When one of our daughters was four years old, she stood looking up at the new brooch which adorned my coat. It sparkled with my every movement and she was quite fascinated.
On asking to be allowed to wear it, I pinned it on her coat in the place she indicated. Instead of a look of pleasure, her face registered disappointment. She lifted her coat up so that she could see the brooch better. While watching her, I was learning a lesson. She could not see the brooch as well when she wore it as she could when I wore it.
There are spiritual ornaments for us to ware. The ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit
,
of which Peter speaks in chapter 3:4 of his
first epistle. And in Proverbs 4:9 we read of wearing wisdom as a garland of grace.
In Proverbs 1:9 we read of instruction being a garland of
grace to your head and a chain to adorn your neck
.
Spiritual ornaments are not to be admired by the wearer - the wearer should not even be conscious of them. But they should be visible to others. (RG)
Taking my turn at the bank I watched the teller as she worked. No matter how restless the customers were, she calmly carried out her work, dealing unhurriedly with each person. The waiting ones wished she would hurry a little. But the fretting, the shuffling, the finger and foot tapping did nothing to hasten out turns at the counter.
I was very thankful that out God does not have to deal with us one at a time. Just at the moment of our need He
is ready and waiting to attend to us. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous and His ears
are open unto their cry
(Psalm 34:15).
We may approach the throne of grace with confidence, ... and find grace to help in our time
of need
(Hebrews 4:16).
One customer, after a long wait, was sent to another counter. God does not deal so with us - nothing is too trivial or too complicated - we get His personal attention on every occasion. What encouragement to go to God in absolute assurance and complete confidence that He is willing, and able to attend to us. (RG)
This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.
(Luke 15:2)
The words, spoken by the Pharisees, were said with scorn, but to the sinners they must have been heartening words. To be welcomed by Jesus!
Here the reference is to crowds, but the following verses are even more encouraging. Jesus goes on to show His loving and caring concern for the individual sinner, who is a lost sheep and unable to find his way home. He is a coin - very precious in the eyes of the Lord. Finally he is a wayward son for whom the Father waits, and watches for signs of his return.
The finding of the repentant sinner is so important to Jesus that vs. 7-10 tell us that all heaven rejoices - God rejoices - the angels rejoice. Shall we make the courts of heaven ring with the rejoicing of its inhabitants by seeking and finding and welcoming sinners? (RG)
Each morning we waited for the milkman. In those days he came with his horsedrawn cart which held two milk churns,
and the smaller pail which he carried to the door. As he approached the house, he called a cheery Milk-ho
. Then
we would stand around him, five eager children, as he took the lid off the milk pail. One of us would hand him the milk
jug. He used first one measure then another, according to the amount of milk mother required. But every day without fail
he would dip his ladle and give a little bit more
. This was what we all waited for, the little bit more
,
and our delight knew no bounds.
How is it with us? Do we bring delight by our little bit more
? Jesus spoke about good
measure, pressed down, shaken together...
in Luke 6:38.
In the book of Ruth, we read of Ruth in the harvest field of Boaz, gleaning the corn left by the reapers. Boaz
noticed this stranger and said to his men, Pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave
them for her to pick up...
(Ruth 2:16).
Going beyond the demands of duty - giving that little bit more
of time - of cheerfulness - of material benefits.
One man called it stretching his soul
. Are we stretching ours? (RG)
A young woman was overheard saying, Oh, yes, I forgive her. But I thought she ought to know how badly I felt
about it, and I was pretty cool to her for a few days.
Was that real forgiveness? God does not treat us that
way when He forgives. Remember - we are to forgive as God forgives. The Lord Jesus Christ taught us, in
Matthew 6:12 (N.E.B.) to pray this way,
Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we have forgiven those who have
wronged us.
Does someone wait for real forgiveness from you? (DG)
A man who brought a burnt offering brought it, according to Leviticus 1:3, of
his own voluntary will.
