Gems from May 2023
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and, let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1
There are weights which are not sins in themselves, but which become distractions and stumbling blocks in our Christian progress. One of the worst of these is despondency. The heavy heart is indeed a weight that will surely drag us down in our holiness and usefulness.
The failure of Israel to enter the land of promise began in murmuring, or, as the text in Numbers literally puts it, "as it were murmured." (Numbers 14:2) Just a faint desire to complain and be discontented. This led on until it blossomed and ripened into rebellion and ruin. Let us give ourselves no liberty ever to doubt God or His love and faithfulness to us in everything and forever.
We can set our will against doubt just as we do against any other sin; and as we stand firm and refuse to doubt, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid and give us the faith of God and crown us with victory.
It is very easy to fall into the habit of doubting, fretting, and wondering if God has forsaken us and if after all our hopes are to end in failure. Let us refuse to be discouraged. Let us refuse to be unhappy. Let us "count it all joy" (James 1:2) when we cannot feel one emotion of happiness. Let us rejoice by faith, by resolution, by reckoning, and we shall surely find that God will make the reckoning real. Selected
N.J.Hiebert - 9198
May 1
Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry (delay). Hebrews 10:37
Self-sacrifice is always joy where there is grace in it. There is no such joy as self-devotedness.
The soul is tested by afflictions as to how far self-will is active. . . . God searches us. By this means we learn on the one hand what we are, and on the other what God is for us in His faithfulness and daily care. We are weaned from the world, and our eyes become better able to discern and appreciate what is heavenly.
All that makes heaven a home to Christ will make it a home to me. O come, Lord Jesus!
Christ's perfection was not to act, but to suffer; in suffering there was a more entire surrender of Himself.
In His eternal presence, how shall we feel that all our little sorrows and separations were but little drops by the way, to make us feel that we were not with Him, and when with Him what it is to be there.
Footprints for Pilgrims - J. N. Darby
We sing of the realms of the blest, that country so bright and so fair,
The glorious mansions of rest--but what must it be to be there?
We tell of its freedom from sin, from sorrow, temptation, and care,
From trials without and within--but what must it be to be there?
Do Thou, Lord, 'midst pleasure and woe, still for heaven our spirits prepare;
And shortly we also shall know and feel what it is to be there. Mrs. E. Mills - 1829
N.J.Hiebert - 9199
Self-sacrifice is always joy where there is grace in it. There is no such joy as self-devotedness.
The soul is tested by afflictions as to how far self-will is active. . . . God searches us. By this means we learn on the one hand what we are, and on the other what God is for us in His faithfulness and daily care. We are weaned from the world, and our eyes become better able to discern and appreciate what is heavenly.
All that makes heaven a home to Christ will make it a home to me. O come, Lord Jesus!
Christ's perfection was not to act, but to suffer; in suffering there was a more entire surrender of Himself.
In His eternal presence, how shall we feel that all our little sorrows and separations were but little drops by the way, to make us feel that we were not with Him, and when with Him what it is to be there.
Footprints for Pilgrims - J. N. Darby
We sing of the realms of the blest, that country so bright and so fair,
The glorious mansions of rest--but what must it be to be there?
We tell of its freedom from sin, from sorrow, temptation, and care,
From trials without and within--but what must it be to be there?
Do Thou, Lord, 'midst pleasure and woe, still for heaven our spirits prepare;
And shortly we also shall know and feel what it is to be there. Mrs. E. Mills - 1829
N.J.Hiebert - 9199
May 2
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23,24
JOHN RUSKIN, in his Ethics of the Dust, answers the question, "What can mud become when God takes it in hand?" He replies, "Well, what is mud? First of all, mud is clay and sand, and usually soot and a little water."
Then he says, "When God takes it in hand He transforms the clay into a sapphire, for a sapphire is just that; and the sand into an opal, for that is the analysis of an opal; and the soot into a diamond, for a diamond is just carbon which has been transformed by God; and the soiled water into a bright snow crystal, for that is what the crystals are when God takes the water up into the heaven and sends it back again."
Let God have your life. He can do more with it than you can. D. L. Moody
DIAMONDS
Diamonds are only chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs, you see;
If they'd petered out, as most of us do, where would the diamonds be?
It isn't the fact of making a start, it's the sticking that counts. I'll say,
It's the fellow that knows not the meaning of fall, but hammers and hammers away.
Whenever you think you've come to the end, and you're beaten as bad as can be,
Remember that diamonds are chunks of coal, that stuck to their jobs, you see.
Virginia Call
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)
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and do of HIs good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13)
N.J.Hiebert - 9200
JOHN RUSKIN, in his Ethics of the Dust, answers the question, "What can mud become when God takes it in hand?" He replies, "Well, what is mud? First of all, mud is clay and sand, and usually soot and a little water."
Then he says, "When God takes it in hand He transforms the clay into a sapphire, for a sapphire is just that; and the sand into an opal, for that is the analysis of an opal; and the soot into a diamond, for a diamond is just carbon which has been transformed by God; and the soiled water into a bright snow crystal, for that is what the crystals are when God takes the water up into the heaven and sends it back again."
Let God have your life. He can do more with it than you can. D. L. Moody
DIAMONDS
Diamonds are only chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs, you see;
If they'd petered out, as most of us do, where would the diamonds be?
It isn't the fact of making a start, it's the sticking that counts. I'll say,
It's the fellow that knows not the meaning of fall, but hammers and hammers away.
Whenever you think you've come to the end, and you're beaten as bad as can be,
Remember that diamonds are chunks of coal, that stuck to their jobs, you see.
Virginia Call
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)
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and do of HIs good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13)
N.J.Hiebert - 9200
May 3
Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord . . . that He may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
Exodus 32:29
Not a long time hence, not even tomorrow, but "this day." Do you not want a blessing? Is not your answer to your Father's "What wilt thou?" the same as Achsah's "Give me a blessing!" (Joshua 15:16-19) Here is His promise of just what you so want; will you not gladly fulfill His condition?
A blessing shall immediately follow. He does not specify what it shall be; He waits to reveal it. You will find it such a blessing as you had not supposed could be for you--a blessing that shall verily make you rich, with no sorrow added--a blessing this day. (Proverbs 10:22)
One the channel, deep and broad,
From the Fountain of the Throne,
Christ the Saviour, Son of God,
Blessings flow through Him alone.
He, the Faithful and the True,
Brings us mercies ever new:
Till we reach His home on high,
God shall all your need supply.
Francis Ridley Havergal
N.J.Hiebert - 9201
Not a long time hence, not even tomorrow, but "this day." Do you not want a blessing? Is not your answer to your Father's "What wilt thou?" the same as Achsah's "Give me a blessing!" (Joshua 15:16-19) Here is His promise of just what you so want; will you not gladly fulfill His condition?
A blessing shall immediately follow. He does not specify what it shall be; He waits to reveal it. You will find it such a blessing as you had not supposed could be for you--a blessing that shall verily make you rich, with no sorrow added--a blessing this day. (Proverbs 10:22)
One the channel, deep and broad,
From the Fountain of the Throne,
Christ the Saviour, Son of God,
Blessings flow through Him alone.
He, the Faithful and the True,
Brings us mercies ever new:
Till we reach His home on high,
God shall all your need supply.
Francis Ridley Havergal
N.J.Hiebert - 9201
May 4
And ye shall say unto the good-man of the house, The Master saith unto thee, where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
Luke 22:11-13
The two disciples, Peter and John, found things just as Jesus had told them. They had been directed to follow a man carrying a pitcher of water, which speaks to us of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The room to which this man brought them was all furnished. The disciples contributed nothing. They were asked to make ready for the Passover feast.
Jesus is Master of Ceremonies and orders all the details. The disciples are the honoured guests. Jesus, who is Lord of all, is in the midst. This last Passover feast certainly was a holy convocation and most solemn. It was the night of His betrayal. Jesus then, in the dignity of his Person, introduced something new--the Lord's Supper. Only He had the authority to do this.
The disciples were asked to partake of the emblems, the bread and the wine, in loving memory of Him. Little did they enter into the significance of this occasion. Instead, we find them questioning among themselves who should be the greatest. This only exposed the deceitfulness of their hearts, yet His heart of love, though grieved did not change. This privilege of remembering Him as we partake of the Lord's supper is our's today.
The Lord Himself is in the midst of those gathered unto His Name, and, as we lose sight of everything else, He will be exalted before our eyes. May we cherish this blessed privilege, bringing to Him the worship of our hearts and the praise of our lips as we remember what He has done for us.
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." (1 Corinthians 11:26) Jacob Redekop
N.J.Hiebert - 9202
The two disciples, Peter and John, found things just as Jesus had told them. They had been directed to follow a man carrying a pitcher of water, which speaks to us of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The room to which this man brought them was all furnished. The disciples contributed nothing. They were asked to make ready for the Passover feast.
Jesus is Master of Ceremonies and orders all the details. The disciples are the honoured guests. Jesus, who is Lord of all, is in the midst. This last Passover feast certainly was a holy convocation and most solemn. It was the night of His betrayal. Jesus then, in the dignity of his Person, introduced something new--the Lord's Supper. Only He had the authority to do this.
