There was a man...whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. Job 1:1
When we turn to this ancient book in our Bibles, we find that God searched the world over, not for the worst man, but for the best, and He tells us Job's strangely pathetic story and shows how that good man was brought to repentance that thus "every mouth may be stopped" (Romans 3:19), and all the world of men might be brought in guilty before Him. For if a man of Job's character must repent, what shall be said of me, and of you, who come so far behind him in righteousness and integrity and have sinned so deplorably and come so far short of the glory of God? Can you not see the wisdom of Jehovah in selecting such a man to show the need that all men should repent?
Consider the case of Job. A wealthy Oriental sheik, apparently, he lived in the days before the knowledge of God had been lost. Romans 1 shows us men turned from the living and true God to vain idols, and "for this cause God gave them up" (Romans 1:26) to all sorts of unclean practices. Job had escaped all this. He was perfect in his behaviour, upright in all his ways, one who reverenced God and detested iniquity. In chapters 1 and 2, we get a remarkable revelation of things in the unseen world. Job is the subject of a conversation between God and Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10) who accuses them before God day and night.
The Lord challenges Satan, "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth...one that feareth God, and escheweth [shuns] evil?" (Job 1:8). Note Job was all that God said he was--a man of faith, a true child of God. This book give us, then, not the repentance of a sinner, but the repentance of a saint. Satan denies the truthfulness of the divine estimate of Job and particularly declares that Job does not love and reverence the Lord for what He is in Himself, but for what Job received at His hand. To prove the contrary, the devil is permitted to wrest from the patriarch all that He possessed. Instead of renouncing God, Job exclaims, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). Unless You Repent-H. A. Ironside
N.J. Hiebert - 20274
April 10
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9
"Let us not lose heart in doing the right."
It is a different word from the "good things" we read of in verse 6. It is often translated "beautiful." These truly are good things--beautiful things, noble things, honourable things; these are the things every one of us may do every day. We call them little things very often; perhaps giving a drink of cold water to someone who is thirsty. But that deed will get its reward; It will have a harvest.
Most of our lives are filled up with little things--often we think useless little things that are of little profit, but, have to be done--meals have to be cooked, dishes have to be washed, children have to be cared for, our business or our daily job has to be done, and often we long for for something "bigger and better," as we suppose, to do for our Lord. Brother, sister, these little, daily duties may be the good, the noble, the honourable thing, "the right thing" for you to be doing.
The Lord says to you two things: Do not lose heart; do not relax. We first lose heart, it seems to be so useless. Perhaps you teach a Sunday school class, but the children are not converted. Do not lose heart, do not relax; in its own time you shall reap. It is God's own promise, and it must be true.
The word "relax" is what happens to a bow string if it becomes loose; and then the bow is useless. The bow is only useful while the string is tight. So if I relax in my work for the Lord, I become useless also; and remember in "its own time" (and that may be a long time, for seeds do not all grow quickly), in "its own time" we shall reap if we do not relax. Meditations on Galatians - G. C. Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 20275
April 11
And Judah said, what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants!" Genesis 44:16
Joseph's brothers no longer attempt to justify themselves as to the present, they do not attempt to clear themselves as to the past. They are convicted sinners "found out" by God; and they entirely submit to Joseph, "We are my lord's servants," (V.16) they say. This indeed is excellent, but these are words and may be but empty profession. Words must be proved by deeds.
Judah, therefore, comes forward on behalf of the brethren, and proves the reality of their words by what they are prepared to do. He can say, "Let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren."(V.33). Moreover; the pleading love that breathes throughout Judah's touching appeal proves how deep the repentance that has been wrought in their souls.
The heart of stone has indeed been changed into a heart of flesh. As a son he pleads for Jacob. He is our father, he is an old man, he loves Benjamin (v.20), "his life is bound up in the lad's life" (v.30). How can "I see the evil that shall come on my father?" (34) As a true brother he pleads for Benjamin. He is "a lad," "a little one" (v.20), "Our youngest brother."
