Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out [Cultivate] your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12,
It is many years since I worked on a farm, so I asked a dear farmer brother to help me out about "cultivating." This is what he said: "I have much enjoyed the thoughts you brought out about Philippians 2:12, and I'm sure it is a verse that has been a puzzle to many, and has been perhaps used in a wrong way by those who think Salvation is by works.
"I believe the word cultivate means just what you said, to loosen the soil so the rain and air can get to the roots so the plant may grow strong and bear fruit. One of the main purposes in cultivating too is to get rid of the weeds, for if they are allowed to grow, the tender plant is robbed of its vigour and cannot bear much fruit."
"Yes, I have followed the old horse drawn cultivator you speak of and sometimes the sun was pretty hot, and often it was dusty. Of course corn and soybeans were the main crops we cultivated, and we nearly always cultivate them three times during the season."
"Father always said the first cultivation was the main one, when the plants were young and tender, to get rid of the weeds while they were young, for when they get well rooted it is almost impossible to get rid of them, unless by the hoe, which on big acreage is almost never done being impracticable; but the hoe is a tool for cultivation, and a good one too, as one can get close to the plants without harming them."
In a crop like strawberries it is about the only tool one can use and very important, for weeds and grass will soon take the strawberries if they aren't hoed. "It seems to me very interesting, and makes the passage much easier to understand, when you see that 'work out' means to cultivate. The more valuable the crop is, the more carefully the farmer will cultivate it. How carefully and diligently we should cultivate salvation." Philippians - G. Christopher Willis
N.J. Hiebert - 20346
June 21
Looking unto Jesus. Hebrews 12:2
Unto Jesus and not at the world, its customs, its example, its rules, its judgments;--
Unto Jesus and not at Satan, though he seek to terrify us by his fury, or to entice us by his flatteries.
--Oh! from how many useless questions we would save ourselves, from how many disturbing scruples, from how much loss of time, dangerous dallyings with evil, waste of energy, empty dreams, bitter disappointments, sorrowful struggles, and distressing falls, by looking steadily unto Jesus, and by following Him wherever He may lead us.
Then we shall be too much occupied with not losing sight of the path which He marks out for us, to waste even a glance on those in which He does not think it suitable to lead us.
Unto Jesus and not at our creeds, no mater how evangelical they may be. The faith which saves, which sanctifies, and which comforts, is not giving assent to the doctrine of salvation; it is being united to the person of the Saviour. "It is not enough", said Adolphe Monod, "to know about Jesus Christ, it is necessary to have Jesus Christ."
To this, one may add, that no one truly knows Him, if he does not first possess Him. According to the profound saying of the beloved disciple, it is in the Life, there is Light, and it is in Jesus there is Life. (John 1:4)
(Translated from the French of Theodore Monod by Helen Willis)
N.J. Hiebert - 20347
June 22
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. Exodus 12:5
Israel was to be delivered from the bondage of Egypt by the great power of God. But before taking them out, God required that they must be redeemed by blood. A sacrifice of a lamb was to take place, and the blood be put on the door posts and lintels of the houses. Where no blood was applied, at least one person in the house died that night.
The sacrifice must be a lamb, the figure of lowly submission. It is a type of the Lord Jesus, the only sacrifice satisfactory to God.
The lamb must be "without blemish." Who can possibly fit this requirement among men? Because of many spiritual and moral blemishes not one of us is suited to be such a sacrifice. The sacrifice must be pure, for no sinner could take away the sins of another. The Lord Jesus is the only One who can qualify for this.
The lamb must be a "yearling". It was to be eaten, and of course its tenderness is therefore implied. Who was tenderhearted enough to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins? Only the Lord Jesus. He was not forced to do such a thing, but willingly gave Himself. Wonderful grace and love!
The lamb must also be "a male," the stronger of the two genders. The emphasis therefore is on the fact that the sacrifice must be strong enough for the tremendous work of bearing sin and the sins of multitudes of people. We may think that one person could only rightly be a substitute for one another. If the Lord Jesus were merely man, this would be a difficulty.
But He is the eternal Son of God, not a finite being such as we are, but infinite. All the finite beings together could never reach an infinite number. But Christ is strong enough to embrace an infinite number of people, and to redeem them all from their sins, because He Himself is infinite. Wonderful is this pure, strong, willing sacrifice! The Lord is Near
N.J. Hiebert - 20348
June 23
Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Luke 18:1
Prayer which takes the fact that past prayers have not been answered as a reason for languor, has already ceased to be the prayer of faith. To the prayer of faith the fact that prayers remain unanswered is only evidence that the moment of the answer is so much nearer.
From first to last, the lessons and examples of our Lord all tell us that prayer which cannot persevere and urge its plea importunately, and renew, and renew itself again, and gather strength from every past petition, is not the prayer that will prevail. William Arthur.
The motto of David Livingstone was in these words, "I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose." By unfaltering persistence and faith in God he conquered.
In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet, God leads His dear children along;
Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet,
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire,
But all through the blood; some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.
Some times on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along; sometimes in the valley,
In darkest of night, God leads His dear children along.
Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along; through grace we can conquer,
Defeat all our foes, God leads His dear children along. G.A. Young
N.J. Hiebert - 20349
June 24
June 25
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