His name, He forgets not His own.’  

Suddenly I became aware that someone had joined me in my whistling—it was my Japanese captor!  He, too, was whistling the hymn.  Soon I felt his gun fall back into place.  He walked beside me then, and suddenly I jumped  when, in perfect English, he said to me, ‘I never cease to wonder at the magnificence of Christian hymns.’   And a few minutes talk revealed that the Japanese soldier had learned English in a mission 

school to which I had contributed in my Sunday school days. 

The Japanese boy spoke of war and how the Japanese Christians hated it.  We both agreed on the power of Christianity, and what would happen if people really dared to live it; and then we began to talk of our families and our homes. Finally, at the suggestion of the Japanese, we knelt in the mud and prayed for suffering humanity around the world, and for ‘His peace that passeth understanding’ among all men on earth.

When we arose, he asked me if I could take him back as a prisoner to the American headquarters.  He said that it was the only way that he could live up to his Christianity, and thus help Japan to become a Christian nation; and on the way back he found in various fox-holes other Japanese Christians, and they too joined me.  I shall never forget the hope and joy that came into their eyes as my friend unfolded to them, one by one, how we found each

other, and why and where they were being taken.  All the way back we talked of the Christian faith.

When we neared camp, by mutual agreement they put on poker-faces and somber looks, and I, gun in hand, marched them into camp.  So you see I don’t deserve a medal for the most wonderful experience in my life.

(As related in “Streams in the Desert)

N.J. Hiebert - 7604  

October 14

My meditation of Him shall be sweet.

Psalm 104:34

ISAAC went into the fields to meditate.

Jacob lingered on the eastern bank of the brook Jabbok after all his company had passed over; 

there he wrestled with the angel and prevailed. 

Moses, hidden in the clefts of Horeb beheld the vanishing glory 

which marked the way by which Jehovah had gone.

Elijah sent Ahab down to eat and drink while he himself withdrew to the lonely crest of Carmel.

Daniel spent weeks in ecstasy of intercession on the banks of Hiddakel, which once had watered Paradise. 

And Paul, no doubt in order that he might have an opportunity for undisturbed meditation and prayer,

was minded to go afoot from Troas to Assos.

Have you learned to understand the truths of these great paradoxes: the blessing of a curse,

the voice of silence, the companionship of solitude?

Springs in the Valley

N.J. Hiebert - 7605  

October 15

UNDER  HIS  WINGS  I AM SAFELY ABIDING

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.  Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Psalm 91:1-4

"O Lord, give me something to do for Thee.” That was the cry of William O. Cushing when he suddenly lost his voice.  Then a paralysis affected his voice so he could no longer preach.

Not yet fifty years old, Cushing wondered how God could possibly use him.  But God did. Cushing wrote texts for more than three hundred hymns and gospel songs.

When he was seventy-three, this prolific hymn writer was moved by the words of Psalm 17:8,  Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings,” and thought about God’s care for him even when everything seemed dark.  This song was the result.  Though he could not speak with an audible voice, God multiplied his words for generations to come.   

Under His wings I am safely abiding; though the night deepens and tempests are wild, Still I can trust Him—I know He will keep me; He has redeemed me and I am His child.

Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow! How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!  Often when earth has no balm for my healing, there I find comfort and there I am blessed.

Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment! there will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;  Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me; resting in Jesus I’m safe ever more.

REFRAIN:  Under His wings, under His wings, 

Who from His love can sever?

Under His wings my soul shall abide,

Safely abide forever. 

William Orcutt Cushing  1823-1902

N.J. Hiebert - 7606

October 16

Many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.

John 11:19

They came every one from his own place . . . for they had  made an appointment together to come to mourn with him, and to comfort him (Job).

Job 2:11

He hath sent Me to bind up the broken hearted . . . to comfort all that mourn.

Isaiah 61:1-2

There is no sorrow that He will not share,

No cross, no burden, for our hearts to bear

Without His help, no cares of ours too small

To cast on Jesus: let us tell Him all—

Lay at His feet the story of our woes,

And in His sympathy find sweet repose.

Author Unknown

N.J. Hiebert - 7607    

October 17

FOR  A  TIME  OF  SORROW

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,  and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Sorrow is one of the things that are lent, not given. A thing that is lent may be taken way; a thing that is given is not taken away.  Joy is given; sorrow is lent.  We are not out own, we are bought with a price.