But this appeal to Joseph shows that not only repentance has been wrought but confidence has been in measure won. A beautiful picture of that "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21) which always accompanies a true work of grace.
Joseph - Hamilton Smith
N.J. Hiebert - 20276
April 12
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:17
In one respect, law and grace are alike, for both set before us a very exalted standard. In all other respects they are exact opposites. At mount Sinai, the law of Moses was given (Exodus 19-20). God explicitly laid down His righteous and holy demands. If men obeyed, they were blessed; if they disobeyed, they came under the law's solemn curse. Grace, on the other hand, means that all of God's righteous and holy demands have been met in Christ's death and resurrection.
To all who believe, forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit are granted, so there may be power to conform to the standard, which under grace is nothing short of Christ Himself. The very essence of law, then, is demand; the very essence of grace is supply. Under law, God stands before us saying, "Give! Render to Me your love and dutiful obedience." Under grace, He stands with hands outstretched, saying, "Take! Receive of My love and saving power." Law says, "Do and live." grace says, "Live and do."
Believers are not under law but under grace. In Galatians 4:4-5, we find how this change has come about: "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." The change, then, is found in one word: REDEMPTION. and that involved the death of the Redeemer.
He was made a curse for us by dying on the tree (Galatians 3:13), and therefore the believer is entitled to regard himself as "dead to the law" (Romans 7:4). The law did not die; Jesus died beneath its curse, but now God suspends His wrath and proclaims grace available to all. The believer died to the law in the Person of his great Representative. Now he is controlled by another power, and that power is in a Person--the risen Son of God. F. B. Hole
N.J. Hiebert - 20277
April 13
Unto you therefore which believe He is precious. 1 Peter 2:7
Peter gives us an excellent example of the sanctifying and life changing grace of God. On one occasion Peter denied his Lord with an oath and said, "I do not know the man" (Matthew 26:72). But now the Spirit has transformed him and he writes, "He is precious."
To those who believe, O how precious He is! He is "God's unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15) and eternity will not be enough time to display all His beauties. Time spent at His feet now, basking in the sunshine of His love will convince us with Peter that, "He is precious." Let us worship Him today! Milton Haack
"Glory to God on high! peace upon earth and joy,
Good will to man." We who God's blessing prove
His name all names above, Sing now the Saviour's love,
Too vast to scan.
Mercy and truth unite, Oh! 'tis a wondrous sight,
All sights above! Jesus the curse sustains!
Guilt's bitter cup He drains! nothing for us remains--
Nothing but love.
Love that no tongue can teach, love that no thought can reach,
No love like His. God is its blessèd source,
Death ne'er can stop its course, Nothing can stay its force;
Matchless it is .
Blest in this love, we sing; to God our praises bring;
All sins forgiven. Jesus, our Lord, to Thee
Honour and majesty, now and forever be,
Here and in heaven. T. Kelly
N.J. Hiebert - 20278
April 14
And they say into Him, we have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, bring them hither to Me. Matthew 14:17,18
Jesus had told His disciples to feed the hungry multitude. But their resources seemed utterly inadequate to the demand--and the command.
Has the Lord commissioned you to a task for which you have not the wherewithal? As with the man in the parable, have your friends come to you in their journey (Luke 11:5,6) and you have nothing to set before them?
Are you wondering how in the world to stretch your loaves and fishes to feed so many hungry mouths? Your family, your lifework, your Bible class--you look at your pitiful resources and sigh, "What are they among so many?" "Bring them hither to Me."
Little is much when He takes over. "Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Corinthians 2:16) "Our sufficiency is of God." (2 Corinthians 3:5) But all our efficiency, without His sufficiency, is only a deficiency There were basketfuls left over. God always gives over-flowing measure, "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over." (Luke 6:38)
He giveth liberally, exceedingly abundantly, above all that we can ask or think. He will turn your scarcity into a surplus. Bring it to Him.
