April 20
What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God, knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:11.
THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN THE BIBLE WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND.
This is as we should expect. If man could fully understand the Bible that would prove it to be written by men. If man could fully understand the Bible, then man must be God, or God must be man.
I remember looking at a busy ant colony on a broiling summer day in Australia. My thoughts ran as follows. The distance between a man and an ant is very great, but after all it is but a finite distance. You can weigh the substance of a man and that of an ant, and you can find out how much heavier a man is than an ant. But can an ant understand what is passing through a man's mind? Can an ant understand the achievement of men? We know it cannot.
But the distance between God and man is infinitely greater than that between man and ant. God is the Creator. Man is the creature. The distance between them is infinite. No arithmetic is of any use here. Is it possible that the mind of man can understand and comprehend God? He is the "only potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen" (1 Timothy 6:15,16).
Zophar said: "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." (Job 11:7-9)
That there are mysteries insoluble is what my faith feeds upon. They are darkness to my intellect, but sunshine to my heart." A. J Pollock
N.J. Hiebert - 8457
April 21
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Romans 8:28
How wide is this assertion of the Apostle Paul! He does not say, "We know that some things,"or "most things," or "joyous things," but "ALL things." From the minutest to the most momentous; from the humblest event in daily providence to the great crisis hours in grace. And all things "work"--they are working; not all things have worked, or shall work; but it is a present operation.
At this very moment, when some voice may be saying, "Thy judgments are a great deep," the angels above, who are watching the development of the great plan, are with folded wings exclaiming, "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His work." (Psalm 145:17) And then all things "work together." It is a beautiful blending. Many different colours, in themselves raw and unsightly, are required in order to weave the harmonious pattern.
Many separate tones and notes of music, even discords and dissonances, are required to make up the harmonious anthem. Many separate wheels and joints are required to make the piece of machinery. Take a thread separately, or a note separately, or a wheel or a tooth of a wheel separately, and there may be neither use nor beauty discernible. But complete the web, combine the notes, put together the separate parts of steel and iron, and you see how perfect and symmetrical is the result. Here is the lesson for faith: "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." Macduff.
In one thousand trials it is not five hundred of them that work for the believer's good, but nine hundred and ninety-nine of them, and one beside. George Müeller
"God meant it for good"- (Genesis 50:20) O blest assurance,
Falling like sunshine all across life's way,
Touching with heaven's gold earth's darkest storm clouds,
Bringing fresh peace and comfort day by day. Freda Hanbury Allen
N.J. Hiebert - 8458
April 22
"Then being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were . . . came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said He showed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. John 20:19-21
On the first day of the week, the resurrection day, the disciples were together and suddenly Jesus was in their midst--for neither doors not locks exist for the glorified body of the Risen One! Now He says, "Peace be to you!" And to let them see why they could now have peace, peace with God, He lets them see His nail-pierced hands and His spear-pierced side. This is the basis for peace with God: "And, having made peace through the blood of the cross" (Colossians 1:20)
Peace with God! In Genesis 6:3, The Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man." As long as there is something in man that is opposed to God's holiness and righteousness, indeed, opposed to anything that is of God, there can be no peace with God. But now the Man Christ Jesus has not only borne the sins of all who believe on Him, but also has glorified God exceedingly upon the cross. The love and grace of God, the righteousness and holiness of God, yes, all the attributes of God have been gloriously revealed through the work of the Lord Jesus. God has been glorified in the Man Jesus and can look down upon Him with pleasure.
Now all who believe on Him are seen as one with Him--we are united with the glorified Man in heaven. And the pleasure that God has in the Son on the basis of His work on the cross rests also upon those who are united with Him. We have peace with God! H. L. Heijkoop
So dear, so very dear to God, More dear I cannot be;
The love wherewith He loves the Son, Such is His love to me. Catesby Paget
N.J. Hiebert - 8459
April 23
"(Joseph) Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron." Psalm 105:18
Turn that about and render it in our language, and it reads thus, "Iron entered his soul." Is there not a truth in this? That sorrow and privation, the yoke borne in the youth, the soul's enforced restraint, are all conducive to an iron tenacity and strength of purpose, and endurance or fortitude, which are the indispensable foundation and framework of a noble character.
