Gems from Sept. 1- 10, 2017

September 1

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”

(Luke 23:42-43)

When a prominent man dies, we are anxious to get

his last words and acts.

The last act of the Son of God was to save a sinner.

That was a part of the glory of His death.

He commenced His ministry by saving sinners,

and ended it by saving this poor thief.

(D. L. Moody)

N.J. Hiebert - 6827

September 2

“If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it.”

(Acts 5:38-39)

“He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently  upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock."

(Luke 6:48)

I know upon this lighthouse tower the winds and waves shall beat in vain;

I know that my Redeemer lives and in His death all death was slain;

I know my life is hid with Him beyond the reach of change or harm,

And life and death to me are one within the shelter of His arm.

N.J. Hiebert - 6828

September 3

“Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it . . . that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

(Ephesians 5:25,27)

Must I carry the world in my heart because I am down here in a body of sin and death?

No; blessed be His name! I have got the river of life flowing down from Christ 

above, and filling my heart, helping my soul to bear 

fruit unto Him from whom it flows.

The old Christian can say to a young Christian, "You may try, but you cannot satisfy your heart

with the world, for I have never found a thing in it to satisfy mine.”

But he could not say, “I have walked so far down the hill of life, and I cannot fail.”

Yet we can say, "Let all that can be brought against me, yet God will be faithful to His word,

and Christ will present me faultless and without spot or blemish

before Him at His appearing."

If I could say I am a better man than when I began life in Christ, 

it would be only because I see more of my own vileness now than I did years ago. 

(Gleanings from the Teaching of G. V. Wigram)

N.J. Hiebert - 6829

September 4

DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TIME?

“Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for MANY YEARS; 

take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, THIS NIGHT thy soul shall be required of thee: 

then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"

  (Luke 12:19-20)

The foolish farmer would fill his barns and then say to his soul, 

“Take it easy—you are well fixed for many years.”

But God said, “You fool, not many years but this night is the correct time!”

It is well to set our timepiece with God’s clock.

There is a lot of difference between many years and this night.

We have Daylight Saving Time,

but there is another far more important Soul Saving Time:

"Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

(2 Corinthians 6:2) 

TODAY is God’s time.

TONIGHT your soul may be required.

Set your watch with heaven and not the faulty timepieces of earth.

Do you have the correct time?

(Vance Havner)

N.J. Hiebert - 6830

September 5

RETREAT MEANS DEFEAT

“Without Me ye can do nothing."

(John 15:5)

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

(Philippians 4:13)

We had such a nice little quiet, shady corner in the vineyard, down among the tender grapes,

with such easy little weedings and waterings to attend to.

And then the Master comes and draws us out into the thick of the work, and puts

us into a part of the field where we never should have thought of going,

and puts larger tools in our hands, that we may do more at a stroke.

And we know we are not sufficient for these things, and the very tools seem too heavy for us,

and the glare too dazzling, and the vines too tall.

Ah! but would we really go back?

He would not be in the old shady corner with us now; for when He put

us forth He went before us, and it is only by close following that we can abide with Him.

Without Him we could do nothing if we perversely and fearfully ran back to our old 

work.  With Him, "through Christ which strengtheneth" us, we “can do all things” 

in the new work.  Not our power, but His presence will carry us through.  

I could not do without Thee!  No other friend can read

The Spirit’s deepest longings, interpreting its need.

No human heart could enter each dim recess of mine.

And soothe and hush and calm it, O blessed Lord, but Thine!

 (Opened Treasures -Frances Ridley Havergal)

N.J. Hiebert - 6831 

September 6

“. . . love covereth . . .”

(Proverbs 10:12)

“Have fervent [love] among yourselves:

for [love] shall cover. . .”

(1 Peter 4:8) 

If we have not been able to discover the good thing in our brother fellow servant;

if our eye has detected only the crooked thing;

if we have not succeeded in finding the

vital spark amid the ashes,

the precious gem among the surrounding rubbish;

if we have seen only what was of one’s nature,

then let us with a loving and delicate hand draw the curtain of silence 

around our brother or speak of him only at the throne of grace.

(C. H. Macintosh)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Let us all resolve: first, to attain the grace of silence;

second, to deem all fault-finding 

that does no good;

third, to practice the grace and virtue of praise.”

(Harriet Beecher Stowe) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You said your say: Mine answer was my deed.