This is true of the offering of Christ for us, because there was
no compulsion except the impulsion of His own love for us. in Matthew 20:28 Christ
said, The Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many.
In this way, He declared His purpose in coming into the world. It was to give Himself.
All through the New
Testament we have this emphasis on the fact that Christ gave
Himself for us. This tells us three wonderful
things about His love for us; that His love provides for us; that His love towards us is personal; and that in love
He intensely desires to bless us. (DG)
Francis Gay wrote something that deserves to be brought to the attention of all husbands - I ticked
him off good and proper. I told him to his face just what I thought of him, which wasn’t much. I said he had been
irritable without excuse, and that there just was no need to be always in a rush. I informed him that he owed his
wife a little more of his time and attention, and that he ought to pull up his socks and plan some happy surprise
for her. Oh yes, I told him straight - and he did not answer back. The two of us were in the bathroom the other
morning, and I think my plain speaking did the man in the mirror quite a bit of good.
Straight talk to ourselves
would do each of us good; and husbands, remember Christ’s example. Ephesians 5:25:
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.
(DG)
Loneliness is the cause of many suicides. It is possible to be lonely in a block of modern flats, or in a
well-populated area. It is even possible to be lonely in a crowd. But you need not feel lonely a moment longer since
Jesus is the one of whom it is said in Proverbs 18:24, there
is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother
. Let Christ into your life today, then practice His presence with
you. If you will let Him, Jesus will transform your heart-rending loneliness into lasting fellowship with God.
(DG)
A farmer noticed a bird building a nest in a pile of rubbish pruned from trees. Since the rubbish was to be
burned, the farmer destroyed the bird’s nest. Again the bird built a nest in the rubbish, and again the bird’s work
was destroyed. The third time the bird started to build her nest she built it in a tree close to the farmer’s house.
Long before the bird’s eggs hatched, the rubbish in which she had twice tried to build her nest had been burned. The
farmer had saved the bird from being destroyed. God knows what is good for us. He sometimes works in mysterious ways
to protect His children. The promise is given in Psalm 91:15 by God,
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him.
(DG)
What a difference there is between a thermometer and a thermostat. A thermometer registers the temperature of a
room, while a thermostat regulates the temperature. One indicates what the temperature is, while the other determines
what it shall be. These two kinds of instruments are like two kinds of people. Some, like thermometers, merely
reflect their environment; others, like thermostats, actually reform their environment. Some people, like thermometers,
are living in themselves - others, like thermostats, are connected to the source of energy and power. If you would know
the source of the thermostat kind of life, it is stated in Philippians 2:13,
...it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
(DG)
If we have an aversion to anything, we forsake it. Proverbs 28:13 reads,
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy.
A famous minister said, I want to have a holy aversion to sin. Do you know what I mean by aversion?
Suppose any of you put your hand in your pocket and felt a toad there, you would draw out your hand instantly from
an aversion to the amphibian. Do just so with regard to sin.
Those who have turned to Christ, forsaking their sin,
are known to be new people - are recognised by their new nature’s aversion
to sin. (DG)
Meprayers (12 - 18 October 2003)
Do you pray Me
prayers? Lord bless me.
Help me.
Give me...
or Keep me.
These
are all Me
prayers. It is not wrong for us to pray for ourselves sometimes, for we do need the Lord’s help
very much. But others need Him too. Samuel, the great prophet of God said, As for me, God forbid
that I should sin in ceasing to pray for you.
(1 Samuel 12:23). Let us be
faithful in praying for others. God loves to hear unselfish prayers - prayer made for others. It has been rightly
said, Getting on your knees will keep you on your toes.
(DG)
An old man who had battled against poverty and affliction was talking to a friend one day about his wife who had
been a semi-invalid for a long time. The friend said, You must have paid out a great deal in doctor’s bills
during those years
. The old man quickly answered, I suppose I have, but I can’t tell you how much. You
see, love NEVER RECKONS.
Now if that is true of human love, how much more so it is true of the love of God. The
Bible says in John 3:16 God gave His Son because He
SO loved the world.
