Gems from December 1- 10, 2022

December 1

But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, they hated me without a cause.  John 15:25

We love Him, because He first loved us.  1 John 4:19 

He who was hated without a cause loved without a cause.  In fact His love without cause both preceded and will outlast the hatred expressed toward Him.  The Lord never states the reason for His love, but He always gives the reason for His judgment. 

It is the wonder of all wonders that He loved us when we were unlovable and so much so that He gave His Son to die for us.   Gary W. Seale

When I know that for me He the anguish bore,
That from sin He might set me free,
Oh, I know that I'll love Him forever more,
When I think of His love for me.   Louis Paul Lehman, Jr. 

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell.
Though guilty we, yet on the tree God gave His Son to win;
All who believe are reconciled, and pardoned from their sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.
Fredrick Martin Lehman   

N.J.Hiebert - 9048

December 2

Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.  

Psalm 119:11 

When we speak on that verse to the little people, we tell them that there you have the right word- Thy Word; in the right place--my heart; for the right purpose--that I might not sin against God.  We older folk are the children of eternity; we, too, need to hide our Father's Word in our hearts; and so I pass on a few suggestions that may enable rightly to divide the Word of truth.

- When you are in sorrow, read John 14.
-  When men fail you, read Psalm 27.
- When you have sinned, read Psalm 51.
- When you are worried, read Matthew 6. 
- When God seems far away, read Psalm 139.
- When you are discouraged, read Isaiah 40.
- If you want to be fruitful, read John 15.
- To recount your blessings, read Psalm 103.
- When your faith is weak, read Hebrews 11.
- When you want courage, read Joshua 1.
- When feeling down and out, read Romans 8.
- When loved ones pass on, read Psalm  90.
- When inclined to be critical, read 1 Corinthians 13.
- Before undertaking a journey, read Psalm 121.   Henry Durbanville   

N.J.Hiebert - 9049

December 3

BEING  WHERE  GOD  WANTS  US  TO  BE

And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.  Jonah 2:10 

Initially, Jonah refused to do what he knew to be the will of God.  Has that not been true of all of us?  But God brought Jonah to his senses and delivered him!  Jonah came up from the depths of the sea humbled and chastened, but scarcely broken, for the concluding chapter of his book shows  that he still had much to learn.  But he had experienced the power of God to lay low those who rise up against His will, and he was also assured that, come what may, God will never cast off His own. 

We need not suppose that the great fish remained stationary during Jonah's imprisonment; the eye of the Creator was upon it, and it was guided to drop the prophet just where the Lord wanted him.  The obedience of the humblest creatures, as recorded in Scripture, is deeply instructive.  The Lord Jesus, when on earth, wanted a fish which possessed a shekel, and to have that particular fish--and no other--caught on Peter's hook (Matthew 17:27). 

The colt upon which no man ever sat, an untamed novice for work, obediently carried the Lord through the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 21:7). In like manner, this sea monster was at the appointed place when Jonah was cast out of the ship; it took care of him for the divinely appointed period, and then released him in God's time, and in the place where God required him.  Alas that man, the most gifted of all earthy creatures, should be the arch rebel of this planet!

We are of the most use to God when we are where He wants us to be.  God wanted Jonah to be in Nineveh.  Where does He want you?  Even when we are in the right place at the right time, we need the guidance of the Spirit constantly as to what we should say or do.  We may know this truth, but it is essential that we put it into practice!    W. W. Feredy 

N.J.Hiebert -  9050

December 4

And they said unto me (Nehemiah) the remnant that are left of the captivity...are in great affliction and reproach...when I heard these words I wept...and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3,4 
   
Nehemiah's heart was very heavy as he went to his room in the royal palace.  But he must have remembered his own name and its meaning: Nehemiah, The Lord is my comforter. He went to his Comforter...and he poured out all his sorrow to God. Suppose we walk through a conservatory and admire rare flowers of all types.  We see a beautiful  plant (azalea) covered with hundreds of pure white blossoms.  But there is so much else to see that we scarcely notice it.  We are not amazed to see it healthy and covered in blossoms, for we know that it has the ideal circumstances to grow. 