The disciples were asked to partake of the emblems, the bread and the wine, in loving memory of Him. Little did they enter into the significance of this occasion. Instead, we find them questioning among themselves who should be the greatest. This only exposed the deceitfulness of their hearts, yet His heart of love, though grieved did not change. This privilege of remembering Him as we partake of the Lord's supper is our's today.
The Lord Himself is in the midst of those gathered unto His Name, and, as we lose sight of everything else, He will be exalted before our eyes. May we cherish this blessed privilege, bringing to Him the worship of our hearts and the praise of our lips as we remember what He has done for us.
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." (1 Corinthians 11:26) Jacob Redekop
N.J.Hiebert - 9202
May 5
Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. Psalm 119:2
There are two things which characterize a man of the world, namely, his home and his business. But the order is, from his home to his business; and if his home be a happy one, he carries the fragrance of it with him to his business. Exactly so is it with the Christian; his "home" is in heaven, his "business" is to work for Christ on earth.
We once heard a preacher say of Dr. Bonar that, as one beheld him in the pulpit, and heard him preach, the impression created was that the Doctor had just come from the presence of God for a few moments to deliver a message, and that he intended to go back there immediately after he had delivered it.
The time is approaching, however, when we shall go "no more out", which, by the way, is one of the many differences between Eden and heaven--the final Home of the redeemed. The former had a way out, but not a way in; the later has a way in, but happily has no way out.
Fellow pilgrim to the realms of endless glory, let us look upwards and onwards--"the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8). "Let us lay aside every weight;" Hebrews 12:1 "Let us forget those things which are behind" Philippians 3:13)--the weaknesses and the waverings, the failures and the follies; and "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. . . looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (Hebrews 12:1-2, Titus 2:13)
The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson
N.J.Hiebert - 9203
There are two things which characterize a man of the world, namely, his home and his business. But the order is, from his home to his business; and if his home be a happy one, he carries the fragrance of it with him to his business. Exactly so is it with the Christian; his "home" is in heaven, his "business" is to work for Christ on earth.
We once heard a preacher say of Dr. Bonar that, as one beheld him in the pulpit, and heard him preach, the impression created was that the Doctor had just come from the presence of God for a few moments to deliver a message, and that he intended to go back there immediately after he had delivered it.
The time is approaching, however, when we shall go "no more out", which, by the way, is one of the many differences between Eden and heaven--the final Home of the redeemed. The former had a way out, but not a way in; the later has a way in, but happily has no way out.
Fellow pilgrim to the realms of endless glory, let us look upwards and onwards--"the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8). "Let us lay aside every weight;" Hebrews 12:1 "Let us forget those things which are behind" Philippians 3:13)--the weaknesses and the waverings, the failures and the follies; and "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. . . looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (Hebrews 12:1-2, Titus 2:13)
The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson
N.J.Hiebert - 9203
May 6
- Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
- But whom say ye that I am?
- And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:13-18
What is the rock? Peter? Not a bit of it! Christ is the rock, and Peter is the stone put on the rock. That is a very good place to be. I never knew a stone yet that sunk through a rock. And I never knew anybody that was resting on the Rock of Ages, resting on Jesus, that was lost. Have you become a stone? How do you become a stone?
Peter tells us: "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious; ye also, as lively (living) stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4,5).
From that moment when Simon came to Jesus, and had his name changed to Peter, he became a stone. Though he did not then know what it was to be built in, he learned he was a stone, and soon after he knew what the building was of which he became an essential part.
That, he learned, was the house of God, built upon the rock Christ. Peter was a stone, and so is every converted soul. My brother in Christ, you are a stone; and Christ would like you to know what it is to be a stone in His building.
"To whom coming as unto a living stone...ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house."
We become living stones as soon as we come in contact with Christ, who is the living stone Seekers For Light - W. T. P. Wolston, M.D.
N.J.Hiebert - 9204
- But whom say ye that I am?
- And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:13-18
What is the rock? Peter? Not a bit of it! Christ is the rock, and Peter is the stone put on the rock. That is a very good place to be. I never knew a stone yet that sunk through a rock. And I never knew anybody that was resting on the Rock of Ages, resting on Jesus, that was lost. Have you become a stone? How do you become a stone?
Peter tells us: "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious; ye also, as lively (living) stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4,5).
From that moment when Simon came to Jesus, and had his name changed to Peter, he became a stone. Though he did not then know what it was to be built in, he learned he was a stone, and soon after he knew what the building was of which he became an essential part.
That, he learned, was the house of God, built upon the rock Christ. Peter was a stone, and so is every converted soul. My brother in Christ, you are a stone; and Christ would like you to know what it is to be a stone in His building.
"To whom coming as unto a living stone...ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house."
We become living stones as soon as we come in contact with Christ, who is the living stone Seekers For Light - W. T. P. Wolston, M.D.
N.J.Hiebert - 9204
May 7
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Luke 16:10
Picture the side of a mountain, high, steep and rugged. Tearing down from its heights into the valley below is a stream, dashing, foaming and driving all before it--a mountain torrent. Follow the stream, as it reaches the valley and it flows into the grassy plain. What a change comes over it. It trickles peacefully on, watering the flowers and ferns, giving drink to the birds and insects--a quiet, calm stream. It is the the same stream as the mountain torrent, yet oh, how changed!
That stream is a very good representation of the two prophets, Elijah and Elisha, and of the work God gave them to do. Elijah is the stream on the mountainside, bearing down on injustice and sin by his stern rebukes and by his bold reproof.
Elisha is like the stream on the grassy plain, going quietly and peacefully on his way, bringing joy, happiness and comfort to all around him. Elijah upholds the righteousness of God's law while Elisha displays God's grace. And yet, just as the stream was one stream, the same on the mountain as on the plain, so Elisha's work, although different from Elijah's was still the same work flowing from the same source.
The same God used bold Elijah and gentle Elisha; both carried out His commands. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6) How much happier we should be if we remembered this! We are not all called to do the same work. And God does not call us to do the work He has given to others. It may be He would have us be like the quiet stream, going on our way and doing our work for Him almost unobserved, but still working for Christ.
And who shall say that Elisha's work was less than Elijah's? In the Master's eyes that work is great which is done because of love to Him and in obedience to His directions. Even a cup of cold water wins a word of praise from his lips, if it is given in His name. (Mark 9:41) Mrs. O. F. Walton
N.J.Hiebert - 9205
Picture the side of a mountain, high, steep and rugged. Tearing down from its heights into the valley below is a stream, dashing, foaming and driving all before it--a mountain torrent. Follow the stream, as it reaches the valley and it flows into the grassy plain. What a change comes over it. It trickles peacefully on, watering the flowers and ferns, giving drink to the birds and insects--a quiet, calm stream. It is the the same stream as the mountain torrent, yet oh, how changed!
That stream is a very good representation of the two prophets, Elijah and Elisha, and of the work God gave them to do. Elijah is the stream on the mountainside, bearing down on injustice and sin by his stern rebukes and by his bold reproof.
Elisha is like the stream on the grassy plain, going quietly and peacefully on his way, bringing joy, happiness and comfort to all around him. Elijah upholds the righteousness of God's law while Elisha displays God's grace. And yet, just as the stream was one stream, the same on the mountain as on the plain, so Elisha's work, although different from Elijah's was still the same work flowing from the same source.
The same God used bold Elijah and gentle Elisha; both carried out His commands. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6) How much happier we should be if we remembered this! We are not all called to do the same work. And God does not call us to do the work He has given to others. It may be He would have us be like the quiet stream, going on our way and doing our work for Him almost unobserved, but still working for Christ.
And who shall say that Elisha's work was less than Elijah's? In the Master's eyes that work is great which is done because of love to Him and in obedience to His directions. Even a cup of cold water wins a word of praise from his lips, if it is given in His name. (Mark 9:41) Mrs. O. F. Walton
N.J.Hiebert - 9205
May 8
GOT ANY MOUNTAINS
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which He saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever He saith. Mark 11:23
Can we confidently claim and expect the conversion of our loved ones? Well, it must be in God's will. "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us." (1 John 5:14). Does He will the conversion of everyone? "the Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).
Then He will remove this mountain, but we must expect the mountain to move. "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matthew 21:22) And the verse following our test says, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24)
We pray hoping, but hoping is not faith. Faith takes God's word for the deed and in its geography lists the mountains as "disappeared."
God any mountains you think are unsinkable? Vance Havner
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains, you cannot tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible
And He can do what no other power can do. Oscar C. Eliason
N.J.Hiebert - 9206
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which He saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever He saith. Mark 11:23
Can we confidently claim and expect the conversion of our loved ones? Well, it must be in God's will. "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us." (1 John 5:14). Does He will the conversion of everyone? "the Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).
Then He will remove this mountain, but we must expect the mountain to move. "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matthew 21:22) And the verse following our test says, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24)
We pray hoping, but hoping is not faith. Faith takes God's word for the deed and in its geography lists the mountains as "disappeared."
God any mountains you think are unsinkable? Vance Havner
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains, you cannot tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible
And He can do what no other power can do. Oscar C. Eliason
N.J.Hiebert - 9206
May 9
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-7)
However, God graciously overrules our folly and weakness, and while we are called upon to reap the fruits of our unbelieving and impatient ways, He takes occasion from them to teach our hearts still deeper lessons of His own tender grace and perfect wisdom.
