Bible Gems

Friday, July 1, 2016

Gems from July 1- 10, 2016

July 1

“Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy

that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,

and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

(Hebrews 12:2)

UNTO JESUS and not at the amount of sorrow that our sins make us experience,

or the amount of humiliation which they produce in us.

If only we are humiliated by them enough to make us no longer complacent with

ourselves; if only we are troubled by them enough to make us look to Jesus,

so that He may deliver us from them, that is all that He asks from us;

and it is also this look which more than anything else

will make our tears spring and our pride fall.

And when it is given to us as to Peter, to weep bitterly (Luke 22:62)

Oh! then may our tear dimmed eyes remain more that ever directed unto Jesus;

for even our repentance will become a snare to us, if we think to blot out in some measure by our tears those sins which nothing can blot out, except the blood of the Lamb of God.

(Translated from the French of Theodore Monod by Helen Willis)

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July 2

The first lesson in the school of tribulation!

“Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.”

(Job 5:6)

Why has this trial come? How ought I to regard affliction?

These questions are natural in seasons of suffering.

Pain and sorrow make us ask in earnest, the why and the wherefore of what befalls us.

And so the soul finds a time of trial, to be a time of education.

The first lesson in the school of tribulation, is that affliction is the visitation of God.

"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

Nothing in any man's life comes to him by "chance.”

All things, both small and great, are under the control of God.

He foresees, and limits, and disposes.

What is sometimes called "good fortune”-- comes not by accident;

neither does trouble spring out of the ground.

Am I healthy and prosperous? It is the will of God.

Am I suffering in body or in mind? It is the Lord--let Him do what seems good unto Him.

This is the only answer that can be given to the weak and sorely tempted ones,

whom one trial after another afflict with increasing sorrows,

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

” (Genesis 18:25)

To the believer, Providence is not merely general and universal, but particular and personal.

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" (Matthew 10:30).

The believer looks to his own particular afflictions, as the dispensations of Divine Providence.

To myself, affliction comes as the special visitation of God; and,

looking above second causes, the word of trust from my soul should go forth,

"Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

(Walter Purton - 1868)

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July 3

“Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud,

and giveth grace to the humble.”

(1 Peter 5:5)

A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith,

he can counterfeit hope and all the other graces,

but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.

You soon detect mock humility.

They have a saying among the Arabs that as

the tares and the wheat grow they show which God has blessed.

The ears that God has blessed bow their heads and acknowledge every grain,

and the more fruitful they are the lower their heads are bowed.

The tares lift up their heads erect, high above the wheat,

but they are only fruitful of evil.

If we only get down low enough, God will use us to His glory.

(The D.L. Moody Year Book)

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July 4

WHO IS YOUR MASTER?

“Behold, Satan hath desired to have you.”

(Luke 22:31)

“No man can serve two masters.”

(Matthew 6:24)

Shall the devil have the use of our members?

Oh, no, of course not!

We start back at this, as a highly unnecessary question.

Yet if Jesus has not, Satan has.

For as all are serving either the Prince of Life
or the prince of this world,
and as no man can serve two masters,
it follows that if we are not serving the one,

we are serving the other.

And Satan is only too glad to disguise this service
under the less startling form of the world,
or the still less startling one of self.

All that is not “kept for Jesus,“ is left for self
or the world, and therefore for Satan.

Jesus, Thy life is mine! Dwell evermore in me;

And let me see

That nothing can untwine my life from Thine.

Thy life in me be shown! Lord, I would henceforth seek

To think and speak

Thy thoughts, Thy words alone, no more my own

(Francis Ridley Havergal)

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July 5

Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion,

and turneth the shadow of death into the morning,

and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the

waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth:
The LORD is His name.” (Amos 5:8)

Jehovah is the God of creation.

He made the stars also and with His

power He can turn mourning into morning.

Mourning signifies a loss but morning shows

the faithfulness of God and implies a new start.

Many of the Lord’s people sadly mourn
but joy comes in the morning.

We must embrace the changed and difficult circumstances
and move on into the day.

The Lord is in control!

(Roy Hill)

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July 6

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”

(1 John 3:2)

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God.”

We are called sons of God,

thus called by the same name as Christ,

and the world knows us not, but thinks we are mad—

“therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.”

