“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)
It is good for each of us periodically to take time to rediscover the simple but profound truths expressed by Johnson J. Oatman Jr, in the four stanzas of this hymn. In the first two stanzas’ he develops the thought that counting our blessings serves as an antidote for life’s discouragements and in turn makes for victorious Christian living.
The third stanza teaches us that counting our blessings can be a means of placing material possessions in proper perspective when compared to the eternal inheritance awaiting believers.
As we review our individual blessings, we certainly would have to agree with Mr. Oatman’s fourth stanza: The provision of God’s help and comfort to the end of our earthly pilgrimage is one of our choicest blessings.
Each of us could spare ourselves much despair and inner tension if we would only learn to apply the practical teaching of this hymn to our daily living.
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings-name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings-every doubt will fly, and you will be singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold, think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings-money cannot buy your reward in heaven nor your home on high.
So amid the conflict, whether great or small, do not be discouraged-God is over all; Count your many blessings-angels will attend, help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Chorus: Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings, see what God hath done. Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your many blessing, see what God hath done.
(Amazing Grace - Kenneth W. Osbeck)
N.J. Hiebert - 6733
“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
(Galatians 6:1)
Observe that word “restore”.
It is the translation of a word which
means to mend that which is broken, or rent.
Dr. Lightfoot says that it is a surgical term—used of
the re-setting of a fractured bone, or joint.
Tender work that! Who is to do it?
“Ye which are spiritual.”
This physician must be Spirit-filled.
What is he to do? "Restore such an one”;
to bind up the broken heart. How is he to do it?
“In the spirit of meekness.”
"Softly he touches for the reed is tender,
Wisely enkindles for the flame is low.”
(In Pastures Green - George Henderson)
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June 1
“He answered . . . never a word.”
(Matthew 27:14)
Not railing for railing; not a word.
How much is lost by a word! Be still! Keep quiet!
If they smite you on one cheek turn the other also. Never retort!
Hush—not a word!
Never mind your reputation or your character; they are in His hands;
you mar them by trying to retain them.
Do not strive. Open not your mouth. Silence!
A word will grieve, disturb the gentle dove. Hush—not a word!
Are you misunderstood? Never mind!
Will it hurt your influence and weaken your power for good?
Leave it to Him—His to take care and take charge.
Are you wronged and your good name tarnished? All right!
Be it yours to be meek and lowly; simple and gentle—not a word!
Let Him keep you in perfect peace; stay your mind on Him; trust in Him.
Not a word of argument, debate, or controversy. Mind your own business. Be still!
Never judge, condemn, arraign, censure. Not a word! Never a disparaging remark of another.
As ye would others should do to you, so do ye.
Pause! Be still! Selah! Nor a word, emphatically;
not even a look that will mar the sweet serenity of the soul.
Get still! Know God! Keep silence before Him! Stillness is better than noise.
(Stephen Merritt)
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(PART - 1)
June 2
"Every word of God is pure:
He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.”
(Proverbs 30:5)
"Every word of God is pure.”
There is no repetition.
One cause of so much head-knowledge is that there is so little meditation;
and Divine things float through the mind and become intellectual,
whereas they were meant for our joys.
As to effects, and as to results, we need never to be anxious;
they are not ours to produce.
Hunt’s Sayings - Rochfort Hunt
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June 3
"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."
(1 Peter 2:24)
He leadeth me, O joy divine! The glory His, the cross be mine,
Since He who suffered on the tree in tender mercy leadeth me.
****
And many women were there beholding afar off,
which followed Jesus from Galilee ministering unto Him.
Matthew 27:55
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
****
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
Zechariah 13:1
Jesus keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain
Free to all—a healing stream flows from Calvary’s mountain.
****
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 6:14
In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
The Treasures of Fanny Crosby
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June 4
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
(James 1:2-3)
Endurance is so precious, and of such inestimable value, that we may count it all joy when we fall into these trials, because we know they work endurance.
"But let endurance have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-3).
"We also boast in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works endurance; and endurance, experience; and experience, hope; and hope does not make ashamed” (Romans 5:3-5.)
“His love in times past forbids us to think
He’ll leave us at last, in trouble to sink.”
This is experience, and it was endurance taught it. Do you think Shamma would have missed the experience he gained by that fight in the lentils field? (2 Samuel 23:11-12). Never!
When we get home, we will see that some of these hard places on the road were the bits we would not have missed for anything.
They work endurance.
(Hid Treasures - G. C. Willis)
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June 5
PART 2 - Please note Gem # 6735
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“He answered . . . never a word."
(Matthew 27:14)
Not a word of murmuring or complaining in supplication; not a word of nagging or persuading.
Let language be simple, gentle, quiet; you utter not a word, but give Him opportunity to speak. Hearken to hear His voice.
