We must keep looking for our Lord's return.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 21
The reference here is without any doubt to that advent of our Saviour for which we are bidden to look. The New Testament is full of teaching about this blessed hope, and we lose much if we fail to cherish it in our hearts.
Over 300 times is it spoken of in the later portion of the inspired Word, and the place which it occupies there, indicates the place which it should hold in our thinking. The central ordinance of the Church--the remembrance of the Lord's death--is described in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
That great passage is both commemorative and anticipative; it directs us historically to the night of His betrayal, and prophetically to the day of His return. The last six words of verse 26--"the Lord's death till He come"--tell the whole story.
The first three of these words point us back to the cross; the last three point us on to His coming. Taken together, the six words are like a beautiful rainbow, the one end of which dips in the sufferings of Christ, and the other, in the glory that is to follow.
"And thus that dark betrayal-night,
With His next advent we unite,
By one blest chain of loving rite,
Until He come." The Best is Yet to Be - Henry Durbanville
N.J.Hiebert - 9218
May 21
And Jacob dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven...
And, behold, the Lord stood above it and said...
I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest and will bring thee again into this land...
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God... (Genesis 28:10-22)
Observe, "If God will be with me." Now, the Lord had just said, emphatically, "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land," etc. And yet poor Jacob's heart cannot get beyond an "if;" nor, in its thoughts of God's goodness, can it rise higher than "bread to eat, and raiment to put on."
Such were the thoughts of one who had just seen the magnificent vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with the Lord standing above, and promising an enumerable seed and an everlasting possession.
Jacob was evidentially unable to enter into the reality and fullness of God's thoughts. He measured God by himself, and thus utterly failed to apprehend Him. In short, Jacob had not yet really got to the end of himself; and hence he had not really begun with God. Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9219
And, behold, the Lord stood above it and said...
I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest and will bring thee again into this land...
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God... (Genesis 28:10-22)
Observe, "If God will be with me." Now, the Lord had just said, emphatically, "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whether thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land," etc. And yet poor Jacob's heart cannot get beyond an "if;" nor, in its thoughts of God's goodness, can it rise higher than "bread to eat, and raiment to put on."
Such were the thoughts of one who had just seen the magnificent vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with the Lord standing above, and promising an enumerable seed and an everlasting possession.
Jacob was evidentially unable to enter into the reality and fullness of God's thoughts. He measured God by himself, and thus utterly failed to apprehend Him. In short, Jacob had not yet really got to the end of himself; and hence he had not really begun with God. Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh
N.J.Hiebert - 9219
May 22
What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. Jonah 1:11
The matter is being pressed close home to Jonah now. "What shall we do unto thee?" Well Jonah knew that the awful storm about them, every moment getting worse and worse, was all his fault. Though Jonah had not "feared exceedingly" when he ought to have done so, now he began to find out that God is not mocked, and that it is no light thing to try and trifle with Him.
I suppose that most of us are not in any position to say very many words of blame to Jonah. Have not most of us had to learn the same bitter lesson? How natural to the heart of man is the thought, and how eager the enemy is to tell us, that we may sin with impunity and "get away with it." No, beloved fellow-Christian, whether it was Jonah, or whether it is you or I, "God is not mocked." "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23) Sin will surely bring bitter, bitter fruit.
"And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you." Brave Jonah! One cannot help but admire and love this man, in spite of all his failure.
How many of us would have dared to pronounce so clearly our own death sentence, and so fully and frankly acknowledged our own guilt, and its consequence, without a single word of excuse or self justification? He now plainly answered their third question, "For whose cause is the evil upon us?"
When we consider that it must surely have been Jonah himself, who wrote this book (under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God), a book which has not a syllable to his own credit, we can not help but honour this brave honest man.
Lessons from Jonah The Prophet - G. C. Willis
N.J.Hiebert - 9220
The matter is being pressed close home to Jonah now. "What shall we do unto thee?" Well Jonah knew that the awful storm about them, every moment getting worse and worse, was all his fault. Though Jonah had not "feared exceedingly" when he ought to have done so, now he began to find out that God is not mocked, and that it is no light thing to try and trifle with Him.