It was just the same thing with Christ.

They said He was mad, and had a devil.

No wonder they do not understand what we are:

“Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.”

Who? Him, Christ.

(J.N. Darby - Lectures on 1 John)

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July 7

Prayer Warriors

“And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed:
and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”

(Exodus 17:11)

Israel was in conflict with the forces of Amalek. Moses was on top of the hill, overlooking the battle field.

The position of Moses’ hand spelled the difference between victory and defeat. The uplifted hand turned Amalek back. The lowered hand turned Israel back.

As long as Moses’ hand was raised, he pictured the Lord Jesus as our Intercessor,

“for us His hands uplifting in sympathy and love.” It is through His intercession that we are saved to the uttermost. But from then on, the type breaks down, because our Intercessor’s hand is never lowered.

No fatigue causes Him to need outside help. He always lives to make intercession for us.

There is a second way in which we may apply this incident, namely, to ourselves as prayer warriors.

The uplifted hand pictures our faithful intercession for those believers who are engaged in the spiritual conflict on the mission fields of the world. When we neglect the ministry of prayer, the enemy prevails.

A missionary and his party on safari had to spend the night in an area infested by brigands.

They committed themselves to the Lord’s care, then retired.

Months later when a brigand chief was brought to a mission hospital, he recognized the missionary.

“We intended to rob you that night out in the open country,” he said, but we were afraid of your twenty-seven soldiers.”

Later, when the missionary related this in a news letter to his home church, one of the members said, “We had a prayer meeting that same night and there were twenty-seven of us present.”

When our God beholds us there, pleading in the place of prayer,

Then the tide of battle turns, then the flame of conquest burns,

Then the flag of truth prevails, foes slink back and Satan quails!

Then the faltering wail of fear turns to victory’s ringing cheer!

Bring us, Lord, O bring us there, where we learn prevailing prayer.

(Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time)

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July 8

“My hands also will I lift up unto Thy commandments, which I have loved;

and I will MEDITATE in Thy statutes” (Psalm 119:48).

MEDITATION can be enjoyed at all times: in the night watches; “I remember Thee upon my bed, and MEDITATE on Thee in the night watches" (Psalm 63:6).

In the daytime; “O how I love Thy law! it is my MEDITATION all the day" (Psalm 119:97).

Day and night: “. . . in His law doth he MEDITATE day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

When standing in a queue, or traveling on a train, wherever one is alone: there, one may MEDITATE on one’s Saviour and friend “My MEDITATION of Him shall be sweet:

I will be glad in the Lord” (Psalm 104:34).

On the wonders of the written Word: “I will MEDITATE in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways” (Psalm 119:15).

On all God’s works: “I remember the days of old;

I MEDITATE on all Thy works . . .” (Psalm 143:5).

It will be noticed that all these quotations are from the book of Psalms, which,

like a limpid lake, reflects every mood in man’s changeful sky.

(In Pastures Green - George Henderson)

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July 9

“But speaking the truth in love, [that we] may grow up into Christ in all things.”

(Ephesians 4:15)

Have you no truth?

Whatever little bit you have, tell it out—Ephesians 4:15.

This is quite apart from gifts.

If you have got Christ, you have to tell out what He bestows to

every saint as a member of the one body;

there is positive responsibility to do so.

The smallest bit of truth tasted from

Christ is not for yourself only,

but to be handed out

for others.

(G.V. Wigram)

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July 10

HOW GOOD WERE THE “GOOD OLD DAYS”?

"Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?

For thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.”

(Ecclesiastes 7:10)

"DISTANCE LENDS ENCHANTMENT to the view,” and in retrospect we crown the past with a halo.

Like King Saul, we try to call up Samuel, and sigh, "If only Wesley Or Finney or Moody were alive now!"

Elisha did not pine for Elijah: he asked, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”

Someone wrote to an editor, saying, “Your paper is not as good as it used to be.”

He replied, “It never has been.”

Some of the old worthies could take pretty mean cracks at each other.

If you go all the way back to the Early Church, consider the plight of Corinth.

And even in Acts it was not long after Pentecost that “there arose a murmuring.”

