Gems for the Week
August 8-14
"This woman hath anointed My feet with ointment." (Luke 7:46)
It is one thing to be saved, to have salvation, and another for your soul to be in immediate contact with your Saviour. He has been lifted up as the brazen serpent. Have you looked and lived? If you have looked at Him, you cannot help loving Him; and, like Jonathan, your heart requires of you that its love should find expression without an effort." (Selected)
N.J. Hiebert # 2334
"He (the Lord) was seen upon the wings of the wind." (Psalm 22:11)
In the great Chicago fire of 1871, more than 17,000 buildings were burned and 250 lives were lost. In a fire in London, which could have been as bad, the damage was much less and only four people died. Surprisingly, a strong easterly wind made the difference.
During the Chicago fire a great pall of smoke hovered over the city that increased the heat by preventing the ground from cooling during the night. In the London disaster, however, forceful winds prevented the formation of a smoke layer so that much of the heat that could have caused other buildings to burst into flame was dissipated. Also the steady wind directed the blaze westward, making it easier to predict its path and allowing the people to escape in time.
David's song of deliverance refers to seeing God on the "wings of the wind." Whatever natural phenomenon that may have been, David saw in it God's providential hand. It gave him cause for rejoicing and made him feel safe and secure (2 Samuel.22:20).
Are winds of adversity filling you with dread? Maybe it looks like they are fanning the flames of more trouble. Hold to God in faith. One day you'll see that He was "upon the wings of the wind," fulfilling His good purposes. (H.G.B.)
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm! (Cowper)
LIKE A KITE, A CHRISTIAN CAN RISE THE HIGHEST WHEN
THE WINDS OF ADVERSITY BLOW THE HARDEST.
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright 1993, Grand Rapids, MI Reprinted permission
N.J. Hiebert # 2335
"And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." (Exodus 16:3)
- The trials of the desert put nature to the test; they bring out what is in the heart. Forty years' toil and travail make a great change in people.
- Desert life tests every one. It proves what is in us, and, thanks be to God, it brings out what is in Him for us.
- Man would rather sit by the flesh pots, in a land of death and darkness, than walk with God through the wilderness, and eat bread from heaven. (Food for the Desert)
N.J. HIebert # 2336
"But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you." (John 5:42)
There is one sin which leads men to the commission of all others - the desire to please themselves. If this has once been acted on, it constitutes that man a sinner, just as the breach of one law of the land stamps a man a criminal. We do not require him to run through the transgression of every law in the statute book in order to bring him in guilty. His having broken one is the evidence of his guilt; we need no further proof.
While acting then on this as a principle, we are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. There is no life, no love, in us; as our Saviour said to those by whom He was surrounded, "I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you." Now this is the real fact, that there is no assimilation to God in man's natural state, but the contrary principle - hatred, enmity. (J.N. Darby)
N.J. Hiebert # 2337
"Upholding all things by the word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3)
We take to the road in our cars, and there is a fear attendant upon that kind of travel. Perhaps we do not go very far until we hear a crash. It is such a common occurrence that everybody has seen something like that. There has been a collision, and there is a racket and a noise - and perhaps there is suffering and possibly death. There is the same danger whether you travel by car, train or plane. "Whenever man makes anything, he always puts a repair shop right alongside of it." The moment you hear of a car, you hear of a garage where you can get it fixed; the moment you get a lovely watch, you immediately think of a shop that will fix it when it goes wrong.
He upholds all things. How may of those planets and stars have had to be laid up for repairs? He upholds all things by the word of His power. That is the blessed Lord Jesus, the One who made purgation for our sins, and in whose presence we are going to be for ever and ever. We are going to enjoy what He enjoys, and be heirs and coheirs with Him. What a future! (C.H. Brown - adapted)
N.J. Hiebert # 2338
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)
It seems like distrust of oneself, and deep lowliness of spirit, to shrink from heavy responsibility; but all we need to inquire is, Has God imposed that responsibility? If so, He will be assuredly with me in sustaining it; and having Him with me, I can sustain anything. With Him, the weight of a mountain is nothing; without Him, the weight of a feather is overwhelming. (Selected)
N.J. Hiebert # 2339
"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. . . . He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. . . In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." (Ecclesiastes 11:1,4,6)
Christ's servants are given plain injunction and clear directions to go diligently on with the Lord's work, in the full assurance that seed sown will bring forth fruit, although many days may elapse before the fruit be seen. They are very cheering also, for the assurance that they who sow beside all waters are blessed of God, may well encourage our hearts anew to go on with the Lord's work. The Lord loves to cheer His servants. He is the God of all encouragement. (Christian Truth - Vol. 22)
N.J. Hiebert # 2340
