Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us.
Psalm 90:17
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD.
Psalm 27:4
How great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty!
Zechariah 9:17
And this God is our God. Let us be glad in Him today,
and stay where we can see His beauty.
One thing have I desired, my God, of Thee,
That will I seek—Thine house be home to me.
I would not breathe an alien, other air,
I would be with Thee, O Thou fairest Fair.
For I would see the beauty of my Lord,
And hear Him speak, Who is my heart’s Adored.
(Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael)
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August 12
A man that hath friends must show himself friendly:
and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24)
Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
Not for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.
(Treasures From Fanny Crosby)
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August 13
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true,
even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true
God, and eternal life.
1 John 5:20
Are you a Christian? Oh, you say, that is a very plain question. Then let it have an honest answer now. But what do you mean by a Christian? you ask. I mean by a Christian a person that really knows Christ —not a person that knows something about Him but a person that really knows Christ as his own Saviour.
A Christian is one who knows the rejected and once slain, but now raised and glorified, Saviour at God’s right hand, and is connected with and united to that risen Saviour where He now is. A Christian is one who is born again of God, whose sins are all forgiven, all blotted out—and who has received the Holy Spirit.
These are all things you can know. If you can only say, “I hope this is all mine,” you are not a true Christian in the proper sense of the word; and, frankly, you have not got hold of the real essence of Christianity yet.
A Christian is one that is indissolubly connected with the victorious risen Saviour. He is linked to the One who went down first of all into death for him, bore his sins, blotted them all out, and met all the claims of God in righteousness in respect of those sins. That Saviour is risen without a single sin, and has gone into God’s presence to prepare a place and take him to it.
The blessing of the believer is this—he knows his sins are forgiven, he knows he is saved,
and he knows God is his Father; he has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, and he is a
person standing on the other side of death and judgment, waiting, at the return
of the Bridegroom (Jesus), for glory. Are you a Christian? Have you that
title to glory without a flaw? What is that title? The precious
blood of Christ—nothing more, and nothing less.
W. T. P. Wolston
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August 14
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:18
The “Man of Sorrows” is well qualified to be our Comforter.
He says that in the moment we are in need of comfort, "I will come to you.”
He has already come all the way from glory to a manger in Bethlehem and then
to a cross on Calvary in order to save us and dry away our tears.
Through His ministry He shed His tears at our sad lot and then He shed His blood
to make a way for things to be right again for us.
He is, “A Friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
There is no sorrow which He has not experienced.
Cheer up beloved saint,
there is no sorrow, which our Blessed Comforter cannot console.
Milton Haack
When God lays men upon their backs,
Then they look up to heaven.
Thomas Watson
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August 15
GOD’S ENDURING WORD
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
Matthew 24:35
At the beginning of World War II, aerial bombings flattened much of Warsaw, Poland. Cement blocks, ruptured plumbing, and shards of glass lay strewn across the great city. In the downtown area, however, most of one damaged building still stubbornly stood. It was the Polish headquarters for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Still legible on a surviving wall were these words:
“Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will never pass away” Matthew 24:35
Jesus made that statement to encourage His disciples when they asked Him about the “end of the age” (verse 3). But His words also give us courage in the midst of our embattled situation today. Standing in the rubble of our shattered dreams, we can still find confidence in God’s indestructible character, sovereignty, and promises.
The psalmist wrote: “For ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). But it is more than the word of the Lord; it is His very character. That is why the psalmist could also say, “Thy faithfulness is unto all generations” (verse 90).
As we face devastating experiences, we can define them either in terms of despair or of hope. Because God will not abandon us to our circumstances, we can confidently choose hope. His enduring Word assures us of His unfailing love.
Dennis Fisher
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______________________________
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries. copyright (2016) Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission.
“COME” . . . “NOW”
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Isaiah:1:18
The Hoy Ghost saith, today. Hebrews 3:7
And he [Pharaoh] said, tomorrow. Exodus 8:10
“Come now!” Nothing can be plainer. Therefore, if you postpone coming, you are calmly disobeying God.
When we bid a child to “come,” we do not count it obedience unless he comes at once, then and there. It is not obedience if he stops to consider, and cooly tells you he is really thinking about coming, and waits to see how long you will choose to go on calling him.
What right have we to treat our Holy Lord as we would not think of letting a naughty child treat us?
He says, “Come now.” And “now” does not mean tomorrow.
“Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not
your hearts.” Hebrews 3:15.
Put it to yourself, what if this night God should require your soul of you,
and you had not "come”?