We do not inquire wisely when we cast longing eyes in the direction of the past.

The days of Elijah are gone but the God of Elijah lives today.

There are no untarnished haloes in any generation,

and looking at heroes of any era is disappointing.

Look not to “the good old days” but to the God of all the days.

(Day by Day with Vance Havner)

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July 11

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:31)

On one occasion, while fighting Great Britain, George Washington,

Commander and Chief of the Continental Army,

went alone into the woods at Valley Forge to pray.

He was overheard by a Tory on the side of England who returned to his home shaken.

He said to his wife, “Our cause is lost.

I came unexpectedly upon a person kneeling in prayer.

I heard the impassioned plea of his prayers.

I saw tears on his cheeks and knew our cause was lost!”

(R.E. Surgenor)

Prayer is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear.

The upward glancing of an eye, when none but God is near.

(J.M)

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July 12

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Gems from June 21- 30, 2016

June 21

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

(Romans 8:18)

If God should never again send any trials intended to point us and others to Him,

would all our sufferings cease?

NO.

Left to ourselves, with our sinful natures unchecked,

greater harm would result.

But as it is, He gives us only that which works for good

and which will bring us closer to Him.

And there is something else:

If we know Him as our Lord and Saviour,

we will, at His time, go to heaven, where we will never suffer again.

(Corrie Ten Boom)

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June 22

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out,
and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

(Mark 1:35)

I Met God in the Morning

I met God in the morning, when my day was at its best

And His presence came like sunrise, like a glory in my breast.

All day long His Presence lingered; all day long He stayed with me;

And we sailed in perfecta calmness o’er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered, other ships were sore distressed,

But the winds that seemed to drive them brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings, with a keen remorse of mind.

When I too had loosed the moorings with His Presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret, learned from many a troubled way;

You must seek Him in the morning if you want Him through the day.

(Ralph Spaulding Cushman)

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June 23

“And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

It is quite possible that the two gifts (evangelists & pastors) may exist in the same

person, as in Paul’s case; but whether this be so or not,

each gift has its own specific sphere and object.

The business of the evangelist is to call out the brethren;

the business of the pastor is to look after them.

The evangelist goes first, and preaches the word of the Lord;

the pastor goes again and visits those upon whom that word has taken effect.

The former calls out the sheep; the latter feeds and takes care of them.

The order of these things is divinely beautiful.

The Lord would not gather out His sheep, and leave them to wander uncared for and unfed.

This would be wholly unlike His gracious, tender, thoughtful way.

Hence He not only imparts the gift whereby His sheep are to be called into existence,

but also that whereby they are to be fed and maintained.

(C.H. Mackintosh)

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June 24

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

(Romans 10:17)

Faith is not occupied with faith,

nor godliness with godliness,

nor humility with humility,

nor spirituality with spirituality,

nor worship with worship.

Faith is occupied with its object;

godliness with God,

humility with service,

spirituality with God’s interests, and

worship with Him who is worthy.

(John Kaiser)

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June 25

“. . . this Man hath done nothing amiss.”

(Luke 23:41)

It was just as if he (the thief) had known Christ all his life.

He had a divine perception of His character.

And so with the Christian now.

Have you such jealousy about the spotlessness and glory of

Christ that you cannot help crying out when you hear Him slighted?

He believed that He was the Lord, the Son of God,

and so could answer with assurance for what He had been as a man.

As completely a man as any other,

the holy obedience of Christ was divine.

“This Man hath done nothing amiss.”

What a response in the renewed heart to the delight of sinlessness!

His eye glances, as it were, over the whole life of Christ;

He could answer for Christ anywhere, because

he has learned to know himself.

(The Man of Sorrows - J.N. Darby)

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June 26

“Thou hast put gladness in my heart.”

(Psalm 4:7)

“The glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance.”

(Proverbs 15:14

I had a friendly smile, I gave that smile away -

the postman and the milkman seemed glad of it each day.

I gave my smile away as happy as could be -

and every time I gave it, my smile came back to me.

It would be foolish to think that all who smile are happy.

There are “smiles” and “smiles”: - smiles self-conscious, smiles self-complacent, smiles conceited, smiles sarcastic, smiles superficial, smiles satanic, smiles cynical, smiles critical,

smiles occasional, smiles habitual, smiles spiritual.

