Gems for the Week
October 5 - 11
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." (2 Timothy 2:12)
Lines Found in an Old Bible
(Author unknown)
Crushed by an adverse world of sin,
Dull grief, and heavy care;
Then glows the treasury within,
Celestial, bright, and fair.
From shaken flowers sweet odours fly,
When tempests sweep the dell;
And the rich, purple Tyrian dye
Drops from a bruised shell.
O God! how wondrous is Thy way!
The wisdom surely Thine!
'Tis from a breaking vase of clay
That rays of glory shine.
N.J. Hiebert # 2391
"If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."
(Colossians 3:1)
When we first receive the knowledge of life in Christ, we are absorbed; we readily admit all else to be "dung" and "dross" (Philippians 3). But when decline comes in, we get old motives into action again. Little by little, we are not absorbed, and then a hundred things begin to be motives - things of which I took no notice, which did not act before. People say, "What harm is there in it?" When I begin to inquire, "What harm is there in this or that?" there is the tendency to decline. There may be no harm in the thing, but the thought about it shows that I am not absorbed with that which is heavenly. "Thou hast left thy first love." It is not in great sins, but here, that decline in the saints is manifested. (J.N. Darby)
N.J. Hiebert # 2392
"Thine they were and Thou gavest them me. . ." (John 17:6)
"And supper being ended. . ." (John 13:2)
What a blessed thing to be one of the Lord's very own! How we are valued by Him! First, "Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me." How can we measure the preciousness of such a gift? Second, redeemed with His precious blood - His own that way. And third, His own as sealed by the Spirit! How blessed to think of ourselves as His own in this threefold way! And it is very blessed too to think of His love which never gives up its object.
Not "supper being ended," but "supper being come," or "during supper" (verse 2). The thought of betraying the Lord had already been instilled into Judas's heart, but Satan had not yet taken possession of him. What a contrast between Peter's love at the beginning, and his love at the end of this chapter! Poor, impetuous Peter! What a breakdown must ensue when pressure is brought to bear, if we are trusting to our own love! But there was all the difference between Peter and Judas. The latter was an apostle and a disciple, but he was not born again. Peter, on the contrary, was truly born again, besides being an apostle. (The Christian Truth - Vol. 15)
N.J. Hiebert # 2393
"Jesus saith . . . He that hath seen Me
hath seen the Father." (John 14:9)
God prohibited man's making any image of God; but He presented Himself to us in the face of Jesus His Son, so perfectly, so identically, so completely one with Himself, that the Son could say, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." Wonder of wonders! In a Man was presented down here all that could delight the Father! To think that my feet tread the earth that His feet trod, who came out from the Father! How very close He comes to men, leaving them without excuse; but men care not for Him! (Anon)
N.J. Hiebert # 2394
"Why am I thus?" (Genesis 25:22)
"Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)
Many a child of God afflicted and cut off by infirmity from some of the sweetest joys of life, and often looking with envious eyes on others, may sorrowfully ask, "Why am I thus?" We can only answer, I cannot tell you; you will know some day. But let me ask you, Why are you what you are? Why are you, who were a vessel of wrath, a guilty sinner, afar off, without hope, why are you now a vessel of mercy, a child of God, pardoned, brought nigh, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ? Why has your poor body with its infirmities yet been made a temple of the Holy Ghost? Why did the Father give you to the Son to be one of "his own," whom He loves to the end?
These questions may well be pondered. In thinking of them we may forget our sorrows, and our souls be filled with the joy of the Lord. (J.G.D.)
N.J. Hiebert # 2395
"But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. (1 Peter 1:25)
The narratives of the Bible are not merely inspired records of what actually occurred, but presentations of great principles of action and types of character; living illustrations of human nature and of the world; mighty moral truths which have their application in all ages of man's history, and in all stages of man's condition. It is of the utmost importance that we should take this large and comprehensive view of Holy Scripture, else we shall regard the inspired volume merely as a book of one age, instead of THE BOOK for all ages. (Extract)
N.J. Hiebert # 2396
"I (Paul) kept back nothing
that was profitable unto you,
but have showed you,
and have taught you publickly,
and from house to house." (Acts 20:20)
The Apostle Paul was no man's hired servant; he was not in the field of God's husbandry on a monthly salary basis. He was there as sent of God; he was there to speak forth the mind of Christ, so he can say, "I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you."
Do we desire teachers that will speak to us smooth things, things that tickle our ears? If we do, we are not in the mind of the Spirit of God. In second Timothy we read of a time ". . . when they will not endure sound doctrine; but . . . heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth." What is the penalty for such an attitude? They "shall be turned unto fables." If we resist the truth of God - if we say, "I'll not have that" - then we shall have to have Satan's substitute. We shall be turned aside to something that is not the truth of God. (C.H. Brown)
N.J. Hiebert # 2397