This, while it assuredly affords no warrant whatever for unbelief and impatience, does most wonderfully exhibit the goodness of our God, and comfort the heart even while we may be passing through the painful circumstances consequent upon our failure.
God is above all; and, moreover, it is His special prerogative to bring good out of evil,--to make the eater yield meat, and the strong yield sweetness; (Judges 14:14) and hence, while it is quite true that Jacob was compelled to be an exile from his father's roof in consequence of his own restless and deceitful acting, it is equally true that he never could have learned the meaning of "Bethel" (House of God) (Genesis 28:16-19), had he been quietly at home.
Thus the two sides of the picture are strongly marked in every scene of Jacob's history. It was when he was driven, by his own folly, from Isaac's house, that he was led to taste, in some measure, the blessedness and solemnity of "God's house." Notes - Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9207
However, God graciously overrules our folly and weakness, and while we are called upon to reap the fruits of our unbelieving and impatient ways, He takes occasion from them to teach our hearts still deeper lessons of His own tender grace and perfect wisdom.
This, while it assuredly affords no warrant whatever for unbelief and impatience, does most wonderfully exhibit the goodness of our God, and comfort the heart even while we may be passing through the painful circumstances consequent upon our failure.
God is above all; and, moreover, it is His special prerogative to bring good out of evil,--to make the eater yield meat, and the strong yield sweetness; (Judges 14:14) and hence, while it is quite true that Jacob was compelled to be an exile from his father's roof in consequence of his own restless and deceitful acting, it is equally true that he never could have learned the meaning of "Bethel" (House of God) (Genesis 28:16-19), had he been quietly at home.
Thus the two sides of the picture are strongly marked in every scene of Jacob's history. It was when he was driven, by his own folly, from Isaac's house, that he was led to taste, in some measure, the blessedness and solemnity of "God's house." Notes - Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9207
May 10
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6
Many Christians live in a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be perfectly at peace amid the confusion and turbulence of daily life is a secret worth knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong; never helped anybody to do God's will; never made a way of escape for anyone out of perplexity.
Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said: "Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (Matthew 6:31)
He does not mean that we are not to take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but that we are not to worry about these things. People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on you face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack of joy in your spirit.
Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet. Darlow Sargent
N.J.Hiebert - 9208
Many Christians live in a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be perfectly at peace amid the confusion and turbulence of daily life is a secret worth knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong; never helped anybody to do God's will; never made a way of escape for anyone out of perplexity.
Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said: "Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (Matthew 6:31)
He does not mean that we are not to take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but that we are not to worry about these things. People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on you face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack of joy in your spirit.
Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet. Darlow Sargent
N.J.Hiebert - 9208
May 11
My Lord and my God. John 20:28
These word were recorded after Thomas realized he was actually seeing the Lord Jesus in resurrection. The Lord had just pointed out the marks of the wounds He received on the cross. Thomas spoke out in awe, in humility and in worship.
My Lord - Two words that dramatize the relationship between the believer and the Lord, based on all He accomplished in dying. It encompasses the love we have towards Him in response to His towards us. It takes in our standing before God on the basis of the shed blood. It recognizes His role as our Good Shepherd. And it includes the promise of eternal life in the Father's home, with the Lord.
My God - here we have our appreciation of our intimacy with Jesus Christ as one Person of the Holy Trinity; become a man so that He could die as the perfect sacrifice for sin and sins. It expresses the glory He had from a past eternity, as well as His acquired glory as the sin-bearer. It alludes to the removal of distance between sinners and God, our Father.
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29). Thomas' natural reasoning process kicked in. He doubted the Lord's bodily resurrection could be possible. We often do the same; letting our natural minds question the clear statements of scripture. We may not actively doubt, but our thoughts and actions will betray us. In order to be saved, we had to come to the realization that the Lord was a real Saviour, that our sins formed the barrier, and we needed to simply "Trust and Obey". And all that without actually seeing the Lord with our natural eyes. So why not just continue that pattern; nothing about the Lord has changed or ever will."Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8)
Believing is a continuous process, needing to be renewed every morning. The scriptures reinforce the strong beliefs that date from the day of our salvation; continuing to grow, enlarge and mature in us as we read and think about them. Another valuable assist is our regular entry into the presence of the Lord, especially when we meet together with others of like precious faith to remember Him in the circumstances of His death, as He has asked us to do. Each time, we leave fortified for the week ahead. Each such occasion draws from our heart and lips thanksgiving and praise; well summed up in the expression, My Lord and my God. Lorne Perry
These word were recorded after Thomas realized he was actually seeing the Lord Jesus in resurrection. The Lord had just pointed out the marks of the wounds He received on the cross. Thomas spoke out in awe, in humility and in worship.
My Lord - Two words that dramatize the relationship between the believer and the Lord, based on all He accomplished in dying. It encompasses the love we have towards Him in response to His towards us. It takes in our standing before God on the basis of the shed blood. It recognizes His role as our Good Shepherd. And it includes the promise of eternal life in the Father's home, with the Lord.
My God - here we have our appreciation of our intimacy with Jesus Christ as one Person of the Holy Trinity; become a man so that He could die as the perfect sacrifice for sin and sins. It expresses the glory He had from a past eternity, as well as His acquired glory as the sin-bearer. It alludes to the removal of distance between sinners and God, our Father.
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29). Thomas' natural reasoning process kicked in. He doubted the Lord's bodily resurrection could be possible. We often do the same; letting our natural minds question the clear statements of scripture. We may not actively doubt, but our thoughts and actions will betray us. In order to be saved, we had to come to the realization that the Lord was a real Saviour, that our sins formed the barrier, and we needed to simply "Trust and Obey". And all that without actually seeing the Lord with our natural eyes. So why not just continue that pattern; nothing about the Lord has changed or ever will."Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8)
Believing is a continuous process, needing to be renewed every morning. The scriptures reinforce the strong beliefs that date from the day of our salvation; continuing to grow, enlarge and mature in us as we read and think about them. Another valuable assist is our regular entry into the presence of the Lord, especially when we meet together with others of like precious faith to remember Him in the circumstances of His death, as He has asked us to do. Each time, we leave fortified for the week ahead. Each such occasion draws from our heart and lips thanksgiving and praise; well summed up in the expression, My Lord and my God. Lorne Perry
N.J.Hiebert - 9209
May 12
They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:31-32
Today there is a growing concern over sickness and diseases caused by pollution, stress, and life-styes. Also, older physicians are retiring from their practices, in part, because of the high cost of malpractice insurance. In our verses, the Lord emphasized His role in healing illness that is spiritual, not physical, that is, "sin-sickness."
However, very few people like to acknowledge their condition as sinners and so they neglect to seek a remedy. That was true in Jeremiah's day when he lamented, "is there no balm...no physician?" (Jeremiah 8:22) When people do seek a remedy, they may chose an ineffective one--Egypt was told "in vain shalt thou use many medicines;" (Jeremiah 46:11).
People are choosing an ineffective remedy when they choose good works as a remedy--nothing we can do will ever cure the result of even one of our many sins (Isaiah 64:6). To be effective in treating our physical maladies, our treating physician must not only diagnose our malady correctly but must also prescribe the proper remedy. The same is true of spiritual illness.
Our Lord Jesus is pictured as the Great Physician. And what a physician he was! The remedy which this great Physician offers for your sin-sickness flowed from His pierced side--"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin". (1 John 1:7) . The good news is that belief in what this symbolizes cures sin-sickness: "For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." (Romans 1:16).
Christ was given so that "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:15). But, to be cured we have to come to Him! "And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." (John 5:40). L. L. Winters
N.J.Hiebert - 9210
Today there is a growing concern over sickness and diseases caused by pollution, stress, and life-styes. Also, older physicians are retiring from their practices, in part, because of the high cost of malpractice insurance. In our verses, the Lord emphasized His role in healing illness that is spiritual, not physical, that is, "sin-sickness."
However, very few people like to acknowledge their condition as sinners and so they neglect to seek a remedy. That was true in Jeremiah's day when he lamented, "is there no balm...no physician?" (Jeremiah 8:22) When people do seek a remedy, they may chose an ineffective one--Egypt was told "in vain shalt thou use many medicines;" (Jeremiah 46:11).
People are choosing an ineffective remedy when they choose good works as a remedy--nothing we can do will ever cure the result of even one of our many sins (Isaiah 64:6). To be effective in treating our physical maladies, our treating physician must not only diagnose our malady correctly but must also prescribe the proper remedy. The same is true of spiritual illness.
Our Lord Jesus is pictured as the Great Physician. And what a physician he was! The remedy which this great Physician offers for your sin-sickness flowed from His pierced side--"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin". (1 John 1:7) . The good news is that belief in what this symbolizes cures sin-sickness: "For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." (Romans 1:16).
Christ was given so that "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:15). But, to be cured we have to come to Him! "And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." (John 5:40). L. L. Winters
N.J.Hiebert - 9210
May 13
These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33.
Once when Charles Garrett was preaching to a large congregation about the mysterious troubles that often come to the Christian man or woman, he was saying that we are not exempt from trouble; "whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." (Hebrews 12:6) and some converted men had more trouble after their conversion than before.