I suppose that most of us are not in any position to say very many words of blame to Jonah. Have not most of us had to learn the same bitter lesson? How natural to the heart of man is the thought, and how eager the enemy is to tell us, that we may sin with impunity and "get away with it." No, beloved fellow-Christian, whether it was Jonah, or whether it is you or I, "God is not mocked." "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23) Sin will surely bring bitter, bitter fruit.
"And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you." Brave Jonah! One cannot help but admire and love this man, in spite of all his failure.
How many of us would have dared to pronounce so clearly our own death sentence, and so fully and frankly acknowledged our own guilt, and its consequence, without a single word of excuse or self justification? He now plainly answered their third question, "For whose cause is the evil upon us?"
When we consider that it must surely have been Jonah himself, who wrote this book (under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God), a book which has not a syllable to his own credit, we can not help but honour this brave honest man.
Lessons from Jonah The Prophet - G. C. Willis
N.J.Hiebert - 9220
May 23
The Lord is my Shepherd. Psalm 23:1
Someone has said that the twenty-third is the sweetest of all the Psalms: first learned, oftenest repeated, longest remembered. The simple words of which is composed "touch, inspire, comfort us, not as an echo from three thousand years ago, but as the voice of a living friend.
The child repeats them at his mother's knees; the scholar expends on them his choicest learning; the church lifts them to heaven in the many-voiced chorus.
They fall like music on the sick man's ear and heart; they cheer and encourage the dying Christian as he enters "the shadow of death."
It speaks of the Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep (verse 1); of the green pastures into which He leads us for our own sake (verse 2); and of the paths of righteousness into which He leads us for His name's sake (verse 3).
It tells us that the valley of the shadow, although full of deadly peril, is nevertheless an avenue to God (verse 4); of the fact that it is possible to have festivity in the midst of conflict (verse 5); and of the two shining ones--"Goodness and Mercy"--who have come from the upper sanctuary to conduct the flock of God to the heavenly land (verse 6).
In other words we have in this brief section of the Word: the Person (verse 1); the provision (verse 2); the pathway (verse 3); the peril; (verse 4); the preparation (verse 5); and the prospect (verse 6).
May we all search more and more into its marvellous depths, enjoy increasingly its matchless beauty, and experience, through all life's future days, its perennial power. The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson
N.J.Hiebert - 9221
Someone has said that the twenty-third is the sweetest of all the Psalms: first learned, oftenest repeated, longest remembered. The simple words of which is composed "touch, inspire, comfort us, not as an echo from three thousand years ago, but as the voice of a living friend.
The child repeats them at his mother's knees; the scholar expends on them his choicest learning; the church lifts them to heaven in the many-voiced chorus.
They fall like music on the sick man's ear and heart; they cheer and encourage the dying Christian as he enters "the shadow of death."
It speaks of the Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep (verse 1); of the green pastures into which He leads us for our own sake (verse 2); and of the paths of righteousness into which He leads us for His name's sake (verse 3).
It tells us that the valley of the shadow, although full of deadly peril, is nevertheless an avenue to God (verse 4); of the fact that it is possible to have festivity in the midst of conflict (verse 5); and of the two shining ones--"Goodness and Mercy"--who have come from the upper sanctuary to conduct the flock of God to the heavenly land (verse 6).
In other words we have in this brief section of the Word: the Person (verse 1); the provision (verse 2); the pathway (verse 3); the peril; (verse 4); the preparation (verse 5); and the prospect (verse 6).
May we all search more and more into its marvellous depths, enjoy increasingly its matchless beauty, and experience, through all life's future days, its perennial power. The Pearl of Psalms - George Henderson
N.J.Hiebert - 9221
May 24
I WON'T BE HERE LONG
For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 Even the hour of keenest pain or months of sad bereavement will one day seem but a fleeting moment. Time is relative.
