Gems from August 21- 31, 2016

August 21

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,

and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

(1 Corinthians 6:20)

Religions are concerned with sins.

The Bible deals with sin.

Our Lord bore the sin of the world by identification,

taking it upon Himself as if it were  His own, not in sympathy.

And because God had to be true to His words, Jesus had to bear

the punishment for sin: death on the cross.

“Ye are bought with a price."

(Corrie Ten Boom)

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August 22

“Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever:

for wisdom & might are His.”

(Daniel 2:20)

All error has a particle of truth in it, and that is why it is so dangerous.

“Wisdom and might are His."

A simple utterance, but how profound!

For if wisdom and might are God’s, they are nowhere else to be found,

and it is in vain to turn for them to any but God.

Philanthropy has man for its object, 

religion has God for its object.

Wherever there is a claim to great spirituality there is a danger.

(Footprints for Pilgrims - Edward Dennett)

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August 23

LOVE DIRECTING 

“And Joseph said unto them . . . this do, and live; for I fear God: If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: but bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.  And they did so.”  (Genesis 42:18-20)

This was the secret of Joseph’s life.

Through all the vicissitudes of his path from youth to old age he was governed,

not by the dictates of nature, but by the holy fear of God.

Thus it is in the presence of his brethren he can say, “I fear God” (Genesis 42:18). 

This is the the secret spring of all his actions.  

His thoughts, his words, his ways, were governed by the fear of God.

Nature leaves God out and thinks only of self-vindication, self-gratification, or self-exaltation. 

Faith thinks of God and what is pleasing and due to God.  

Joseph seeks to “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Hebrews 12:28). 

In the day of his temptation he was kept from the path of evil by the fear of God, for he could say,

“How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). 

In the day of his exaltation he is kept from taking vengeance on his brethren by the fear of God.

No sorrows in the day of his humiliation, no glories in the day of his exaltation are allowed 

to move his soul from the fear of God.  

He knew how to be abased, and he knew how to abound.

Be the circumstances sad or bright, he ever kept God between himself and his circumstances.

Thus walking in God’s fear he takes God’s way with his brethren, and God’s way was a way of love, and yet not the way of mere human love, which is often a feeble and failing thing, even as men say “love is blind.”

Divine love with its clear vision is not blind to the faults in the objects of love, but rather, 

in full recognition of all that is contrary to itself, it sets to work to remove every 

blemish,so that at length it can rest with satisfaction in its object.”

(Hamilton Smith)

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August 24

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in Him.”

(1 John 2:15)

During a lunar eclipse the earth lines up between the sun and moon,

thus covering the moon with earth’s dark shadow.

The moon is a type of the believer in Christ

who should reflect the glory 

of the Son of God.

When this sinful world comes between the believer and his Lord,

the glory of the Lord Jesus is not reflected 

from him as it should be.

Let us heed these words and not allow things of this world to 

shadow the glory of the Lord Jesus in our lives.

(Arnot McIntee)

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,

All His wondrous compassion and purity,

By the Spirit divine, may Christ from my life shine.

’Til the beauty of Jesus, be seen in me.

  (Albert Osborn/Tom M. Jones)

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August 25

“I will lead on softly . . . as the children be able to endure.” (Genesis 33:14)

Lengthy Prayer

Pray often rather than very long.  It is difficult to remain long in prayer, 
and not slacken in our affections.

Especially observe this in social prayers; 
for when we pray in company, 
we must consider them that travel with us. (Genesis 33:14)

(The Christian in Complete Armour)

William Gurnall 1617-1679

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August 26

“Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

No experience in this life, however great or grievous, is the standard of another. We are prone to think that what we have experienced should be the experience of another.

It is true that we have many experiences in common (more that we realize); but God deals uniquely with each individual, and our focus should not be on the experience, but on Him Who orders all.

(Nuggets of Truth - J. Kaiser)

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August 27

"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”  (Philippians 4:11)

- Do I meet with some crosses? My comfort is, if they are heavy—I have not far to go!