He had know Christian men who were steeped in trouble--surrounded by it; trouble to the right, trouble to the left, trouble in front, trouble behind. Then an old man in the gallery, who had served God for seventy years, shouted, "Glory be to God, it's always open at the top."
I love the knowledge that has come through sorrows and trials and pardoned sins; of a love that has never wearied towards me, and is fresher than the freshest dew of youth, and mellower than the ripest tenderness of age. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us." (1John 4:10) Angels in White - Russell Elliott
N.J.Hiebert - 9211
Once when Charles Garrett was preaching to a large congregation about the mysterious troubles that often come to the Christian man or woman, he was saying that we are not exempt from trouble; "whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." (Hebrews 12:6) and some converted men had more trouble after their conversion than before.
He had know Christian men who were steeped in trouble--surrounded by it; trouble to the right, trouble to the left, trouble in front, trouble behind. Then an old man in the gallery, who had served God for seventy years, shouted, "Glory be to God, it's always open at the top."
I love the knowledge that has come through sorrows and trials and pardoned sins; of a love that has never wearied towards me, and is fresher than the freshest dew of youth, and mellower than the ripest tenderness of age. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us." (1John 4:10) Angels in White - Russell Elliott
N.J.Hiebert - 9211
May 14
ALL YOUR ANXIETY
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7.
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7.
Upon the Lord your burden cast, to Him bring all your care;
He will sustain and hold you fast, and give thee strength to bear.
Worry, anxiety, and depression have been the subject of many discourses. The reason of course, is that these conditions are so common to everyone. Many descriptions of these times have been given:
- Worry is nothing more than borrowed trouble.
- Worry is unbelief in disguise.
- Worry does not relieve tomorrow of its stress--it merely empties today of its strength. (Unknown)
- The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. George Müller
Is there a heart o'er-bound by sorrow? Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the cross-each burden bearing, all your anxiety-leave it there.
No other friend so keen to help you; no other friend so quick to hear;
No other place to leave your burden; no other one to hear your prayer.
Come then at once-delay no longer! Heed His entreaty kind and sweet;
You need not fear a disappointment-You shall find peace at the mercy seat.
Come to the cross-each burden bearing, all your anxiety-leave it there.
No other friend so keen to help you; no other friend so quick to hear;
No other place to leave your burden; no other one to hear your prayer.
Come then at once-delay no longer! Heed His entreaty kind and sweet;
You need not fear a disappointment-You shall find peace at the mercy seat.
Chorus: All your anxiety, all your care, bring to the mercy seat-leave it there; never a burden He cannot bear, never a friend like Jesus!
Edward Henry Joy, 1871-1941
N.J.Hiebert - 9212
May 15
But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
You have perhaps heard the story of the child who was keeping the best meat on his plate for his little dog. His mother asked him rather sharply, "Johnnie, why don't you eat up your dinner?" "I'm keeping it for Fido, mummie."
"Nonsense, eat your dinner at once, and you can collect the scraps on the plates after dinner for Fido."
The child did as he was told, and with tears running down his cheeks, he was heard to say, "Fido dear, I wanted to give you a sacrifice, but its only a collection."
A sacrifice costs something, often a collection costs next to nothing. Johnnie's sacrifice to Fido would have been 'a sacrifice of joy.' (Psalm 27:6)
Love is the secret.
Sacrifices of Joy - Meditations on Philippians - G. Christopher Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 9213
You have perhaps heard the story of the child who was keeping the best meat on his plate for his little dog. His mother asked him rather sharply, "Johnnie, why don't you eat up your dinner?" "I'm keeping it for Fido, mummie."
"Nonsense, eat your dinner at once, and you can collect the scraps on the plates after dinner for Fido."
The child did as he was told, and with tears running down his cheeks, he was heard to say, "Fido dear, I wanted to give you a sacrifice, but its only a collection."
A sacrifice costs something, often a collection costs next to nothing. Johnnie's sacrifice to Fido would have been 'a sacrifice of joy.' (Psalm 27:6)
Love is the secret.
Sacrifices of Joy - Meditations on Philippians - G. Christopher Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 9213
May 16
And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more forever. Exodus 14:13
The Egyptians thought they had Israel in a trap, when they saw them by the seaside. When they are out of danger, behold they are in a wilderness, where nothing is to be had for back or belly, and yet here they shall live forty years, without trade or tillage, without begging or robbing of any of the neighbour nations; they shall not be beholden to them for a penny in their way. What cannot almighty power do to provide for His people.
"The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him" (Lamentation 3:24). Have you not chosen Him for your portion? Do you not look for a heaven to enjoy Him in forever? And can any dungeon of outward affliction be so dark, that this hope will not enlighten? He that has laid a portion in heaven for you will lay out surely all the expenses that you need in the way forward.
Remember how often God has overcome your fears, and proved your unbelief a deception. Has he not knocked at your door with inward comfort and outward deliverance, when you had put out the candle of hope, giving up looking for Him, and been ready to lay down on the bed of despair?
Were you never so sad, the storm of your fears so great that the anchor of hope coming home left you with misgivings and despairing thoughts, as if now your everlasting night had come, and no morning supply expected by you? Yet even then our God proved you wrong, by an unlooked for surprise of mercy, which He brought sweetly in upon you? Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall (1616 - 1679)
N.J.Hiebert - 9214
The Egyptians thought they had Israel in a trap, when they saw them by the seaside. When they are out of danger, behold they are in a wilderness, where nothing is to be had for back or belly, and yet here they shall live forty years, without trade or tillage, without begging or robbing of any of the neighbour nations; they shall not be beholden to them for a penny in their way. What cannot almighty power do to provide for His people.
"The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him" (Lamentation 3:24). Have you not chosen Him for your portion? Do you not look for a heaven to enjoy Him in forever? And can any dungeon of outward affliction be so dark, that this hope will not enlighten? He that has laid a portion in heaven for you will lay out surely all the expenses that you need in the way forward.
Remember how often God has overcome your fears, and proved your unbelief a deception. Has he not knocked at your door with inward comfort and outward deliverance, when you had put out the candle of hope, giving up looking for Him, and been ready to lay down on the bed of despair?
Were you never so sad, the storm of your fears so great that the anchor of hope coming home left you with misgivings and despairing thoughts, as if now your everlasting night had come, and no morning supply expected by you? Yet even then our God proved you wrong, by an unlooked for surprise of mercy, which He brought sweetly in upon you? Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall (1616 - 1679)
N.J.Hiebert - 9214
May 17
THE PROTECTION OF DANIEL
Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee. Daniel 6:16
The time came when, regretfully, the king was required to execute the sentence, but as Daniel was brought forward to be cast into the den of lions, Darius was there with words of hope and assurance for Daniel.
(Daniel 6:16).
What a testimony from a heathen monarch to the integrity of a man who had been wrongfully accused and was now being wrongfully executed. Darius realized that Daniel had access to powers beyond the earthly, and that if God so desired, He would deliver him.
The king then spent a sleepless night, and early in the morning he was down at the den. There he learned that God had wrought a miracle on behalf of His servant. God had shut the mouths of these ravenous beasts, and they had done Daniel no harm. Daniel was them removed from the den and his persecutors were cast in instead. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions were upon them and broke all their bones in pieces.
In a previous scene, we saw Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego cast into the fiery furnace. We learned then that God may not necessarily deliver us from the fire, but He will be with us in it and preserve us.
So it is here. God could have stopped these men from putting Daniel into the den of lions, but He didn't. The result was that greater glory was brought to God than if Daniel had been delivered from ever going into the den.
Daniel - William Burnett
N.J.Hiebert - 9215
Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee. Daniel 6:16
The time came when, regretfully, the king was required to execute the sentence, but as Daniel was brought forward to be cast into the den of lions, Darius was there with words of hope and assurance for Daniel.
(Daniel 6:16).
What a testimony from a heathen monarch to the integrity of a man who had been wrongfully accused and was now being wrongfully executed. Darius realized that Daniel had access to powers beyond the earthly, and that if God so desired, He would deliver him.
The king then spent a sleepless night, and early in the morning he was down at the den. There he learned that God had wrought a miracle on behalf of His servant. God had shut the mouths of these ravenous beasts, and they had done Daniel no harm. Daniel was them removed from the den and his persecutors were cast in instead. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions were upon them and broke all their bones in pieces.
In a previous scene, we saw Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego cast into the fiery furnace. We learned then that God may not necessarily deliver us from the fire, but He will be with us in it and preserve us.
So it is here. God could have stopped these men from putting Daniel into the den of lions, but He didn't. The result was that greater glory was brought to God than if Daniel had been delivered from ever going into the den.
Daniel - William Burnett
N.J.Hiebert - 9215
May 18
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother...when Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. John 19:25-27
We scarcely know which to admire most--the faithfulness, the devotedness of these dear women, and the beloved young disciple, or the tender, compassionate love of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ and His consideration for the dear mother that bore Him. He recalls the prophecy, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also," (Luke 2:35)
He recalls the prophecy, and He knows that sword is indeed piercing her mother heart as she sees her Son suffering in such awful agony hanging there upon the nails, and He would have her know that He is concerned about her and anxious to relieve her agonies.
He points her to John and says, "Behold thy son!" and to John He says, "Behold thy mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." During the last of her sojourn here on earth, John became to her as a tender, loving son, and she to him as a loving mother.