A few minutes in a medical examination may seem an hour while a young suitor's evening with his girl friend may seem but a few minutes. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. . . " (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Our threescore and ten years are short "for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm 90:10). We won't be here long and we shall grieve that we misused our days and even the best shall regret that they did not spend them better. All the Days - Vance Havner
"But for a moment this valley of sorrows,
Darkened with shadows and heavy with sighs;
Bright dawns the morrow, the glorious morrow!
Faint not! the Lord shall call us to arise!
"Far more exceeding" the heavenly glory--
Sufferings here with it cannot compare.
Glory eternal the guerdon for anguish--
Radiant crowns, for the thorns, over there!
Temporal things like a vapour shall vanish;
Higher than earth lies the land of our choice;
Upward we press to the home there eternal;
Jesus the Lord we behold and rejoice! G. C. Stebbins
N.J.Hiebert - 9222
For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 Even the hour of keenest pain or months of sad bereavement will one day seem but a fleeting moment. Time is relative.
A few minutes in a medical examination may seem an hour while a young suitor's evening with his girl friend may seem but a few minutes. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. . . " (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Our threescore and ten years are short "for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm 90:10). We won't be here long and we shall grieve that we misused our days and even the best shall regret that they did not spend them better. All the Days - Vance Havner
"But for a moment this valley of sorrows,
Darkened with shadows and heavy with sighs;
Bright dawns the morrow, the glorious morrow!
Faint not! the Lord shall call us to arise!
"Far more exceeding" the heavenly glory--
Sufferings here with it cannot compare.
Glory eternal the guerdon for anguish--
Radiant crowns, for the thorns, over there!
Temporal things like a vapour shall vanish;
Higher than earth lies the land of our choice;
Upward we press to the home there eternal;
Jesus the Lord we behold and rejoice! G. C. Stebbins
N.J.Hiebert - 9222
May 25
But think on me when it shall be well with thee. Genesis 40:14
In many ways Joseph is a remarkable type of Christ: hated by his brothers, rejected and sold to the Egyptians, eventually exalted as Prime Minister over Egypt; a shadow of the sufferings and glories of the Lord Jesus--this we well know.
In the scene described here, Joseph was absolutely innocent of any crime yet had been languishing in prison for eleven long years. He had not been idle, however, and the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge over all the other prisoners.
As much as Joseph was innocent, it is probable that both the cupbearer and the chief baker were guilty of some infraction against Pharaoh. As the scene unfolds, it came about that each of these had a dream and came to Joseph for the interpretation (40:8). How encouraging are Joseph's words to them: "Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."
Joseph's interpretation came to pass exactly as he predicted. Before the cupbearer was restored to his position, Joseph had one request: "But think on me when it shall be well with thee...and make mention of me unto Pharaoh" (40:14-15). "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph." (40:23). Eventually this wrong was corrected and Joseph came to the cupbearer's mind as he stood before Pharaoh.
The Lord Jesus, One much greater than Joseph, on the night in which He was betrayed said, "This do in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:24). How touching that the Lord requests this of us. On the dark night of Satan's power, and in light of His coming sufferings, Christ desired that from that time forward we would observe this memorial. May we never be like the cupbearer and forget, "Christ also suffered for us." (1 Peter 2:21). Brian Reynolds
N.J.Hiebert - 9223
In many ways Joseph is a remarkable type of Christ: hated by his brothers, rejected and sold to the Egyptians, eventually exalted as Prime Minister over Egypt; a shadow of the sufferings and glories of the Lord Jesus--this we well know.
In the scene described here, Joseph was absolutely innocent of any crime yet had been languishing in prison for eleven long years. He had not been idle, however, and the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge over all the other prisoners.
As much as Joseph was innocent, it is probable that both the cupbearer and the chief baker were guilty of some infraction against Pharaoh. As the scene unfolds, it came about that each of these had a dream and came to Joseph for the interpretation (40:8). How encouraging are Joseph's words to them: "Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."
Joseph's interpretation came to pass exactly as he predicted. Before the cupbearer was restored to his position, Joseph had one request: "But think on me when it shall be well with thee...and make mention of me unto Pharaoh" (40:14-15). "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph." (40:23). Eventually this wrong was corrected and Joseph came to the cupbearer's mind as he stood before Pharaoh.