But suppose, that walking through the slums of a huge city we see in an attic window a similar azalea.  Now we are really surprised to see it, for it is in the most unlikely place; there is nothing  to encourage  its growth, yet there it stands, a marvel of beauty.  Surely in Nehemiah we have seen the white flower in the attic.  We expect fo find a man of God, breathing in the very atmosphere of purity, with godly people all around him...no one would be astonished to find a man of God in such a place.

    But here was Nehemiah living in a heathen palace, in the midst of a wicked court, surrounded by drunkenness, and all that is vile and impure, breathing in the atmosphere of sin.  Yet we find him a plant of the Lord, as pure as the azalea, a man of faith, prayer, a holy man of God.  He was a flourishing plant in the garden of the Lord.  Are we ever tempted to say in our hearts, I cannot serve the Master faithfully.  If I were in another position, if my home life were favourable to my deciding for Christ, if I had different companions, a different job and surroundings then I would grow in grace.

    What does the Master say as  He hears words like these? "My grace is sufficient for thee." "As thy day so shall they strength be."  Even in most unlikely soil God can make His plants grow and flourish and fruitful.  If I do not become a flourishing plant, it is not my position that is to blame.  It is because I will not seek that grace which the Lord is ready to give me. "Ye have not because ye ask not. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24)  Mrs. O. F. Walton

N.J. Hiebert - 9051

December 5

". . . According as He hath promised, . . ."  Exodus 12:25 

Andrew Murray said "When you get a promise from God it is worth just as much as fulfillment.  A promise brings you into direct contact with God.  Honour Him by trusting the promise and obeying Him."  Worth just as much as fulfillment! 

Do we grasp that truth often?  Are we not frequently in the state of trying to believe, instead of realizing that these promises bring us into contact with God?  "God's promise is as good as His presence." 

To believe and accept the promise of God is not to engage in some mental gymnastics where we reach down into our imaginations and begin a process of auto-suggestion, or produce a notional faith  in which we argue with ourselves in an endeavour to believe God.  It is absolute confidence in and reliance upon God through His Word. 

By a naked faith in a naked promise I do not mean a bare assent  that God is faithful, and that such a promise in the Book of God may be fulfilled in me, but a bold, hearty, steady venturing of my soul, body, and spirit upon the truth of the promise with an appropriating act.   

"When once His word is past, when He hath said, 'I will,'
The thing shall come at last; God keeps His promise still."

"And God said . . . and it was so."  (Genesis 1:9.)  Mountain Trailways 

N.J. Hiebert - 9052

December 6

And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, behold a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds . . . fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root they withered away.   

Matthew 13:3-6 
 
Many take up their godliness upon trust, and trade in religion with the credit they have gained from others' opinion of them.  They believe themselves to be Christians, because others hope them to be such; and so their great business is, by a zeal in those exercises of religion that lie outermost, to keep up the credit they have abroad, but do not look to get a stock of solid grace within; and this proves their undoing at last. 

They say trees shoot as much in the root underground as in the branches above, and so does true grace.  Remember what was the perishing of the seed in stony ground!  It lacked root; and why so because it was stony?  Be willing that the plough go deep enough to humble you for sin, and rend your heart from sin. 

A hypocrite never got pardon in the disguise of a saint.  He will call you by your own name, though you come to Him in the semblance of a penitent: "Come in, thou, wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another?" (1 Kings 14:6), said the prophet. Hypocrisy is too thin a veil to blind the eyes of the Almighty. You may put your own eyes out, so as not to see Him, but you can never blind HIS eyes so that HE should not see you. 
The Christian In Complete Armour - William Gurnall (1617-1679)  

N.J.Hiebert - 9053

December 7

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb"  Revelation 7:9-10. 

Thus, the following three scriptures may be read in most interesting and profitable connection. 
- In Genesis 11, God gives various tongues as an expression of His judgment. 
- In Acts 2, He gives various tongues as an expression of grace. 
- In Revelation 7, we see all those tongues gathered around the Lamb in glory. 