In
1 John 3:1 we read, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
May our acceptance of that love, and our manner of life,
show our thankfulness for such love. (DG)
In Matthew 11:28 Christ invites, Come
unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The Lord does not say I will
show you rest,
or just tell you to rest - He promises to give you rest. He will give rest to the burdened conscience
by forgiveness through His atonement. He will give rest to the mind by the infallible instruction of His Word. He will
give rest to the heart by filling it with His love. He promises you a rest which no one else can give or take away from
you. Your part is to come to Christ. Come - all who are laden. None are refused by Christ. (DG)
A woman had experienced sudden tragedy. Her heartache was so crushing and her sorrow so bitter that she spoke aloud.
I wish I had never been made.
Her friend, in what appears to be divine wisdom, whispered, My dear, you are not
made yet. You’re only being made and this is the Maker’s process.
We can let God take our troubles and make out of
them a garment of Christian fortitude which, while warming our own souls, will also inspire others. In
Job 23:10 we read, When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as
gold.
(DG)
Some time ago, a vast orchestra was holding a rehearsal. The building filled with sound as the organ thundered, the
drums rolled, the clear tone of the cornets rang out, the cymbals clashed, and the pure notes of the violins all united
in splendid harmony. Stop!
, called out the conductor. The musicians waited in wondering silence at the
interruption. Where is the piccolo?
he asked. In all that volume of sound the piccolo had been missed. Only one
small sound yet it was of the utmost importance. David the Psalmist, in Psalm 103:20-22,
after calling heaven and earth to bless the Lord, ends with Bless the Lord, 0 my soul.
Do not let
the sound of your praises to God be missing today. Your worship is important to God. (DG)
General Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was a man who seemed to know how to get things from God. Some people
might have thought that God had favourites. When General Booth was asked the secret of his success he replied, God has
had all there was of me to have.
Perhaps you feel that you don’t have all you could have from God. Well, perhaps God
is waiting to have all of you first. Paul, when writing to the Romans, in chapter
12:1, Amplified Version, said, I appeal to you therefore, brethren,
and beg of you, in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies - presenting ALL your
members and faculties, as a living sacrifice...
(DG)
Through believing, the impossible can be accomplished. In Mark 9:23 we read,
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth.
(KJV) In response to this a father, seeking deliverance for his son, cried,
Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief.
His prayer was answered. It is this kind of prayer
we should pray, and can pray, with great profit. Miracles have been performed by God in the past in answer to the
believing prayers of His people. God is still the same in His power and willingness to bless. Mountain of fear,
difficulty, and need can be removed through faith in the wonder-working God. (DG)
Perhaps more resentment has been built up in people through being ignored, than by any other means. Someone has
said, Ever since early man first buried his face in the clay tablets containing the day’s news and turned a deaf
ear to early woman, people have resented being ignored. We want others to pay attention to us, to take us seriously,
to listen to us as persons.
Christ taught us that God cares about us, and is aware of every detail concerning our
person. In Matthew 10:30, Amplified Version, the Lord said,
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Let
us face this day in the sure knowledge of God’s care for us; that God cares very much is seen at the Cross.
(DG)
In Psalm 143:9 David said, I will flee unto Thee to hide me.
It is such a good thing for us that David was a tried man! We have all been enriched by his painful experiences. May
it not be a blessing to others that we also are tried? We ought to be glad if our trial can benefit others in instruction
and comfort. One of the benefits of David’s trials was that he clearly showed what to do in the time of difficulty and
trouble. We are to flee to God, in whom there is safety. David’s word for us is, Flee to God at all
times.
(DG)
A minister telephoned a local newspaper to give his sermon topic for the following Sunday. The Lord is my Shepherd,
the minister told the newspaper man. Is that all?
, asked the reporter. The minister replied, That’s enough.