Gospel of John - H. A. Ironside
N.J.Hiebert - 9216
We scarcely know which to admire most--the faithfulness, the devotedness of these dear women, and the beloved young disciple, or the tender, compassionate love of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ and His consideration for the dear mother that bore Him. He recalls the prophecy, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also," (Luke 2:35)
He recalls the prophecy, and He knows that sword is indeed piercing her mother heart as she sees her Son suffering in such awful agony hanging there upon the nails, and He would have her know that He is concerned about her and anxious to relieve her agonies.
He points her to John and says, "Behold thy son!" and to John He says, "Behold thy mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." During the last of her sojourn here on earth, John became to her as a tender, loving son, and she to him as a loving mother.
Gospel of John - H. A. Ironside
N.J.Hiebert - 9216
May 19
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Hebrews 12:28
Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it therefore it, shall be shut. Ezekiel 44:2
This came to me this morning as a word not only for the gate referred to here, but also for everything. This service, whatever it may be, this that I have to offer, all I am, and have, and want to be--it is for the Prince.
"To each is given a bag of tools, an hourglass,
And a book of rules;
And each must build ere his work be done,
A stumbling block or a steppingstone."
- Our bag of tools--our body with all its various powers, the "tools"
- God has given us to use; the hourglass--Time;
- The book of rules--our Bible;
- The stumbling block--that which will hinder others;
- The steppingstone--that which will help them nearer Heaven.
- So far all is clear.
Is this clear too? We cannot build both stumbling block and steppingstone. We must chose which we will build. Once built it stands; we cannot pull it down and begin over again. Is not this an awful truth? Think of what it would be if, when the day is over and the work is done, we looked at it and saw a stumbling block. God save us from that.
Every true, loving, faithful thought, word, deed, helps to build the steppingstone. Every untrue, unloving, unfaithful thought, word, deed, helps to build the stumbling block over which others will fall. God help us all to build steppingstones. Thou Givest...They Gather - Amy Carmichael
N.J.Hiebert - 9217
Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it therefore it, shall be shut. Ezekiel 44:2
This came to me this morning as a word not only for the gate referred to here, but also for everything. This service, whatever it may be, this that I have to offer, all I am, and have, and want to be--it is for the Prince.
"To each is given a bag of tools, an hourglass,
And a book of rules;
And each must build ere his work be done,
A stumbling block or a steppingstone."
- Our bag of tools--our body with all its various powers, the "tools"
- God has given us to use; the hourglass--Time;
- The book of rules--our Bible;
- The stumbling block--that which will hinder others;
- The steppingstone--that which will help them nearer Heaven.
- So far all is clear.
Is this clear too? We cannot build both stumbling block and steppingstone. We must chose which we will build. Once built it stands; we cannot pull it down and begin over again. Is not this an awful truth? Think of what it would be if, when the day is over and the work is done, we looked at it and saw a stumbling block. God save us from that.
Every true, loving, faithful thought, word, deed, helps to build the steppingstone. Every untrue, unloving, unfaithful thought, word, deed, helps to build the stumbling block over which others will fall. God help us all to build steppingstones. Thou Givest...They Gather - Amy Carmichael
N.J.Hiebert - 9217
May 20
We must keep looking for our Lord's return.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jude 21
The reference here is without any doubt to that advent of our Saviour for which we are bidden to look. The New Testament is full of teaching about this blessed hope, and we lose much if we fail to cherish it in our hearts.
Over 300 times is it spoken of in the later portion of the inspired Word, and the place which it occupies there, indicates the place which it should hold in our thinking. The central ordinance of the Church--the remembrance of the Lord's death--is described in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
That great passage is both commemorative and anticipative; it directs us historically to the night of His betrayal, and prophetically to the day of His return. The last six words of verse 26--"the Lord's death till He come"--tell the whole story.
The first three of these words point us back to the cross; the last three point us on to His coming. Taken together, the six words are like a beautiful rainbow, the one end of which dips in the sufferings of Christ, and the other, in the glory that is to follow.
"And thus that dark betrayal-night,
With His next advent we unite,
By one blest chain of loving rite,
Until He come." The Best is Yet to Be - Henry Durbanville
N.J.Hiebert - 9218
The reference here is without any doubt to that advent of our Saviour for which we are bidden to look. The New Testament is full of teaching about this blessed hope, and we lose much if we fail to cherish it in our hearts.
Over 300 times is it spoken of in the later portion of the inspired Word, and the place which it occupies there, indicates the place which it should hold in our thinking. The central ordinance of the Church--the remembrance of the Lord's death--is described in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
That great passage is both commemorative and anticipative; it directs us historically to the night of His betrayal, and prophetically to the day of His return. The last six words of verse 26--"the Lord's death till He come"--tell the whole story.
The first three of these words point us back to the cross; the last three point us on to His coming. Taken together, the six words are like a beautiful rainbow, the one end of which dips in the sufferings of Christ, and the other, in the glory that is to follow.
"And thus that dark betrayal-night,
With His next advent we unite,
By one blest chain of loving rite,
Until He come." The Best is Yet to Be - Henry Durbanville
N.J.Hiebert - 9218
May 21
And Jacob dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven...
And, behold, the Lord stood above it and said...
I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest and will bring thee again into this land...
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God... (Genesis 28:10-22)
Observe, "If God will be with me." Now, the Lord had just said, emphatically, "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land," etc. And yet poor Jacob's heart cannot get beyond an "if;" nor, in its thoughts of God's goodness, can it rise higher than "bread to eat, and raiment to put on."
Such were the thoughts of one who had just seen the magnificent vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with the Lord standing above, and promising an enumerable seed and an everlasting possession.
Jacob was evidentially unable to enter into the reality and fullness of God's thoughts. He measured God by himself, and thus utterly failed to apprehend Him. In short, Jacob had not yet really got to the end of himself; and hence he had not really begun with God. Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9219
And, behold, the Lord stood above it and said...
I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest and will bring thee again into this land...
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God... (Genesis 28:10-22)
Observe, "If God will be with me." Now, the Lord had just said, emphatically, "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land," etc. And yet poor Jacob's heart cannot get beyond an "if;" nor, in its thoughts of God's goodness, can it rise higher than "bread to eat, and raiment to put on."
Such were the thoughts of one who had just seen the magnificent vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with the Lord standing above, and promising an enumerable seed and an everlasting possession.
Jacob was evidentially unable to enter into the reality and fullness of God's thoughts. He measured God by himself, and thus utterly failed to apprehend Him. In short, Jacob had not yet really got to the end of himself; and hence he had not really begun with God. Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9219
May 22
What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. Jonah 1:11
The matter is being pressed close home to Jonah now. "What shall we do unto thee?" Well Jonah knew that the awful storm about them, every moment getting worse and worse, was all his fault. Though Jonah had not "feared exceedingly" when he ought to have done so, now he began to find out that God is not mocked, and that it is no light thing to try and trifle with Him.
I suppose that most of us are not in any position to say very many words of blame to Jonah. Have not most of us had to learn the same bitter lesson? How natural to the heart of man is the thought, and how eager the enemy is to tell us, that we may sin with impunity and "get away with it." No, beloved fellow-Christian, whether it was Jonah, or whether it is you or I, "God is not mocked." "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23) Sin will surely bring bitter, bitter fruit.
"And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you." Brave Jonah! One cannot help but admire and love this man, in spite of all his failure.
How many of us would have dared to pronounce so clearly our own death sentence, and so fully and frankly acknowledged our own guilt, and its consequence, without a single word of excuse or self justification? He now plainly answered their third question, "For whose cause is the evil upon us?"
When we consider that it must surely have been Jonah himself, who wrote this book (under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God), a book which has not a syllable to his own credit, we can not help but honour this brave honest man.
Lessons from Jonah The Prophet - G. C. Willis
N.J.Hiebert - 9220
The matter is being pressed close home to Jonah now. "What shall we do unto thee?" Well Jonah knew that the awful storm about them, every moment getting worse and worse, was all his fault. Though Jonah had not "feared exceedingly" when he ought to have done so, now he began to find out that God is not mocked, and that it is no light thing to try and trifle with Him.
I suppose that most of us are not in any position to say very many words of blame to Jonah. Have not most of us had to learn the same bitter lesson? How natural to the heart of man is the thought, and how eager the enemy is to tell us, that we may sin with impunity and "get away with it." No, beloved fellow-Christian, whether it was Jonah, or whether it is you or I, "God is not mocked." "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23) Sin will surely bring bitter, bitter fruit.
"And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you." Brave Jonah! One cannot help but admire and love this man, in spite of all his failure.
How many of us would have dared to pronounce so clearly our own death sentence, and so fully and frankly acknowledged our own guilt, and its consequence, without a single word of excuse or self justification? He now plainly answered their third question, "For whose cause is the evil upon us?"
When we consider that it must surely have been Jonah himself, who wrote this book (under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God), a book which has not a syllable to his own credit, we can not help but honour this brave honest man.
Lessons from Jonah The Prophet - G. C. Willis
N.J.Hiebert - 9220
May 23
The Lord is my Shepherd. Psalm 23:1
Someone has said that the twenty-third is the sweetest of all the Psalms: first learned, oftenest repeated, longest remembered. The simple words of which is composed "touch, inspire, comfort us, not as an echo from three thousand years ago, but as the voice of a living friend.