How much better it is, therefore, to find our place in God's association than in man's! 
- The former ends in glory,
- The later in confusion;
- The former is carried forward by the energy of the Holy Ghost,
- The later by the unhallowed energy of fallen man;
- The former has for its object the exhalation of Christ,
- The later has for its object the exaltation of man, in some way or other.

Finally, I would say, that all who would sincerely desire to know the true character, object and issue of human associations, should read the opening verse of Genesis 11; and, on the other hand, all who desire to know the excellency, the beauty, the power, the enduring character of divine association, should look at that holy, living, heavenly corporation, which is called, in the New Testament, the Church of the living God--the body of Christ--the bride of the Lamb. 
Notes on Genesis - C. H. Mackintosh 

N.J.Hiebert - 9054

December 8

GOD'S  ESTIMATE  OF  THE  BLOOD,  NOT  OURS  

When I see the blood, I will pass over you.  Exodus 12:13 

Where the blood was sprinkled, salvation was the result; and where no blood was seen, the plague fell.  God passed through the land that night in judgment, and "there was not a house where there was not one dead" (Exodus 12:30).  In the houses of Israel there was one dead: the lamb, the victim, the substitute.  In the houses of Egypt there was one dead: the firstborn.  In the houses of Israel the lamb had died instead of the firstborn, and that brought peace to many a household that night. 

You might have gone up to a young man in one of the households of Israel, who was the firstborn, and asked him: How is it with you tonight?  Have you peace?--Perfect peace!  How do you feel?--I do not rest on my feelings, but on the word of Jehovah.  The blood is upon the lintel.  It was my father's work to put it there, but I assure you, I took good care to see that it was done; my life would go this night if the blood were not there.  But the blood is there, and Jehovah has said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you."  And are you at rest?  At perfect rest.  The blood is the basis of my peace, not what I feel. 

Peace is not a feeling; it is not an emotion; it is not an experience; it flows from the fact that the claims of God have been met by the Lamb of God, and God respects His precious blood.  As one has said, the blood of Jesus has reached, and touched, the very memory of God,  "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17)  Its value God alone knows.  You and I do not know the value of the blood of Christ.  We do value it surely, but our valuation of it is very poor and inadequate.  God knows its value perfectly; He esteems its worth fully; and He says to you and me, "Trust that blood; get under its shelter." 
W. T. P. Wolston   

N.J.Hiebert - 9055

December 9

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.  But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.  Exodus 17:11,12 

That is the kind of prayer that is much assaulted.  Moses' hands were heavy.  So are ours often, and we are very apt to lean on Aaron and Hur to hold them up--in other words, to depend on others to help us by their earnestness and steadfastness. 

There is something kindling to prayer in being with others who are praying, and all through the Bible this is recognized--even in Gethsemane our dear Lord seems to have wanted human companionship in prayer. 

But He pressed through that sense of need as He must have done often before, and He can give it to us to press through.  He can teach us more than we have yet learned of "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him."  (Ephesians 3:12). 

He can draw us deep into His own blessed Presence, even as He drew many a man of old--and among them was Moses--and He can strengthen our hands so that they shall be steady until the going down of the sun.  
Thou Givest...They Gather - Amy Carmichael   

N.J.Hiebert - 9056

December 10

And he (Eli) said unto them, why do ye such things?...it is no good report that I hear of your evil dealings...ye make the Lord's people to transgress. 1 Samuel 2:23,24 

We are living in times characterized by a certain activity in service.  This activity often presses itself upon ourselves and others, for it has the appearance of great zeal for the Lord and for His work.  It may even be accompanied by eminent gifts, but the gifts and activity are of little significance, if there is not the corresponding moral character. 

This moral character was grievously flawed in Eli's case; and without this character there can be no true service according to God. Samuel offers a striking contrast to this state of things in every detail.  In his case, we may trace the uninterrupted development of a life of holiness despite more than one weakness, for perfection is found only in Christ. 

1 - Samuel was still only a small child, "And he worshipped the Lord there.(v.28). 
2. - "The child ministered unto the Lord before Eli the priest (v.2:11). 
3 - "But Samuel ministered before the Lord." (v.2:18). 
4 - "And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord." (v.21). 
5 - "Samuel grew on, and was in favour with the Lord, and with men." (v.26). .