There are smiles good, smiles better, and smiles best. Each sort has its own peculiar value. It is the “best” sort of smile we advocate. The “best” sort go deepest, last longest, and accomplish most good.

The best kind of smiles are not ”put on.” They “come out” because they are “in.” They are the result of a satisfied, thankful, and glad heart.

They are the exterior expression of an interior joy,
which glows and grows as the days go by.

It is the satisfied and restful heart that makes a radiant face.

When we are contended at the center, the countenance will be calmly cheerful.

When the spirit is satisfied and glad, the glory is expressed in look and touch and tone.

Christ is the secret, the source, the substance, the center,
and the circumference of all true and lasting gladness.

(Streams in the Desert)

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June 27

“For precept must be upon precept . . . line upon line . . .

here a little and there a little.”

(Isaiah 28:10)

Several years ago my husband received an apple tree as a Father’s Day gift.

It grew year by year and now bears abundantly,

unless hindered by a late frost.

Likewise, spiritual maturity is not an overnight occurrence.

Nutrition from the Scriptures, prayer and learning from others contribute to growth.

When we stray from the path or rebel at hardship,

a chilling occurs and growth is stunted.

The warmth of Christian fellowship helps restore development.

May we not be a disappointment to the Keeper of the vineyard but

keep on bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

(E. Dyck)

I would draw near to Jesus, nothing withholding from Him,

Knowing He loves to be gracious, I would draw nearer to Him.

(R. Harness)

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June 28

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16)

It may seem old-fashioned in these days to talk of souls, perishing souls, needing salvation.

But the study of John 3:16 is a motive power that accomplishes results in and through

believers that all the wisdom and resources of the world cannot equal.

We may have more wealth in these days, better education, greater comfort in traveling and in our

surroundings even as missionaries, but have we the spirit of urgency,

the deep, inward convictions that move those who went before us;

have we the same passion of love, personal love for the Lord Jesus Christ?

If these are lacking, it is a loss for which nothing can compensate.

Let us see that we keep God before our eyes; that we walk in His ways and seek to please and glorify

Him in everything, great and small. Depend upon it,

God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supplies.

(Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret)

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June 29

Prayer & Reality

“And there is none that calleth upon Thy name,

that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee.”

(Isaiah 64:7)

Prayer is an act in which we have immediately to do with the great God,

to whom we approach in prayer, It is too sacred a duty to be performed between sleeping and waking,

with a heavy eye or a drowsy heart; this God complained of: (Isaiah 64:7 quoted above).

He counts it no prayer where the heart is not stirred up and awake.

Our behaviour in prayer hath an universal influence upon all the passages of our whole life;

as a man is in prayer, so he is likely to be in all the rest;

if he is careless in praying, then he is negligent in hearing and loose in his walking.

Prayer is a channel, in which the stream of divine grace, blessing, and comfort,

runs from God into the heart; dam up the channel and the stream is stopped.

(William Gurnall - The Christian in Complete Armour -1617-1679)

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June 30

“Christ is become of no effect unto you,

whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

(Galatians 5:4)

I do not care what it is you imagine you have to do in order to keep saved; whatever it is,

you put yourself on legal ground if after believing on the Lord Jesus Christ you think

that your salvation is made more secure by baptism,

by taking the Lord’s Supper, by giving money,

by joining the church.

If you do these things in order to help save your soul,

you have fallen from grace—you fail to realize that salvation is by grace alone,

God’s free unmerited favour.

Someone asks, “Don’t you believe in doing those things?”

Indeed, I do; not in order to save my soul,

but out of love for Christ.

"I would not work my soul to save, that work my Lord has done;

But I would work like any slave from love to God’s dear Son.”

(H.A. Ironside)

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Friday, June 10, 2016

Gems from June 11- 22, 2016

June 11

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

(Psalm 23:1)

Psalm 23 is said to be one of the best known chapters of the Bible.

Our earnest desire is that we may not only know the chapter well, but that

we may also know the Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ in a living and personal way.

Once the question was asked in a large audience who would come forward and recite the 23rd Psalm.

A young man, well trained in public speaking, came forward.