What if the summons find you still far off, when the precious blood was ready,
by which you might have been brought nigh?
Precious, precious blood of Jesus, shed on Calvary;
Shed for rebels, shed for sinners, shed for me.
Precious blood, whose full atonement makes us nigh to God!
Precious blood, our song of glory, praise and laud.
F. R. Havergal
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August 17
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof,
and be glad. - Psalm 34:2
We have to be what we are in Christ.
If you want to what to cheer and encourage souls, boast of the
Lord,—and not of self, or attainments.
There will be a complete emancipation from self, There, and we shall delight in the Son.
The creature will be brought into His perfection—occupied with the Creator,
and no longer with himself,—not even with his own beauty.
Hunt’s Sayings
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August 18
The house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
John 12:3
This was a matter of fact, but underlying
the fact is the teaching that nothing is so fragrant
to the heart of God, or to the hearts of the saints when in
communion with Him, as an act of absorbing devotedness to Christ.
This is the secret of all blessing—giving the Lord the supreme place.
Thinking first of what is due to Him, and losing
sight of all else until this is rendered.
Edward Dennett
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August 19
Occupy till I come.
Luke 19:13
I am never really in the spirit of service if I do not remember that
Christ is an absent and rejected Lord.
I am . . . a servant who has to recognize the sorrowful fact that
his Master has been rejected and insulted here.
Is it not a tender thought that the very sorrows and insults which
have been heaped upon Him here are so many
fresh claims on one’s affections?
The heart, not the head, is the parent of eloquence.
J. G. Bellett
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August 20
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
Matthew 24:35
Priscilla Howe once described the Word of God as the Book that contains the mind of God,
the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners,
and the happiness of believers.
Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Therefore, how can it ever fade from the grasp of man? Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to
cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the soldier’s sword, and the
Christians’s charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is its grand object, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
It is given you in life, will be opened in the judgment, and be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour,
and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred content.
Priscilla Howe
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August 21
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage.
Hebrews 2:15
John Wesley said, “Brethren, farewell.
The greatest thing is that God still lives. Brethren, farewell.”
John Wesley stepped into his chariot and he rode on. That is the Christian way.
When Moody was leaving this world for the other, he said to his wife,
“Do you hear that singing?” Then he said, “Earth is receding,
Heaven is opening,” and he was gone.
That is beautiful. That is the Christian way to go.
That is the glory of the death moment.
Still we live foolishly our whole life afraid of death.
As sings the mountain stream
Past rock and verdure wild.
So let me sing my way to Thee,
Thy pure and happy child.
(Traveling Toward Sunrise)
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August 22
MY TRAVEL PLANS
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
James 5:8
Though I am nearing my 80th birthday, I have travel plans regarding a very extensive future journey—an exciting trip that I will soon be taking. I don’t know the exact departure time of my journey, but my wonderful Friend who made all the arrangements knows and has promised to call me when it’s time to leave. (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Matthew 24:44)
I will be traveling light—baggage check-in won’t be needed since I am not taking any luggage
(1 Timothy 6:7). When I arrive at my destination, new beautiful clothing
will be provided (Revelation 3:5).
I won’t need a credit card, cash or payment of any kind because all expenses have been paid
through the kindness of my Friend and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
Since I am going “home" there’s no need for me to make any “reservations". It’s true that I’ve
never seen my heavenly accommodations but they‘ve been prepared by none other
than the great Creator. I know I’ll be totally delighted with all that
He has prepared for me (John 14:1-3, 10:28).
I’ve not been given many details of what it looks like except that the building materials used are the
purest gold and most precious jewels (Revelation 18:21). I’ve also been promised that
my destination is so beautiful that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Best of all I’ll be with my
God and Father, and my Saviour (John 17:3).
The place to which I am traveling is located in a very exclusive neighbourhood and I’ll be there
with all my family (Romans 12:5). We are innumerable and specially chosen children of our
Father (Ephesians 1:4, 1 John 4:4). Each who will be there has been very carefully
screened for purity and holiness-cleansed from anything that might defile
(Revelation 21:27). And we’ll all be just like the Saviour who invited
us—(1 John 3:2). He paid an incalculable price so that we—
born again—would have His life, righteousness and
holiness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Many years ago the Lord took a man there to learn what “home" is like. He was the
apostle Paul and told us that human words can’t describe its wonder
(2 Corinthians 12:1-4). I’m looking forward to my trip!
The Christian Shepherd - May, 2009
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