Do not flinch from suffering; bear it silently, patiently, resignedly; and be sure that it is God's way of infusing iron into your spiritual life. The world wants iron dukes, iron battalions, iron sinews, and thews (courage) of steel. God wants iron saints; and since there is no way of imparting iron to the moral nature but by letting people suffer, He lets them suffer.
Are the best years of your life slipping away in enforced monotony? Are you beset by opposition, misunderstanding, and scorn, as the thick undergrowth besets the passage of the woodsman pioneer? Then take heart; the time is not wasted; God is only putting you through the iron regimen. The iron crown of suffering precedes the golden crown of glory. And iron is entering into your soul to make it strong and brave. F. B. Meyer
"But you will not mind the roughness nor the steepness of the way,
Nor the chill, unrested morning, nor the searness (dryness) of the day;
And you will not take a turning to the left or the right,
But go straight ahead, nor tremble at the coming of the night,
For the road leads home."
N.J. Hiebert - 8460
April 24
But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee. Mark 16:7
It is very instructive to see that the very servant--John whose surname was Mark--who broke down in his own service, and for awhile tuned back from the Lord's work (Acts 13:13), should be used of God to record the sentence, "Go tell His disciples and Peter," a message of deep comfort to another servant who had broken down.
Unless we have ourselves been broken down, we are not really able to help those who are broken down. There is wonderful grace in the words, "Go, tell His disciples and Peter." His Lord had not forgotten him. He had not cast him off, and blest be His name, He does not drop us because we have been feeble and failing.
"And they departed from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and did run to bring His disciple word" (verse 8). There is a wonderful mingling of feelings there, "Fear and great joy." There was fear on the one hand, and great joy on the other. "And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, All hail." Here is the second interview.
What is the meaning of "All hail"? I could not put it into words exactly; but for these lovers of Christ, whose hearts had been broken with the thought they had lost their blessed Lord, all of a sudden to hear His gracious voice thus saluting them, was joy indeed. To them it surely was "Welcome." That is the idea. It said in effect to them: Every difficulty is over: The darkness has gone by, all is bright and clear. "And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him (verse 9). "Forty Days" of Scripture - W. T. P. Wolston
N.J. Hiebert - 8461
April 25
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105
One time I was cross-country skiing on a snow-covered lake, heading for a point on the other side. It was essential to keep aiming for the goal, but I needed also to keep my skis aligned and maintain the pace. For a short time I found myself concentrating on my feet, and when I looked up I noticed I was no longer aiming in the right direction. Both views were necessary. It doesn't take much deviation, perhaps a degree or two, to throw us off course.
In spiritual terms, our destination is heaven, where the Lord Jesus is ready to welcome us, but we also need to keep a close watch on where we're stepping. It is so easy to make a miss-step in this life, especially when we get our eye off the destination, and the Person waiting there. And remember, that a little shift in direction soon leads to a major error.
It is the Word of God that gives us life for both the path, and for each step along it. Driving at night on a winding road we depend on our headlights to show the way, but they only show the very next part of the road. As we move, so do the lights. We need the Word of God every day to keep us on the road and out of the ditches. Remember, there's a ditch on our side of the road, as well as on the wrong side; a few moments of distraction could easily lead us into trouble.
The original Hebrew words tell us that a "lamp" is much less powerful and far reaching than a "light". Perhaps a lamp easily shows us the two meters to our feet, but we need a bright light to see any distance ahead.
"Thou shalt walk in thy way safely, and thy feet shall not stumble" Proverbs 4:6
"For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6. Lorne Perry
N.J. Hiebert - 8462
April 26
And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And He touched his ear, and healed him. Luke 22:50,51
Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound Him. John 18:12
The last thing the Lord Jesus did before His hands were bound was to heal. Have you ever asked yourself, If I knew this was the last thing I should do, what would I do? I have never found the answer to that question. There are so very, very many things that we would want to do for those whom we love, that I do not think we are likely to be able to find the chief one of all these. So the best thing is just to go simply, doing each thing as it comes as well as we can.