In a flawless manner, and with great emphasis, he recited the psalm.

He was greatly applauded for the excellent job he had done.

After he was finished the question was repeated and an older man came forward.

All eyes were fixed on him and intently they listened while he also recited the 23rd Psalm, but with a difference.

The listeners were wiping tears from their eyes.

The moderator, who had called the two men forward,

declared that the young man knew the psalm, the older man the Shepherd.

Only when we know the Shepherd, as the older gentleman did,

will we be able to appreciate the abundance

which the Shepherd provides.

There is no need that He cannot supply.

He often leads us into unforeseen circumstances that serve Him well.

To us they prove our dependence upon Him, but for Him they serve as

a fresh occasion to show what depth of need His love can satisfy.

Only the Lord can feed the sheep and cause them to lie down in green pastures. What satisfaction

it gives when in company with Himself we have been led to the pastures of His Word.

There is also refreshing for the soul while passing through a dreary land. One

who lives in the enjoyment of this is like a tree planted by the river,

whose leaves do not wither and whose fruit will not fail.

(The Lord is Near - Jake Redekop)

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June 12

G I V I N G

“. . . freely ye have received, freely give."

(Matthew 10:8)

“I went outside to find a friend, I could not find one anywhere;

I went outside to be a friend and found friends everywhere!”

(Verse 1 - Author unknown)

O why the difference, I now ask, my friend, it’s in the giving;

For many hearts there are in need who weary are of living.

We have a living, loving God, whose giving sent us Jesus;

Though all unworthy, yet God gave, from sin and shame to free us!

Christ gave His life that we might live, God’s gift above all others!

Be blest — receive God’s gracious gift, then share it with another.

Blessings belong to those who give, they simply can’t be silent;

God’s great forgiveness must go forth to young and old and tyrant.

The time is short—do not delay, many dear souls are hurting;

Our saving God will meet their need, find blessing now in giving!

(Charles H. Krause - Sept. 2014)

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June 13

“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”

(Proverbs 15:1)

Isn’t there something in us that immediately gets stirred up when we’re spoken to harshly?

Don’t we want to “fight fire with fire?”

There is a difference between reacting and responding - and reacting is likely our first impulse.

But, as Christ followers, we have the Holy Spirit of God.

He can help us display His fruit.

Part of that fruit is gentleness and self-control.

If you grew up in an argumentative atmosphere, that can be hard to overcome,

but with the Lord’s help we can.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).

“There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword:

but the tongue of the wise is health” (Proverbs 12:18).

“He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life:

but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction” (Proverbs 13:3).

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying,

that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

(Lifelines - with thanks to F.P.)

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June 14

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand

in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

(Ephesians 6:13)

The armour is needed in view of the “evil day”.

In a general sense the whole period of the absence of Christ is for the believer an “evil day”.

There are, however, occasions when the enemy makes special attacks upon the people of God,

seeking to rob them of special truths.

Such attacks constitute for the people of God an "evil day".

To meet such we need to have on the whole armour of God.

It is too late to be putting on the armour in the midst of the struggle.

We need the armour “to withstand” and “to stand”.

Having withstood in resisting the enemy’s offensive in any particular

attack, we shall still need the armour to stand on the defensive.

When we have “done all” we still need our armour in order “to stand”.

It is often when we have gained some signal victory that we are in the greatest danger,

for it is easier to gain a point of vantage than to hold it.

The armour having been “put on” cannot with safety be put off as long as spiritual

wickedness is in heavenly places and we are in the scene of Satan’s wiles.

(Hamilton Smith)

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June 15

"God for us”.

“If God be for us, who can be against us?”

(Romans 8:31)

How much is wrapped up in these few words, “God for us!”

They form one of those marvellous chains of three links so frequently found in Scripture.

We have “God” linked to “us” by that precious little word “for”.

This secures everything, for time and eternity.

There is not a single thing within the entire range of a creature’s necessity that is not

included in the brief but comprehensive sentence.

If God be for us, then it follows, of necessity—blessed necessity—that neither our sins,

nor our iniquities, nor our guilt, nor our ruined nature, nor Satan, nor the world,

nor any other creature can possibly stand in the way of our present

peace and our everlasting felicity and glory.

