Gems from July 2024
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2
Too Late! .
You‘re running through the airport, racing to catch your connecting flight; only to find that the gate is closed and you can see the aircraft rolling back. Too late! a sinking feeling of desperation, for which there is no remedy in sight.
Be in time — Life is like that. Most everyone who believes there is SOMETHING after death, feels it is up to them to live according to the standards God has set in place, and thus secure a place in paradise. But a basic belief in God doesn’t give us the right to set the conditions for our acceptance into heaven.That is up to God.
Who can measure how much time we have before death intervenes? And at that point the opportunity to accept God’s gracious offer is over. It is a matter of urgency. Thankfully, God has given us a book called THE HOLY BIBLE which imparts His thoughts about these things. Although it is a thick book, the message boils down to a few key principles.
From beginning to end it is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament there are dozens of prophecies about Him, and then the New Testament unfolds the story of His birth, death, resurrection, His glories and His message of invitation. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
Lorne for Vision 2020 in 2024 (PART 1)
N.J.Hiebert — # 9625
“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
The Old Testament shows how impossible it is for any person to measure up to God’s standard. The New Testament makes clear the one and only way to be ready for heaven; through relying on and trusting in the work of Christ at Calvary when His blood was shed to pay for the sins of all who would believe. “But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
The dividing line between Old and New Testaments is remarkable. Everything before is about death and judgment, everything after is about the love and grace of God as expressed in His Son. The cross of Christ is the great dividing line. “As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28).
We could go on listing more of the basic principles imparted in the Bible, but these are sufficient for now. Jesus has given us a direct, personal message of invitation: “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). Come believing, while there is still time. Don’t put off the decision until it’s Too Late. Lorne for Vision 2020 in 2024 (PART 2)
N.J.Hiebert—9626
“One thing have I desired . . . to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
Jesus! Thou art enough the mind and heart to fill;
Thy patient life — to calm the soul, Thy love — its fear dispel.
O fix our earnest gaze so wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That, with Thy beauty occupied, we elsewhere none may see.
The perfection of the Christian life is to lose sight of oneself completely and to make everything of Christ.
The sign of a good state of soul is enjoyment of the presence of Christ. Everything that takes your eye off Christ is a snare of the devil.
The one object of the Christian life is to learn more of Himself, and Satan cannot find entrance into a heart that is full of Christ.
We are not to rejoice so much in the deliverances when they come as in the One who delivers us.
The deeper the sense of the state from which we have been delivered the more absorbingly intense our affection for the Deliverer.
Footprints for Pilgrims - Edward Dennett
N.J.Hiebert — 9627
"(Paul) said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives."
(Acts 27:10)
It is easy to imagine how unpopular this warning of the Apostle Paul was to those on Julius' ship who did not find Fair Havens an appealing place. Is that how you react when dad or mom, or other Christians lovingly seek to warn you about your life and ways? Remember that the truth of God is for your safety and protection, though it will not always sound like those good words and fair speeches which deceive the ears of the simple. (Romans 16:18). The world looks more inviting, but how much better to be safe than sorry! (D.N. - The Journey of Life)
N.J.Hiebert — 9628
"That in all things He might have the preeminence." (Colossians 1:18)
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
What proportion of your moments do you think enough for Jesus? How many for the spirit of praise, and how many for the spirit of heaviness? Be explicit about it, and come to an understanding. If He is not to have all, then how much? Calculate, balance, and apportion. You will not be able to do this in heaven - you know it will be all praise there; but you are free to half your service of praise here, or to make the proportion what you will.
Yet - He made you for His glory.
Yet - He chose you that you should be to the praise of His glory.
Yet - He loves you every moment, waters you every moment, watches you un-slumberingly, cares for you unceasingly.
Yet - He died for you!