The child repeats them at his mother's knees; the scholar expends on them his choicest learning; the church lifts them to heaven in the many-voiced chorus.
They fall like music on the sick man's ear and heart; they cheer and encourage the dying Christian as he enters "the shadow of death."
It speaks of the Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep (verse 1); of the green pastures into which He leads us for our own sake (verse 2); and of the paths of righteousness into which He leads us for His name's sake (verse 3).
It tells us that the valley of the shadow, although full of deadly peril, is nevertheless an avenue to God (verse 4); of the fact that it is possible to have festivity in the midst of conflict (verse 5); and of the two shining ones--"Goodness and Mercy"--who have come from the upper sanctuary to conduct the flock of God to the heavenly land (verse 6).
In other words we have in this brief section of the Word: the Person (verse 1); the provision (verse 2); the pathway (verse 3); the peril; (verse 4); the preparation (verse 5); and the prospect (verse 6).
May we all search more and more into its marvellous depths, enjoy increasingly its matchless beauty, and experience, through all life's future days, its perennial power. The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson
N.J.Hiebert - 9221
Someone has said that the twenty-third is the sweetest of all the Psalms: first learned, oftenest repeated, longest remembered. The simple words of which is composed "touch, inspire, comfort us, not as an echo from three thousand years ago, but as the voice of a living friend.
The child repeats them at his mother's knees; the scholar expends on them his choicest learning; the church lifts them to heaven in the many-voiced chorus.
They fall like music on the sick man's ear and heart; they cheer and encourage the dying Christian as he enters "the shadow of death."
It speaks of the Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep (verse 1); of the green pastures into which He leads us for our own sake (verse 2); and of the paths of righteousness into which He leads us for His name's sake (verse 3).
It tells us that the valley of the shadow, although full of deadly peril, is nevertheless an avenue to God (verse 4); of the fact that it is possible to have festivity in the midst of conflict (verse 5); and of the two shining ones--"Goodness and Mercy"--who have come from the upper sanctuary to conduct the flock of God to the heavenly land (verse 6).
In other words we have in this brief section of the Word: the Person (verse 1); the provision (verse 2); the pathway (verse 3); the peril; (verse 4); the preparation (verse 5); and the prospect (verse 6).
May we all search more and more into its marvellous depths, enjoy increasingly its matchless beauty, and experience, through all life's future days, its perennial power. The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson
N.J.Hiebert - 9221
May 24
I WON'T BE HERE LONG
For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 Even the hour of keenest pain or months of sad bereavement will one day seem but a fleeting moment. Time is relative.
A few minutes in a medical examination may seem an hour while a young suitor's evening with his girl friend may seem but a few minutes. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. . . " (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Our threescore and ten years are short "for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm 90:10). We won't be here long and we shall grieve that we misused our days and even the best shall regret that they did not spend them better. All the Days - Vance Havner
"But for a moment this valley of sorrows,
Darkened with shadows and heavy with sighs;
Bright dawns the morrow, the glorious morrow!
Faint not! the Lord shall call us to arise!
"Far more exceeding" the heavenly glory--
Sufferings here with it cannot compare.
Glory eternal the guerdon for anguish--
Radiant crowns, for the thorns, over there!
Temporal things like a vapour shall vanish;
Higher than earth lies the land of our choice;
Upward we press to the home there eternal;
Jesus the Lord we behold and rejoice! G. C. Stebbins
N.J.Hiebert - 9222
For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 Even the hour of keenest pain or months of sad bereavement will one day seem but a fleeting moment. Time is relative.
A few minutes in a medical examination may seem an hour while a young suitor's evening with his girl friend may seem but a few minutes. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. . . " (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Our threescore and ten years are short "for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm 90:10). We won't be here long and we shall grieve that we misused our days and even the best shall regret that they did not spend them better. All the Days - Vance Havner
"But for a moment this valley of sorrows,
Darkened with shadows and heavy with sighs;
Bright dawns the morrow, the glorious morrow!
Faint not! the Lord shall call us to arise!
"Far more exceeding" the heavenly glory--
Sufferings here with it cannot compare.
Glory eternal the guerdon for anguish--
Radiant crowns, for the thorns, over there!
Temporal things like a vapour shall vanish;
Higher than earth lies the land of our choice;
Upward we press to the home there eternal;
Jesus the Lord we behold and rejoice! G. C. Stebbins
N.J.Hiebert - 9222
May 25
But think on me when it shall be well with thee. Genesis 40:14
In many ways Joseph is a remarkable type of Christ: hated by his brothers, rejected and sold to the Egyptians, eventually exalted as Prime Minister over Egypt; a shadow of the sufferings and glories of the Lord Jesus--this we well know.
In the scene described here, Joseph was absolutely innocent of any crime yet had been languishing in prison for eleven long years. He had not been idle, however, and the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge over all the other prisoners.
As much as Joseph was innocent, it is probable that both the cupbearer and the chief baker were guilty of some infraction against Pharaoh. As the scene unfolds, it came about that each of these had a dream and came to Joseph for the interpretation (40:8). How encouraging are Joseph's words to them: "Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."
Joseph's interpretation came to pass exactly as he predicted. Before the cupbearer was restored to his position, Joseph had one request: "But think on me when it shall be well with thee...and make mention of me unto Pharaoh" (40:14-15). "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph." (40:23). Eventually this wrong was corrected and Joseph came to the cupbearer's mind as he stood before Pharaoh.
The Lord Jesus, One much greater than Joseph, on the night in which He was betrayed said, "This do in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:24). How touching that the Lord requests this of us. On the dark night of Satan's power, and in light of His coming sufferings, Christ desired that from that time forward we would observe this memorial. May we never be like the cupbearer and forget, "Christ also suffered for us." (1 Peter 2:21). Brian Reynolds
N.J.Hiebert - 9223
In many ways Joseph is a remarkable type of Christ: hated by his brothers, rejected and sold to the Egyptians, eventually exalted as Prime Minister over Egypt; a shadow of the sufferings and glories of the Lord Jesus--this we well know.
In the scene described here, Joseph was absolutely innocent of any crime yet had been languishing in prison for eleven long years. He had not been idle, however, and the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge over all the other prisoners.
As much as Joseph was innocent, it is probable that both the cupbearer and the chief baker were guilty of some infraction against Pharaoh. As the scene unfolds, it came about that each of these had a dream and came to Joseph for the interpretation (40:8). How encouraging are Joseph's words to them: "Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."
Joseph's interpretation came to pass exactly as he predicted. Before the cupbearer was restored to his position, Joseph had one request: "But think on me when it shall be well with thee...and make mention of me unto Pharaoh" (40:14-15). "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph." (40:23). Eventually this wrong was corrected and Joseph came to the cupbearer's mind as he stood before Pharaoh.
The Lord Jesus, One much greater than Joseph, on the night in which He was betrayed said, "This do in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:24). How touching that the Lord requests this of us. On the dark night of Satan's power, and in light of His coming sufferings, Christ desired that from that time forward we would observe this memorial. May we never be like the cupbearer and forget, "Christ also suffered for us." (1 Peter 2:21). Brian Reynolds
N.J.Hiebert - 9223
May 26
"Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
This is a very comforting passage! The question, however, is often asked. Will ALL believers be caught up when the Lord comes? Some teachers of note believe that only certain deserving saints will be caught up, and undeserving ones left behind. But this passage makes it very plain. "We shall ALL be changed."
"Yes," says someone, "but may that not be true that in the end all shall be changed, though some may be raised at first and others later on?" NO, the passage is clear not only that ALL shall be changed, but ALL at the same moment. We are told it is to take place in a moment, and that moment is defined as the twinkling of an eye. There can be no doubt as to this passage.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a very precious passage enlarging on 1 Corinthians 15, which particularly is taken up with the resurrection side of the question. In 1 Thessalonians 4, however, we get outlined the procedure that will take place. "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."
The Lord HIMSELF shall come and shout the quickening word. The first to feel the power of it will be the sleeping saints, all those that are Christ's at His coming. That surely will include the Old Testament saints, and all the Lord's during the Christian era, indeed all who are under the shelter of His precious blood. Why I Believe the Bible - A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9224
This is a very comforting passage! The question, however, is often asked. Will ALL believers be caught up when the Lord comes? Some teachers of note believe that only certain deserving saints will be caught up, and undeserving ones left behind. But this passage makes it very plain. "We shall ALL be changed."
"Yes," says someone, "but may that not be true that in the end all shall be changed, though some may be raised at first and others later on?" NO, the passage is clear not only that ALL shall be changed, but ALL at the same moment. We are told it is to take place in a moment, and that moment is defined as the twinkling of an eye. There can be no doubt as to this passage.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a very precious passage enlarging on 1 Corinthians 15, which particularly is taken up with the resurrection side of the question. In 1 Thessalonians 4, however, we get outlined the procedure that will take place. "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."