God can dispose of all—has disposed of them, in such a way as to illustrate His own glory,

and magnify His holy Name, throughout the wide universe, for ever and ever.

(The All-Sufficiency of Christ - C.H. Mackintosh)

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June 16

“And the Lord God called unto Adam and said . . . Hast thou eaten of the tree,

whereof I commanded that thou shouldest not eat?”

(Genesis 3:9,11)

Ever since the first atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945,

mankind has been plagued by the destructive force of this deadly weapon of warfare.

The concern is so great that world-wide limitations on the production and testing of nuclear weapons

have been in place for years, and international watchdogs exist whose sole purpose is to blow

the whistle on any country that builds anything even remotely resembling the original atom bomb.

But thousands of years before the atom bomb destroyed these two cities in Japan,

Adam’s bomb unleashed a far more damaging force in the world—the power of sin.

Before the Fall, man could enjoy the paradise of God’s wonderful provision.

But after Adam’s sin bomb was dropped, “sorrow” and “sweat” became necessities for sustaining life.

Before the Fall, man walked with God in the garden.

But now, because of sin, death is his portion and eternal separation from God is all he has to look forward to.

The power of the first Adam’s bomb has affected every man since the Fall.

“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

And man’s inability to control its destructive force results in this payment:

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

But God loves His creature, man, so much that He has provided a “Last Adam” who,

seeing the horrible effect of sin upon mankind, came as a “life giving spirit” and as

“the Lord from heaven” to bring victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:45-57).

If you trust Him for your salvation, you don’t have to worry about the destructive force of

either the atomic bomb or the Adamic bomb, because your eternal future is secure in Jesus Christ.

(The Lord is Near - L.J. Ondrejack)

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June 17

"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,

but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable

fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

(Hebrews 12:11)

My finger was caught on a thorn while pruning roses.

It hurt to move my hand in the direction of the thorn but it was the only way I could get free.

Life trials, whether physical or emotional, can seem unbearable at times.

There seems to be no way out, but this is where faith is forged.

Endure.

Go where God is leading, even when there is pain and hurt.

Trust Him. He will make a way.

(Jerry Proctor)

In this world of so much suffering, may we hear Your word anew:

“I will never leave you orphaned; I will not abandon you.”

(C.W. Gillette)

N.J. Hiebert - 6287

June 18

Suppositions

“Supposing Him to be in the company . . .”

(Luke 2:44)

“Supposing Him to be the gardener . . .”

(John 20:15)

They did not miss Him. Ah, they knew it not

That He was absent, or they had forgot.

They careless thought that near them He had been,

Yet all a “three days” distance lay between!

How Mary missed Him! Ah, she knew too well

The Lord was absent, and those weepings tell.

How deep her longing to behold the Face

Which not an angel’s brightness could replace.

They missed Him not, so He remained behind,

She missed and sought Him, and who seeks shall find.

’Tis when we’ve learned His absence, He’s revealed,

If we “suppose” Him here, He’s still concealed.

(Bells & Pomegranates - James M. S. Tait)

N.J. Hiebert - 6288

June 19

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power:

who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed

of the devil; for God was with Him.”

(Acts 10:38)

Only good came from the actions and words of the Lord Jesus.

His goodness demonstrated His perfect qualification

to be the sinless sacrifice for the believer.

But what of ourselves?

Has our pilgrim pathway, since we were separated by God’s grace,

always been characterized by the goodness of God reflected in us?

Cleansed, we are called to serve a Lord who is good in the fullest sense.

May God help us to do so.

(Mark Fenn)

How good is the God we adore, our faithful, unchangeable friend,

Whose love is as great as His power, and knows neither measure not end!

(Joseph Hart)

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June 20

The Faith Rising

“Forgetting those things which are behind,

and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”

(Philippians 3:13)

In the final scene (Genesis 50:15-26) between Joseph and his brethren,

the faith of Joseph rises above all the glories of this passing

world and looks on to a better and brighter world that is yet to come.

He thinks and speaks no more of the things that he had suffered,

the power he had wielded, or the good he may have done.

He forgets the things that are behind and reaches

out to the the things that are before.

(Joseph - Hamilton Smith)

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