Our Lord Jesus spent much time in healing sick people, and in the natural course of events it happened that the last thing He did with His kind hands was to heal a bad cut. (I wonder how they could have the heart to bind His hands after that.)
In this, as in everything, He left us an example that we should follow in His steps. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." (1 Peter 2:21). Do the thing that this next minute, this next hour, brings you, faithfully and lovingly and patiently; and then the last thing you do before power to do is taken from you (if that should be), will be only the continuation of all that went before. Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael
N.J. Hiebert - 8463
April 27
THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE WAY
For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:3
Have we that faith which so realizes Christ's presence so as to keep us as calm and composed in the rough sea as the smooth? It was not really a question of the rough or the smooth sea when Peter was sinking in the water, for he would have sunk without Christ just as much in the smooth as in the rough sea.
The fact was, the eye was off Jesus and on the wave, and that made him sink. If we go on with Christ, we shall get into all kinds of difficulty, many a boisterous sea; but being one with Him, His safety is ours.
If a storm arise, and if Christ appear asleep, and insensible to the danger--though "He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:3)--as disciples we are in the same boat with Him. The Lord give us to rest on that with undivided, undistracted hearts, for Christ is in the boat, as well as the water. Footprints for Pilgrims J. N. Darby
O Lord, through tribulation our pilgrim-journey lies,
Through scorn and sore temptation, and watchful enemies;
Mid never-ceasing dangers we through the desert roam,
As pilgrims here and strangers, we seek the rest to come.
O Lord, Thou too once hasted this weary desert through,
Once fully tried and tasted its bitterness and woe.
And hence Thy heart is tender in truest sympathy,
Though now the heavens render all praise to Thee on high. J. G. Deck
N.J. Hiebert - 8464
April 28
SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:18
Through the ages, devout believers in Christ have recognized the necessity of maintaining an intimate relationship with God through His ordained channel of prayer. It has often been said that prayer is as basic to spiritual life as breathing is to our natural lives. It is not merely an occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble; prayer is a way of life.
Nevertheless, we need to set aside a special time for prayer. We need that daily "Sweet Hour of Prayer." This song is thought to have been written in 1842 by William W. Walford, an obscure and blind preacher who was the owner of a small trinket shop in the little village of Coleshill, England.
Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne make all my wants and wishes known!
In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter's snare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.
Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless;
And since He bids me seek His face, believe His Word and trust His grace,
I'll cast on Him my ev'ry care, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.
Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, may I thy consolation share,
Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height I view my home and take my flight;
This robe of flesh I'll drop, and rise to seize the everlasting prize,
And shout while passing through the air, Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!
Amazing Grace - K. W. Osbeck
N.J. Hiebert - 8465
April 29
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:17
The Father has given us the very object He delights in to be the object of our affection. The Father could not be silent when Christ was here. The perfection of the object is the reason of the imperfectness of our apprehension of it; but that is the way God brings our affections into tune with Himself. He could say at the beginning, because of Christ's intrinsic perfectness, and at the end because of His displayed perfectness, "This is My beloved Son."
Then what do we say? In weakness and poverty, yet surely each can say with unhesitating heart, I know He is perfect. We cannot reach His perfectness, but we do feel our hearts, poor and feeble as they are, responding. The Father has shown us something of Christ's perfectness.
The Father is communicating of His delight. "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," not in whom you ought to be well pleased (which is true too); but His way is to communicate to them of His own love to Christ. It is a wonderful thing that the Father should tell of His affection for Christ--and that, when He was here among us, the Son of man on earth among sinful men.
With the woman in the Pharisee's house, It was what was revealed in Christ to her that made her love much, not what she got from Him. The blessedness of what was in Christ had so attracted her and absorbed her mind that she found her way into the house, thinking not of the dinner or of others present.