Shall you or I remember all this love, and hesitate to give all our moments up to Him? Let us entrust Him with them, and ask Him to keep them all, every single one, for His own beloved self, and fill them all with His praise, and let them all be to His praise! (Francis Ridley Havergal- Kept for the Master's Use)
N.J.Hiebert — 9629
"He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
(Malachi 3:3)
Years ago a few ladies who met together in Dublin to study the Scriptures came, in their reading, to the third chapter of Malachi. They were struck with the expression in verse 3: "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
One of the ladies promised to call on a silversmith to get any information which she could on the subject. She went, accordingly, and without telling the object of her errand, begged to know from him the process of refining sliver, which he fully described to her. "But, sir," said she, "do you sit while the work of refining is going on?" "Oh yes, madam." replied the silversmith, "I must sit, with my eyes steadily fixed on the crucible, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree the silver is sure to be injured."
At once she saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression: "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Christ sees it needful to put His children into the furnace, but He is seated by the side of it; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying; and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for them.
Their trials do not come at random; the very hairs of their heads are all numbered. As the lady was leaving the shop, the silversmith called her back, and said he had still further to mention that he only knew when the process of purifying was complete, by seeing his own image reflected in the silver.
George Henderson - Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care
N.J.Hiebert — 9630
"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten." (Joel 2:25)
How many years we are not told; only this: "I will restore the years." Human lives are often laid bare - barren patches produced by our own failures; a wilderness stretching across our life. But what comfort in these words: "I will RESTORE the years that the locust hath eaten."
Have you been brooding over some sorrow? Has it darkened your life as a swarm of locusts might darken the sun at midday? And have you cried out in your anguish "The sun will never shine again?" But read the word He has promised: "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten."
Turn to Him, to the One whom you may have been inclined to forget when you lived in the larger house. He is waiting; and if he does not see fit to give you back the earthly possession once so highly prized by you, remember this: in a higher and better way He will restore those years.
The years that the locust hath eaten sometimes take another form: years spent away from God in pursuit of worldly pleasure and self-gratification! How many have tried this! No wonder the fields are bare! Can God restore these years? Did He not restore the years for Naomi?
GOD CAN! The blue water-lily abounds in several of the canals in Alexandria, Egypt, which at certain seasons become dry; and the beds of these canals, which quickly become burnt as hard as bricks by the action of the sun, are then used as carriage roads. When, however, the water is admitted again, the lily resumes its growth with redoubled vigour and splendour. (Springs in the Valley)
N.J.Hiebert — 9631
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
(2 Corinthians 4:3,4)
Men did not ignore or refuse God's Word because the facts of life deny HIM or contradict His existence. They deny Him because they are the "enemies in mind by wicked works" (Colossians 1:21). They want a life free from divine restraint.
The question has been asked, "Why are so many educated people unbelievers?" The answer is: "For the same reason that so many uneducated people are unbelievers.
At the cross of Calvary the heart of man was fully exposed, and it has never changed. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ in all its horror was the act of the human heart. All were represented - the whole world - around the cross (compare Acts 4:26, 27). The cross presented man's fullest hatred, and there this was met by God's fullest love.
Why then will men not look at the crucified One and live? Why do they utter the words of the fool, "No God"? Because they are the captives of Satan, the "god" and "prince" of this world (compare 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; John 12:31).
Jim Kilcup. - Christian Truth - Vol. 23 - August 1970)
N.J.Hiebert — 9632
“In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving . . .” (Philippians 4:6)
Happy moments - Praise God
Difficult moments - Seek God
Quiet moments - Worship God
Painful moments - Trust God
Every moment - Thank God
(From “Singing-pilgrim” by Dick Gorgas, 30/July2003)
N.J.Hiebert # 9633
"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ."
(2 Corinthians 1:5)
In the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) we have the
FIGURES (or types) of the sufferings of Christ.
In the Psalms we have the FEELINGS of the sufferings of Christ.
In the prophets we have the FORECASTS of the sufferings of Christ.
