March 10
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. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7
When we come to realize how wretched the flesh within us is, then we need to see that God is teaching us to look away from ourselves and unto Christ. As we look unto Him, His moral features will be impressed upon us. Some of these features are obedience and dependence upon God, patience, meekness, self control, and many others. In Galatians 5:22-23, we see these features presented as the fruit of the Holy Spirit being worked out practically in the life of the believer.
Paul explains that our bodies which he calls "earthen vessels," contain this special treasure of Christ dwelling in every believer. Then, as the vessel is broken, as self is set aside, the light shines out.
Here is something else to consider: in 2 Corinthians 5:10, the apostle Paul reminds us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Every thing we have done in our lifetime will be manifested then in the light of His holy presence.
Our motives, our self-seeking--even when it is mixed with our service for the Lord--will be manifested. What was done in secret or in public, at the work place or at home, in private counselling or in public preaching, all will be laid bare.
But remember, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, our sinful nature is no longer in us. Then we will be with and like Christ, and we will rejoice that our old selfish and sinful nature is once and forever gone. Only what was of Christ will remain forever. Day by day, as we walk our wilderness pathway here, let us seek to please Him, "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" Hebrews 12:2. Jacob Redekop
N.J.Hiebert - 9147
When we come to realize how wretched the flesh within us is, then we need to see that God is teaching us to look away from ourselves and unto Christ. As we look unto Him, His moral features will be impressed upon us. Some of these features are obedience and dependence upon God, patience, meekness, self control, and many others. In Galatians 5:22-23, we see these features presented as the fruit of the Holy Spirit being worked out practically in the life of the believer.
Paul explains that our bodies which he calls "earthen vessels," contain this special treasure of Christ dwelling in every believer. Then, as the vessel is broken, as self is set aside, the light shines out.
Here is something else to consider: in 2 Corinthians 5:10, the apostle Paul reminds us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Every thing we have done in our lifetime will be manifested then in the light of His holy presence.
Our motives, our self-seeking--even when it is mixed with our service for the Lord--will be manifested. What was done in secret or in public, at the work place or at home, in private counselling or in public preaching, all will be laid bare.
But remember, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, our sinful nature is no longer in us. Then we will be with and like Christ, and we will rejoice that our old selfish and sinful nature is once and forever gone. Only what was of Christ will remain forever. Day by day, as we walk our wilderness pathway here, let us seek to please Him, "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" Hebrews 12:2. Jacob Redekop
N.J.Hiebert - 9147
March 11
Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardest my voice. Jonah 2:1-2
Yes, wonder of wonders, God is ever ready to hear, and ever ready to forgive. The cloud and the darkness are all on our side: our God has not changed. One can but watch with adoring wonder to see the patience and wisdom of God in dealing with His erring servant. Time and again He gave him warning and opportunity to cry to Him for pardon and help.
God does not give him up, even when the sight of death itself will not force him to yield. This God is our God; how much better for us to fall at His feet and pour out the whole story of our sin and failure, and cry to Him for mercy and forgiveness. We will surely find that, like, the writer of Psalm 116:1-2 (who had found trouble and sorrow), we too, may exclaim with adoring wonder, "I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live."
But let us listen further to Jonah's prayer. What an immense privilege to be able to stand by and hear this prayer out of the fish's belly: "For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas;" (v.2:3) There is not a suggestion that it was the sailors that cast him into the sea: No, Jonah knew better than that. It was God, and God only, who had cast Jonah into the sea, and he acknowledged it.
Why would God do such a thing as this? Was it cruel on His part to do so? Oh, no! This was the way home, and the only way home, for this particular prodigal son. It was not until he got into the fish, and had been there for three days and nights "that he came to himself"(Luke 15:17). Whether it is the pigs, or whether it is the fish, God has His ways to make His people come to themselves. Jonah - G. C. Willis
N.J.Hiebert - 9148
Yes, wonder of wonders, God is ever ready to hear, and ever ready to forgive. The cloud and the darkness are all on our side: our God has not changed. One can but watch with adoring wonder to see the patience and wisdom of God in dealing with His erring servant. Time and again He gave him warning and opportunity to cry to Him for pardon and help.
