Having loved His own which were in the world,
He loved them unto the end.
John 13:1
Our God and Father looks after the little as well as the big.
He makes the tides in the sea and shapes the wing of the sparrow.
Nothing is big enough to to defy Him and nothing is so little as to escape Him.
The ray of light from the farthest solar system and the blush on the
primrose alike reveal His radiance.
Back of it all is His infinite, everlasting personal love. Why should we ever forget Him,
or think that anything is too difficult for Him, or fear that He has forgotten us?
Joseph Anderson Vance
There's not a bird, with lonely nest
In pathless wood or mountain crest,
Nor meaner thing, which does not share
O God, in Thy paternal care.
Love holds the field when all else dies.
N.J. Hiebert - 8022
February 11
. . . There was a famine in the land.
And a certain man of Bethlehem-Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab,
he, and his wife, and his two sons. Ruth 1:1
Why did Elimelech and Naomi really go to Moab? In these anxious times when difficulties and problems increased and the neighbours could not help either, their faith simply could not rise above the circumstances. And they are not the only ones of whom this can be said.
How many there who, although saved by faith, are not able to walk
by faith in times of testing and trial.
How many there are who, though trusting God for salvation, yet are fearful and anxious concerning their family needs. Has HE ceased to exist then - He who has said,
"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"?
How great is our loss of knowledge, even knowledge which we once possessed, when we lose sight
of and forget the true Redeemer, and when our hearts long for the things of the world!
The Book of Ruth - H. L. Heijkoop
N.J. Hiebert - 8023
February 12
BACK TO THE FOLD
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luke 15:4
'Twas a sheep, not a lamb, that went astray
In the parable Jesus told,
A grown up sheep that wandered away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.
Out on the hillside, out in the cold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought,
Borne on His shoulders and back to the fold,
The sheep the Good Shepherd brought.
Why for the sheep should we earnestly long
And as earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger, if they go wrong
They may lead the lambs astray.
Lambs will follow the sheep, you know
Wherever the sheep may stray,
If the sheep go wrong, it won't be long
'Till the lambs are as wrong as they.
So for the sheep let us earnestly pray,
For the sake of the lambs today,
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
Some sheep will have to pay.
C. C. Miller
N.J. Hiebert - 8024
February 13
Be of good cheer.
Quit you like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13
Do not pray for easy lives! Pray to be stronger men.
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray powers equal your tasks.
Then the doing of your work shall be not miracle,
but you shall be a miracle.
Phillips Brooks
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13
N.J. Hiebert - 8025
February 14
The name of the Lord (Jehovah) is a strong tower:
The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10
The name of Jehovah stands for the Lord Himself.
To run into it, as into a strong tower, is therefore to confide in Him in the time of trouble. Such is the blessed privilege of every true saint.
"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (garrison) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4: 6,7.
All that perplexes and oppresses the spirit can be poured into His ear. Then the soul can leave it all with Him, and can confide in His love.
Thus the heart shall be at peace, protected as in a garrisoned tower,
let the enemy rage as he may.
H. A. Ironside - Notes on Proverbs
N.J. Hiebert - 8026
February 15
DIVINE AFFECTIONS
The love of Christ which passeth Knowledge. Ephesians 3:19
Love, that no suffering stayed,
We'll praise, true love divine;
Love that for us atonement made,
Love that has made us Thine.
The Lord that I have know as laying down His life for me, is the same Lord I have to do with every day of my life, and all His dealings with me are on the same principles of grace.
How precious, how strengthening it is to know that Jesus is at this moment feeling and exercising the
same love towards me as when He died on the cross for me.
His death opened the flood-gates, in order that the full tide of love might flow over poor sinners.
Impossible to find two words, the bringing together of which has so important a meaning, the death
of the Lord. How many things are comprised in that He who is called the Lord has died!
What love! What purposes! What efficacy! What results! ! 1 Corinthians 11:26
O Jesus, Lord, who loved me like to Thee?
Fruit of Thy work, with Thee, too, there to see
Thy glory, Lord, while endless ages roll,
Myself the prize and travail of Thy soul.
(Pilgrim Portions for the Day of Rest - JND)
N.J. Hiebert - 8027
February 16
The Narrow Way
Can two walk together except they be agreed? Amos 3:3
Oh, strait and narrow is the way
Wherein I walk my Lord beside;
So easily my feet might stray
That I am glad it is not wide.
Because 'tis such a narrow way,
Oh, close together we must stay.
The narrow way is sometimes dark,
And yet so near my Shepherd is
I do not mind when shadows come,
For night and day alike are His;
And so because my sight is dim,
Oh, very close I keep to Him.
The narrow way is sometimes rough,
And I might stumble if alone;
But now my Lord directs my steps,
And holds my hand within His own.
However steep the path may be,
I cannot fall, so close is He.
