Gems worth pondering
July 4
"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I (Jesus) have overcome the world."
(John 16:33)
Cheerful Confidence
The word means "take heart", "be confident". It is both an exhortation and a promise. The word has been reserved to the last moment. Jesus spoke nothing prematurely. Only when the end comes, does He conclude His teaching in the flesh with a final saying, which might breathe courage and confidence into the disciples whom He leaves, and into those who, in all generations, should believe on Him through their testimony. So it is provided that the last word of the last discourse shall sound the note of victory for ever: "Be of Good Cheer; I have Overcome the World." (H.D. - HIS LAST WORDS)
N.J. Hiebert # 3755
July 5
"As in Adam all die . . ." (1 Corinthians 15:22)
"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin . . . by one man's offense death reigned . . ." (Romans 5:12,17)
We see how sin entered the world, because of the open rebellion by disobedience of the first of the race. Now comes the very important question. How was sin transmitted from generation to generation until it reached its present situation in the world to-day? The Word of God gives us definite information about this matter.
God tells us that sin entered into the world by Adam. He also declares that sin entered the race because of Adam's sin. Some have attempted to argue that it was not just for God to call one man to account for the sins of another. Let no man mistake the facts. We are sinners by choice, every one of us, and there would be enough in that alone to hold us accountable before the bar of perfect of justice and to condemn us as guilty. But God does not deal with symptoms; He deals with the real causes. He knows, and has declared, that men are not sinners merely because they sin, but that they sin because they are sinners.
God looks at the problem from a perspective quite different from that which must of necessity control man's viewpoint. In man's way of looking at things, one is not a thief until he has stolen; one is not a murderer until he has killed. God sees the heart and knows how the natural law of inheritance has operated so that we inherit two arms instead of one and one head instead of two. The same laws hold good in the spiritual realm, and the very nature of sin comes down the race from generation to generation.
He knows and has told us that a man steals because he has a heart with the roots of of sin. He knows and has told us that a man kills because he has a heart with the roots of sin. In some cases through those restrictions that society and environments build around an individual some of these fruits of sin are not seen, but the roots are there nevertheless. If you are honest with yourself you must admit that you have within you the possibilities of every kind of lawlessness. (DONALD GREY BARNHOUSE - HAPPY THOUGH POOR)
N.J. Hiebert # 3756
July 6
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
(Romans 8:18)
Settle this in your minds so that you will not have to settle it again; there is no promise of ease for any soldier on any field. Search the New Testament; you will not find one such promise. It is made quite clear that things are not going to be made easy. So to be surprised and troubled when they are difficult is foolish and unreasonable too. Why is there so much inward stress, sometimes sharp trial, or what the New Testament calls tribulation? We are not told; but we are told that there will be this sort of thing, and that it is "not worthy to be compared with the glory" -- not worthy to be compared. (AMY CARMICHAEL - EDGES OF HIS WAYS)
N.J. Hiebert # 3757
July 7
"Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives."
(Acts 27:10)
The ship in which you take the journey of life is carrying precious lading (cargo). Think of that cargo as being those things which your loving God and Father, who delights to bless, has entrusted to you - faith, hope, love, purity of mind and body . . . oh! such precious cargo! But if you disregard the warnings of God's Word through His servants, all of this cargo may be lost in the coming storms of life. The sad results of a course of self-willed disregard for God's Word can very likely cause you to lose your physical purity, mental abilities - can even overthrow your faith, cause your love to grow cold, or extinguish the bright hope which properly belongs to a believer. Though it is certainly true that a real believer can never lose his (or her) eternal salvation, what a terrible price to pay for self will! Listen to the loving warnings God has graciously given, no matter what vessel (person or manner) He uses to send them to you. (THE JOURNEY OF LIFE - DOUG NICOLET)
N.J. Hiebert # 3758
July 8
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My (Jesus) word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. . . . the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live."
(John 5:24,25)
Mordecai Ham used to say that the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 was God's object lesson to America, but we never learned it. Many ships have gone down, but that this "unsinkable" masterpiece of ship building should go down on its first trip and that simply by encountering a massive hunk of ice, still seems uncanny - not just an accident but an event accompanied by strange and sinister circumstances that allow no explanation.
We are living in an hour when we seem to be on a toboggan slide out of control, worshipers of ourselves in the putridity of this age of humanism. "Judgment Day" and "end of the world" have disappeared from our vocabulary. The remedies for the world's troubles proposed by experts are pitiful. Recently I heard the observation that the remedies offered for our malignancy are about as sensible as changing the chairs on the deck of a sinking Titanic!
One day each man has to face death whether he likes it or not, unless he has accepted God's offer of salvation through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The Scriptures envision judgment day and heaven and hell. We have a date with destiny and an appointment with the Almighty. Every person has such an hour in God's book whether he has noted it or not. We are nearing that time. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
Any effort to arrange for eternal life otherwise is like changing deck chairs on a sinking Titanic. (VANCE HAVNER - DON'T MISS YOUR MIRACLE)
N.J. Hiebert # 3759