- My cross is light—in comparison with the weight of glory.

- Has God taken away my comforts from me? It is well—the Comforter still abides with me.

- Thus contentment, as a honeycomb, drops sweetness into every condition.

- Discontent is a leaven which sours every comfort; it puts vinegar into every mercy; 

it doubles every cross.  But the contented spirit sucks sweetness from every flower of 

Providence. Contentment is full of consolation.

- Contentment is . . . 

a remedy against all our troubles, 

an alleviation to all our burdens, 

the cure of to every worry. 

- As medicine works disease out of the body—so contentment works trouble out of the heart. Holy contentment keeps the heart from fainting.  Contentment is the golden shield, which beats back all discouragements. 

A Christian finds contentment distilled out of the breasts of the promises.  He is poor in purse—but rich in promise.  There is one promise which brings much sweet contentment into the soul:

“They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” (Psalm 34:10)

If the thing we desire is good for us—we shall have it.  If it is not good—then the not having is good for us.  The resting satisfied with the promise, gives contentment.

(Thomas Watson - 1620 -1686)

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August 28

“Wilt thou not tell?”  Ezekiel 24:19

WE MAY NOT BE ABLE to do any great thing; but if each of us will do something,

however small it may be, a good deal will be accomplished for God.

For many years I have made it a rule not to let any day pass 

without speaking to someone about eternal things.

I commenced it away back years ago, 

and if I live the life allotted to man,

there will be more than eighteen 

thousand persons who will 

have been spoken to 

personally by me.

How often when we as Christians meet with people, 

we might turn the conversation into a channel

that will lead them up to Christ.

(D.L. Moody)

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August 29

“The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

(Galatians 2:20)

Out of the realized “for me” grows the practical “for Thee.”

If the former is a living root, the later will be its living fruit. “For Thee!”

This makes the difference between forced or formal, and therefore unreasonable service,

and the reasonable service, which is the beginning of the perfect service where they see His face.

This makes the difference between slave work and free work.

For Thee, my Redeemer; for Thee who has spoken to my heart; 

for Thee, who has done for me—what?

Let us each pause, and fill up that blank with the great things the Lord hath done for us.

For Thee, who art to me—what?

Fill that up, too, before Him!

For Thee, my Saviour Jesus, my Lord and my God!

Help us lovingly to labour, looking for Thy present smile,

Looking for Thy promised blessing, thro’ the brightening “little while.”

Words for Thee in weakness spoken, Thou wilt here accept and own,

And confess them in Thy glory, when we see Thee on Thy throne.

(Opened Treasures - Francis Ridley Havergal)

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August 30

“Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.”

(Proverbs 24:32)

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

(Colossians 3:2)

The way up is taking the low place

"During the great Reformation in Europe, Luther and Zwingli found themselves 

at odds in their concern for the movements they were leading.

Early one morning, Zwingli walked out on the mountains 

of Switzerland and a soul-stirring sight confronted him.

He saw two goats making their way over a narrow path on the 

mountain. One was ascending the trail, the other descending.

He also noticed that they must pass at a point where the 

trail was so narrow that there was room for only one

goat.  He watched to see what would happen.

The animals rounded a turn in the path which brought then in full view of each other.

They backed up, as though ready for a lunge, and then the most amazing thing happened.

The goat on the trail below lay down in the path, while the goat above him walked over his back.

The first animal then arose and continued his journey up the trail.

To Zwingli this meant that the way down is the way up.  Christ humbled 

Himself so that men could walk over Him into the Kingdom of light,

knowing that afterward He would be exalted.”

(With thanks - D. Hopkins)

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August 31

“To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 

might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

(Ephesians 3:19)

God, in giving me eternal life, has also given me a nature and capacity to enjoy Him for ever.

I am brought into an association with God, a relationship to God, 

and an enjoyment of God, which the angels know not, 

although holy in their nature, and exalted.

We are thus brought near 

that we might -

“know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, 

that ye may be filled to all the fulness of God.”

(J.N. Darby)

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