The newspaper man misunderstood, thinking the last two words were part of the title to be announced in the paper. So, on
Saturday, under the sermon topics for the next day, the minister’s sermon was announced as THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. THAT’S
ENOUGH.
How wonderfully true the fact is, as hosts of people know. You can know God to be so real in your life that you
can say, He is all I want.
(DG)
The disciples admired the way Christ prayed so much that they asked Him to teach them. Part of the instruction
was to pray, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Read Matthew 6:9-13. A five year old boy misquoted this and prayed, Forgive us
our debts as we FORGET our debtors.
This reminds us that forgetting, as far as malice is concerned, is part of
forgiving. If you have been wronged or hurt you can bring blessing to someone, today forgiving them, and you can bring
blessing to yourself by forgetting. (DG)
It has been truly said, Many of the richest rewards of life, material as well as spiritual, are never acquired
simply because they are not asked for.
The principle is so simple that it is rarely recognised, and therefore not
put into daily practice. Yet it is a fundamental principle of life! Is what you want good? Is it just? Are you prepared
for it? THEN ASK FOR IT. To help you to take the positive attitude, remember the words of the Lord Jesus in
Matthew 7:7, Ask, and it shall be given
unto you.
And if you have not received, read James 4:3.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss
(KJV). (DG)
A little boy, who had hurt his finger, ran to his father and cried, Look Daddy, I’ve hurt my finger.
The busy
father, on seeing that the injury was so slight said, I can’t do anything about it.
The little boy turned away
with tears in his eyes, and quietly said, You could have said ‘Oh!’...
There wasn’t much that could
be done, but just a little word of sympathy would have helped a great deal. In the gospels we read time and time again
that Jesus had compassion. Let us obey the words of 1 Peter 3:8, and
have compassion one of another.
(DG)
Life is not all sunshine and roses. Everyone has troubles of one kind or another. Even Christ’s own followers have
troubles, plenty of them sometimes. The Lord Jesus did not promise us an easy journey. He warned that those who follow
Him will often find the going rough. It may be asked, Then what is the use of being a Christian?
The answer is
that Christians do not travel alone - they have with them, according to 2 Corinthians 1:3,
the God of all comfort.
Having comforted us God would have us pass on His comfort to others who
are in trouble. (DG)
The Psalmist had a day-by-day faith in the Lord. In Psalm 62:8 we are told,
Trust in Him at all times...
. So many think faith has to do only with the spiritual life -
but the all times
includes the temporal life as well. We ought to have faith in God for our earthly affairs as
well as for our heavenly business. Let us work with all our powers, but in our work rely simply and entirely on the Lord
at all times. Whatever your times - in times of perplexity, or clarity - in times of prosperity or adversity - in times
of companionship or loneliness - trust in God. Yes, Trust in Him at all times.
(DG)
How familiar are the triumphant words of the 23rd Psalm, verse 6.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The Psalmist, because he personally knew the
divine Shepherd, was sure that he would dwell in God’s house forever. This certainty was evidenced in His love for
God’s house in his earthly life. His testimony was, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us
go unto the house of the Lord.
Psalm 122:1. Those who delight in God’s presence
in this life can look forward to the blessedness of God’s presence for all eternity. For the trusting one, the presence
of God makes everywhere home now. (DG)
A man tells of a time when, years ago, he lived in a town where it was impossible to buy clothes which fitted him.
He sent away to a large store for the things he needed and they sent him printed order forms. At the bottom of the forms
were the words, If we do not stock what you require, may we substitute?
The man wrote YES
on one of the
forms - and the substitute was of a much better quality. It was a rule that if the firm could not supply the article
ordered, one of a better quality was sent in its place. When we pray we should be willing for God to send a substitute,
for we read in Ephesians 3:20 that He is ... able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, ...
(KJV). (DG)
1 Samuel 30:6 begins with And David was greatly distressed...
and ends with ... but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
(KJV). There was real cause
for David’s distress because the people spoke of stoning him. Many another might have gone to pieces in such a situation,
but David knew what to do in a time of distress. Everyone knows hardship, failure, and occasionally becomes discouraged.