The relationship of affection between Samuel and the Lord caused his walk to draw the attention of men, who took note of it as a walk pleasing to the Lord.  Intimacy with God was reflected in the face of this young boy.  This is what is told us of John the Baptist (Luke 1:80), and for how much greater reason, of Jesus: "Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man" (Luke 2:52).  All the power of our Christian testimony depends on a secret life spent in the Lord's presence. May God grant us to resemble young Samuel in our conduct more than Eli.   1 Samuel - Henri L. Rossier 

N.J. Hiebert - 9057

December 11

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.  Proverbs 15:13 
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Proverbs 17:22
These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  Matthew 15:11

The wise man affirms that a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance, and doeth good like a medicine.  What is more refreshing than the merry laugh of a child? 

It is the bubbling up of the  fountain of innocence and simplicity in the little one's heart.  Did not our Master bid us to become as little children? "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
  (Matthew 18:3) 

Be assured then that you will make your own life happier and better, and through your happiness the lives of others happier and better by using the faculty of cheerfulness.

- to heal dissensions,
- to solve anger,
- to mitigate suffering,
- to cheer adversity,
- to save us from the wearing action of petty troubles,
- to arm us with the brightness of spirit which makes the best, and not the worst, of everything!    Winsome Christianity - Henry Durbanville 

N.J.Hiebert - 9058

December 12

THE  WORLD  IN  NOAH'S DAY

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  2 Peter 3:4-7 

The busy world was pressing on its way
Intent to plant and build, to sell and buy:
And neither knew nor cared that every day
The Lord Himself came from His home on high,  To walk with men. 

And thus the course of time its way fast rolled,
Till soon three hundred years were fully gone.
While Enoch, prophet of the Lord, foretold
The Lord with thousands of His saints will come,  Will come to judge. 

Alas, the busy world still sped its way,
Nor thought, not cared, for God's most solemn cry.
Then, strangely, Enoch was not found one day,
For God had taken him to dwell on high,  To dwell with Him. 

But Enoch's son still spread the message grave:
"When I shall die the judgment sure must fall."
And Noah build an ark their souls to save:
He, too, while building, preached the solemn call:  The judge is near.   

The world sped on without a thought of God. 
No time had they to hear what He might say.
Nor did they know until had come the flood
And took them all, yea, every one, away:  The judge had come.   

And still the busy world runs its own way,
Intent to plant and build, to sell and buy:
And heed not, just as 'twas in Noah's day,
That God still sends abroad that solemn cry:  The judge is near.

Before shall swiftly fall that judgment dire,
Like Enoch once, our God shall claim His own.
The world, and all its works, are burnt with fire;
But His shall walk with Him in white, at Home:  At home, with Him!
G. Christopher Willis  (From the Chinese edition)

N.J.Hiebert - 9059

December 13

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 

It is important to discern both the distinction and the connection between mounting up with wings as eagles, and what it means to "run and not be weary."  Running implies a closer touch with this present scene and our actual surroundings. 

It is the effort to get through to reach a certain end.  But we should know nothing of that end and certainly have no desire to reach it except, first of all, we "mount up with wings as eagles."  

Apart from the first experience, the second would be impossible.  When a person runs he usually has some object before him.  And herein lies the connection between mounting up and and running. In mounting up we apprehend the true goal of the Christian calling, and this gives both the desire and energy to run the race set before us. 

How necessary then to mount up; for the renewed spirit, to soar, so to speak, into its own domain, and breathe its native air!  It is this that starts us on the race.  Angels in White - Russell Elliott 

N.J.Hiebert - 9060

December 14

Gems from November 21- 30, 2022

 And Jesus said unto the centurion, go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.  Matthew 8:13

Christ is our life and according to the faith we have we are to trust Him to sustain even out bodies and rest assured that He will keep us here as long as He wants us in this world. "We are immortal until our work is done." (David Livingstone)

Guidance. "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:6) It is easier to preach about guidance than to be sure of it in some cases.  Sometimes we expect the Lord to make it plainer than He does.  By the Word, prayer, meditation, circumstances, sometimes the advice of true Christian friends, by steps and by stops, "God leads His dear children along." 