God does not give him up, even when the sight of death itself will not force him to yield. This God is our God; how much better for us to fall at His feet and pour out the whole story of our sin and failure, and cry to Him for mercy and forgiveness. We will surely find that, like, the writer of Psalm 116:1-2 (who had found trouble and sorrow), we too, may exclaim with adoring wonder, "I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live."
But let us listen further to Jonah's prayer. What an immense privilege to be able to stand by and hear this prayer out of the fish's belly: "For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas;" (v.2:3) There is not a suggestion that it was the sailors that cast him into the sea: No, Jonah knew better than that. It was God, and God only, who had cast Jonah into the sea, and he acknowledged it.
Why would God do such a thing as this? Was it cruel on His part to do so? Oh, no! This was the way home, and the only way home, for this particular prodigal son. It was not until he got into the fish, and had been there for three days and nights "that he came to himself"(Luke 15:17). Whether it is the pigs, or whether it is the fish, God has His ways to make His people come to themselves. Jonah - G. C. Willis
N.J.Hiebert - 9148
March 12
The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
If you reject Christ now you will have no desire to accept Him in that coming day. You are in the most dangerous position in which anyone could be. "He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).
Some of the saddest funerals I have ever had to conduct in my life have been funerals of young men or women who were members of Christian families, who had often been pleaded with to come to Christ; but they had gone on in carelessness, hoping that everything would come out all right in the end. Then suddenly they were struck down, perhaps by accident, and they went out into eternity leaving no testimony,
Young men and young women, I plead with you, do not allow another day to pass without coming to Christ, lest the near future find you forever beyond all hope of mercy. God has given you the opportunity to believe the truth. He has presented His Word, but if you turn away from that truth and refuse to believe the gospel, then God Himself may give you up to judicial judgment that you should believe the lie of the man of sin and so be forever lost.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) Thessalonians - H. A. Ironside
N.J.Hiebert - 9149
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
If you reject Christ now you will have no desire to accept Him in that coming day. You are in the most dangerous position in which anyone could be. "He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).
Some of the saddest funerals I have ever had to conduct in my life have been funerals of young men or women who were members of Christian families, who had often been pleaded with to come to Christ; but they had gone on in carelessness, hoping that everything would come out all right in the end. Then suddenly they were struck down, perhaps by accident, and they went out into eternity leaving no testimony,
Young men and young women, I plead with you, do not allow another day to pass without coming to Christ, lest the near future find you forever beyond all hope of mercy. God has given you the opportunity to believe the truth. He has presented His Word, but if you turn away from that truth and refuse to believe the gospel, then God Himself may give you up to judicial judgment that you should believe the lie of the man of sin and so be forever lost.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) Thessalonians - H. A. Ironside
N.J.Hiebert - 9149
March 13
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. James 5:8
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7
There are two things which constitute the joy of a Christian. They are his strength on the road and the object constantly before his heart: First, present communion and fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Second, the hope of the coming of the Lord. These two cannot be separated without loss to our souls, for we cannot have all the profit without both of them.
If we are not looking for the coming of the Lord, nothing else can separate us in the same way from this present evil world. Christ will not Himself be so much the object before the soul, nor yet shall we be able, in the same measure, to apprehend the mind and counsels of God about the world if there be not this waiting for His Son from heaven.
Again, if this hope be looked at apart from present communion and fellowship with God, we shall not have present power. The heart will be enfeebled by the mind being too much occupied and overborne by the evil around.
For we cannot be really looking for God's Son from heaven without at the same time seeing the world's utter rejection of Him. We see that the world itself is going wrong, its wisemen have no wisdom--all is going on to judgment, the principles of evil are loosening all bands.
The soul thus becomes oppressed and the heart sad; but if through grace the Christian is in present communion and fellowship with God, his soul stands steady and is calm and happy before God because there is a fund of blessing in Him which no circumstance can ever touch or change. J. N. Darby
N.J.Hiebert - 9150
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7
There are two things which constitute the joy of a Christian. They are his strength on the road and the object constantly before his heart: First, present communion and fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Second, the hope of the coming of the Lord. These two cannot be separated without loss to our souls, for we cannot have all the profit without both of them.
