Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 1 Corinthians 3:13
The sins and iniquity of the Christian can never be brought into judgment. (Hebrews 10:17) Christ has already borne their judgment on the cross, and put them all away forever by the sacrifice of Himself. There will be no second judgment of the believer's sins.
But this trial of the quality of our works should not be thought of with fear and dread, but as one of our greatest privileges; because then shall be fulfilled that precious word. "But then shall I know even as also I am known."
God is light and God is love. He is all love--all light for His children. But His love will have them in the light as He is Himself. This will be perfect blessedness; because we shall then be in the perfect light as well as the perfect love of God. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5) Our new, our divine nature loves the light--delights in it. The least darkness would be an insupportable burden.
To be in the light, is to be manifested, for light makes manifest. Nothing can be concealed there. And we would not, blessed be His name, have one moment of our history with His tender, gracious dealings towards us, left in the dark. The heart shrinks from the very thought, notwithstanding all our weakness.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in His body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10) When the whole course of my life is manifested in the perfect light of God--of God in Christ. "Then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) My judgment of all that was good and bad in that life, will be according to the perfect judgment of God. Andrew Miller
N.J. Hiebert - 20254
March 21
"Why standest Thou afar off, O Lord?" (Psalm 10:1)
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
(Psalm 46:1)
But He permits trouble to pursue us, as though He were indifferent to its overwhelming pressure, that we may be brought to the end of ourselves, and led to discover the treasure of darkness, (Isaiah 45:3) the unmeasurable gains of tribulation (Romans 5:3-5).
We may be sure that He who permits the suffering is with us in it. It may be that we shall see Him only when the trial is passing; but we must dare to believe that He never leaves the crucible.
Our eyes are holden; and we cannot behold Him whom our soul loveth. It is dark--the bandages blind us so that we cannot see the form of our High Priest; but He is there, deeply touched. Let us not rely on feeling, but on faith in His unswerving fidelity; and though we see Him not, let us talk to Him.
Directly we begin to speak to Jesus, as being literally present, though His presence is veiled, there comes an answering voice which shows that He is in the shadow, keeping watch upon His own.
Your Father is as near when you journey through the dark tunnel (Psalm 23:4) as when under the open heaven! Selected
"What though the path be all unknown?
What though the way be drear?
Its shades I traverse not alone
When steps of Thine are near."
N.J. Hiebert - 20255
March 22
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him....And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf." (Genesis 8:9-11)
God knows just when to withhold from us any visible sign of encouragement, and when to grant us such a sign. How good it is that we may trust Him anyway! When all visible evidences that He is remembering us are are withheld, that is best; He wants us to realize that His Word, His promise of remembrance, is more substantial and dependable than any evidence of our senses.
When He sends the visible evidence, that is well also; we appreciate it all the more after we have trusted Him without it. Those who are readiest to trust God without other evidence than His Word always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of love. C. G. Trumbull
Believing Him; if storm-clouds gather darkly 'round,
And even if the heaven seem brass, without a sound?
He hears each prayer and even notes the sparrow's fall.
And praising Him; when sorrow, grief, and pain are near,
And even when we lose the thing that seems most dear?
Our loss is gain. Praise Him; in Him we have our ALL.
Our hand in His; e'en though the path seems long and drear
We scarcely see a step ahead, and almost fear?
He guides aright. He has it thus to keep us near.
And satisfied; when every path is blocked and bare,
And worldly things are gone and dead which were so fair?
Believe and rest and trust in Him, He comes to stay.
Delays are not refusals; many a prayer is registered, and underneath it the words: "My time is not yet come." God has a set time as well as a set purpose, and He who orders the bounds of our habitation orders also the time of our deliverance. Selected
N.J. Hiebert - 20256
March 23
Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen; He is not here. Mark 16:6
The resurrection of our Lord is the fundamental fact of our faith. If it is not true, Christianity is a stream without a source, an effect without a cause. While no one saw the Saviour rise, no event of history is better attested. Among the familiar proofs are the empty tomb, and the appearance of Jesus to His followers.
Of the circumstances attending this supreme event, different ones are related by each gospel writer, and with a variety of detail. Mark gives a vivid picture of the women who visit the place of burial and find that the body of Jesus is gone. Their errand is one of love but also of unbelief; the Master promised to rise on the third day; but now, early on that Sunday morning, they are approaching the tomb, expecting to anoint His dead body. They are anxious as well as sorrowful, wondering how the stone may be removed to give them access to the sepulchre.
As is often the experience in life, they find that the dreaded difficulty disappears before it is encountered; "they saw that the stone was rolled away. (v.4) As they enter, they find that the sepulchre is empty; yet not empty, for an angel is present to give the astonishing explanation: Be not amazed "He is risen; "He is not here." (v.6) There is no other explanation of that empty tomb. The supposition that the body has been stolen, or that Jesus never really had died, or that the disciples imagined he had risen, or that they invented the falsehood of a resurrection--no one of these can be accepted except by prejudiced skepticism or childish credulity.
Knowledge, however, involves responsibility. Those who know of a risen Christ must be His witnesses. "But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." (v.7).
Gospel of Mark - Charles R. Erdman
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He rose again the third day...He was seen by Cephas, then of the twelve...was seen of above five hundred at once."
(1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
N.J. Hiebert - 20257
March 24
March 25
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