Calls, results, funds. I have found it best to let the Lord open doors without any effort on my part.  Sometimes I have become too anxious when there was no visible response to my preaching and unduly elated when there was.  "The wind bloweth where it listeth [wishes]" John 3:8.  It is not possible to determine fully which meeting is the greater defeat or victory.   

"Our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20) "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). I am a citizen of heaven so-journeying on earth, not a citizen of earth journeying to heaven.  God help me never to lose my pilgrim character.  It is so easy to drive down our tent-pegs in this world. 
That I May Know Him - Vance Havner 

N.J.Hiebert - 9037

November 21

And they (Joseph's brethren) sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying...Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father.  And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.  Genesis 50:16-17 

Jacob was dead and now his brethren were trying to convince Joseph to forgive them.  But he had long since forgiven them for the evil they had done to him.  For seventeen years they had been living under the care of Joseph without  realizing that he had completely forgiven them!

Do we realize that our forgiveness was a once and for all act and we are safe and under Christ's love and care?  Is the Lord grieved with our lack of understanding of our security in Him?  Ray Jones

The work which His goodness began, the arm of His strength will complete;
His promise is Yea and Amen, and never was forfeited yet;
Things future, nor things that are now, nor all things below nor above,
Can make Him His purpose forgo, or sever our souls from His love.      

Our names from the palms of His hands, eternity will not erase:
Impressed on His heart they remain, in marks of indelible grace:
And we to the end shall endure, as sure as the earnest is given;
More happy, but not more secure, the spirits departed to heaven. 
August M. Toplady  

N.J.Hiebert - 9038

November 22

JESUS  LOVES  EVEN  ME

As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. John 15:9 

The wonder of Jesus' deep love for each of us has been expressed in this text in beautiful but childlike language by the noted musician of early gospel music, Philip P. Bliss.  After attending a service where the hymn "O How I Love Jesus" was sung repeatedly, Bliss thought, "Have I not been singing enough about my poor love for Jesus and shall I not rather sing of His great love for me?" 

Soon he completed both the words and music of one of the all-time favourite children's hymns, which is widely sung and enjoyed by adults as well.  There has been no writer of verse since his time who has shown such a grasp of the fundamental truths of the gospel, or such a gift for putting them into a poetic and singable form. 

The third stanza of this simple but very appealing hymn is especially meaningful when we realize that Philip Bliss died suddenly at the age of thirty-eight in a tragic train accident.  His many stirring hymns, however, have lived on.  They all focus clearly on important biblical truths, but none is more moving than the reminder in this text that Jesus loves even me.  

I am so glad that our Father in heaven tells of His love in the book He has given; wonderful things in the Bible I see--this is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
Tho I forget Him and wander away, still He doth love me wherever I stray; back to His dear loving arms would I flee, when I remember that Jesus loves me. 
O if there's only one song I can sing when in His beauty I see the great King, this shall my song in eternity be: "O what a wonder that Jesus loves me!" 
CHORUS: I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me; I am so glad that Jesus loves; Jesus loves even me.    Philip P. Bliss

N.J.Hiebert - 9039

November 23

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thine holy temple.  Jonah 2:7 

In the days of his prosperity, his pride and his self will, Jonah had forgotten Jehovah, or perhaps we should say, had disregarded Jehovah, but now, when the billows and the breakers were going over him, the waters encompassing him, even to the soul; now when he was down at the bottoms  of the mountains, when he was utterly without hope, he said, "the bars of the earth closed about me forever." (Jonah 2:6) 

Now, his soul fainted.  He had no resource, no hope in man, there was not one to whom he could turn.  Now, he remembered Jehovah, and he prayed.  There was no other hope, no other way, nothing else he could do, so he prayed. Not only did he pray, but faith rose from that strange "prayer room," and by faith he could see right into "Thy holy temple," (Jonah 2:7) towards which he had looked, and saw that his prayer had entered in, right inside the veil, to the very presence of God.