If we are not looking for the coming of the Lord, nothing else can separate us in the same way from this present evil world. Christ will not Himself be so much the object before the soul, nor yet shall we be able, in the same measure, to apprehend the mind and counsels of God about the world if there be not this waiting for His Son from heaven.
Again, if this hope be looked at apart from present communion and fellowship with God, we shall not have present power. The heart will be enfeebled by the mind being too much occupied and overborne by the evil around.
For we cannot be really looking for God's Son from heaven without at the same time seeing the world's utter rejection of Him. We see that the world itself is going wrong, its wisemen have no wisdom--all is going on to judgment, the principles of evil are loosening all bands.
The soul thus becomes oppressed and the heart sad; but if through grace the Christian is in present communion and fellowship with God, his soul stands steady and is calm and happy before God because there is a fund of blessing in Him which no circumstance can ever touch or change. J. N. Darby
N.J.Hiebert - 9150
March 14
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. (Psalm 46:2)
And Abraham rose up early in the morning...and went unto the place which God had told him. (Genesis 22:3)
There is ready obedience. "I made haste and delayed not to keep Thy commandments." (Psalms 119:60) Faith never stops to look at circumstances, or ponder results; it only looks at God; it expresses itself thus: "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." (Galatians 1:15,16)
The moment we confer with flesh and blood, our testimony and service are marred, for flesh and blood can never obey. We must rise early, and carry out, through grace, the divine command. Thus we are blessed, and God is glorified. Having God's own word as the basis of our acting, will ever impart strength and stability to our acting.
If we merely act from impulse, when the impulse subsides, the acting will subside also. There are two things needful to a course of steady and consistent action, viz., the Holy Ghost as the power of action, and the Word to give proper direction.
On a railway, we should find steam of little use without the iron rails firmly laid down: the former is the power by which we move; and the later, the direction. It is needless to add that the rails would be of little use without the steam.
Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9151
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. (Psalm 46:2)
And Abraham rose up early in the morning...and went unto the place which God had told him. (Genesis 22:3)
There is ready obedience. "I made haste and delayed not to keep Thy commandments." (Psalms 119:60) Faith never stops to look at circumstances, or ponder results; it only looks at God; it expresses itself thus: "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." (Galatians 1:15,16)
The moment we confer with flesh and blood, our testimony and service are marred, for flesh and blood can never obey. We must rise early, and carry out, through grace, the divine command. Thus we are blessed, and God is glorified. Having God's own word as the basis of our acting, will ever impart strength and stability to our acting.
If we merely act from impulse, when the impulse subsides, the acting will subside also. There are two things needful to a course of steady and consistent action, viz., the Holy Ghost as the power of action, and the Word to give proper direction.
On a railway, we should find steam of little use without the iron rails firmly laid down: the former is the power by which we move; and the later, the direction. It is needless to add that the rails would be of little use without the steam.
Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9151
March 15
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between Me and the earth...the bow shall be seen in the cloud: and I will remember my covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature...and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant..."
Genesis 9:13-16.
We must not speculate where we cannot teach; we must not listen where we cannot learn from Him. His Written Word is the standard of the thoughts of all His saints, while some have that Word more largely made the possession of their souls, through the Spirit, than others. We are to know the common standard, and also our personal measure in the Spirit.
Though we see not those distant regions, we may trust them--trust Him, rather, who is the Lord of them. We may assure our hearts in His presence, that they will be just what we would have them to be, just what our new conditions would ask for. Heaven has always been what the earth needed.
At the beginning, the sun was there to rule the day, and the moon and the stars to govern the night. Those ordinances were set in heaven then, for they measured the earth's need then. But there was no rainbow in the sky, for the earth needed not a token that God would debate with judgment. Judgment was not known.
But when conscience had been quickened, and judgment was understood and feared, when God was known (in the doings He had accomplished) to be righteous, and earth needed a pledge that in wrath He would remember mercy, heaven wore the token of that mercy, and hung it out as on its very forehead. The Son of God - J. G. Bellett
N.J.Hiebert - 9152
We must not speculate where we cannot teach; we must not listen where we cannot learn from Him. His Written Word is the standard of the thoughts of all His saints, while some have that Word more largely made the possession of their souls, through the Spirit, than others. We are to know the common standard, and also our personal measure in the Spirit.