The Lord Jesus, One much greater than Joseph, on the night in which He was betrayed said, "This do in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:24). How touching that the Lord requests this of us. On the dark night of Satan's power, and in light of His coming sufferings, Christ desired that from that time forward we would observe this memorial. May we never be like the cupbearer and forget, "Christ also suffered for us." (1 Peter 2:21). Brian Reynolds
N.J.Hiebert - 9223
May 26
"Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
This is a very comforting passage! The question, however, is often asked. Will ALL believers be caught up when the Lord comes? Some teachers of note believe that only certain deserving saints will be caught up, and undeserving ones left behind. But this passage makes it very plain. "We shall ALL be changed."
"Yes," says someone, "but may that not be true that in the end all shall be changed, though some may be raised at first and others later on?" NO, the passage is clear not only that ALL shall be changed, but ALL at the same moment. We are told it is to take place in a moment, and that moment is defined as the twinkling of an eye. There can be no doubt as to this passage.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a very precious passage enlarging on 1 Corinthians 15, which particularly is taken up with the resurrection side of the question. In 1 Thessalonians 4, however, we get outlined the procedure that will take place. "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."
The Lord HIMSELF shall come and shout the quickening word. The first to feel the power of it will be the sleeping saints, all those that are Christ's at His coming. That surely will include the Old Testament saints, and all the Lord's during the Christian era, indeed all who are under the shelter of His precious blood. Why I Believe the Bible - A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9224
This is a very comforting passage! The question, however, is often asked. Will ALL believers be caught up when the Lord comes? Some teachers of note believe that only certain deserving saints will be caught up, and undeserving ones left behind. But this passage makes it very plain. "We shall ALL be changed."
"Yes," says someone, "but may that not be true that in the end all shall be changed, though some may be raised at first and others later on?" NO, the passage is clear not only that ALL shall be changed, but ALL at the same moment. We are told it is to take place in a moment, and that moment is defined as the twinkling of an eye. There can be no doubt as to this passage.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a very precious passage enlarging on 1 Corinthians 15, which particularly is taken up with the resurrection side of the question. In 1 Thessalonians 4, however, we get outlined the procedure that will take place. "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."
The Lord HIMSELF shall come and shout the quickening word. The first to feel the power of it will be the sleeping saints, all those that are Christ's at His coming. That surely will include the Old Testament saints, and all the Lord's during the Christian era, indeed all who are under the shelter of His precious blood. Why I Believe the Bible - A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9224
May 27
THE UNFINISHED SONG
Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood...be glory and dominion forever and ever." (Revelation 1:5,6) "And no man could learn that song but the...redeemed from, the earth"-- (Revelation 14:3)
When the heavenly hosts shall gather and the heavenly courts shall ring
With the rapture of the ransomed, and the new song they shall sing,
Though they come from every nation, every kindred, every race,
None can ever learn that music till he knows God's pardoning grace.
All those vast eternities to come will never be too long
To tell the endless story and to sing the endless song;
"Unto Him who loved us and who loosed us from our sin"--
We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here the words begin.
"Unto Him who loved us"--we shall sing it o'er and o'er,
"Unto Him who loved us"--we shall love it more and more;
"Unto Him who loved us"--song of songs most sweet and dear;
But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn the music here.
Here, where there was none to save us, none to help us, none to care,
Here, where Jesus came to seek us, lost in darkness and despair,
Here, where on that cross of anguish He redeemed us from our sins,
Here, where first we knew the Saviour, it is here the song begins.
Here, amid the toils and trials of this fleeting earthly life,
Here, amid the din and turmoil of this troubled earthly strife, Here, in suffering and sorrow, here,* in weariness and wrong;
We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here we start the song.
The Unfinished Song - Annie Johnson Flint - (To be continued)
N.J.Hiebert - 9225
Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood...be glory and dominion forever and ever." (Revelation 1:5,6) "And no man could learn that song but the...redeemed from, the earth"-- (Revelation 14:3)
When the heavenly hosts shall gather and the heavenly courts shall ring
With the rapture of the ransomed, and the new song they shall sing,
Though they come from every nation, every kindred, every race,
None can ever learn that music till he knows God's pardoning grace.