This is the way to honour and to know Him. Not a word—not the least word! Listen to obey.
Words make trouble. Be still! This is the voice of the Spirit.
Restlessness, fret, worry, makes the place of His abiding unpleasant. He is to keep in perfect peace; take it not out of His hands.
(Stephen Merritt)
“Let me no wrong or idle word unthinking say;
Set Thou a seal upon my lips, just for today."
N.J. Hiebert - 6739
June 6
“He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.” [A sensible man bears up under many things.]
(Proverbs 14:17)
There are days when all sorts of things go wrong one after the other; I expect that some of you know
what such days are like, and also the temptation to feel you cannot bear
up under anything more.
At such times a plain word like this can help very much; it is so matter-of-fact
and unfussy. Take it or leave it, it seems to say, there is the fact:
“A sensible man bears up under many things.”
But often we want something that goes deeper.
Here is the word then:
“For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself,
lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:3).
(Edges of His Ways - A. Carmichael)
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June 7
Broken Vessels Mightily Used of God
"I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck,
and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.”
(Job 16:12)
Job said, "I was at ease, but he hath broken me.”God permitted Satan to attack Job at every point in his life, except to take his life. Satan was determined to prove that Job only followed God because He had been gracious unto him. Take all these things away and "he will curse you to your face."
It's interesting to notice that Job says, "I was at ease.” Surely, after all of his suffering and loss, when he says, "but now mine eyes have seen you,” he realized more than ever how he had been "at ease.”
What took place happened between the time Satan was permitted by God to attack this upright man and the time when he says, "but now mine eyes have seen you.” There were times when he was "utterly broken.”
We read that "he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces.” As his faith was steadfastly fixed on God, his eyes now saw God in an "entirely new dimension.”
The majesty of God had penetrated his heart, and he said, "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” God permitted Job to be broken of "everything that hindered him from seeing God." God must have "broken" vessels.
J. Hudson Taylor returned to England from China "broken in health.” No one ventured to say he would return. But return he did in the might of God and with a perseverance of faith and passion for the lost in China.
During the next 40 years the China Inland Mission was founded and, under the blessing of God,
ministered beyond all human comprehension, through prayer and faith.
It was a faith mission with over 1,000 missionaries.
C. T. Studd returned as a missionary from China "broken in health," only to volunteer to be a missionary to Africa when every doctor told him he would die before he would get there. He "dared to believe” that God was able to meet his needs. He founded the Heart of Africa Mission,
and had seventeen glorious years of fruitful ministry there.
The Auca Indians in Ecuador martyred Jim Elliot and four other missionaries as they sought to plant the seeds of the Gospel with tribesmen who had never encountered the white man.
God uses "broken vessels" that are "possessed and empowered" by Him for His glory.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).
(E. P. - Daily Devotions)
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June 8
“The Father’s Care"
“Your Father knoweth.”
(Luke 12:30)
“The Father Himself loveth you.”
(John 16:27)
“He careth for you.”
(1 Peter 5:7)
He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim,
He does the very best for those,
Who leave the choice with Him.
(Comforted of God - A.J. Pollock)
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June 9
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify Me.”
(Psalm 50:15)
Many of God’s brightest saints have know full well the meaning of “the day of trouble.”
Abraham, when he had to cast out Ishmael, and when called upon to offer up Isaac.
Joseph, when hated by his brethren, and sold to the Midianites, who took him down into Egypt, where he became a servant, “Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.”
Moses, when rejected and obliged to flee. But they were all delivered, and God was glorified.
And it was not otherwise with David. Think of him at Ziklag on that day when he and his men found it burned with fire, and their wives and children carried away.
The people, too, spake of stoning him. And this coming upon the top of all he had been suffering for years at the hands of Saul.
Surely never did a mere man suffer more acute anguish than David at that moment.
But we read he “Encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” Yes, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.”
This was eminently true in his case, for he was delivered, and shortly after ascended the throne. One day to be stoned; the next, we might say, crowned.
Such are the variations of God’s people.
(Angels in White - Russell Elliott)
N.J. Hiebert - 6743
June 10
“For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
(Ephesians 2:8)
“Through faith,” this is the agent. Faith is simply the hand that lays hold of the gift that God presents to me.
Believing the gospel, I am saved.
Some people, I think, are in danger of making a saviour of their faith, for they say, “Well, if I could only believe firmly enough, if I could believe in the right way, I think I would be saved.”
It is not a question of how you believe; it is a question of whom you believe.
“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).
Do not make a saviour of your faith. The Saviour is Christ, and faith lays hold of Him. Then lest there should be any idea in the mind of the redeemed one that in some sense at any rate he deserves credit for coming to Christ and believing this message, the apostle immediately adds,
“And that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
(H. A. Ironside)
N.J. Hiebert - 6744
June 11
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