"Sorrow is not our own” (Samuel Rutherford said this a long time ago), it is lent to us for just a little while that we may use it for eternal purposes.  Then it will be taken away and everlasting joy will be our Father’s gift to us, and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from off all faces. 

So let us use this “lent” thing to draw us nearer to the heart of Him, Who was once a Man of Sorrows (He is not that now, but He does not forget the feeling of sorrow).

Let us use it to make us more tender with others, as He was when on earth and is still, for He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities.   

(Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael)

N.J. Hiebert - 7608

October 18

A  Thanksgiving

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.  2 Corinthians 9:15

For all Thy blessings given there are many to thank Thee, Lord,

But for the gifts withholden I fain would add my word.

For the good things I desired that barred me from the best,

The peace at the price of honour, the sloth of a shameful rest;

The poisonous sweets I longed for to my hungering heart denied,

The staff that broke and failed me when I walked in the way of pride;

The tinsel joys withheld that so content might still be mine,

The help refused that might have made me loose my hand from Thine;

The light withdrawn that I might not see the dangers of my way;

For what Thou hast not given, I thank Thee, Lord, today.

Flint’s Best-Loved Poems 

N.J. Hiebert - 7609

October 19

THE  SON  REPUDIATED

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread . . .”  Genesis 37:23-24 

The father had distinguished him by a coat of many colours, the brethren degrade by stripping him.

So on many illustrious occasions when Christ is distinguished above all others by some special display of divine power, wisdom and grace, man will at once strip Him of His coat of many colours and seek to degrade Him to the level of a mere man by asking, “is not this the carpenter’s son,” or “Is not this the carpenter?” 

As in the case of Joseph, the stripping was only the prelude to the pit, so with Christ, the rejection of every witness to His glory, led man at last with wicked hands to deliver Him to death.

Hamilton Smith

N.J. Hiebert - 7610  

October 20

SOARING  WITH  SERENITY

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 

2 Corinthians 4:8-10    

Probably the thing that impresses anyone who has watched eagles soaring the most is the apparent ease and utter serenity with which they fly.  Of course this would be impossible without the skill that comes from long practice.

The demands made upon the Christian who would lead a triumphant and serene life are no less exacting. The believer will often grow weary.  He or she will be tempted to relax vigilance.One will be impulsive and prone to a faltering up-and-down experience.

Like a young eagle, one will do a good deal of flapping and and flopping around before he or she has mastered the art of continuous soaring.  In fact, one might become quite exhausted and downcast on occasion from trying so hard to fly on one’s own strength instead of just resting on God’s faithfulness.

Songs of My Soul - W. Phillip Keller

N.J. Hiebert - 7611 

October 21

 "ALL  TO  HIM  I  OWE”

Ye are bought with a price.  1 Corinthians 6:20

We are not our own, we have been redeemed.

But while we sing “Jesus Paid It All” let us remember the next line, “All To Him I Owe.” 

Certain Divine requirements grow out of our being bought with a price.

Such love demands my soul, my life, my all.

We are to glorify God in body and spirit—our selves—because we belong to Him I Corinthians 6:19,20.

We are to glorify Him in our service: “Ye are bought with a price;

be not ye the servants of men” 1 Corinthians 7:23. 

And Peter tells us that since we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, 

we are to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear 1 Peter 1:17-21.

Self, service, sojourning—all to Him I owe, because He paid it all.

While we sing about the price that He paid, we had better check on what God expects for us,

not to repay Him, but as the expression of our heart’s love 

to Him who redeemed us.

Vance Havner

N.J. Hiebert - 7612

October 22

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah.  Jonah 1:1

Jonah’s trouble did not lie in a lack of authority to act.  The trouble with Jonah was very different: no lack of authority, but lack of will to obey that authority. Are we not sometimes very much like Jonah?

We know perfectly well that the blessed Book in our hands, the Bible, is the very Word of God.It can be truthfully said that the Word of the Lord has come unto us.  The Lord Jesus  Christ in that Word has made absolutely clear what His commands are.

On the one hand, we have "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden.” I suppose that most of our readers have heard this call, and have taken it as a personal call to themselves, and have obeyed.  On the other hand the same lips that said “Come unto Me,” also said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” 

We have been glad to obey the call “Come,” we have been glad to obtain the rest that He promised, but when it comes to the command “Go ye,” we are too often like Jonah, not so eager to obey.  It is amazing the ingenious excuses we can find for avoiding, or refusing, or postponing obedience to that call.