Though we see not those distant regions, we may trust them--trust Him, rather, who is the Lord of them. We may assure our hearts in His presence, that they will be just what we would have them to be, just what our new conditions would ask for. Heaven has always been what the earth needed.
At the beginning, the sun was there to rule the day, and the moon and the stars to govern the night. Those ordinances were set in heaven then, for they measured the earth's need then. But there was no rainbow in the sky, for the earth needed not a token that God would debate with judgment. Judgment was not known.
But when conscience had been quickened, and judgment was understood and feared, when God was known (in the doings He had accomplished) to be righteous, and earth needed a pledge that in wrath He would remember mercy, heaven wore the token of that mercy, and hung it out as on its very forehead. The Son of God - J. G. Bellett
N.J.Hiebert - 9152
March 16
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. Mark 15:33
The long and sinful history of man was compressed into the three hours of darkness that surrounded the cross. Our sins and guilt were laid upon Jesus the holy Victim, as He hung suspended there. All God's wrath and indignation against sin were poured out upon Him, when He took the penalty of our sin--death and judgment--which we so rightly deserved.
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21); and again, "For Christ also hath once, suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18).
From God's standpoint then, the moral history of man came to an ignominious end on the cross. But while the cross is the end of man's moral history, it also marks the beginning of a new life in Christ for all who believe. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). There must be, then, clear evidence of this new creation life in Christ.
For that reason, Paul exhorts, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct), the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts...and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Finally, it is evident that if God would save anyone now, it must be entirely according to His sovereign grace and mercy, and on the basis of Christ's death of substitution on the cross. We must come to God through Christ, confessing our spiritual and moral bankruptcy, lay hold on the mercy which He extends, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Richard A. Barnett
N.J.Hiebert - 9153
The long and sinful history of man was compressed into the three hours of darkness that surrounded the cross. Our sins and guilt were laid upon Jesus the holy Victim, as He hung suspended there. All God's wrath and indignation against sin were poured out upon Him, when He took the penalty of our sin--death and judgment--which we so rightly deserved.
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21); and again, "For Christ also hath once, suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18).
From God's standpoint then, the moral history of man came to an ignominious end on the cross. But while the cross is the end of man's moral history, it also marks the beginning of a new life in Christ for all who believe. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). There must be, then, clear evidence of this new creation life in Christ.
For that reason, Paul exhorts, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct), the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts...and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Finally, it is evident that if God would save anyone now, it must be entirely according to His sovereign grace and mercy, and on the basis of Christ's death of substitution on the cross. We must come to God through Christ, confessing our spiritual and moral bankruptcy, lay hold on the mercy which He extends, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Richard A. Barnett
N.J.Hiebert - 9153
March 17
And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach. Mark 3:14
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13
We have an illustration of the effects that the officers took knowledge of Peter and John that they had been with Jesus, because these two men of God carried with them the fragrance of the One in Whose presence they had been dwelling.
For us today who have not access to His physical presence, the whole secret is enshrined in a word which occurs three times in the New Testament; the word metamorphoomai. Matthew 17:2 where it is translated "transfigured"; in Romans 12 :2, where it is rendered "transformed" and in 2 Corinthians 3:18 where it appears "changed ".
The first of these occurrences shows the pattern to which; the second, principle upon which; and the third, the power by which we are transformed. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The transformation produces the fragrance. Samuel Rutherford prayed that the Rose of Sharon growing in his heart, might shed its fragrance abroad in his life; and wherever he went, he scattered abroad the perfume of the knowledge of God. Winsome Christianity
N.J. Hiebert - 9154
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13
We have an illustration of the effects that the officers took knowledge of Peter and John that they had been with Jesus, because these two men of God carried with them the fragrance of the One in Whose presence they had been dwelling.
For us today who have not access to His physical presence, the whole secret is enshrined in a word which occurs three times in the New Testament; the word metamorphoomai. Matthew 17:2 where it is translated "transfigured"; in Romans 12 :2, where it is rendered "transformed" and in 2 Corinthians 3:18 where it appears "changed ".