Perhaps we all have tasted a bit of this experience of Jonah.  Which of us has not tried to manage our own affairs, and when everything went wrong, and we were at our wits' end; when our soul fainted within us, and we had no way, no hope, no plan, then we "remembered Jehovah." (Jonah 2:7).  Then we prayed. 

We did not deserve to get a hearing for our prayer when it was forced from us in such extremities, but, thank God, we have found, like Jonah, that even then, it "came in unto Thee, into Thy holy temple." (Jonah 2:7).     
Lessons From Jonah the Prophet - G. C. Willis

N.J.Hiebert - 9040

November 24

They found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.    Luke 24:2
Did not our hearts burn within us...while He opened to us the Scriptures? (v.32) And their eyes were opened and they knew Him. (v.31)
Then opened He their understanding.  (v.45) 

This resurrection chapter is full of open things: an open tomb; open Scriptures; open eyes; and open understanding.  Each carries a responsibility.

An empty tomb calls us to a relationship with a living Saviour.  Knowledge of Him is found in the opened Scriptures and with opened understanding, our hearts should burn to love Him more fully and serve Him more faithfully.  S. McEachern 

The Lord is risen indeed, and all His work performed!
The captive Surety now is freed, and death, our foe, disarmed.

The Lord is risen indeed:  He lives--to die no more;
He lives--His people's cause to plead, whose curse and shame He bore.

The Lord is risen indeed: and death has lost its prey:
And with Him all the ransomed seed shall reign in endless day.  T. Kelly 

N.J.Hiebert - 9041

November 25

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8 

What a most awfully solemn word!  Instead of a blessing, a twice-repeated curse!  How these words should make every one of us stop and think! 

If I have the happy privilege, and the solemn responsibility of announcing God's good news, how earnestly I should seek to see to it, that what I announce is in very truth God's good news, and not my own thoughts or ideas; else it may be that solemn word may come to me: "Cursed be he!" 

Sad to say, there are tens of thousands today who preach the law, without the least idea that they are putting themselves under this terrible curse.  But so it is.  It would seem as though the one who was specially doing this wicked work in Galatia, may have been a man of distinction. 

The words that Paul uses, "Even if we, or an angel out of heaven, should announce good news to you beside what we preached, cursed be he!" would seem to indicate he was a great man.  Also in Galatians 5:10, "whoever he be," would seem to give us the same meaning.

Today there are men who hold high positions in the churches of men, who may have many degrees after their names, but they are cursed of God because they preach a different good news, which is not another.  It is Christianity with something added.  That is exactly what these false teachers brought  to the Galatians.

If anyone tells me I must keep the law for salvation, this is not good news.  It is just the opposite.  It is very, very bad news, for I never can keep the law, and I must perish.   Galatians - G. C. Willis

N.J.Hiebert - 9042

November 26

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.  Isaiah 26:3

"Quiet tension is not trust. It is simply compressed anxiety". Too often we think we are trusting when we are merely controlling our panic.  True faith gives not only a calm exterior but a quiet heart.   

Miss Amy Carmichael gives a beautiful illustration from nature of this kind of trust.  The sun bird, one of the tiniest of birds, a native of India, builds a pendant nest, hanging it by four frail threads, generally from a spray of the vallaris plant.  It is a delicate work of art, with its roof and tiny porch, which a splash of water or a child's touch might destroy. 

Miss Carmichael tells how she saw a little sun bird building such a nest just before the monsoon season, and felt that for once bird wisdom had failed; for how could such a delicate structure, in such an exposed situation, weather the winds and the torrential rains?  The monsoon broke, and from her window she watched the nest swaying with the branches in the wind. 

Then she perceived that the nest had been so placed that the leaves immediately above it  formed little gutters which carried the water away from the nest.  There sat the sun bird, with its tiny head resting on her little porch, and whenever a drop of water fell on her long, curved beak, she sucked it in as if it were nectar.  The storm raged furiously, but the sun bird sat, quiet and unafraid, hatching her tiny eggs. 

We have a more substantial rest for head and heart than the sun bird's porch!  We have the promises of God.  They are enough, however terrifying the storm.  J. C. Macaulay. 