Day by Day with Vance Havner
N.J. Hiebert - 20279
April 15
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body what ye shall put on. Luke 12:22
That sublime passage is the chart by which, if we sail, we shall not worry. For it is inconceivable that He who died for our sins, will leave us to struggle with the burdens and difficulties of life, and come to our aid only when at last, wearied in spirit and body, we lay ourselves down to die.
It is a complete and inclusive utterance as set out in Luke 12:22-23. Illustrates (vv 24-28) and appeals (vv 29-34). Here the Master unveils some of His most wonderful teaching. He points to the little birds of the air which pour forth their profuse strains of unpremeditated art, and shows that God knows and cares for even the most worthless of them. He takes up the flower of the field with its simple natural adorning, and shows that its glory outshines that of the greatest of earth's potentates.
"I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these". (vv 12:27) And from the fact that God feeds the sparrow and clothes the lily, our Lord goes on to assure us that our heavenly Father is intimately acquainted with our needs, and to urge us to banish from our hearts all abrasive, corroding care.
God is great in great things, but very great in little things. A party stood on the Matterhorn admiring the sublimity of the scene, when, a gentleman produced a pocket microscope, and having caught a fly placed it under the glass. He reminded us that the legs of the household fly in England were naked, then called attention to the legs of this little fly, which were thickly covered wth hair, thus showing that the same God Who made the lofty Swiss mountains attended to the comfort of His tiniest creatures, even providing socks and mittens for the little fly whose home these mountains were. This God is our God. Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care - George Henderson
N.J. Hiebert - 20280
April 16
As my Father hath sent me, even so so send I you. John 20:21
From the glory and the gladness, from His secret place,
From the rapture of His presence, from the radiance of His face,
Christ, the Son of God, hath sent me through the midnight lands;
Mine the mighty ordination of the pierced hands.
You must be in present dependence in preaching. There is no power unless we are receiving while we speak. What you need is a living connection with the heart of God, and then what flows out of the heart of God into your heart will come with power to the hearts of those you speak to.
To hold ourselves at the Lord's disposal secures for us open doors when He has work for us to do. We are left here to display Christ; if we are not doing this we are no use to Him or to the world. The qualification for service is a deeper acquaintance with the heart of Christ.
The more you honour God by keeping man in the background the more blessing you will have in the work. The Holy Spirit is always ready to work when we exalt Christ, "He shall glorify me." (John 16:14) The great danger is the presentation of any truth apart from Christ. What will become of those cut flowers to-morrow? They will fade. So truth that is separated from Christ will fade away.
Nothing can justify a lack of tenderness in the presentation of the truth. We have to labour in faith, and in proportion to our confidence in God will be our expectation of blessing. Footprints for Pilgrims - Edward Dennet
N.J. Hiebert - 20281
April 17
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6,7
How it would quicken the sense of dependence, and make me see that praying without ceasing is indeed the one need of my life,--and unceasing waiting, moment by moment, on the God Who hath united me to Christ, to perfect His own Divine work, to work in me both "to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13)
And what a motive this would be for the highest activity in the maintenance of a fruitful branch-life! Motives are mighty powers; it is of infinite importance to have them high and clear. Here surely is the highest: "you are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works:" (Ephesians 2:10) grafted by Him into Christ, unto the bringing forth of much fruit. Whatever God creates is exquisitely suited to its end. He created the sun to give light: how perfectly it does its work! He created the eye to see: how beautifully it fulfils its object! He created the new man unto good works: how admirably it is fitted for its purpose.
Of God I am in Christ: created anew, made a branch of the Vine, fitted for fruit bearing. Would God that believers would cease looking most at their old nature, and complaining of their weakness, as if God called them to what they were unfitted for!
Would that they would believingly and joyfully accept the wondrous revelation of how God, in uniting them to Christ, has made Himself chargeable for their spiritual growth and fruitfulness! How all sickly hesitancy and sloth would disappear, and under the influence of this mighty motive--the faith in the faithfulness of Him of whom they are in Christ--their new nature would rise to accept and fulfil their glorious destiny!
Abide in Christ - Andrew Murray
N.J. Hiebert - 20282
April 18