The first of these occurrences shows the pattern to which; the second, principle upon which; and the third, the power by which we are transformed. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The transformation produces the fragrance. Samuel Rutherford prayed that the Rose of Sharon growing in his heart, might shed its fragrance abroad in his life; and wherever he went, he scattered abroad the perfume of the knowledge of God. Winsome Christianity
N.J. Hiebert - 9154
March 18
When thou passest through the waters...they shall not overflow thee.
Isaiah 43:2
God does not open paths for us in advance of our coming. He does not promise help before help is needed. He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are on the edge of our need, God's hand is stretched out.
Many people forget this, and are forever worrying about difficulties which they foresee in the future. They expect that God is going to make the way plain and open before them, miles and miles ahead; whereas He has promised to do it only step by step as they may need.
You must get to the waters and into their floods before you can claim the promise. Many people dread death, and lament that they have not "dying grace." Of course, they will not have dying grace when they are in good health, in the midst of life's duties, with death far in advance. Why should they have it then? Grace for duty is what they need then, living grace; then dying grace when they come to die--J.R.M.
"When thou passest through the waters" deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge, and His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it, He, the faithful God and true:
"When thou comest to the waters thou shalt not go down, BUT THROUGH.
Seas of sorrow, seas of trial, bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation sweeping over heart and brain--
They shall never overflow us for we know His word is true;
All His waves and all His billows He will lead us safely through.
Threatenings breakers of destruction, doubt's insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us, Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
We shall not go down or under, for He saith, "Thou passest THROUGH." A. J. Flint
N.J. Hiebert - 9155
God does not open paths for us in advance of our coming. He does not promise help before help is needed. He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are on the edge of our need, God's hand is stretched out.
Many people forget this, and are forever worrying about difficulties which they foresee in the future. They expect that God is going to make the way plain and open before them, miles and miles ahead; whereas He has promised to do it only step by step as they may need.
You must get to the waters and into their floods before you can claim the promise. Many people dread death, and lament that they have not "dying grace." Of course, they will not have dying grace when they are in good health, in the midst of life's duties, with death far in advance. Why should they have it then? Grace for duty is what they need then, living grace; then dying grace when they come to die--J.R.M.
"When thou passest through the waters" deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge, and His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it, He, the faithful God and true:
"When thou comest to the waters thou shalt not go down, BUT THROUGH.
Seas of sorrow, seas of trial, bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation sweeping over heart and brain--
They shall never overflow us for we know His word is true;
All His waves and all His billows He will lead us safely through.
Threatenings breakers of destruction, doubt's insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us, Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
We shall not go down or under, for He saith, "Thou passest THROUGH." A. J. Flint
N.J. Hiebert - 9155
March 19
Jesus answered and said unto them, verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (Matthew 21:21)
This mountain. What mountain? What does "this mountain" mean to me today? I have been thinking of this, and several mountains seem to be in much need of removal. Oh, to see them cast into the sea, to see them sink like stones there and never reappear!
Sometimes our mountains seem to be removed--"Be thou removed", we said in earnest prayer, together or alone; and they did indeed appear to be transported bodily, and to fall with a glorious splash into the sea; and then it was as though they were made of cork or some such substance, for we had no sooner rejoiced over their disappearance, than they reappeared as solid as ever, and sat down where they where before.
"Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Hebrews 10:36). The will of God most clearly is prayer and continuance in prayer. (There would be no need of continuance or of patience if mountains had not this habit of reappearing.)
God give it to us always to "pray, and not to faint." (never lose heart) Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward." (Hebrews 10:35) Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael
N.J.Hiebert - 9156
This mountain. What mountain? What does "this mountain" mean to me today? I have been thinking of this, and several mountains seem to be in much need of removal. Oh, to see them cast into the sea, to see them sink like stones there and never reappear!
Sometimes our mountains seem to be removed--"Be thou removed", we said in earnest prayer, together or alone; and they did indeed appear to be transported bodily, and to fall with a glorious splash into the sea; and then it was as though they were made of cork or some such substance, for we had no sooner rejoiced over their disappearance, than they reappeared as solid as ever, and sat down where they where before.
"Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Hebrews 10:36). The will of God most clearly is prayer and continuance in prayer. (There would be no need of continuance or of patience if mountains had not this habit of reappearing.)
God give it to us always to "pray, and not to faint." (never lose heart) Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward." (Hebrews 10:35) Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael
N.J.Hiebert - 9156
March 20
"One thing have I desired . . . to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." Psalm 27:4
Jesus! Thou art enough the mind and heart to fill;
Thy patient life--to calm the soul, Thy love--its fear dispel.
O fix our earnest gaze so wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That, with Thy beauty occupied, we elsewhere none may see.
A heart possessed of Christ is fortified against the most seductive allurements of the world. The state of our souls may be discerned by the effect produced upon us by the name of Jesus.
Christ Himself is to be our great example of faith, of a life of dependence upon God. If the holiest man that ever lived were to fill our vision it would only hinder and not help us.
Whenever we speak to one another of Christ He will always be one of the company. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." (Malachi 3:16). Do our hearts long for His presence? Then let us speak together of Him more.
We feed on Christ by the appropriation of Him in every character that He is presented to us. The whole life of our blessed Lord as man is compressed into the words, "He humbled Himself." (Philippians 2:8)
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him."(Matthew 17:5) Christ is the sole authority in the Kingdom. Edward Dennett
N.J.Hiebert - 9157
Jesus! Thou art enough the mind and heart to fill;
Thy patient life--to calm the soul, Thy love--its fear dispel.
O fix our earnest gaze so wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That, with Thy beauty occupied, we elsewhere none may see.
A heart possessed of Christ is fortified against the most seductive allurements of the world. The state of our souls may be discerned by the effect produced upon us by the name of Jesus.
Christ Himself is to be our great example of faith, of a life of dependence upon God. If the holiest man that ever lived were to fill our vision it would only hinder and not help us.
Whenever we speak to one another of Christ He will always be one of the company. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." (Malachi 3:16). Do our hearts long for His presence? Then let us speak together of Him more.
We feed on Christ by the appropriation of Him in every character that He is presented to us. The whole life of our blessed Lord as man is compressed into the words, "He humbled Himself." (Philippians 2:8)
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him."(Matthew 17:5) Christ is the sole authority in the Kingdom. Edward Dennett
N.J.Hiebert - 9157
March 21
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21
We are indeed to submit ourselves to God (James 4:7), but such submission does not mean timid cringing as under a tyrant. God is not a taskmaster but our Father.
When trials come, we may submit because we have to and there is nothing else we can do. A better word here is acceptance. We accept God's dealings as Job did though we may not understand.
It is not mere resignation to what cannot be helped but taking what comes, convinced that it is part of the "all things work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28) All The Days - Vance Havner
N.J.Hiebert - 9158
We are indeed to submit ourselves to God (James 4:7), but such submission does not mean timid cringing as under a tyrant. God is not a taskmaster but our Father.
When trials come, we may submit because we have to and there is nothing else we can do. A better word here is acceptance. We accept God's dealings as Job did though we may not understand.
It is not mere resignation to what cannot be helped but taking what comes, convinced that it is part of the "all things work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28) All The Days - Vance Havner
N.J.Hiebert - 9158
March 22
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
1 John 4:9
We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
First, He loves us. Then the discovery of this leads us to love Him, Then, because He loves us, He claims us, and desires to have us wholly yielded to His will, so that the operations of love in and for us may have no hindrance. Then, because we love Him we recognize His claim and yield ourselves.
Then, being thus yielded, He draws us nearer to Him and admits us, so to speak, into closer intimacy, so that we gain nearer and truer views of His perfections. Then the unity of these perfections becomes clearer to us.
Now we not only see His justice and mercy flowing in an undivided stream from the cross of Christ, but we see that they never were divided, though the strange distortions of the dark, false glass of sin made them appear so, but that both are but emanations of God's Holy love.
Then having known and believed this holy love, we see further that His will is not a separate thing, but only love (and therefore all His attributes) in action; love being the primary essence of His being, and all the other attributes manifestations and combinations of that ineffable essence, for God is love.
He hath loved thee, and He knows all thy fears and all thy foes;
Victor thou shalt surely be ever through His love to thee.
