“My brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
(James 1:2-3)
Recently my wife and I received a panicky phone call from our son and his wife.
The night before, they had found two bats in their house.
I know that bats are an important part of the ecosystem, but they are not my favourite among
God’s creatures, especially when they are flying around inside.
Yet my wife and I were thankful we could go over to our kids’ house and help.
We helped them to plug the holes that might have been used by
these unwelcome visitors to enter their house.
Another unwelcome visitor that often intrudes into our lives is suffering.
When trials come, we can easily panic or lose heart.
But these difficult circumstances can become the instruments our loving heavenly
Father uses to make us more like Christ—That’s why James wrote, as quoted above.
We are not expected to enjoy trials or to celebrate suffering.
But when these unwelcome visitors arrive, we can look
for God’s hand in them and trust that He can
use them to make us more like His Son.
(Bill Crowder)
(Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2014), Grand Rapids, MI. Printed permission.)
N.J. Hiebert - 6231
April 23
“And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love."
(Psalm 109:5)
And yet in spite of His acts of love, and His words of grace, they rewarded
Him evil for good, and hatred for His love. (Psalm 109:5).
Truly He could say, “they hated me without a cause.”
Alas! plenty of cause of hatred, but no cause in Him.
No cause in man to call forth Christ’s love,
and no cause in Christ to call forth man’s hatred.
But why should the evil heart of man hate the
One whose whole life was spent in showing love to man?
Let Joseph’s history supply the answer.
Why was Joseph hated by his brethren?
Was he not in their company as one that served?
Truly, but they were evil and hence,
however desirable his service might be,
his presence exposed their evil,
and called forth their hatred.
And for a like cause, and in far deeper measure, the world hated Christ, as He could say,
“Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil” (John 7:7).
(Hamilton Smith - Joseph)
N.J. Hiebert - 6232
April 24
“His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah 9:6)
The Lord has been all of these to us and more.
Before salvation, He was a Wonderful Counsellor, meeting our need with the words of eternal life.
And He counsels us still.
As the mighty God, He broke through our hard hearts with the hammer of His Word
and now powerfully works on our behalf.
As the everlasting Father, He begat us with His word and has promised
that He will remain with us forever.
As the Prince of Peace, He made it possible for us to have
peace with God and the peace of God.
Oh, what a Saviour!
(Mark Kolchin)
The counsellor of sinners, mighty to deliver,
The Prince of Peace, whole love’s increase, shall reign in Man forever.
(Charles Wesley)
N.J. Hiebert - 6233
April 25
“Lord, what will Thou have me to do?"
(Acts 9:6)
A man at sea was once very seasick.
If there is a time when a man feels that he cannot do any work it is then.
But he heard that a man had fallen overboard.
He couldn’t do much, but he laid hold of a light and held it up to the porthole.
The light fell on the drowning man’s hand, and a man
caught him, and pulled him into the lifeboat.
It seemed a small thing to do to hold up the light, yet it saved the man’s life.
We can do as much as that.
If we cannot do some great thing we can hold the light for
some poor, perishing soul, who is out in the dark waters of sin.
(D.L. Moody)
N.J. Hiebert - 6234
April 26
A remedy against all our troubles!
"I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
(Philippians 4:11-12)
Contentment sweetens every condition.
Christ turned the water into wine.
Just so, contentment turns the bitter waters of Marah, into spiritual wine.
Contentment is a flower which does not grow in every garden.
You would think it were excellent, if I could prescribe a remedy or antidote against poverty.
Behold, here is that which is more excellent--for a man to be poor, and yet have enough!
Contentment teaches a man how to abound--in the midst of poverty!
Have I but little?
Yet it is more than I deserve.
(The Art of Divine Contentment -Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
N.J. Hiebert - 6235
April 27
"Then shalt thou walk in they way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble."
(Proverbs 3:23)
Many a Christiaan says, “I shall be kept from falling at last,
but, of course, I shall stumble continually but the way.”
But have you not read this Scripture, “Thy foot shall not stumble”?
And if you have only once read it, ought not the “of course” to be put over on the other side?
For “hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
"And the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
But as a matter of fact man does stumble, and though he riseth again, yet even the
“just man falleth seven times and riseth up again . . .” (Proverbs 24:16).
Of course we do, and this is entirely accounted for by the first “of course.”
God gives us a promise and instead of humbly saying,
“Be it unto me according to Thy word” (Luke 1:38),
we either altogether overlook or deliberately refuse to believe it.
And then, of course, we get no fulfillment of it.
The measure of the promise is God’s faithfulness, the measure of its realization is our faith.
Perhaps we have not even cried, “Help Thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24) as to this promise,
much less said, “Lord, I believe”.
(Opened Treasures - Francis Ridley Havergal)
N.J. Hiebert - 6236
April 28
“The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
(Exodus 14:14)
As the fearsome Egyptians were bearing down on seemingly helpless Israel, Moses
made it clear that their deliverance would come from the Lord alone.
They were to “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”
(Exodus 14:13).
Similarly, in facing our great enemies: sin, death hell, and the grave,
we look solely to Christ for the victory.
He fought these dreaded foes at
Calvary and triumphed over
them by His death and
resurrection.
Truly, the risen Lord
“Led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men” (Ephesians 4:8)
Let us worship Him for His unparalleled conquest of all our adversaries.
(Keith Keyser)
“Cast your deadly “doings” down, down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone, gloriously complete.”
(James Proctor)
N.J. Hiebert - 6237
April 29
“Him, (Jesus Christ) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”
(Acts 2:23)
Those Jews whom Peter addressed, saying, "Ye have taken, and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain,” had not actually murdered the Prince of Life.
They did not hold the spear any more than you did;
but in the same spirit they refused Christ a place in their hearts;
and it is thus God deals with the world.
His question with the world is,
“What have you done with My Son?”
With Cain it is “Where is Abel thy brother?” (Genesis 4:9).
The only answer they can give is,
“We have slain Him.”
(J. N. Darby)
N.J. Hiebert - 6238
April 30
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.”
(Psalm 55:22)
If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him,
the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating.
But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us,
He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility,
replacing it with an awareness and understanding
of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives.
But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated.
They do not know what to do with their burden,
and it produces weariness in their lives.
(Oswald Chambers)
N.J. HIebert - 6239
No comments:
Post a Comment