Therefore we can learn from David what to do. In distress we need to encourage ourselves in God. We find in God the one
who never changes and the one who is ever ready to help and to cheer. (DG)
Many people wonder why they cannot continually feel the presence of God in their lives. The answer is not hard to find.
Jesus gave us the secret of God’s presence in His life when He said, John 8:29
... The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please
Him.
(NKJV). The presence of God is a blessed reality to those who are anxious to do the things that are pleasing
to God. If we would know and discover the joy and fulness of God’s presence we must learn to say with sincerity,
Thy will be done.
(DG)
God is involved with and concerned about what happens to His people. God’s reputation was at stake according to Daniel.
God’s city, Jerusalem, had been captured and the Israelites were held captive in a strange land. Daniel prayed a daring
prayer, telling God that He, God, was involved in the captivity with His people. In
Daniel 9:19, Daniel prays, O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord,
listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake ...
(NKJV). It is good to remind ourselves that God is involved in, and
God is concerned with, all the things that happen to us, His people. And for His own name’s sake He will take care of us and
meet our needs. (DG)
The well-known Dr. Guthrie used to tell the story that he was one day passing up a street in Edinburgh
when he saw a little girl carrying a very heavy baby. He was a big-hearted man, and stopped and said, Lassie, surely
that child is too heavy for you.
With an accent of surprise the girl replied, No sir, he is my brother.
Brotherly
love cannot resist carrying the brother’s burden. Galatians 6:2 exhorts,
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
(NKJV). Christ’s love has no
room for the idea that a brother is a burden. (DG)
A woman is said to have described her state before accepting Christ as being like a spool of thread that had been
all wound off and tangled up. So I brought my tangled self to Jesus and He loosed the knots and made the twisted threads
straight.
When Christ came into the world it was announced Matthew 1:21
... and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
(NKJV).
What Christ did for that woman, He waits to do for us today. When our lives are twisted and tangled He waits to unravel
them. When the knots of life’s difficulties resist all our efforts, let us bring them to Christ the Unraveller.
(DG)
Billy Graham tells us that the christian should have an appetite for prayer. He points out that sin breaks
the fellowship with God. A little girl committed a certain offence and when her mother discovered it she began to question
her daughter. Immediately the child lost her smile and a cloud darkened her face as she said, Mother, I don’t feel like
talking.
So it is with us when fellowship with God is broken by sin in our lives. We do not feel like talking to Him.
Remember the teaching of 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another ...
(KJV). (DG)
Eleanor Doan relates that at a missionary meeting some young people were discussing the text,
Matthew 5:13, You are the salt of the earth;
...
(NKJV). One suggestion after another was made as to the meaning of salt
in this verse. Salt imparts
a desirable flavour
, said one. Salt preserves from decay
, another suggested. Then at last a Chinese christian
girl spoke out of an experience none of the others had. Salt creates thirst
, she said, and there was a sudden hush
in the room. Everybody was thinking, Have I ever made anyone thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ?
(DG)
The kind of obedience God wants from us is beautifully illustrated in an incident related by a missionary. He said: -
For a long time we were looking for a word for obedience, a virtue that the local people never practiced. One day, as I
went home from the village, my dog stayed behind. I whistled and he came running after me at top speed. An old native man
by the side of the road used a phrase of admiration which translated means, ‘your dog is all ear’. I got hold
of that expression at once, and found I had a beautiful word for obedience.
Have you obeyed the gospel and become what
Romans 6:17,18 describes as the ... servant of righteousness?
(KJV). May we be ‘all ear’ to our Lord. (DG)
It has been wisely said by Guy H. King that God never does anything without a reason; there is always an
underlying cause, and if the reason is not apparent, let faith rest upon the truth that infinite wisdom, infinite love,
infinite holiness, infinite justice and infinite resource lie behind all His dealings. Faith is a poor thing if it cannot
trust in the dark, whether we understand it or not.