She was taken up with Him; she wept, but had nothing to say. Jesus was there. He commanded all her thoughts, her tears, her silence, her anointing of His feet--all noticed by Him, and all before she knew what He had done for her. Attracted there by what she saw in Him, she got the answer as regards peace of conscience from Himself. W. Reid
N.J. Hiebert - 8466
April 30
CHRIST FOR US
The voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled . . ." Song of Solomon 5:2
The voice that His sheep hear and know, and that calls out the fervent response, "Master say on." This is not all. It was the literal Voice of the Lord Jesus which uttered that one echoless cry of desolation on the cross for thee, and it will be His own literal voice which will say, "Come ye blessed" to thee. And that same tender and glorious Voice has literally sung and will sing for thee.
I think He consecrated song for us and made it a sweet and sacred thing forever when He Himself sang an hymn the very last thing before He went forth to consecrate suffering for us. (Mark 14:26) That was not His last song. "The Lord thy God . . . will joy over thee with singing." And the time is coming when He will not only sing for thee or over thee but with thee. He says He will. "In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee." (Hebrews 2:12)
Now what a magnificent glimpse of joy this is. "Jesus Himself leading the praise of His brethren," and we ourselves singing not merely in such a chorus but with such a leader! If singing for Jesus is such delight here, what will this singing with Jesus be? Surely song may well be a holy thing to us henceforth. Frances Ridley Havergal
Join the singing that He leadeth, loud to God our voices raise;
Every step that we have trodden is a triumph of His grace;
Whether joy, or whether trial, all can only work for good,
For He healeth all--Who loves us, and hath bought us with His blood.
Mrs. J. A. Trench
N.J. Hiebert - 8467
May 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
John 1:1,14
These were more noble...in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. Acts 17:11
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable"
2 Timothy 3:16
It is well to remind ourselves of the close connection that exists between the written Word of God and the incarnate Word of God (God became flesh). We shall never enjoy the one apart from the other. It is through God's own revelation in the written Word that we really see and know the Word Who was made flesh, and Who rose from the dead.
It is through the written Word we shall feed on Him, not through our own speculations. It is important that we bear in mind that as the incarnate Word is a Divine Person, so is the written Word a Divine Message; and as we may rest all our soul's interest on Jesus Christ, so we may rest all our souls weight on the Word of God.
To be unsettled on the question of inspiration is to be overcome by temptation, and to be unable to accomplish God's work. The connection between full faith in God's will as revealed in His written Word (Scripture) and in the incarnate Word (Jesus) is so close and intimate, that you can no more separate them than you can separate between body and soul, or soul and spirit.
Begin to separate them, and to study theology instead of the Word of God (rather than as a mere aid in gaining a fuller grasp of it) and if it does not make you weaker rather than stronger you will be fortunate indeed. No! Take God's Word as it stands, and God's Christ as He reveals Himself to us, and enjoy all in Him. Hudson Taylor
N.J. Hiebert - 8468
May 2
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." Mark 10:21,22
As the rich man sweeps away sorrowfully in his costly robes, Peter looks upon him with apparent scorn, and turns to Jesus with some self-complacency to say, "Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee." He also asks a question, "What shall our reward be?" (Matthew 19:27) It is not a noble question; it expresses a commercial, worldly spirit; but Jesus refrains from uttering a rebuke. He gives instead a promise; and some of us need to listen to it, at times.
Occasionally a whisper steals into our hearts. We have sacrificed for Christ's sake; "does it pay?" Jesus replies that every sacrifice, made for His sake, receives a hundred-fold recompense in this life, not in literal kind, but such as to satisfy the soul a hundred times more than the thing surrendered ever could, and then, in the future, that completed, perfected, "eternal life" which the rich man craved, but which he lost that, for a few fleeting years, he might retain his wealth.
Jesus adds, however, that Peter must beware of self-confident pride. Many who had the opportunity of being nearest to Christ in this present life, may not receive the greatest rewards. Men will be judged according to faithfulness. Still more solemn is the warning to such as would cling to their wealth. Their power and riches place them now in the first place of opportunity; they may be the last to accept Christ and the life He offers. The Gospel of Mark - Charles R. Erdman
N.J. Hiebert - 8469
May 3
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