In the gospels we have the FACTS of the sufferings of Christ.
In the epistles we have the FRUITS of the sufferings of Christ.
(Christian Truth -Vol. 20 - October 1967)
"The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."
(James 3:8)
Keep a watch on your words, dear Christian, for words are wonderful things; They are sweet, like bees' fresh honey - Like bees they have terrible stings!
They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine, and brighten a lonely life; They can cut in the strife of anger, Like an open two-edged knife.
Let them pass through the lips unchallenged if their errand is true and kind If they come to support the weary, To comfort and help the blind;
If a bitter, revengeful spirit prompt the words, let them be unsaid; They may flash through a brain like lightning or fall on the heart like lead.
Keep them back if they are cold and cruel, under bar and lock and seal; The wounds they make, dear Christian, are always slow to heal.
God guard your lips, and ever, from the time of your early youth, May the words that you daily utter be the words of beautiful truth.
(R. Cecil)
N.J.Hiebert — 9635
"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt." (Genesis 41:41)
The brother they had hated and sold into slavery had gone from pit to prison to palace and finally to the pinnacle of Egypt's power and prestige. Our beloved Lord trod the same path, but in the reverse order. He went from the pinnacle of universal power to the miry pit (Psalm 40:2) of Calvary's awful shame and suffering to find you and me. On the Lord's Day, may we gratefully remember the One whom God has highly exalted and has given the name which is above every name, our Lord Jesus Christ. (Arnot P. Mclntee)
The storm that bowed Thy blessed head
Is hushed forever now,
And rest divine is ours instead,
While glory crowns Thy brow.
(H.L. ROSSIER)
N.J.Hiebert — 9636
"One thing have I desired ... to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4)
Jesus! Thou art enough
The heart and mind to fill;
Thy patient life - to calm the soul,
Thy love - its fear dispel.
O fix our earnest gaze
So wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That, with Thy beauty occupied,
We elsewhere none may see.
The perfection of the Christian life is to lose sight of oneself completely and to make
everything of Christ. The sign of a good state of soul is enjoyment of the presence of Christ. Everything that takes your eye off Christ is a snare of the devil.
(Edward Dennett)
N.J.Hiebert — 9637
"Casting all your care upon HIM; for HE careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
Can you spread out no wants before Christ, the Giver, the Healer? Believers grieve the Spirit by not using Christ, and then God must compel them to do it.
(G.V. Wigram)
N.J.Hiebert — 9638
"For I know nothing by myself ..." (1 Corinthians 4:4)
It is ever a fatal mistake when we measure the difficulties of service by what we are.
The question is what God is; and the difficulties that appear as mountains, looming through the mists of our unbelief, are nothing to Him but the occasion for the display of His omnipotent power. (Edward Dennett)
N.J.Hiebert — 9639
"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God."
(Acts 16:25)
Let all lovers of souls, and all workers in the service of the gospel, take courage. Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work. Prayer alone gives work its worth and success. Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us. Let our chief work, as God's messengers, be intercession; in it we secure the presence and power God to go with us. (Andrew Murray)
N.J.Hiebert — 9640
"Now is the accepted time...." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Do not live in yesterday for it is past. Learn its lessons, then forget the things which are behind. Do not live in tomorrow for you cannot spend time you do not have. God is the Great I Am and so is His Son, the same yesterday and forever indeed but also the same today. We tend to dwell in the bygone and feed on its memories or keep going in the anticipation that tomorrow will be better.
All you really have is this moment, this breath, this heartbeat. You cannot recall any hour that is past - how you wish you might! You cannot borrow a breath or a heartbeat from whatever supply the future holds. The only spending currency of time that you have is what you are spending while the seconds tick away as you read these words. All you have is NOW! (Vance Havner - All The Days)
N.J.Hiebert — 9641
"Occupy till I come." (Luke 19:13)
There is no time to let up as long as the doors are still open to the preaching of
the gospel.