All those vast eternities to come will never be too long
To tell the endless story and to sing the endless song;
"Unto Him who loved us and who loosed us from our sin"--
We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here the words begin.
"Unto Him who loved us"--we shall sing it o'er and o'er,
"Unto Him who loved us"--we shall love it more and more;
"Unto Him who loved us"--song of songs most sweet and dear;
But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn the music here.
Here, where there was none to save us, none to help us, none to care,
Here, where Jesus came to seek us, lost in darkness and despair,
Here, where on that cross of anguish He redeemed us from our sins,
Here, where first we knew the Saviour, it is here the song begins.
Here, amid the toils and trials of this fleeting earthly life,
Here, amid the din and turmoil of this troubled earthly strife, Here, in suffering and sorrow, here,* in weariness and wrong;
We shall finish it in heaven, but 'tis here we start the song.
The Unfinished Song - Annie Johnson Flint - (To be continued)
N.J.Hiebert - 9225
May 28
The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John 1:7
"Unto Him who loves us"--we must sing it ever day,
"Unto who loves us" who is Light and Guide and Way;
"Unto Him who loves us"--and who holds us very dear;
If we'd know it over yonder, we must learn the music here.
There will be no silent voices in that ever-blessed throng;
There will be no faltering accents in that hallelujah song;
Like the sound of many waters shall the mighty paean be
When the Lord's redeemed shall praise Him for the grace that set them free.
But 'tis here the theme is written; it is here we tune our tongue;
It is here the first glad notes of joy with stammering lips are sung.
It is here the first faint echoes of that chorus reach our ear;
We shall finish it in heaven, but our hearts begin it here.
"Unto Him who loved us"--to the Lamb for sinners slain,
"Unto Him who loved us"--evermore the joyful strain;
"Unto Him who loved us"--full and strong and sweet and clear;
But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn to sing it here.
Annie Johnson Flint's Best Known Poems
N.J.Hiebert - 9226
1 John 1:7
"Unto Him who loves us"--we must sing it ever day,
"Unto who loves us" who is Light and Guide and Way;
"Unto Him who loves us"--and who holds us very dear;
If we'd know it over yonder, we must learn the music here.
There will be no silent voices in that ever-blessed throng;
There will be no faltering accents in that hallelujah song;
Like the sound of many waters shall the mighty paean be
When the Lord's redeemed shall praise Him for the grace that set them free.
But 'tis here the theme is written; it is here we tune our tongue;
It is here the first glad notes of joy with stammering lips are sung.
It is here the first faint echoes of that chorus reach our ear;
We shall finish it in heaven, but our hearts begin it here.
"Unto Him who loved us"--to the Lamb for sinners slain,
"Unto Him who loved us"--evermore the joyful strain;
"Unto Him who loved us"--full and strong and sweet and clear;
But, if we would know it yonder, we must learn to sing it here.
Annie Johnson Flint's Best Known Poems
N.J.Hiebert - 9226
May 29
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them.
1 Timothy 4:16.
Has reading the Word of God become a burden? Are we left indifferent or getting nothing out of it? Should we perhaps replace it by lighter reading? But the Lord says: "If ye continue in my My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; (John 8:31) More and more we cut short our prayer times. Family and activities of all kinds and even service for the Lord have become more important. But what say the Scriptures?
"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2). As those widows in 1 Timothy 5:5 we also should continue in supplications and prayers night and day." Why maintain certain doctrines received with conviction earlier in our Christian life?
One or two "small compromises" could get us closer to other Christians friends in order to have practical fellowship. But this could be falling in to Satan's snare: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. (John 8:44).
Let us imitate the first Christians who "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine..." (Acts 2:42). (Acts13:43) Paul and Barnabus...persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
"Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations." (Luke 22:28) Will He have a similar comment on our perseverance when we appear before Him? E. R. Pigeon
N.J.Hiebert - 9227
Has reading the Word of God become a burden? Are we left indifferent or getting nothing out of it? Should we perhaps replace it by lighter reading? But the Lord says: "If ye continue in my My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; (John 8:31) More and more we cut short our prayer times. Family and activities of all kinds and even service for the Lord have become more important. But what say the Scriptures?