N.J. Hiebert - 9043

November 27

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.  And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.   2 Samuel 12:13 

It might well seem to us at this point that David was indeed beyond redemption.  Certainly for the casual reader with little if any spiritual understanding this episode in the king's life removes him from  any further possibility of human respect. 

The inescapable verdict would seem to be one of absolute abhorrence--especially for one who claimed to honour the Most High.  Certainly David's duplicity has brought endless reproach upon the man, and upon all of God's people, across the ensuing centuries. 

Only the grace of God and the unfailing faithfulness of His Spirit, still at work in David's life, could ever lift him again from the deep and terrible pit of evil in which he was mired. 

Only, only, only the redemptive mercy, the incredible pity, the eternal  generosity of a compassionate, caring, loving, merciful God could possibly forgive his offences. 

- This David saw!
- This he now knew!
- This he understood as his only hope! 

He was utterly silent, subdued, smitten before Nathan.  And it was at this point that God worked a miracle of redemption in his life.  He can do the same for us at the low points in our lives."Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; thought they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18     Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7    
Songs of My Soul - W. Phillip Keller

N.J.Hiebert - 9044

November 28

I go away, and come again unto you.  John 14:28

These words refer to the parting, before our Lord Jesus would come again and receive His disciples unto Himself, never to be parted from Him again.   

But can one thought, however rich, ever exhaust the meaning in His words?  These special words, I go away and come again unto you, cast light on Isaiah 48:21:  "They thirsted not when He led them through the deserts." 

He who never really leaves us does at times appear to do so.  We all know what desert times are, what it means not to see Him clearly, not to hear His voice, not to feel His presence. 

But "there is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one little glowworm."  This word of cheer is far more unquenchable than any light of earth.  Does it seem as though He has gone away? 

He has not, but does it sometimes seem so?  Then let His word do its loving will in our hearts.  "I will not stay away.  I go away, and come again unto you."     Whispers of His ways - Amy Carmichael 

N.J.Hiebert - 9045

November 29

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury...and he commanded the most mighty men that were in His army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.  Daniel 3:19-20. 

Even the men stoking the furnace were killed by its heat...and wonder of wonders, Nebuchadnezzar saw them walking around with their bonds loosed, and and One "like the Son of God" (v.25) was with them in the midst of the flames. This had a salutary effect on Nebuchadnezzar and his attitude completely changed.  He called the three martyrs "ye servants of the most high God" (v.26) and gave complete freedom of worship to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

He also threatened his own people with death and destruction if they dared speak a word against these men or against their God.  He then makes the amazing statement, "There is no other God that can deliver after this sort" (v.29)  Many of God's dear people are called upon to pass through the fire from time to time.  It is in the fire that they come to know the intimate presence of the Lord in a way they have never known before, and they find that the fire is not as harmful as they had supposed.

Like the men in the furnace, it removes much that has been a bondage.  The Lord will never leave us in the fire alone. Think of the precious promise that Jehovah brings to us His redeemed people "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" (Isaiah 43:1-2). 

Peter takes up this theme writing, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter1:7).  Could it be that some dear reader is passing through a fiery trial of some kind or another?  Remember that He has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5)  In the final analysis, the fire will only consume the dross, bringing forth the fine gold to the glory of our God.  Daniel - William Burnett 

N.J.Hiebert - 9046

November 30

Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  2 Timothy 1:11 

The faithful in this day may indeed be a small and insignificant minority, even as the Apostle Paul and the few who were associated with him at the close of his life; nevertheless, in "that day" it will be found to be far better to have been with the despised  few than with the unfaithful mass. 

The vanity of the flesh likes to be popular and self important and make itself prominent before the world and the saints, but in view of that day it is better to take a lowly place in self-effacement rather than a pubic place in self-advertisement, for then it will be found that many that are first shall be last; and the last first. 

We may indeed suffer for our own failure, and this should humble us.  Nevertheless,  with the example of the Apostle  before us, we do well to remember that had we walked in absolute faithfulness we should have suffered still more, for it ever remains true that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (3:12). 