Strength! Rowing against the tide, or swimming against the tide, gives strong, firm muscles, and working for God against the tide of this world will make us strong in Him and in the power of His might. Do we really want to "Be strong"?
(Ephesians 6:10)
Work makes a strong man, and idleness a weak one. Besides, God always looks for a worker, a busy toiler, when He wants something done for Him.
- MOSES was busy with his flocks at Horeb, when God called him.
- SAUL was busy searching for his father's lost beasts.
- ELISHA was busy plowing with twelve yoke of oxen.
- DAVID was busy caring for his father's sheep.
- AMOS was busy following the flock.
- PETER & ANDREW were busy casting a net into the sea.
- JAMES & JOHN were busy mending their nets.
- MATTHEW was busy collecting customs.
"When He calls me, I will answer:
I'll be somewhere working when He comes."
(Garments of Strength - Zelma Argue)
N.J.Hiebert — 9642
"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Psalm 22:1)
The Lord Jesus was always in perfect, sweet intimacy with God. The Lord was the One over whom God had opened the heavens and openly declared: "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
He was always in fellowship with God. Even in the first three hours on the cross, when most around Him hurled abuse and mockery at Him, He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. What must it have been for Him in those three hours of darkness when God hid His face!
On the cross He bore all our sins. He who knew no sin, in whom was no sin, who never sinned, was made sin for us, forsaken by a Holy and Righteous God. Never before had He stooped to such depths. No wonder there was darkness over all the earth!
None can enter into the depth of suffering Christ endured in those three hours of darkness. It's wholly beyond our comprehension. Yet we stand in awe with hearts bowed in praise, adoration, and worship. He is worthy. (A. Blok)
N.J.Hiebert — 9643
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem. . . .
Luke 24:33
The Emmaus disciples had already walked seven miles home from Jerusalem, sad and discouraged, although it was the very day our Lord had said He would rise from the dead.
When He made Himself known, they rose up the same hour and retraced their steps, no longer sad or weary. It must have been the most exciting seven miles they ever traveled. Seven miles of sighing became seven miles of singing!
What a host of weary pilgrims need today is a contact with the living Christ, true to the Scriptures, warming their hearts, showing up at home, and making happy witnesses of them all. All the Days - Vance Havner
How many times discouraged, we sink beside the way ;
About us all is darkness, we hardly dare to pray;
Then from the mists and shadows, the sweetest voice e'er known,
Says, "Child, am I not with thee, never to leave thee alone?"
O soul, hast thou forgotten, the tender word and sweet,
Of Him who left behind Him the print of bleeding feet?
"I never will forsake thee, O child so weary grown;
Remember, I have promised never to leave thee alone."
Take courage, weary pilgrim, tho' mists and shadows hide
The face of Him thou lovest, He's ever at thy side;
Reach out thy hand and find Him, and lo, the clouds have flown;
He smiles on thee Who promised, never to leave thee alone. (Anon)
N.J. Hiebert - 9644
Colossians 3:1-2
World-bordering is perilous for our souls in this age. It exposes us unnecessarily to the enemy. We are only safe as we take our place definitely outside everything here,
as dead to it.
When our minds are really set upon things above, with the risen Christ as our sole object, we are proof against the seductions of the world and the devil.
A position of compromise, once accepted, lays us open to trouble at every turn.
W. W. Fereday
N. J. Hiebert - 9645
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Romans 5:20
The life and happiness of the Christian is learning about Christ.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
To be associated with Christ where He is, we must follow the road He went through death.
Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 1 Peter 1:21
Hunt's Sayings
N.J. Hiebert - 9646
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of
offence toward God, and toward men.
Acts 24:16
They tell us that times have changed, that we live in a new moral climate and must learn to live with it. I also have a conscience and must live with it.
Paul lived in an evil day and the spiritual climate was bad. He wrestled with principalities and powers of the world of darkness. He was most concerned to have a good conscience.