"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2). As those widows in 1 Timothy 5:5 we also should continue in supplications and prayers night and day." Why maintain certain doctrines received with conviction earlier in our Christian life?
One or two "small compromises" could get us closer to other Christians friends in order to have practical fellowship. But this could be falling in to Satan's snare: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. (John 8:44).
Let us imitate the first Christians who "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine..." (Acts 2:42). (Acts13:43) Paul and Barnabus...persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
"Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations." (Luke 22:28) Will He have a similar comment on our perseverance when we appear before Him? E. R. Pigeon
N.J.Hiebert - 9227
May 30
Seek the Lord, and His strength: seek His face evermore." Psalm 105:4
The first words of Psalm 105 are jubilant commands that, when all goes well with us, seem so gloriously easy to obey. It would be hard to do anything else.
But the Spirit knew that there would be different hours, hours when the natural foundations of courage, hope, peace and joy would be quicksand under our feet. And so He pauses, as it were, to remind us of our Strength, the Rock of our hearts. Seek His face.
Someone has written, that when we reach heaven, "then shall none of us be stirred to say: Lord, if it had been thus, then it had been well; but we shall all say with one voice: Lord, blessed may Thou be, for it is thus; it is well.
Moreover He that shall be our bliss when we are there is our Keeper while we are here; and the last word of Revelation is the same as the first: (Revelation 21:7,2:7) Thou shalt not be overcome.
He said not: "thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed;" but He said "Thou shalt not be overcome." Whispers of His Power - Amy Carmichael
N.J. Hiebert - 9228
The first words of Psalm 105 are jubilant commands that, when all goes well with us, seem so gloriously easy to obey. It would be hard to do anything else.
But the Spirit knew that there would be different hours, hours when the natural foundations of courage, hope, peace and joy would be quicksand under our feet. And so He pauses, as it were, to remind us of our Strength, the Rock of our hearts. Seek His face.
Someone has written, that when we reach heaven, "then shall none of us be stirred to say: Lord, if it had been thus, then it had been well; but we shall all say with one voice: Lord, blessed may Thou be, for it is thus; it is well.
Moreover He that shall be our bliss when we are there is our Keeper while we are here; and the last word of Revelation is the same as the first: (Revelation 21:7,2:7) Thou shalt not be overcome.
He said not: "thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed;" but He said "Thou shalt not be overcome." Whispers of His Power - Amy Carmichael
N.J. Hiebert - 9228
May 31
Nay...but if one went unto them from the dead (to his five brothers) they will repent...if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:28-31
A child can understand the Holy Scriptures, "and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) There is not one beneath the canopy of God's heaven, who possesses a copy of the holy Scriptures, who is not solemnly responsible before God for the use he makes of them.
If professing Christians were split up into ten thousand times as many sects as they are; if they were ten thousand times as inconsistent as they are; if schools and doctors of divinity were ten thousand times more conflicting than they are--still the word to each possessor of the Bible is, "You have Moses and the prophets, and the New Testament, hear them."
Oh! that we could persuade the unconverted, the unawakened, the unbelieving reader to think of these things, to think of them now, to ponder them, in the very hidden depths of his moral being, to give them his heart's undivided attention, ere it be too late.
We contemplate, with ever-deepening horror, the condition of a lost soul in hell--of one opening his eyes, in that place of endless torment, to the tremendous fact that God is against him and against him forever; that all hope is gone; that nothing can ever bridge the chasm that separates the region of the lost from the heaven of the redeemed; that "there is a great gulf FIXED." Luke 16:26)
The Lord's Coming - C. H. Mackintosh
God's house is filling fast, yet there is room!
Some guest will be the last, "yet there is room!"