Rest in quiet joy on this--greater love hath none than His:
And may this thy life-song be, love to Him that loveth thee!
Francis Ridley Havergal
N.J.Hiebert - 9159
1 John 4:9
We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
First, He loves us. Then the discovery of this leads us to love Him, Then, because He loves us, He claims us, and desires to have us wholly yielded to His will, so that the operations of love in and for us may have no hindrance. Then, because we love Him we recognize His claim and yield ourselves.
Then, being thus yielded, He draws us nearer to Him and admits us, so to speak, into closer intimacy, so that we gain nearer and truer views of His perfections. Then the unity of these perfections becomes clearer to us.
Now we not only see His justice and mercy flowing in an undivided stream from the cross of Christ, but we see that they never were divided, though the strange distortions of the dark, false glass of sin made them appear so, but that both are but emanations of God's Holy love.
Then having known and believed this holy love, we see further that His will is not a separate thing, but only love (and therefore all His attributes) in action; love being the primary essence of His being, and all the other attributes manifestations and combinations of that ineffable essence, for God is love.
He hath loved thee, and He knows all thy fears and all thy foes;
Victor thou shalt surely be ever through His love to thee.
Rest in quiet joy on this--greater love hath none than His:
And may this thy life-song be, love to Him that loveth thee!
Francis Ridley Havergal
N.J.Hiebert - 9159
March 23
For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. Exodus 12:23
The "destroyer" was going to pass through the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn of every house. He was representative of Jehovah, an angelic being who had the power to destroy with death. Hence sometimes this "destroyer" is called, "the angel of death." This angel of death passed over the houses in Egypt that were marked with blood. The blood would signify to him that a death had already occurred in that house and so he would move on without inflicting judgment. However, no one had died except a lamb! (v.12:5)
The firstborn of each Israelite house was was safe, irrespective of their state or feelings. Imagine two different Israelite houses on that night in Egypt. In one, there was a boy who was afraid that he might die when the angel passed over; perhaps the angel wouldn't see the blood, or perhaps his parents had not applied the blood correctly or sufficiently.
In another house there was a boy who had full confidence that the angel would see the blood and pass over. In the morning light, both boys were very much alive. The destroyer did not look at the heart's state of the boys that night, with one in fear and trembling, the other confident and happy. He looked at one thing and one thing only: the blood. Our salvation is not due to our inward state but rather to Christ having made a propitiation for our sins.
During the night those in these Hebrew houses were also doing something else. They were feeding upon a roasted lamb (v.12:8). This would give them energy for the journey which lay ahed of them. This Lord's Day, let us once again appreciate the blood of the Lamb, and feed upon His grace in order to sustain us for the coming week.
Brian Reynolds - The Lord is Near
N.J.Hiebert - 9160
The "destroyer" was going to pass through the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn of every house. He was representative of Jehovah, an angelic being who had the power to destroy with death. Hence sometimes this "destroyer" is called, "the angel of death." This angel of death passed over the houses in Egypt that were marked with blood. The blood would signify to him that a death had already occurred in that house and so he would move on without inflicting judgment. However, no one had died except a lamb! (v.12:5)
The firstborn of each Israelite house was was safe, irrespective of their state or feelings. Imagine two different Israelite houses on that night in Egypt. In one, there was a boy who was afraid that he might die when the angel passed over; perhaps the angel wouldn't see the blood, or perhaps his parents had not applied the blood correctly or sufficiently.
In another house there was a boy who had full confidence that the angel would see the blood and pass over. In the morning light, both boys were very much alive. The destroyer did not look at the heart's state of the boys that night, with one in fear and trembling, the other confident and happy. He looked at one thing and one thing only: the blood. Our salvation is not due to our inward state but rather to Christ having made a propitiation for our sins.
During the night those in these Hebrew houses were also doing something else. They were feeding upon a roasted lamb (v.12:8). This would give them energy for the journey which lay ahed of them. This Lord's Day, let us once again appreciate the blood of the Lamb, and feed upon His grace in order to sustain us for the coming week.
Brian Reynolds - The Lord is Near
N.J.Hiebert - 9160
March 24
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