Gems for the Week
July 27 - August 1
"If it had not been the Lord who was on our side . . . then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over my soul."
(Psalm 124:2,4)
My barque is wafted from the strand
By breath Divine,
Upon the helm there rests a hand
Other than mine;
One who has known in storms to sail
I have on board,
Above the raging of the gale, I hear my Lord.
He holds me when the billows smite;
I shall not fall;
If sharp, 'tis short; if long, 'tis light;
He tempers all.
Safe to the land! safe to the land!
The end is this;
And then with Him go hand in hand,
Far into bliss!
(Dean Alford - 1810-1871)
N.J. Hiebert # 2322
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again."
(2 Corinthians 5:14,15)
With the motivation of the love of Christ, the decision to present myself to Him for His use, and the knowledge from the Word of what God's will is in this specific situation, I merely do by faith what the Bible says and leave the results to Him.
Am I worried about a problem? When I understand that God is sovereign over all events, a problem becomes an opportunity to trust the Lord. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but I do know one thing: The same Jesus who is in my today is already there! So,controlled by the love of Christ, I claim the promise of Philippians 4:6,7: "Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
I pray about the problem, give thanks, and leave the results to God. The result is an experience of that supernatural peace which is not dependent upon circumstances." (Bob George - Growing in Grace)
N.J. Hiebert # 2323
"I am the door." (John 10:9)
Recently my wife and I walked past several restaurants and in each case the menu was posted on the door. Clearly visible, they wanted you to know what they served and at what cost. Everything available on the inside was written on the outside. It reminded me of the Lord Jesus who is the Door. By looking to the Door we see in Him all the blessings available to us. But we see too the cost of those blessings. The Lord Jesus shows us His pierced hands and feet and we know that although His blessings to us are free, they cost Him His very life blood. "I am the door, by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." (Charlie Tempest)
N.J. Hiebert # 2324
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
We have a powerful adversary, who is ever on the watch to ensnare us, and lead us off the path of truth and purity; we could not get on for a single moment, were it not for the gracious way in which our God has provided for all our exigencies in the precious death and all-prevailing advocacy of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Food for the Desert)
N.J. Hiebert # 2325
"Come unto Me." (Matthew 11:28)
Is it not humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things we will not come to Jesus Christ about. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words - "Come unto Me." In every degree in which you are not real, you will dispute rather than come, you will quibble rather than come, you will go through sorrow rather than come, you will do anything rather than come the last lap of unutterable foolishness - "Just as I am." As long as you have the tiniest bit of spiritual impertinence, it will always reveal itself in the fact that you are expecting God to tell you to do a big thing, and all He is telling you to do is to "come."
"Come unto me." When you hear those words you will know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, anything at all that will put the axe at the root of the thing which is preventing you from getting through. You will never get further until you are willing to do that one thing. The Holy Spirit will locate the one impregnable thing in you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him.
How often have you come to God with your requests and gone away with the feeling - Oh, well, I have done it this time! And yet you go away with nothing, whilst all the time God has stood with outstretched hands not only to take you, but for you to take Him. Think of the invincible, unconquerable, unwearying patience of Jesus - "Come unto Me." (Oswald Chambers)
N.J. Hiebert # 2326
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."
(1 Peter 1:23)
An old professor of Biology used to hold a little brown seed in his hand and say, "I know just exactly the composition of this seed. It has in it nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon. I know the exact proportions. I can make a seed that will look exactly like it. But if I plant my seed it will come to nought: its element will be absorbed in the soil. If I plant the seed God made, it will become a plant, because it contains the mysterious principle which we call 'the life principle.' This Bible looks like other books. We cannot understand altogether its marvellous power. Planted in good ground it shows that it has the life principle in itself; it brings forth spiritual fruit." (Taken from the archives of the late Tom Dear)
N.J. Hiebert # 2327