Yes! soon salvation's day to you will pass away,
Then grace no more will say--"yet there is room!" (G. W. Frazer)
N.J.Hiebert - 9229
A child can understand the Holy Scriptures, "and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) There is not one beneath the canopy of God's heaven, who possesses a copy of the holy Scriptures, who is not solemnly responsible before God for the use he makes of them.
If professing Christians were split up into ten thousand times as many sects as they are; if they were ten thousand times as inconsistent as they are; if schools and doctors of divinity were ten thousand times more conflicting than they are--still the word to each possessor of the Bible is, "You have Moses and the prophets, and the New Testament, hear them."
Oh! that we could persuade the unconverted, the unawakened, the unbelieving reader to think of these things, to think of them now, to ponder them, in the very hidden depths of his moral being, to give them his heart's undivided attention, ere it be too late.
We contemplate, with ever-deepening horror, the condition of a lost soul in hell--of one opening his eyes, in that place of endless torment, to the tremendous fact that God is against him and against him forever; that all hope is gone; that nothing can ever bridge the chasm that separates the region of the lost from the heaven of the redeemed; that "there is a great gulf FIXED." Luke 16:26)
The Lord's Coming - C. H. Mackintosh
God's house is filling fast, yet there is room!
Some guest will be the last, "yet there is room!"
Yes! soon salvation's day to you will pass away,
Then grace no more will say--"yet there is room!" (G. W. Frazer)
N.J.Hiebert - 9229
June 1
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7
Two Christian women were talking together. One said to the other, "I have got a very comforting text, which helps me much; "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." (Psalm 56:3)
The other Christian replied, "I have a better text than that: I will trust and not be afraid' " (Isaiah -12:2) Now we would not compare one text with another where all are from God's Word, and are the expression of His people's confidence in Him, and as such are comforting.
There is the infirmity of human nature, and in this our great High Priest has sympathy. No one need chide himself if a certain amount of fear and apprehension possesses the heart during those times of stress, if only in the fear there is a turning to the Lord to find a refuge in Him. (Psalm 56:3).
Happy is the one who has this experience, happier still if this leads to a deeper acquaintance with God, so that in quiet confidence in Him they can really say, "I will trust and not be afraid." For let us remember: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3) A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9230
Two Christian women were talking together. One said to the other, "I have got a very comforting text, which helps me much; "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." (Psalm 56:3)
The other Christian replied, "I have a better text than that: I will trust and not be afraid' " (Isaiah -12:2) Now we would not compare one text with another where all are from God's Word, and are the expression of His people's confidence in Him, and as such are comforting.
There is the infirmity of human nature, and in this our great High Priest has sympathy. No one need chide himself if a certain amount of fear and apprehension possesses the heart during those times of stress, if only in the fear there is a turning to the Lord to find a refuge in Him. (Psalm 56:3).
Happy is the one who has this experience, happier still if this leads to a deeper acquaintance with God, so that in quiet confidence in Him they can really say, "I will trust and not be afraid." For let us remember: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3) A. J. Pollock
N.J.Hiebert - 9230
June 2
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself...and he saw, and believed. (John 20:6-8)
The seemingly unimportant detail of the linen clothes, that wrapped the body of our Lord, being left in the tomb, though unnoticed by the women, was a convincing proof of resurrection to both Peter and John. It was not merely the fact that the linen was there, although that was a matter to arrest attention; but the place of the linen of the body, separated from the napkin of the head, and the way the linen was wrapped together--these forced on the observant disciples the conviction of their Lord's resurrection.
Had the body of Christ been carried from the grave, linen clothes would have gone with Him. However, had the hand of man removed the linen from both body and head, all would have been thrown on a heap in the grave. No human hand could have folded the linen so. What purpose would any person have to attempt to wrap the linen in this way even if it had been possible?