He is a foolish man who comes to terms with this world at the expense of his soul. We have to live
with ourselves and, while everybody is majoring on how to get along with the times,
let us remember that we are not thermometers to register the
prevailing temperature but thermostats to change it.
All the Days - Vance Havner
N.J. Hiebert - 9647
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Galatians 1:6,7
There are many men today who tell you they preach “another good news”. Do not believe them. It may be different, but it is not “another good news.” There is only one “good news” sent to us by God and that is ”Christ died for our sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:3)
Everything else that calls itself “good news” is false. It is counterfeit. It is not THE “good news” at all. Paul reminds them that it is God Himself who had called them, and He called them ”in grace” not “in law,” or “to law.”
They had quite forgotten their calling. If it is not God Himself who has called them, and if it is not in grace alone then it is not the true “good news” but only a false imitation, for there “is not another”. G. C. Willis — Beautiful Grace
N.J.Hiebert — 9648
For this God is our God forever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.
Psalm 48:14
One day Fanny Crosby received a direct answer to her prayer. She desperately needed five dollars and had no idea where she could obtain it. She followed her usual custom and began to pray about the matter. A few minutes later a stranger appeared at her door with the exact amount. “I have no way of accounting for this.”
She said, “except to believe that God put it into the heart of this good man to bring the money. My first thought was that it is so wonderful the way the Lord leads me. I immediately wrote this poem.”
The hymn was first published in 1875. No one knows the importance of guided steps as much as a blind person like Fanny Crosby, who lost her sight at six weeks of age.
All the way, my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, what e’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Saviour leads me, cheers each winding path I tread, Gives me grace for every trial, feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter, and my soul athirst may be, Gushing from the Rock before me, lo! a spring of joy I see.
All the way my Saviour leads me, oh the fullness of His love! Perfect rest to me is promised, in my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal, wings its flight to realms of day, This my song through endless ages; Jesus led me all the way.
Fanny Crosby
N.J.Hiebert - 9649
“The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:28
The cross! the cross, oh, that’s our gain,
Because on that the Lamb was slain:
‘Twas there the Lord was crucified,
‘Twas there for us the Saviour died.
What wondrous cause could move Thy heart
To take on Thee our curse and smart,
Well knowing we should ever be
So cold, so negligent of Thee?
The cause was love — we sink with shame
Before our blessèd Jesus’s name,
That He should bleed and suffer thus,
Because He loved and pitied us.
Miss C. Taylor, 1742
N.J.Hiebert — 9650
“For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
We commit: He undertakes. And what He undertakes He carries through. We may have to wait to see the fulfilment of our hope. We may be disappointed again and again. But Love will find a way to fulfill the promise of love.
Amy Carmichael
“2 Timothy 1:12” is a glorious word, and so is Hebrews 10:35: “Cast not therefore away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.” Amy Carmichael
I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known,
Nor why unworthy, as I am He claimed me for His own.
I know not how this saving faith to me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His word wrought peace within my heart.
I know not what of good or ill may be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days before His face I see.
I know not when my Lord may come at night or noon-day fare,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him, or meet Him in the air.
But I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.
El Nathan
N.J.Hiebert — 9651
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Isaiah 32:17
This word will stand by us in any storm. If by the grace of God we do the right thing, whatever the trials of the time be, we shall be kept in peace. And that peace will abide, for ”When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?” (Job 34:29)
“None have a right to joy but we, for joy is sown for us, and an ill summer will not spoil the crop,“ wrote Samuel Rutherford. The seed of joy is sown for us, and the seed of God is imperishable. Amy Carmichael — Whispers of His Power
N.J.Hiebert—9652
Father I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:2)
We will see His glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18) These words seem to open the door of the Father’s house, and let us look in and have a glimpse of the glory that awaits us there. These words seem to take our hearts from earth to heaven. But the time for the glory has not yet come, though we are heirs already, and in Christ we have already obtained an inheritance. (Ephesians 1:11).