Let us obey the exhortation of 1 Corinthians
16:13, the Revised Standard Version, Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be
strong.
(RSV). Seek to be watchful and firm in faith today. (DG)
Of the great Christopher Wren it is said that, when an old man, he was wheeled in his bathchair into the
shadow of St. Paul’s cathedral that he might sense again the grandeur of his superb architectural masterpiece, and to reflect
on the impossibility of matching the feat again. His golden days had gone. For the beliver, in a spiritual sense, the best
is not behind, it is always before, because he has received, according to Ephesians 1:14,
... the earnest of our inheritance ...
(KJV). Yes, all the richness experienced thus far in Christ
is not comparable with what is reserved in heaven for those who are 1 Peter 1:55
... kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ...
(KJV). Our inheritance, incorruptible
and undefiled and that fadeth not away. Rejoice, christians, the best is yet to be. (DG)
A doctor was in the habit of wearing a rose in his buttonhole. His friends would notice that it seemed to keep fresh and
last a long time. When asked the secret, the doctor would say, It is a christian rose.
A what?
A christian
rose. You see, it draws its strength from unseen resources.
The flower stem rested in a tiny cylinder of water fastened
behind the lapel. Every christian can draw on the available, though unseen resources - our strength is in God.
Ephesians 6:10 exhorts, ... be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might.
(KJV). Christ’s beauty and fragrance will be seen in us today, inasmuch as we draw on those unseen
resources. (DG)
I like the story of an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, so that if he passed through
a door which squeaked, he could pour a little oil on the hinges. So he passed through life lubricating all hard places and
making it easier for all who came after him. There are those for whom nothing seems to go right. They need the oil of
gladness, gentleness or thoughtfulness. Have you your own can of oil with you? Romans 12:10
exhorts, Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;
(KJV). The oil of kindness has
worn the sharp, hard edges off many a sin-hardened life, and left it soft and pliable and ready for the redeeming grace of
the Saviour. (DG)
A biographer of John Wesley (Samuel Bradburn) records that in the year 1783 (Wesley was then eighty years
old), he heard him preach at Leeds on the words found in Psalm 116:13.
I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
(KJV). Wesley said on that
occasion that after all his travelling in the service of God, and all his preaching and praying, he saw nothing to depend
upon, but God be merciful to me a sinner.
All the labours of our hands in Christ’s service are no argument for our
acceptance. Like the hymn writer L.H. Edmonds we can say, I need no other argument, I need no other
plea, It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.
(DG)
To those who believe, Jesus Christ is precious - not because He is a luxury, but because He is an absolute necessity.
It was because of this that the Father parted with His beloved Son. The coming of Christ tells us that God
is for us
. Romans 8:31,32 informs us, He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
(KJV). No wonder
G.C. Tullar could say, Precious to me, precious is He, Jesus shall ever be precious to me.
(DG)
Those who love the Lord, love one another and feel their kinship with the Lord. It is not then surprising that they
delight in fellowship together. Malachi 3:16 describes this fellowship together.
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it ...
(KJV). The Lord takes a special interest in what is said in these times of Christian communion. In fact, He keeps a
book of remembrance
. He hearkens
as if bending down His ear to catch every whisper spoken
of Him. In the light of these things surely it does not surprise you that those who love the Lord delight in coming together
for fellowship and worship. Let the thought of the Lord’s personal interest in your meditations thrill you today.
(DG)
Many of the difficulties we would wish out of our lives have been, or are being, used of God to bring about a Christlike
character and submissiveness. Without the hard and arduous process of breaking in
, a horse is not fit for steady and
profitable labour. Many of our bitter trials and heart-bruising hardships come on us by way of breaking in
. They chasten
the spirit and make us more ready and willing to do the will of God. Hebrews 12:11 reminds
us, Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields
the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
(NKJV). Thank God you are a son, and that He is
taking pains with you. (DG)
The Christian life is a simple life. It is just loving the Lord and doing what He says.