Sometimes a sorrow comes to me,
Or trial that is hard to bear,
And then He wipes the tears away,
For I am always in His care:
So naught for long I grieve or fear,
My Comforter's so very near.
Annie Johnson Flint
N.J. Hiebert - 8028
February 17
COME FOR YOURSELF
Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37
Various "rules" and "steps" have been proposed for seekers after salvation, the filling of the Spirit,
guidance and other experiences of the Christian life. Sometimes they confuse
more than they clarify. No two experiences are alike.
We tend to make a norm of our own and force it upon others.
Coming to Jesus is a personal matter, not a dry business procedure.
Nobody ever fell in love by reading books on how to fall in love. We meet
someone, associate with someone, and either fall in love or not fall in love.
There are, indeed, certain conditions that must be met in a personal knowledge of Christ,
but it is more like falling in love than a cold business deal. There is a sense
of need, a drawing near, a fellowship that ripens with the years.
The expressions and manifestations vary with different types and temperaments.
Do not try to imitate a made-to-order experience handed down from someone else.
He invites you to come as you are and know Him for yourself.
Just as I am -- without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee:
O Lamb of God, I come!
Charlotte Elliott
N.J. Hiebert - 8029
February 18
THE KING NEEDS YOU
Loose him, and bring him . . . The Lord hath need of him.
Mark 11:2,3
Perhaps we have the dreary idea, "Nobody wants me!"
We never need grope in that gloom again, when the King Himself desires us!
This desire is love active, love in glow, love going forth, love delighting and longing.
It is the strongest representation of the love of Jesus -- something far beyond
the love of pity or compassion; it is the taking pleasure in His people;
delighting in them; willing that they should be with Him where
He is, with Him now, with Him always.
It is the love that does not end and will not endure separation--
the love that cannot do without its object.
Frances Ridley Havergal
N.J. Hiebert - 8030
February 19
COMPANIONSHIP
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want . . .
I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me. Psalm 23:1,4
Till now, David has been speaking of the Shepherd; but as the valley of death's shade is approached
he begins to speak to Him. Instead of saying "He" he says "Thou art with me". The word of
confidence which David uses here, is transmuted for us into a word of promises by
our Lord. "I am with you always," He says (Matthew 28:20); and again, "I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Come dark valley or bright sunshine, green pasture or desert land -- 'I am with you always".
That is a fact, irrespective of the strength or weakness of our faith; apart from, and
entirely independent of, what we feel . Our feelings may change as frequently
as do the winds; our experience of the blessedness of the promise
may rise or fall as frequently as do the tides; but the
promise and the Promiser abide.
A man once came to a preacher, and said to him: "I was filled with joy in the meeting yesterday,
and now it all has gone--all-- and I do not know what to do. It is as dark as night."
"I am so glad," was the reply. He looked at the servant of Christ with
astonishment, and said: "What do you mean?"
"Yesterday, God gave you joy, and to-day He sees you are resting on your emotions instead
of on Christ, and He has taken them away in order to turn you to Christ. You have lost
your joy, but you have Christ none the less.
Did you ever pass through a railway tunnel?" "Yes, often." "Did you, because it was dark,
become melancholy and alarmed?" "Of course not." "And did you, after awhile, come
out again into the light?" "I am out now," he exclaimed, interrupting the servant
of Christ; "it is all right--feelings or no feelings".
The Pearl of Psalms
N.J. Hiebert - 8031
February 20
Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:3
Some things have their cycle in an hour and some in a century; but His plans
shall complete their cycle whether long or short.
The tender annual which blossoms for a season and dies, and the Columbian aloe which
develops in a century, each is true to its normal principle.
Many of us desire to pluck our fruit in June rather than wait until October, and so, of course,
it is sour and immature; but God's purposes ripen slowly and fully, and faith waits
while He tarries, knowing He will surely come and will not tarry too long.
It is perfect rest to fully learn and wholly trust this glorious promise.
We may know without a question that His purposes shall be accomplished
when we have fully committed our ways to Him, and are walking in watchful obedience
to His every prompting. This faith will give a calm and tranquil poise to the spirit
and save us from the restless fret of trying to do too much ourselves.
Wait, and every wrong will righten;
Wait, and every cloud will brighten,
If you will only wait.
Dr. A. B. Simpson
N.J. Hiebert - 8032
February 21
Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21.
Do I believe that God can strengthen us to do things which are humanly speaking quite impossible?
It is easy to say, Of course I do. But do I?
"A man's right hand is capable of a pull equal to about two thirds of his own weight,
but a crab's claw can support a weight equal to thirty times the weight of its own
body", so I have read in a book about the Barrier reef. It sounds impossible.
Sometimes we are asked to do things that seem far too hard for us, to "support a weight"
far too heavy for us. But the God with Whom we have to do
can do for us what He does for the crab.
He can make us strong to do that which looks and feels impossible;
He is the God of the Impossible.
Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael
N.J. Hiebert - 8033
February 22
