but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God who loved me, and
gave Himself for me.”
(Galatians 2:20)
Paul was not as a vessel broken, and another formed by the potter out of the same clay.
No; it was a new thing altogether. He was a new creature in Christ;
old things had passed away.
Nothing as regards the flesh was changed in Paul, but the mastery of flesh was.
The law of sin and death is not taken out of the flesh,
but I am delivered from it, brought out of the
position where all is death into that
where all is life.
I have eternal life in me to give me power to live unto Christ.
“I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;
is that not a blessed truth?
Are you walking in the power of that life, in the light of eternity?
(Gleanings From The Teaching of G. V. Wigram)
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October 20
SHARPENING THE AXE
“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge,
then must he put to more strength. . . .”
(Ecclesiastes 10:10)
A dull axe means harder work and we lose no time when we sharpen the edge.
The Christian in particular and the Church in general both need
to stop chopping wood long enough to whet the blade.
Hours spent reading the Word and in prayer and a week out from
regular work to revive the saints is a wise investment.
We save time that might be spent in a hospital
later if we had a check up now.
It is poor business to add more wheels to the machinery and
increase the work load when the power is low.
When we are too busy to sharpen the axe, we are too busy!
(All the Days - Vance Havner)
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October 21
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all . . . my servant commanded thee:
turn not from it to the right hand or to
the left, that thou mayest prosper
whithersoever thou goest.
(Joshua 1:7)
I could not do without Thee! I cannot stand alone;
I have no strength or goodness, no wisdom of my own;
But Thou, beloved Saviour, are all in all to me;
And weakness will be power, if leaning hard on Thee.
(Anon)
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October 22
Unity in Gospel Testimony
“Only let your conversation (or, behaviour) be as
it becometh the gospel of Christ . . .”
(Philippians 1:27)
The word, “conversation,” as ordinarily employed by our forefathers,
was of far wider scope than as generally used by us today. It
meant not only the talk of the lips, though it included
that, but it took in the entire behaviour.
The apostle’s exhortation is to the effect that the whole manner of life of the people
of God should be in accordance with the gospel of Christ.
No more important message was ever committed to man than the word of reconciliation,
which God has graciously entrusted to His people in this present
dispensation of His mercy to a lost world.
That gospel tells of the divine means of deliverance from the guilt and power of sin.
How incongruous, then, if the testimonies of those who undertake
to proclaim it with their mouths deny its power in their lives!
A walk worthy of the gospel is a walk in the energy of the
Holy Spirit; it is a life surrendered to Him, whose Lordship that gospel declares.
(H. A. Ironside)
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October 23
THE EVIL OF JUDGING OTHERS
“Judge not that ye be not judged."
(Matthew 7:1)
For the loyal-hearted Christian that is an all-sufficient reason why we should not indulge in it.
If His Word has its rightful place in our hearts and lives, we shall resolutely refrain from this unholy thing, which has broken so many hearts, and wrought havoc in so many homes.
But there is another reason why we should not do it,
and that is that We are totally unfitted to judge any man.
By sitting on the judgment seat we are taking the place of God.
For it is impossible for us to enter into the hidden circle of motive and feeling in the life of another.
Before we are fitted to judge anyone who has gone wrong, we ought to know the circumstances of their lives, the temptations by which they were beset, the bitter conflict between passion and inclination, the handicap of their heredity and environment, the tears of penitence and shame which they have shed.
Because of our beclouded judgement, our imperfect or erroneous information, and our biased minds,
we should not undertake to do what our Lord, with His perfect knowledge alone can do.
“For the father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”
(John 5:22)
(In Pastures Green)
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October 24
“A new heart also will I give you.”
(Ezekiel 36:26)
“I will give them one heart."
(Jeremiah 32:39)
Why does God promise this?
Because our old hearts are so evil that they cannot be made
any better; and so nothing will do any good but giving us a new heart.
Because we cannot make a new heart for ourselves; the more we try,
the more we shall find we cannot do it; so God, in His great pity and kindness says He will give it
to us. Because, unless we have a new heart we cannot enter the kingdom of God, we cannot even see it! Without this gift we must be left outside in the terrible darkness when the door is shut.
There is a great difference between the old heart and the new one.
The old heart is afraid of God, and does not love Him, and would much rather He were not always seeing us. The new heart loves God and trusts what He says, and loves to think that He is always watching it.
Oh, how happy and blessed to have this new heart! All God’s children receive it, for He has said,
“I will give them one heart” (Jeremiah 32:39); that is, all the same new heart.
Do you not want to have it too?
You must come to Him for it, for He hath said,
“A new heart also will I give you!”