Most of us, as a matter of fact, are not in any position to criticize Jonah because he tried to avoid obedience to the command,“Go.”  Most of us are just as clear as to the Divine source of the command as Jonah was, when ”the word of the LORD came unto Jonah.” Most of us are just as clear as to the authority behind the command. 

The real trouble does not lie in any doubt as to the Divine Source, or Divine Authority: the real trouble lies in our own wretched wills.

G. C. Willis

N.J. Hiebert - 7613   

October 23

CARE  AND  ITS  CURE

Dost Thou not care?  Luke 10:40  -  He careth for you.  1 Peter 5:7

CARE: a little word of only four letters, yet how weighty!  Its pressure at times is almost intolerable. Everybody is more or less affected by it, for probably there is nothing on the face of the earth more common than care.

It is seen in the merchant’s face; it furrows the cheek of the widow; it sits upon the forehead of the great; it dogs the steps, and hovers around the bed of kings: for we are assured:

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

Men of all classes and conditions are victims of care.  It calls upon all alike, and has a habit of making itself at home, though never welcomed.  Indeed, try as we will to get rid of this unwelcome visitor, it clings to us as if it were the best of friends.  

Go where you will you find it.  There is not a continent, or country or town that is free from its dark shadows. Is there an individual you could meet, who has come to any years at all, who could truthfully say, “Care and I are are unknown to each other”? It has a habit of creeping in everywhere. Sometimes it will present itself on the most festive occasions, and has been know to cast its shadow even over a marriage scene.  

Almost every day is marked by it; the day of death not always being exempt, as though care were the first thing we carry and last thing we lay down.  How can we escape from it?  No barriers can keep it out.  Bolts and bars are useless here, for if you lock the door it will creep through the keyhole, and if you succeed in turning it out of the front door it will find its way round to the back.

It seems as all-pervading and penetrating as the atmosphere.  As well attempt to exclude the air as to exclude care.

“Dost Thou not care?”— The cry of the human heart.

“He careth for you.”—The Divine answer.

Angels in White - Russell Elliott 

N.J. Hiebert - 7614

October 24

I forgave thee all that debt . . .  Matthew 18:32

After that forgiveness which must come first, there comes a thought of great comfort in our freshly felt helplessness, rising out of the very thing that makes us realize this helplessness.

Just because our influence is to such a great extent involuntary and unconscious, we may rest assured that if we ourselves are truly kept for Jesus this will be, as a quite natural result, kept for Him also.

It cannot be otherwise, for as is the fountain so will be the flow; as the spring, so the action; as is the impulse, so the communicated motion.

Thus there may be and in simple trust there will be a quiet rest about it, a relief from all sense of strain and effort, a fulfilling of the words.

“For he that is entered into His rest,

he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His.” 

Hebrews 4:10

It will not be a matter of trying to have good influence, 

but just of having it as naturally and constantly as the magnetized bar.   

(Frances Ridley Havergal)

N.J. Hiebert - 7615

October 25

Let the Lord . . . set a man over the congregation . . . which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

Numbers 27:16-17

I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you.

For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

Philippians 2:19-20

The timid hand stretched forth to aid a brother in his need,

A kindly word in grief’s dark hour that proves a friend indeed;

Let nothing pass, for every hand must find some work to do;

Lose not a chance to waken love—be firm and just and true.

N.J. Hiebert - 7616  

October 26

But He giveth more grace.  James 4:6

The Lord surnamed James and John “Boanerges,” or "Sons of Thunder.”  From that, and the fact that they united in asking the Lord to command fire to consume the village of the Samaritans, who refused them, we gather that they were rough, impatient, noisy men. 

Their mother was ambitious, too, in asking for her sons the chief places in the kingdom, and such a mother was likely to have ambitious sons. The fact that they accompanied her when the request was made seems to point to this very clearly.

But see how grace worked.  From the Acts of the Apostles we gather that James had developed into a man, content rather to suffer martyrdom for Christ’s sake, with no trace of the Boanerges about him.

John from his writings is seen to be gentle, tender, deeply affectionate—he had well graduated from the top place in the Lord’s school—his head upon his Master’s breast—certainly the Boanerges had been rooted out of him, the lion of nature had given place to the lamb of grace.