Those linen clothes were a miracle. Both Peter and John knew without a doubt what they meant. The body that was wrapped in those garments had disappeared from them without disturbing them. Resurrection had taken place. Although Peter and John did not yet know the scripture that He must rise again, those linen clothes convinced them absolutely that their Lord rose from the tomb. (John 20:9). Our Lord Jesus Christ - A Plant of Renown Leonard Sheldrake
N.J.Hiebert - (9231)
The seemingly unimportant detail of the linen clothes, that wrapped the body of our Lord, being left in the tomb, though unnoticed by the women, was a convincing proof of resurrection to both Peter and John. It was not merely the fact that the linen was there, although that was a matter to arrest attention; but the place of the linen of the body, separated from the napkin of the head, and the way the linen was wrapped together--these forced on the observant disciples the conviction of their Lord's resurrection.
Had the body of Christ been carried from the grave, linen clothes would have gone with Him. However, had the hand of man removed the linen from both body and head, all would have been thrown on a heap in the grave. No human hand could have folded the linen so. What purpose would any person have to attempt to wrap the linen in this way even if it had been possible?
Those linen clothes were a miracle. Both Peter and John knew without a doubt what they meant. The body that was wrapped in those garments had disappeared from them without disturbing them. Resurrection had taken place. Although Peter and John did not yet know the scripture that He must rise again, those linen clothes convinced them absolutely that their Lord rose from the tomb. (John 20:9). Our Lord Jesus Christ - A Plant of Renown Leonard Sheldrake
N.J.Hiebert - (9231)
June 3
And when she (Jochebed) could not longer hide him (Moses) she took for him an ark of bullrushes...and laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister (Miriam) stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
(Exodus 2:3-4)
The angels could hardly have had a more interesting sight than they had when, more than 3000 years ago, they watched little Miriam minding the baby. If they only could have known who the baby that lay in that rude cradle was to become and what stupendous work he was to accomplish!
But poor little Miriam, the Hebrew slave-child, probably felt only a horrible dread when the retinue of the princess of Egypt approached and a suffocating fright when the crying baby was drawn forth from his hiding place by the people who had decreed his death. Moses' parents were godly people, and evidently they recognized God's special grace in giving them this child. No doubt Miriam was quite thankful to observe that the princess was evidently pleased with the child.
This is the moment which Miriam seizes to run forward and ask the princess whether she would like her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. Do so, says the princess, and the girl hurries away to bring the baby's own mother. The courage and resourcefulness shown by Miriam, together with her devotion to a task monotonous and dangerous gives an impression that she was being taught by God for the part she had yet to fill.
We do not usually rate the services of a nursemaid very high, but still she may be, like Miriam, doing work of enormous importance in guarding the beginning of some God-inspired life. Yes, Miriam may have thought she was only minding the baby, when all the time she was watching over the destinies of the planet. When the princess had received the infant, most watchers would have quietly gone away home quite satisfied, but Miriam clinches the nail and makes it a rivet. "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse..." Exodus 2:7-9)
The Christian - J. C. Bayley
N.J.Hiebert - 9232
The angels could hardly have had a more interesting sight than they had when, more than 3000 years ago, they watched little Miriam minding the baby. If they only could have known who the baby that lay in that rude cradle was to become and what stupendous work he was to accomplish!
But poor little Miriam, the Hebrew slave-child, probably felt only a horrible dread when the retinue of the princess of Egypt approached and a suffocating fright when the crying baby was drawn forth from his hiding place by the people who had decreed his death. Moses' parents were godly people, and evidently they recognized God's special grace in giving them this child. No doubt Miriam was quite thankful to observe that the princess was evidently pleased with the child.
This is the moment which Miriam seizes to run forward and ask the princess whether she would like her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. Do so, says the princess, and the girl hurries away to bring the baby's own mother. The courage and resourcefulness shown by Miriam, together with her devotion to a task monotonous and dangerous gives an impression that she was being taught by God for the part she had yet to fill.
We do not usually rate the services of a nursemaid very high, but still she may be, like Miriam, doing work of enormous importance in guarding the beginning of some God-inspired life. Yes, Miriam may have thought she was only minding the baby, when all the time she was watching over the destinies of the planet. When the princess had received the infant, most watchers would have quietly gone away home quite satisfied, but Miriam clinches the nail and makes it a rivet. "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse..." Exodus 2:7-9)
The Christian - J. C. Bayley
N.J.Hiebert - 9232
June 4
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