The Father’s house is our home. (John 14:2) “We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house. (Psalm 65:4) Thatday is yet before us, but even now down here how many of God’s children have found comfort in the Father’s house. Everywhere, true Christians turn to John 14 for cheer and encouragement. And soon our Lord’s prayer will be answered (John 17:2). We will see His glory. G. C. Willis - Galatians
And is it so—I shall be like Thy Son?
Is this the grace which He for me has won?
Father of glory, (thought beyond all thought)!
In glory, to His own blest likeness brought!
O Jesus, Lord, who loved me like to Thee?
Fruit of Thy work, with Thee, to, there to see
Thy glory, Lord while endless ages roll,
Myself the prize and travail of Thy soul.
Yet it must be: Thy love had not its rest
Were Thy redeemed not with Thee fully blest.
That love that gives not as the world, but shares
All it posses with its loved coheirs.
Nor I alone; Thy loved ones all, complete
In glory, round Thee there with joy shall meet,
All like Thee, for Thy glory like Thee, Lord,
Object supreme of all, by all adored. J. N. Darby
N.J.Hiebert — 9653
How an old harper dotes on his harp! How he fondles and caresses it, as a child resting on his bosom! His life is bound up in it. But, see him tuning it. He grasps it firmly, strikes a chord with a sharp, quick blow; and while it quivers as if in pain, he leans over intently to catch the first note that rises. The note, as he feared, is false and harsh.
He strains the chord with the torturing thumb-screw; and though it seems ready to snap with the tension, he strikes it again, bending down to listen softly as before, till at length you see a smile on his face as the first true tone trembles upward.
So it may be that God is dealing with you. Loving you better than any harper loves his harp, He finds you a massive jarring discords. He wrings your heart strings with some torturing anguish; he bends over you tenderly, striking and listening; and, hearing only a harsh murmur, strikes you again, while His heart bleeds for you, anxiously waiting for that strain--"Not my will, but Thine be done"--which is melody sweet to His ear. Nor will He cease to strike until your chastened soul shall blend with all the pure and infinite harmony of His own choosing. Selected.
Oh, the sweetness that dwells in a harp of many strings, While each, all vocal with love in a tuneful harmony rings!
But, oh, the wail and the discord, when one and another is rent, Tensionless, broken and lost, from the cherished instrument.
For rapture of love linked with the pain or fear of loss, And the hand that takes the crown, must ache with many a cross;
Yet he who hath never a conflict, hath never a victor's palm, And only the toilers know the sweetness of rest and calm.
Streams in the Desert
N.J. Hiebert - 9564
God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.
2 Samuel 12:23
Having anointed both Saul and David--the man of the people's choice, and the man
after God's own heart, Samuel's public work was finished. Henceforward
he lived in quiet retirement at Ramah.
But one thus constrained to live in quietness has not necessarily ceased to be of value to
his brethren. The ministry of intercession is open to all who have the heart for it.
To this ministry Samuel devoted himself until his life's end.
Aged brethren, crippled brethren, imprisoned brethren, take courage!
Although you can no longer run the Lord's errands, you can
still serve the people of God at the throne of grace.
Paul in his Roman prison ceased not to give thanks for his Ephesian brethren, making mention of them in his prayers (Ephesians 1:16); the Philippians also he
remembered in every prayer for them making request with joy
(Philippians 1:4); for the Colossians too he prayed
regularly, and doubtless also for saints in other
places, both known and unknown.
Epaphras, when deprived of his liberty, laboured fervently for his brethren that they
might "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God" (Colossians 4:12).
W.W. Fereday - God's Emergency Man
N.J. Hiebert - 9565
Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9
The word used here is ek-luo,'I loose,' or,' I unloose,' as, for example,
a bow-string: letting it become slack.
