Gems for the Week
May 6 - 8
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." (Ephesians 6:16)
- There is not a single operation of the Spirit of God, nor a single form of His working, that Satan does not imitate.
- The Spirit and the word of God are sufficient to preserve us from the most dangerous simulations of the truth that Satan may present to our souls.
- We may rest confidently, whatever the present seeming success of the evil one, for "the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly."
- Satan is never so completely defeated as in his apparent victories.
(Footprints for Pilgrims)
N.J. Hiebert # 2968
"We remember . . . the leeks." (Numbers 11:5)
Leeks, like onions, are mentioned only once in the entire Bible, and then only in association with the fruits of Egypt as contrasted to the heavenly manna. Leeks, together with the onions, melons, and cucumbers of Numbers 11:5, are symbolic of the works of the flesh and the old nature. When Moses delivered Israel, they went out of Egypt, but Egypt was not yet OUT of them. Egypt was still IN them, though they were no longer in Egypt. This is a picture of our salvation. When we are saved, we do not lose our "old" nature,
but instead we receive a "new" nature, which must ultimately overcome the old. The Bible nowhere teaches eradication of the old man in this life. Instead it teaches that every believer has two natures: the old, received by natural birth from father Adam, and the new, received in the new birth by the Spirit of God.
Hence there is the struggle for mastery between the two. Paul tells us "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other" (Galatians 5:17). Every true born-again believer is conscious of this struggle between the flesh and the Spirit - between the appetite for "leeks" and learning to feed upon the manna.
Someone has said,"A man is what he eats." This is surely true of the believer, for his entire spiritual development depends on his diet, even more than his exercise. Will you take a careful inventory and seriously examine your spiritual menu for today? How much time for the word, for prayer, for witnessing? That's manna for the soul. And then add up the time you spend in frivolous pursuits, idle talk, questionable entertainment. Study the long list of "leeks" to be avoided in Colossians 3:5-9: Uncleanness, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, filthy communications, and lying. The nature you feed is the nature which will be victorious. (M.R.D. - Bread for Each Day)
(RBC Ministries, Copyright (1975), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission)
N.J. Hiebert # 2969
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
How do we read the Bible? This is a searching question. If we approach the imperishable Word with the thought of our own competency to discern and understand it, then let it not be surprising if we get nothing from it, or fall into the most grievous errors. If, on the contrary, the reader, on opening the sacred volume, takes his true place of utter inability to discern the deep things of God, and waits on God to guide and teach him by the Holy Spirit, then he will never be disappointed and, mixing faith with the Word, will find much profit and blessing.
Again, we may remind ourselves of the tendency to read certain favorite chapters or books, instead of "all scripture"; consequently we do not get a grasp of the scope of the written Word, and are always uncertain as to what the sacred volume really contains. We are not now referring to the reading of the Scriptures publicly or in the family, but of reading them privately to honour God, to find food and blessing for our souls, as well as intelligence as to how to walk and please God. (C.H. Macintosh)
N.J. Hiebert # 2970