The Lord HIMSELF shall come and shout the quickening word. The first to feel the power of it will be the sleeping saints, all those that are Christ's at His coming. That surely will include the Old Testament saints, and all the Lord's during the Christian era, indeed all who are under the shelter of His precious blood. Why I Believe the Bible - A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9224
May 27
THE UNFINISHED SONG
Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood...be glory and dominion forever and ever." (Revelation 1:5,6) "And no man could learn that song but the...redeemed from, the earth"--
Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood...be glory and dominion forever and ever." (Revelation 1:5,6) "And no man could learn that song but the...redeemed from, the earth"--
(Revelation 14:3)
When the heavenly hosts shall gather and the heavenly courts shall ring With the rapture of the ransomed, and the new song they shall sing,
Though they come from every nation, every kindred, every race, None can ever learn that music till he knows God's pardoning grace.
All those vast eternities to come will never be too long To tell the endless story and to sing the endless song;
"Unto Him who loved us and who loosed us from our sin"-- We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here the words begin.
"Unto Him who loved us"--we shall sing it o'er and o'er, "Unto Him who loved us"--we shall love it more and more;
"Unto Him who loved us"--song of songs most sweet and dear; But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn the music here.
Here, where there was none to save us, none to help us, none to care, Here, where Jesus came to seek us, lost in darkness and despair,
Here, where on that cross of anguish He redeemed us from our sins, Here, where first we knew the Saviour, it is here the song begins.
Here, amid the toils and trials of this fleeting earthly life, Here, amid the din and turmoil of this troubled earthly strife, Here, in suffering and sorrow, here,* in weariness and wrong;
We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here we start the song.
The Unfinished Song - Annie Johnson Flint - (To be continued)
N.J.Hiebert - 9225
When the heavenly hosts shall gather and the heavenly courts shall ring With the rapture of the ransomed, and the new song they shall sing,
Though they come from every nation, every kindred, every race, None can ever learn that music till he knows God's pardoning grace.
All those vast eternities to come will never be too long To tell the endless story and to sing the endless song;
"Unto Him who loved us and who loosed us from our sin"-- We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here the words begin.
"Unto Him who loved us"--we shall sing it o'er and o'er, "Unto Him who loved us"--we shall love it more and more;
"Unto Him who loved us"--song of songs most sweet and dear; But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn the music here.
Here, where there was none to save us, none to help us, none to care, Here, where Jesus came to seek us, lost in darkness and despair,
Here, where on that cross of anguish He redeemed us from our sins, Here, where first we knew the Saviour, it is here the song begins.
Here, amid the toils and trials of this fleeting earthly life, Here, amid the din and turmoil of this troubled earthly strife, Here, in suffering and sorrow, here,* in weariness and wrong;
We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here we start the song.
The Unfinished Song - Annie Johnson Flint - (To be continued)
N.J.Hiebert - 9225
May 28
The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
"Unto Him who loves us"--we must sing it ever day,
"Unto who loves us" who is Light and Guide and Way;
"Unto Him who loves us"--and who holds us very dear;
If we'd know it over yonder, we must learn the music here.
There will be no silent voices in that ever-blessed throng;
There will be no faltering accents in that hallelujah song;
Like the sound of many waters shall the mighty paean be
When the Lord's redeemed shall praise Him for the grace that set them free.
But 'tis here the theme is written; it is here we tune our tongue;
It is here the first glad notes of joy with stammering lips are sung.
It is here the first faint echoes of that chorus reach our ear;
We shall finish it in heaven, but our hearts begin it here.
"Unto Him who loved us"--to the Lamb for sinners slain,
"Unto Him who loved us"--evermore the joyful strain;
"Unto Him who loved us"--full and strong and sweet and clear;
But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn to sing it here.
Annie Johnson Flint's Best Known Poems
N.J.Hiebert - 9226
"Unto Him who loves us"--we must sing it ever day,
"Unto who loves us" who is Light and Guide and Way;
"Unto Him who loves us"--and who holds us very dear;
If we'd know it over yonder, we must learn the music here.
There will be no silent voices in that ever-blessed throng;
There will be no faltering accents in that hallelujah song;
Like the sound of many waters shall the mighty paean be
When the Lord's redeemed shall praise Him for the grace that set them free.
But 'tis here the theme is written; it is here we tune our tongue;
It is here the first glad notes of joy with stammering lips are sung.
It is here the first faint echoes of that chorus reach our ear;
We shall finish it in heaven, but our hearts begin it here.
"Unto Him who loved us"--to the Lamb for sinners slain,
"Unto Him who loved us"--evermore the joyful strain;
"Unto Him who loved us"--full and strong and sweet and clear;
But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn to sing it here.
Annie Johnson Flint's Best Known Poems
N.J.Hiebert - 9226
May 29
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them. 1 Timothy 4:16.
Has reading the Word of God become a burden? Are we left indifferent or getting nothing out of it? Should we perhaps replace it by lighter reading? But the Lord says: "If ye continue in my My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; (John 8:31) More and more we cut short our prayer times. Family and activities of all kinds and even service for the Lord have become more important. But what say the Scriptures?
"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2). As those widows in 1 Timothy 5:5 we also should continue in supplications and prayers night and day." Why maintain certain doctrines received with conviction earlier in our Christian life?
One or two "small compromises" could get us closer to other Christians friends in order to have practical fellowship. But this could be falling in to Satan's snare: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. (John 8:44).
Let us imitate the first Christians who "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine..." (Acts 2:42). (Acts13:43) Paul and Barnabus...persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
"Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations." (Luke 22:28) Will He have a similar comment on our perseverance when we appear before Him? E. R. Pigeon
N.J.Hiebert - 9227
Has reading the Word of God become a burden? Are we left indifferent or getting nothing out of it? Should we perhaps replace it by lighter reading? But the Lord says: "If ye continue in my My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; (John 8:31) More and more we cut short our prayer times. Family and activities of all kinds and even service for the Lord have become more important. But what say the Scriptures?
"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2). As those widows in 1 Timothy 5:5 we also should continue in supplications and prayers night and day." Why maintain certain doctrines received with conviction earlier in our Christian life?
One or two "small compromises" could get us closer to other Christians friends in order to have practical fellowship. But this could be falling in to Satan's snare: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. (John 8:44).
Let us imitate the first Christians who "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine..." (Acts 2:42). (Acts13:43) Paul and Barnabus...persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
"Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations." (Luke 22:28) Will He have a similar comment on our perseverance when we appear before Him? E. R. Pigeon
N.J.Hiebert - 9227
May 30
Seek the Lord, and His strength: seek His face evermore." Psalm 105:4
The first words of Psalm 105 are jubilant commands that, when all goes well with us, seem so gloriously easy to obey. It would be hard to do anything else.
But the Spirit knew that there would be different hours, hours when the natural foundations of courage, hope, peace and joy would be quicksand under our feet. And so He pauses, as it were, to remind us of our Strength, the Rock of our hearts. Seek His face.
Someone has written, that when we reach heaven, "then shall none of us be stirred to say: Lord, if it had been thus, then it had been well; but we shall all say with one voice: Lord, blessed may Thou be, for it is thus; it is well.
Moreover He that shall be our bliss when we are there is our Keeper while we are here; and the last word of Revelation is the same as the first: (Revelation 21:7,2:7) Thou shalt not be overcome.
He said not: "thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed;" but He said "Thou shalt not be overcome." Whispers of His Power - Amy Carmichael
N.J. Hiebert - 9228
The first words of Psalm 105 are jubilant commands that, when all goes well with us, seem so gloriously easy to obey. It would be hard to do anything else.
But the Spirit knew that there would be different hours, hours when the natural foundations of courage, hope, peace and joy would be quicksand under our feet. And so He pauses, as it were, to remind us of our Strength, the Rock of our hearts. Seek His face.
Someone has written, that when we reach heaven, "then shall none of us be stirred to say: Lord, if it had been thus, then it had been well; but we shall all say with one voice: Lord, blessed may Thou be, for it is thus; it is well.
Moreover He that shall be our bliss when we are there is our Keeper while we are here; and the last word of Revelation is the same as the first: (Revelation 21:7,2:7) Thou shalt not be overcome.
He said not: "thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed;" but He said "Thou shalt not be overcome." Whispers of His Power - Amy Carmichael
N.J. Hiebert - 9228
May 31
Nay...but if one went unto them from the dead (to his five brothers) they will repent...if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:28-31
A child can understand the Holy Scriptures, "and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) There is not one beneath the canopy of God's heaven, who possesses a copy of the holy Scriptures, who is not solemnly responsible before God for the use he makes of them.
If professing Christians were split up into ten thousand times as many sects as they are; if they were ten thousand times as inconsistent as they are; if schools and doctors of divinity were ten thousand times more conflicting than they are--still the word to each possessor of the Bible is, "You have Moses and the prophets, and the New Testament, hear them."
Oh! that we could persuade the unconverted, the unawakened, the unbelieving reader to think of these things, to think of them now, to ponder them, in the very hidden depths of his moral being, to give them his heart's undivided attention, ere it be too late.
We contemplate, with ever-deepening horror, the condition of a lost soul in hell--of one opening his eyes, in that place of endless torment, to the tremendous fact that God is against him and against him forever; that all hope is gone; that nothing can ever bridge the chasm that separates the region of the lost from the heaven of the redeemed; that "there is a great gulf FIXED." Luke 16:26)
The Lord's Coming - C. H. Mackintosh
God's house is filling fast, yet there is room!