When I was a boy my father took me down to a wagon shop (I suppose there are no such things now) and there he got a piece of nice,well seasoned ash; and from this he made me a beautiful bow.
The good piece of ash alone could not make the bow, there had to be a strong cord, tied from end to end of the wood, and tightened till the
wood was well bent, and the cord was taut. Then with a good
straight arrow, what a joy it was to any boy!
But suppose the cord got slack, and loose, what then? The bow is useless in spite of having such a good piece of ash to make it. One secret
of a good bow is having a good tight bow-string.
Notice that in the Gospels it is our body that faints, and in Hebrews it is our mind. Note again Galatians 6:9 quoted above. I suppose it might be
both body and mind that faint. But in all these cases we grow
slack, like the bow-string: and a slack bow-string
is no use to its master.
Hid Treasures - G. C. Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 9566
The mixing of good and evil is like a stream flowing with polluted water. Shall I drink of this water that may poison me? I cannot, but this stream is absorbed by the river into which it flows.
The river is a great waterway receiving water from the muddiest of streams and bearing them to the sea. So it is with the ways of God; His ways make use of the most unlikely elements to feed the vast sea of His counsels.
The sea engulfs and deposits in its depths--in other words, judges--every impure element so that nothing but pure water rises from the sea to the sky to which the sun draws it.
This is the work of the sea and the sun and not our work. God is sovereign; He alone may use evil, but I have no option but to withdraw from evil.
Meditations on 2 Samuel - Dr. H. L. Rossier
N.J. Hiebert - 9567
right to them that find knowledge.
Proverbs 8:8-9
This is faith's answer to the caviler who prates of contradictions and errors in the inspired Word of God. Modesty alone might suggest the thought that the fault might be in the reader--not in the Word.
But man's vanity and pride will not book such a conclusion.
Yet so it shall soon be proven to be; for "one jot or one tittle
(the smallest letter or vowel point) shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
(Matthew 5:18) How soon difficulties
vanish when faith is in exercise!
Seemingly insuperable objections are swept away in a moment when the light of heaven shines into the soul and on the page
of Scripture. Jesus, in resurrection, opened
both the scriptures and the understanding
of the two with whom He (Jesus)
walked to Emmaus.
It is this double enlightenment that causes difficulties to vanish
like mist before the rays of the sun.
"They are all plain to him that understandeth."
Proverbs 8:9 for "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him."
Psalm 25:14.
Proverbs - H. A. Ironside
N.J. Hiebert - 9568
THE WORK OF CHRST
It is finished: and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost. John 19:30
"It is finished!" thus He spoke on the cross and the words assure us that all is done. The rent veil and the open tomb tell us "It is finished." But what has been accomplished in this blessed work? We cannot fully grasp it now as long as we look into a glass darkly.
When at last we are brought into His Presence, transformed into His own image, when we shall have share with Him in His glorious inheritance, when at last sin and death are no more and a new heaven and new earth are called into existence, then shall we more fully know what that work has accomplished.
All, ALL we have and are, all we shall have and shall be as His own, has its blessed source in the cross of Christ. He died for all. He gave Himself a ransom for all. He tasted death for every man. He is the propitiation for the whole world (not for the sins of the whole world, else the whole world would be saved).
It means His work is available to all sinners. Upon that fact that He died for all, the Gospel is preached to lost and guilty sinners. Christ died for the ungodly. "Whosoever will" - "Whosoever believeth," these are the precious conditions of the Gospel of Grace which sounds forth from the finished work of Christ on the cross.
And all who believe on Him and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, for them He bore their sins on the cross.
Each believing sinner can look back to the cross and can say, "He loved me, He gave Himself for me." He paid my debt. He bore my sins in His own body on the tree. He stood in my place. He was my substitute. He tasted death for me.
A. C. Gaebelein
N.J. Hiebert - 9569
posted by soundwords at
July 01, 2024
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