John 14:21 gives us Christ’s own words about the true Christian.
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me ...
(NKJV). Keeping Christ’s words and loving Him go together. The hymn-writer J.H. Sammis puts it, Trust and
obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
There are then two practical aspects of the
Christian life. In the Bible there are promises from God that we are to TRUST, and commandments which we are to OBEY.
(DG)
The great polar bear of the Arctic feeds mostly on seal and fish. When Eskimos hunt, kill and eat the bear, they discover
that the meat of the bear tastes much like the seal and fish. This simple dietary law of nature teaches us a tremendous
spiritual truth. Feasting upon Christ, the living Word, and taking Him into ourselves will cause us to think, speak and
act like the Master. Peter speaks of believers being partakers of the divine nature
;, in
2 Peter 1:4 (KJV). We cannot be like Christ unless we feed upon Him. Let us this day
spend time in communion with Him and meditating upon Him - then we shall be more like Him. (DG)
It has been well put that a display of temper is like an earthquake. It may only last a few seconds, but the subsequent
damage may take years to eradicate.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 records for us,
Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
(NKJV). We may
excuse bad temper by calling it other names like ‘blowing your top’, ‘flying off the handle’,
‘expressing one’s feelings’. But let’s face it, it is just bad temper. God can and will help us if
we turn to Him. He will take away the badness out of your temper and kindle in you a steady flame of fervour for
righteousness. (DG)
It has been said that what has been attributed as ferocity to the tiger, is due to its incredible audacity and courage.
It simply sees no danger, knows no fear, brooks no delay, uses no artifice, abandons no object or attack. Are these the
elements of Christian courage? If we are filled with a deep sense of God’s presence and power, and of our own privileges
and responsibilities, would this blind us to many of the things that disturb and terrify, and inspire to many an act and
work we now dread? Deuteronomy 31:6 exhorts, Be strong and of good
courage, ...
(NKJV). (DG)
Sheep have no means of defence: they have neither wings for flight, nor swiftness of foot to outrun their enemies. They
flock together, but their numbers do not increase their strength. Their only safety lies in the power and carefulness of
their shepherd. If we can say, The Lord is my shepherd
, then we can be sure of being fed and defended.
We can say with Paul in Galatians 2:20, ... and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
(NKJV). Those who are the
sheep of His pasture can say with the hymn-writer, How good is the God we adore, Our faithful,
unchangeable Friend.
(DG)
Every Christian is, in a most real sense, a lieutenant for Christ. A lieutenant is one who holds the place of another
in his absence. The risen Lord, as the Captain of our salvation, before ascending on high, made His disciples His
lieutenants. We are to act in Christ’s stead. Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 5:20,
... we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
(NKJV). Christians must face
up to their responsibility of representing Christ to the world. It is certain that every member of Christ will give an
account of his lieutenantship. I pray that men may find you acting on behalf of Christ today. (DG)
God has given us His wonderful promises in His Word. It is for us to test and prove them. We will find them to be true.
Hebrews 10:23 makes this plain, ... for He who promised is faithful.
(NKJV). Clara Simpson has put this truth in verse for us.
Take to yourself the promises, Found in His holy Word.
Bring to your mind His messages, Have faith that you are heard.
When in your need you pray to Him, To strengthen you just there,
Claim His most precious promises, You’ll find God answers prayer.
God is faithful - you can prove His Word today. (DG)
The story is told of two brothers who had quarreled and refused to speak to each other. Their mother’s efforts at bringing
about a reconciliation seemed of no avail. It robbed her of happiness. One of the brothers, seeing how his mother felt,
brought her a gift to please her. She refused it saying, I do not want a gift until you have become reconciled with your
brother.
There are those who have hatred in their hearts towards a brother and yet bring gifts to God and profess to love
God. Jesus said, in Matthew 5:24, ...
First be reconciled to your brother ...
(NKJV). God cannot and will not receive our gifts
or professed love unless we are right with our brother. (DG)