Some guest will be the last, "yet there is room!"
Yes! soon salvation's day to you will pass away,
Then grace no more will say--"yet there is room!" (G. W. Frazer)
N.J.Hiebert - 9229
A child can understand the Holy Scriptures, "and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) There is not one beneath the canopy of God's heaven, who possesses a copy of the holy Scriptures, who is not solemnly responsible before God for the use he makes of them.
If professing Christians were split up into ten thousand times as many sects as they are; if they were ten thousand times as inconsistent as they are; if schools and doctors of divinity were ten thousand times more conflicting than they are--still the word to each possessor of the Bible is, "You have Moses and the prophets, and the New Testament, hear them."
Oh! that we could persuade the unconverted, the unawakened, the unbelieving reader to think of these things, to think of them now, to ponder them, in the very hidden depths of his moral being, to give them his heart's undivided attention, ere it be too late.
We contemplate, with ever-deepening horror, the condition of a lost soul in hell--of one opening his eyes, in that place of endless torment, to the tremendous fact that God is against him and against him forever; that all hope is gone; that nothing can ever bridge the chasm that separates the region of the lost from the heaven of the redeemed; that "there is a great gulf FIXED." Luke 16:26)
The Lord's Coming - C. H. Mackintosh
God's house is filling fast, yet there is room!
Some guest will be the last, "yet there is room!"
Yes! soon salvation's day to you will pass away,
Then grace no more will say--"yet there is room!" (G. W. Frazer)
N.J.Hiebert - 9229
June 1
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7
Two Christian women were talking together. One said to the other, "I have got a very comforting text, which helps me much; "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." (Psalm 56:3)
The other Christian replied, "I have a better text than that: I will trust and not be afraid' " (Isaiah -12:2) Now we would not compare one text with another where all are from God's Word, and are the expression of His people's confidence in Him, and as such are comforting.
There is the infirmity of human nature, and in this our great High Priest has sympathy. No one need chide himself if a certain amount of fear and apprehension possesses the heart during those times of stress, if only in the fear there is a turning to the Lord to find a refuge in Him. (Psalm 56:3).
Happy is the one who has this experience, happier still if this leads to a deeper acquaintance with God, so that in quiet confidence in Him they can really say, "I will trust and not be afraid." For let us remember: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3) A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9230
Two Christian women were talking together. One said to the other, "I have got a very comforting text, which helps me much; "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." (Psalm 56:3)
The other Christian replied, "I have a better text than that: I will trust and not be afraid' " (Isaiah -12:2) Now we would not compare one text with another where all are from God's Word, and are the expression of His people's confidence in Him, and as such are comforting.
There is the infirmity of human nature, and in this our great High Priest has sympathy. No one need chide himself if a certain amount of fear and apprehension possesses the heart during those times of stress, if only in the fear there is a turning to the Lord to find a refuge in Him. (Psalm 56:3).
Happy is the one who has this experience, happier still if this leads to a deeper acquaintance with God, so that in quiet confidence in Him they can really say, "I will trust and not be afraid." For let us remember: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3) A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9230
June 2
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself...and he saw, and believed. (John 20:6-8)
The seemingly unimportant detail of the linen clothes, that wrapped the body of our Lord, being left in the tomb, though unnoticed by the women, was a convincing proof of resurrection to both Peter and John. It was not merely the fact that the linen was there, although that was a matter to arrest attention; but the place of the linen of the body, separated from the napkin of the head, and the way the linen was wrapped together--these forced on the observant disciples the conviction of their Lord's resurrection.
Had the body of Christ been carried from the grave, linen clothes would have gone with Him. However, had the hand of man removed the linen from both body and head, all would have been thrown on a heap in the grave. No human hand could have folded the linen so. What purpose would any person have to attempt to wrap the linen in this way even if it had been possible?
Those linen clothes were a miracle. Both Peter and John knew without a doubt what they meant. The body that was wrapped in those garments had disappeared from them without disturbing them. Resurrection had taken place. Although Peter and John did not yet know the scripture that He must rise again, those linen clothes convinced them absolutely that their Lord rose from the tomb. (John 20:9). Our Lord Jesus Christ - A Plant of Renown Leonard Sheldrake
N.J.Hiebert - 9231
The seemingly unimportant detail of the linen clothes, that wrapped the body of our Lord, being left in the tomb, though unnoticed by the women, was a convincing proof of resurrection to both Peter and John. It was not merely the fact that the linen was there, although that was a matter to arrest attention; but the place of the linen of the body, separated from the napkin of the head, and the way the linen was wrapped together--these forced on the observant disciples the conviction of their Lord's resurrection.
Had the body of Christ been carried from the grave, linen clothes would have gone with Him. However, had the hand of man removed the linen from both body and head, all would have been thrown on a heap in the grave. No human hand could have folded the linen so. What purpose would any person have to attempt to wrap the linen in this way even if it had been possible?
Those linen clothes were a miracle. Both Peter and John knew without a doubt what they meant. The body that was wrapped in those garments had disappeared from them without disturbing them. Resurrection had taken place. Although Peter and John did not yet know the scripture that He must rise again, those linen clothes convinced them absolutely that their Lord rose from the tomb. (John 20:9). Our Lord Jesus Christ - A Plant of Renown Leonard Sheldrake
N.J.Hiebert - 9231
June 3
And when she (Jochebed) could not longer hide him (Moses) she took for him an ark of bullrushes...and laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister (Miriam) stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. (Exodus 2:3-4)
The angels could hardly have had a more interesting sight than they had when, more than 3000 years ago, they watched little Miriam minding the baby. If they only could have known who the baby that lay in that rude cradle was to become and what stupendous work he was to accomplish!
But poor little Miriam, the Hebrew slave-child, probably felt only a horrible dread when the retinue of the princess of Egypt approached and a suffocating fright when the crying baby was drawn forth from his hiding place by the people who had decreed his death. Moses' parents were godly people, and evidently they recognized God's special grace in giving them this child. No doubt Miriam was quite thankful to observe that the princess was evidently pleased with the child.
This is the moment which Miriam seizes to run forward and ask the princess whether she would like her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. Do so, says the princess, and the girl hurries away to bring the baby's own mother. The courage and resourcefulness shown by Miriam, together with her devotion to a task monotonous and dangerous gives an impression that she was being taught by God for the part she had yet to fill.
We do not usually rate the services of a nursemaid very high, but still she may be, like Miriam, doing work of enormous importance in guarding the beginning of some God-inspired life. Yes, Miriam may have thought she was only minding the baby, when all the time she was watching over the destinies of the planet. When the princess had received the infant, most watchers would have quietly gone away home quite satisfied, but Miriam clinches the nail and makes it a rivet. "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse..." Exodus 2:7-9)
The Christian - J. C. Bayley
N.J.Hiebert - 9232
The angels could hardly have had a more interesting sight than they had when, more than 3000 years ago, they watched little Miriam minding the baby. If they only could have known who the baby that lay in that rude cradle was to become and what stupendous work he was to accomplish!
But poor little Miriam, the Hebrew slave-child, probably felt only a horrible dread when the retinue of the princess of Egypt approached and a suffocating fright when the crying baby was drawn forth from his hiding place by the people who had decreed his death. Moses' parents were godly people, and evidently they recognized God's special grace in giving them this child. No doubt Miriam was quite thankful to observe that the princess was evidently pleased with the child.
This is the moment which Miriam seizes to run forward and ask the princess whether she would like her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. Do so, says the princess, and the girl hurries away to bring the baby's own mother. The courage and resourcefulness shown by Miriam, together with her devotion to a task monotonous and dangerous gives an impression that she was being taught by God for the part she had yet to fill.
We do not usually rate the services of a nursemaid very high, but still she may be, like Miriam, doing work of enormous importance in guarding the beginning of some God-inspired life. Yes, Miriam may have thought she was only minding the baby, when all the time she was watching over the destinies of the planet. When the princess had received the infant, most watchers would have quietly gone away home quite satisfied, but Miriam clinches the nail and makes it a rivet. "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse..." Exodus 2:7-9)
The Christian - J. C. Bayley
N.J.Hiebert - 9232
June 4
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my REFUGE in the day of affliction. Jeremiah 16:19
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of REFUGE. Proverbs 14:26
God is known . . . for a REFUGE. Psalm 48:3
Let us walk with Him, lean on Him, cling to Him;
He will uphold e'en the weakest that live;
Glory to God! for with strength He does gird us;
Power and might to the faint He does give;
Here in this bulwark our faith finds a REFUGE,
Ne'er may we measure its breadth and its length;
When all the arms that we leaned on have failed us,
Praises to Him, for His joy is our strength.
N.J.Hiebert - 9233
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of REFUGE. Proverbs 14:26
God is known . . . for a REFUGE. Psalm 48:3
Let us walk with Him, lean on Him, cling to Him;
He will uphold e'en the weakest that live;
Glory to God! for with strength He does gird us;
Power and might to the faint He does give;
Here in this bulwark our faith finds a REFUGE,
Ne'er may we measure its breadth and its length;
When all the arms that we leaned on have failed us,
Praises to Him, for His joy is our strength.
N.J.Hiebert - 9233
June 5
posted by soundwords at
May 01, 2023
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