Comforted of God - A. J. Pollock

N.J. Hiebert - 7617

October 27

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

He who had unspeakable wealth said “show me a penny” Luke 20:24.

He who abode in the ivory palaces of heaven borrowed a pillow in Bethany Matthew 21:17. He whose heavenly podium will be the great White Throne borrowed a boat from which to preach Luke 5:3.

He who spoke worlds unknown into existence, borrowed loaves and fish to feed a hungry throng  John 6:9. He who owns the cattle upon a thousand hills borrowed a donkey  Mark 11:3.

He who inhabits eternity borrowed an upper room  Matthew 26:18. Finally He who is the source of life borrowed a tomb  Matthew 27:60.

Sid Halsband

Rich in glory, Thou didst stoop, thence is all Thy people’s hope; Thou wast poor, that we might be rich in glory, Lord, with Thee.

T. Kelly

N.J. Hiebert - 7618

October 28

I am the vine, ye are the branches:  He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.  John 15:5.

Our influence with out fellow men in public will always be in exact proportion to the depth of our hidden life with God in secret. It is not what we say, not what we do; it is what we are that tells, or rather what Christ is in us.  Make room for Christ in your heart,
and you need not advertise it. 

It will be noised that He is in the house.  Mark 2:1 We cannot say to ourselves too often that Christianity is a personal experience.

One evening in a West Point delegation at the Northfield Student Conference, conversation fell on serious lines, and one of the men threw this question into the circle: "What is Christianity, anyway?”  After a long pause one of the cadets gave this answer:  “Oscar Westover.”

Exactly!  I do no know who he was, only that he was one of the cadets living a kind of life so that when the boys thought of Christianity they defined it in terms of him.  That is the only way you ever can define it. It is "Oscar Westover.”  It is not a creed, nor an organization, nor a ritual.

They are the leaves; they are not the roots.  They are the wires; they are not the message. The thing itself is life.  Be ye followers of me (Paul), even as I am of Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:11

This I learned from the shadow of a tree, which to and fro did sway against a wall, Our shadow selves, our influence may fall where we can never be. 

Selected - Mountain Trailways for Youth

One such example is worth more to earth than the the stained 

triumphs of ten thousand Caesars

N.J. Hiebert - 7619

October 29

If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.  These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  John 15:10-11.

Joy should be one of the chief characteristics of our Christian faith.  In the New Testament the word chara is used 53 times to mean “joy”.  Only a joyful exuberant Christian is a worthy representative of the transforming power of Christ’s gospel.  But what is a spiritual joy?

It is much more than mere laughter or even happiness.  It is a life that is at rest in the Lord, regardless of life’s circumstances.  Such a life cannot help but have a strong impact on nonbelievers.  If there were more singing Christians, the testimony would be more effective.

Often our finest and most effective songs are composed during midnight experiences of life.  It is easy to sing when all is well.  But to sing when all is dark requires the indwelling presence of Christ.

Luther B. Bridgers (1884-1948), an evangelist from Georgia, is believed to have written both words and music for this joyful hymn in 1910, following the death of his wife and three sons in a fire at the the home of his wife’s parents while he was away conducting revival meetings in Kentucky.

There’s within my heart a melody—Jesus whispers sweet and low,  “Fear not, I am with thee—peace be still,” in all of life’s ebb and flow.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife, discord filled my heart with pain; Jesus swept across the broken strings, stirred the slumb’ring chords again.

Feasting on the riches of His grace, resting ’neath His shelt’ring wing, Always looking on His smiling face—that is why I shout and sing.

Tho sometimes He leads thru waters deep, trials fall across the way, Tho sometimes the path seem rough and steep, see His footprints all the way.

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me far beyond the starry sky; I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown, I shall reign with Him on high.

Chorus:  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus—sweetest name I know;

Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.

Kenneth W. Osbeck

N.J. Hiebert - 7620 

October 30

I sought him, but I found him not.    Song of Solomon 3:1

Mary and Joseph sought Jesus and found Him in the temple.   They thought He was lost, but He was right where they left Him  (Luke 2:46).

If our companionship with Him is broken, it is not He who has moved, but us. We can’t lose our salvation but we can lose our fellowship with Him.