If we are faithful to the light that God has given us, and seek to walk in separation from all that is a denial of the truth, we shall find,  in our little measure that we shall have to face persecution and opposition, and, in its most painful forms, from our fellow-Christians. 

Well for us, when the trial comes, if we can, like Paul,  commit all to the Lord, and wait for His vindication in that day.  Too often we are fretful and impatient in the presence of wrongs and seek to have them righted in this day instead of waiting for "that day".   If, in the faith of our souls, the glory of that day shines before us, instead of being tempted to rebel at the insults and wrongs that may be allowed, we shall "rejoice and be exceeding glad" for, says the Lord, "great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:12)  Hamilton Smith 

N.J.Hiebert - 9047

December 1

But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, they hated me without a cause.  John 15:25

We love Him, because He first loved us.  1 John 4:19 

He who was hated without a cause loved without a cause.  In fact His love without cause both preceded and will outlast the hatred expressed toward Him.  The Lord never states the reason for His love, but He always gives the reason for His judgment. 

It is the wonder of all wonders that He loved us when we were unlovable and so much so that He gave His Son to die for us.   Gary W. Seale

When I know that for me He the anguish bore,
That from sin He might set me free,
Oh, I know that I'll love Him forever more,
When I think of His love for me.   Louis Paul Lehman, Jr. 

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell.
Though guilty we, yet on the tree God gave His Son to win;
All who believe are reconciled, and pardoned from their sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.
Fredrick Martin Lehman   

N.J.Hiebert - 9048

December 2

Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.  

Psalm 119:11 

When we speak on that verse to the little people, we tell them that there you have the right word- Thy Word; in the right place--my heart; for the right purpose--that I might not sin against God.  We older folk are the children of eternity; we, too, need to hide our Father's Word in our hearts; and so I pass on a few suggestions that may enable rightly to divide the Word of truth.

- When you are in sorrow, read John 14.
-  When men fail you, read Psalm 27.
- When you have sinned, read Psalm 51.
- When you are worried, read Matthew 6. 
- When God seems far away, read Psalm 139.
- When you are discouraged, read Isaiah 40.
- If you want to be fruitful, read John 15.
- To recount your blessings, read Psalm 103.
- When your faith is weak, read Hebrews 11.
- When you want courage, read Joshua 1.
- When feeling down and out, read Romans 8.
- When loved ones pass on, read Psalm  90.
- When inclined to be critical, read 1 Corinthians 13.
- Before undertaking a journey, read Psalm 121.   Henry Durbanville   

N.J.Hiebert - 9049

December 3

BEING  WHERE  GOD  WANTS  US  TO  BE

And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.  Jonah 2:10 

Initially, Jonah refused to do what he knew to be the will of God.  Has that not been true of all of us?  But God brought Jonah to his senses and delivered him!  Jonah came up from the depths of the sea humbled and chastened, but scarcely broken, for the concluding chapter of his book shows  that he still had much to learn.  But he had experienced the power of God to lay low those who rise up against His will, and he was also assured that, come what may, God will never cast off His own. 

We need not suppose that the great fish remained stationary during Jonah's imprisonment; the eye of the Creator was upon it, and it was guided to drop the prophet just where the Lord wanted him.  The obedience of the humblest creatures, as recorded in Scripture, is deeply instructive.  The Lord Jesus, when on earth, wanted a fish which possessed a shekel, and to have that particular fish--and no other--caught on Peter's hook (Matthew 17:27). 

The colt upon which no man ever sat, an untamed novice for work, obediently carried the Lord through the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 21:7). In like manner, this sea monster was at the appointed place when Jonah was cast out of the ship; it took care of him for the divinely appointed period, and then released him in God's time, and in the place where God required him.  Alas that man, the most gifted of all earthy creatures, should be the arch rebel of this planet!

We are of the most use to God when we are where He wants us to be.  God wanted Jonah to be in Nineveh.  Where does He want you?  Even when we are in the right place at the right time, we need the guidance of the Spirit constantly as to what we should say or do.  We may know this truth, but it is essential that we put it into practice!    W. W. Feredy 

N.J.Hiebert -  9050

December 4