(Tennyson)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

(Mountain Trailways for Youth)

N.J. Hiebert - 6832

September 7

“Great & marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty. . .”

(Revelation 15:3

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”

(Psalms 19:1) 

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

(Psalms 139:14)

God is great in great things, but very great in little things.

A party stood on the Matterhorn admiring the sublimity of the scene,

when a gentleman produced a pocket microscope, and having caught a fly, 

placed it under the glass.

He reminded us that the legs of the household fly in England were naked,

then called attention to the legs of this little fly, which were thickly covered with hair, 

thus showing that the same God who had made the lofty Swiss mountains had also attended 

to the comfort of His tiniest creatures, even producing socks and mittens for the little fly whose  

   home these mountains were.  This God is our God!”

For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind;

And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

(Frederick W. Faber)

All through the Bible there is a wonderful care of little things,

God noticing them and bringing them to perfectness of meaning.

"He putteth my tears in His bottle” (Psalms 37:31); that is condescension.

"None of His steps shall slide,” (Psalms 37:31) as He numbered step by step all the going of His 

people. One of those people said, "Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising,”

and "Thou hast beset me behind and before” (Psalms 139:2.5).

(Joseph Parker)

N.J. Hiebert - 6833

September 8

“No man hath seen God at any time.

If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

(1 John 4:12)

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:

because as He is, so are we in this world.”

(1 John 4:17)  

They told us in band class that practice makes perfect.

It didn’t.

In fact, imperfect practice only made the mistakes routine.

Rather, it should be said that perfect 

practice makes perfect.

If we want our love to be made perfect we must start with perfect love,

His love, and practice showing it and 

sharing it with one another.

His perfect love casts out fear and that makes 

practicing a lot more enjoyable. 

(Rex Trogdon)

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!  How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure, the saints’ eternal song.

(F. M. Lehman)

N.J. Hiebert - 6834 

September 9

“None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, 

so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry,

which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify

the gospel of the grace of God.”

(Acts 20:24)

How far have your souls found steady rest in Christ?

Or how far are thy satisfied with Christ?

Forsaken of friends, are you still satisfied with Him?

Or how far are there things that you crave and have to resist?

Have you done with the world, not as tired of its vanities, and weary of its pleasures,

but because your souls have found something in Christ that satisfies for all?

Is He found such a manifestaion of God to your souls that you rest in Him?

Have you found such a ripeness in Christ that the soul is satisfied,

so as not to want other things?

Then, if you have, you can say, “None of these things move me.”

(J. N. Darby)  

N.J. Hiebert - 6835  

September 10

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,

to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

(Romans 8:28)

Anna Steele, whose hymns have helped so very many people,

encountered much pain and sorrow as she journeyed through life.

On the eve of her bridal morn, while she awaited the arrival of her betrothed,

a message came with the news that he had been drowned.

She retired to her chamber; and when the first violent shock had passed away and her

soul had somewhat recovered strength, she wrote a hymn which

has brought healing to many a wounded spirit.

“Father, what’er of earthly bliss Thy sovereign will denies,

Accepted at Thy throne of grace let this petition rise:

Give me a calm and thankful heart, from every murmur free;

The blessing of Thy grace impart, and let me live to Thee.”

(Heaven’s Care for Earth’s Joy)

N.J. Hiebert 6836 

September 11

“We will flee upon horses.”

(Isaiah 30:16)

God is never slow from His standpoint, but He is from ours, 

because impetuosity and doing things prematurely are universal weaknesses.

God lives and moves in eternity, and every little detail in His working must be like Himself,

and have in it the majesty and measured movement, as well as the accuracy and promptness of infinite wisdom.

We are to let God do the swiftness and we do the slowness.

The Holy Spirit tells us to “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

That is, swift to take in from God, but slow to give out the opinions, the emotions of the creature.  

We miss a great many things from God by not going slow enough with Him.

Who would have God change His perfections to accommodate our whims?

Have we not had glimpses into God’s perfections, insight into wonderful truths, quiet 

unfoldings of daily opportunities, gentle checks of the Holy Spirit 

upon our decisions or words, sweet and secret 

promptings to do certain things?  

There is a time for everything in the universe to get ripe—and to go slow with God is 

the heavenly pace that gathers up all things at the time they are ripe.

What they win, who wait for God, is worth waiting for!

Going slow with God is our greatest safety!  

(Springs in the Valley)

N.J. Hiebert - 6837

September 12