(Frances Ridley Havergal)
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October 25
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain!”
(Philippians 1:21)
True Christianity!
True Christianity is not merely the believing a certain set of theological propositions.
It is to live in daily personal communication with an actual living Person--Jesus the Son of God!
"The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me!” (Galatians 2:20)
(J. C. Ryle)
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October 26
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to Thy word.”
(Psalm 119:9)
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson.
Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked,
“Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand
I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"
The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river
and bring back a basket of water.” The boy did as he was told, even though
all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,”
and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told
his grandfather that it was “impossible to carry water in a basket,” and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this.
You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran
as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water
and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, its useless!”
"So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first
time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.
“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything,
but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out." That is the work of God in our lives:
to change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His Son.
Take time to read a portion of God’s word each day. Pray that He will use it to turn your heart and mind to Him.
“ . . . that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. . . .” (Ephesians 5:26).
(With thanks - Donald Paldino)
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“If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought,
put that on mine account.”
(Philemon 18)
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care
who gets the credit” - - Harry Truman.
Likewise, it is wonderful what further damage may be
prevented if we are willing to accept
responsibility (including blame)
for damage already done.
(Nuggets - John Kaiser)
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October 28
“Without shedding of blood is no remission.”
(Hebrews 9:22)
Robert Lowry was a popular preacher throughout the East. In later life he became interested in
writing and publishing gospel songs. “Nothing but the blood” was published in 1876.
This gospel song has had an important place in ministry in teaching both
young and old the absolute necessity of trusting implicitly in the
precious blood of Christ for this life and for eternity.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon this I see—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
for my cleansing, this my plea—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
naught of good that I have done—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
this is all my righteousness—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Chorus: O! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
(Robert Lowry - 1826-1899)
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October 29
“All flesh is not the same flesh:
but there is one kind of flesh of men,
another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.”
(1 Corinthians 15:39)
Following the same classifications as Genesis 1, our Creator God reminds us that He has implanted
an immutable genetic code dividing all living things.
Thousands of years later, men are still men, beasts are still beasts, fish are still fish,
and birds are still birds.
Evolutionary thinking would have us believe that one group led to another,
yet when we see the grotesque acts man is capable of,
that’s an insult to the beasts, fish, and birds!
We were the ones who needed a Saviour, and how glad we are God provided One!
(Rick Morse)
Man of sorrows what a name, for the Son of Man who came,
Ruined sinners to reclaim; Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
(Philip Bliss)
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October 30
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”
(Psalm 37:23)
We have the fullest assurance that our God can and does guide His children in all things.
He can signify His mind to us as to this or that particular act or movement.
If not, where are we? How are we to get on?
How are we to regulate our movements? Are we to drift hither and thither by the tide of
circumstances? Are we left to blind chance, or to the mere impulse of our own will?
We thank God it is not so. He can, in His own perfect way, give us the certainty of His mind
in any given case; and, without that certainty, we should never move.
Our Lord Jesus Christ (all homage to His peerless name!) can intimate His mind to His servant
as to where He would have him go, and what He would have him to do; and no true
servant will ever think of moving or acting without such intimation.
We should never move in uncertainty. If we are not sure, let us be quiet and wait!
Very often it happens that we harass and fret ourselves about
movements that God would not have us make at all.
A person once said to a friend, “I am quite at a loss to know which way to turn.”
'Then don’t turn at all," was the friend’s wise reply . . . But it is
the meek He will guide in judgment and teach His way!
We must never forget this.
(C. H. Mackintosh)
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October 31
“. . . Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether it be by life, or by death.”
(Philippians 1:20)
Many years ago at the opening of a Disarmament Conference, in the midst of a speech King George was making, some one tripped over the wires of the Columbia Broadcasting Company,
tearing them loose and interrupting the service.
The chief operator quickly grasped the loose wires in his bare hands, holding them in contact, and for twenty minutes the current passed through while repairs were being made. His hands were slightly burned, but through them the words of the King passed on to the millions of listeners and were heard distinctly. Without his courage and endurance the King’s message would have failed to reach its destination.
The KING of heaven has chosen to send His message to a lost world through human wires.
Every faithful missionary and every Christian who gives his or her support is a human
wire through which the KING’S voice is reaching the lost with a message of
peace, vastly more important than the message from London, England.
For the missionary, it is often a costly business.
Some men and women must suffer the loss of every earthly thing, stoop with
weariness, waste away with fevers in far-off places, even die—but it pays to HOLD ON.
Only thus can men hear the voice of the KING.
God’s church needs more men who are willing to TAKE HOLD
and HOLD ON.
(Mountain Trailways for Youth)
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