Gems for the Week
July 25 - 28
". . . some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."
(2 Peter 3:16)
A plain farmer said to a skeptic, "The mysteries of the Bible do not bother me. I read the Bible as I eat fish. In eating fish, when I come across a bone, I do not try to swallow it, but I lay it on one side. When, in reading the prophecies, I come across that which is inexplicable, I say, 'There is a bone,' and I lay it on one side. When I find something in a doctrine that staggers my reason, I say, "That is a bone," and I lay it on one side." Alas! that men should choke themselves to death with bones of mystery, when there is so much meat in this Bible on which the soul may get strong for eternity. (T. De Witt Talmage - Born in 1832)
N.J. Hiebert # 2684
"I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground; I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and
My blessing upon thine offspring."
(Isaiah 44:3)
We must keep on praying and waiting upon the Lord, until the sound of a mighty rain is heard. There is no reason why we should not ask for large things. And without doubt we shall get large things if we ask in faith, and have the courage to wait with patient perseverance upon Him, meantime doing those things which lie within our power to do. We cannot create the wind or set it in motion, but we can set our sails to catch it when it comes; we cannot make the electricity, but we can stretch the wire along upon which it is to run and do its work; we cannot in a word, control the spirit, but we can so place ourselves before the Lord, and so do the things He has bidden us do that we will come under the influence and power of His mighty breath. (Daily Meditation for Prayer)
N.J. Hiebert # 2685
"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God." (Acts 16:25)
Let all lovers of souls, and all workers in the service of the gospel, take courage. Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work. Prayer alone gives work its worth and its success. Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us. Let our chief work, as God's messengers, be intercession; in it we secure the presence and power of God to go with us. (Andrew Murray)
N.J. Hiebert # 2686
"Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life." (John 6:35)
Our Lord's life, death and resurrection were undertaken to reconcile sinners to God, to make us companions with Him. The beautiful word "companion" comes from the Latin cum panis, meaning "with bread." Companions are those who share bread with one another. C.H. Spurgeon used to say that Christians and non-Christians were just the same, like beggars after bread, the only difference being that Christians have found the bakery. (W.R. Rainey)
Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea.
Break Thou the bread of life, O Lord, to me
That hid within my heart Thy Word may be.
(Mary A. Lothbury)
N.J. Hiebert # 2687
