All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:3) For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him" (Colossians 1:16).
When this perfect creation was ruined by the entrance of sin, when man fell and all creation on account of that fall was brought into the bondage of corruption, the work of redemption became a necessity. No creature of God was fitted or fit to do this. Only the Son of God, the Creator Himself, could undertake this mighty work and accomplish it to the Praise and Glory of God. To do this great work, He had to appear on this earth in the form of man.
This work of the Son of God has a threefold aspect. It is a past work, a present work and beyond the present there is His future work. His work and service will terminate when He delivers up the kingdom, so that God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15: 24-28). It has a special meaning for the church. "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it." (Ephesians 5:25-27) This is His past work.
Since then He is sanctifying the the church by the washing of water by the Word, and in the future He will present it to Himself, a glorious church. In virtue of this threefold work of our Lord, believers are saved, are being saved, and will be saved. A. C. Gabelein - The Work of Christ.
N.J. Hiebert - 20294
April 30
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. 2 Peter 1:10
Diligence: constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken. The characteristics of diligence are: (1) a destination or objective, (2) the power to get there, and (3) the purpose of heart to continue in spite of whatever looms up to discourage.
If you look up "diligence" in either an English or French dictionary, one of the meanings is "a stage-coach". Diligence was the term applied in Quebec in the days before trains, to a "coach" that ran between towns on a schedule. This was an appropriate use of the word given the characteristics listed earlier.
(1) A destination or objective: Certainly the reason for taking the coach down the bumpy roads of early Quebec was to get to a desired destination town. Each believer has the objective of living out the new life that is in us through the work of Christ; that is, making our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). Not that we are responsible for the fact that it is "sure", but making that fact assured in our own hearts and then demonstrating it to others.
(2) The power to get there: The passenger on a "diligence" had no direct power to get it over the road to their destination. That power resided in sturdy horses, commanding coachman and reliable coach. So for the believer; the power to be diligent in spiritual things does not come from us, it comes from the Lord by His Spirit working within us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
(3) The purpose of heart to continue: There was no point in getting off the coach midway in the wilderness. The journey once begun needed to be completed, even if the road was boggy and slow, or the cold penetrated the unheated coach, or highwaymen threatened. For the believer, we need to "Continue thou in the things which thou has learned." (2 Timothy 3:14) Whatever comes our way, it is important to continue thus all the way to our ultimate destination, heaven.
Our coachman is the Lord. He knows the way; He knows the dangers, and HE WILL bring us safely to the end of our journey. Meanwhile, trust Him, to keep us safely on course, while we diligently seek to remain assured of our relationship with Him, and diligently demonstrate this to others by our love, our patience and our words.
Lorne Perry
N.J. Hiebert - 20295
May 1
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
As we meditate on this first chapter of Jonah, and follow the disobedient servant of Jehovah along his pathway from his home in Gath-Hepher, down, down, down, till he reaches the belly of the fish, and thus saves the heathen sailors, we may realize that all this pathway is a picture of the perfect, obedient Servant of Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ.
He went down, down, down--down from His home in the glory, down to the manger, and from thence down to the cross, and down into the grave, and so saves us poor sinners. How marvellously is that pathway traced for us in Philippians.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:5-8
Little wonder that the Spirit of God should then burst forth: "Wherefore God also hath exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Lessons From Jonah - G. C. Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 20296
May 2
NOW OR NEVER
They that were ready went in . . . and the door was shut. Matthew 25:10
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut the door . . . he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not. (Luke 13:25)
There are plenty of things besides immediate death which may just as effectually prevent your ever coming to Christ at all, if you do not come now. This might be your last free hour for coming.
Tomorrow the call may be less urgent, and the other things entering in may deaden it, and the grieved Spirit may withdraw and cease to give you even your present inclination to listen to it, and so you may drift on and on, farther and farther from the haven of safety (into which you may enter NOW if you will), till it is out of sight on the horizon.
And then it may be too late to turn the helm, and the current may be too strong; and when the storm of mortal illness at last comes, you may find that you are too weak mentally or physically to rouse yourself even to hear, much less to come. What can one do when fever or exhaustion are triumphing over mind and body? Do not risk it. Come now! and "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) .
What will you do without Him, in the long and dreary day
Of trouble and perplexity, when you do not know the way,
And no one else can help you, and no one guides you right,
And hope comes not with morning, and rest comes not with night.
Opened Treasures - Frances Ridley Havergal
N.J. Hiebert - 20297
May 3
Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28
Among the property owned jointly by two young brothers who were carpenters was the old tumble-down place of their birth. One of the brothers was soon to be married and the old house was to be torn down and a new one erected on its site. For years neither of the brothers had visited the cottage, as it had been leased.
As they entered now and started the work of demolishing the place, again and again floods of tender memories swept over them. By the time they reached the kitchen they were well-nigh overcome with their emotions. There was the place where the old kitchen table had stood--with the family Bible--where they had knelt every evening. They were recalling now with a pang how in later years they had felt a little superior to that time-honoured custom carefully observed by their father.
Said one: "We're better off than he was, but we're not better men.
The other agreed, saying, "I'm going back to the old church and the old ways, and in my new home I'm going to make room for worship as Dad did."
The strength of a nation lies in the homes of its people. Abraham Lincoln
Says Dr. J. G. Paton: "No hurry for market, no rush for business, no arrival of friends or guests, no trouble or sorrow, no joy or excitement, ever prevented us from kneeling around the family altar while our father offered himself and his children to God." And on his father's life in his home was based Dr. Paton's decision to follow the Lord wholly. "He walked with God--why not I?"
Springs in the Valley
"Stand ye in the . . . old paths, where is the good way." (Jeremiah 6:16)
N.J. Hiebert - 20298
May 4
And there were also two other, malefactors, led with Him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Luke 23:32-33
These four words describe the most terrible scene enacted upon earth--"THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM." The place, a graveyard; the actors, the whole civilized world; the act, the cruelest and most shameful form of death; the victim, God's own beloved Son! The selected spot was a graveyard--Calvary, Golgotha, "the place of a skull." (Matthew 27:33).
And why there? Had not Jesus talked about life? Had He not raised the dead? Had He not unstopped deaf ears, and given sight to the blind? Had He not done many wonderful miracles? Had He not talked about the Lord of Life coming from glory; and had He not spoken about being the Son of God? He had.
And why did they take Him there? To insult Him in that graveyard. They use the signs of death on every hand to mock Him who was the Lord of Life. They bring Him, who was "the resurrection and the life," (John 11:25), to the scene where there is every evidence of death around Him, as much as to say, Let us see if you can avoid death. It was the most solemn mockery. They had crowned Him with thorns, and now they put Him to death.
But see what that death meant as viewed by God. It was this--that He who was Lord of Life came into the scene of death that He might bring life to us. As regards the world, it was the violent effort to get rid of God and of His Son. And the world is unchanged today; "There they crucified Him" is the declaration of what the world's estimate of Christ is. Seekers for Light - W. T. P. Wolston, M.D.
N.J. Hiebert - 20299
May 5