Unconfessed sin, inattention to our Bible, failure to pray, and neglecting to gather with God’s people—all break fellowship.  

The journey back to where we have left Him begins with confession and continues with a renewed focus on the Scriptures, prayer and Christian fellowship.

Later the bride said, “I found him whom my soul loveth:  I held him,  and would not let him go”  (Song 3:4). 
This can be our blessed reality too.

Milton Haack

N.J. Hiebert - 7621 

October 31

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

Proverbs 23:23

An important word this for our Laodicean and latitudinarian age.  We may well cry, with  the prophet,  “Truth has fallen in our streets.”  

But he who desires the approval of God above the praise of men will value it nevertheless, and be ready to purchase it at the cost of friends, reputation, possessions, yea, life itself.

Nor will he part with it whatever the suffering that may result from contending earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Rationalists may sneer, and the superstitious persecute; but he who possesses the truth will find with it wisdom, instruction and understanding such as all the wise men after the flesh are strangers to.

Who exemplified what is here implanted more than the one-time rabbi,
Paul of Tarsus (Philippians 3:7-11).

H. A. Ironside    

N.J. Hiebert - 7622

November 1

Then are they glad because they be quiet; 

so He bringeth them unto their desired heaven. 

Psalm 107:30

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.  

Isaiah 30:15

I NEEDED THE QUIET

I needed the quiet so He drew me aside,

Into the shadows where we could confide.

Away from the bustle where all the day long 

I hurried and worried when active and strong.

I needed the quiet though at first I rebelled,

But gently, so gently, my cross He upheld,

And whispered so sweetly of spiritual things.

Though weakened in body, my spirit took wings

To heights never dreamed of when busy all day.

He loved me so greatly He drew me away.

I needed the quiet.  No prison my bed, 

But a beautiful valley of blessings instead—

A place to grow richer in Jesus to hid.

I needed the quiet so He drew me aside.

(Alice Hansche Mortenson)

N.J. Hiebert - 7623  

November 2

God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,

and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7.

But it is impossible to close our eyes to the startling fact that the claims of Christ, the value of truth, the authority of holy Scripture, are being more and more set aside each day, each week, each year. We believe we are approaching a moment in the which there will be toleration for any thing and every thing save the truth of God.

It is necessary for us, therefore, to look well to it that God’s Word has its own proper place in the heart, and that the conscience is governed in all things by its holy authority.

A tender conscience is a most precious treasure to carry about with us from day to day—a conscience that ever yields a true response to the action of the Word of God—that bows down without a question to its plain statements.

When the conscience is in this fine condition, there is always a regulating power wherewith to act upon one’s practical course and character.

C. H. Macintosh

N.J. Hiebert - 7624

November 3

O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me;

let them bring me unto Thy holy hill.

Psalm 43:3 

A MAN OF ONE BOOK

I am a creature of a day.  I want to know one thing—the way to heaven; 

how to land safely on that happy shore.

God Himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came down from heaven. 

He hath written it down in a book.  O give me this Book!  

At any price, give me the Book of God!

I have it; here is knowledge enough for me.  Let me be a man of one Book.  Here, then, I am, far from the busy ways of men.

I sit down alone; only God is here.  

In His presence I open, I read His Book; for this end—to find the way to heaven.

John Wesley 1703-1791

There is a chart whose tracings show

The onward course when tempests blow—

’Tis God’s own Word! There, there is found

Directions for the homeward bound.    .

H.J.B.

N.J. Hiebert - 7625

November 4

[Love] thinketh no evil.  1 Corinthians 13:5.

. . . Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.  Psalm 15:3.

If all of us, by the grace of God, lived in the spirit of these two verses it would set free an immense amount of time  and strength for the Things of the Father, that Business for which alone we Christians are in the world.

Think of the time that would be set free for prayer for those who do not know Him, if we had not to spend so much on those who do.  Think of the strength we have to expend in sorting out wrong relationships, which could be given instead to the War of the Lord.

It should be simply impossible for us to think unkindly of anyone.

Satan will always see to it that there are people ready

to sow seeds of suspicion.

Let us refuse to receive them.  Let us not endure them for a moment.  Let us not imagine evil in our heart, but always put the best and most loving construction on everything. /Unkindness in our thought life is one of the things that God hates.  

Beloved, let us love.  1 John 4:7.  

Amy Carmichael

N.J. Hiebert - 7626

November 5