Gems for the Week
September 24 - 26
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to
make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)
I have been told that the deeper the water the larger the pearl. I don't know how that is, but I do know that from the greatest depths of sin the Lord Jesus Christ sometime gathers up His brightest jewels. PAUL was a persecutor, BUNYAN was a blasphemer, JOHN NEWTON was a libertine, the EARL OF ROCHESTER was an infidel; and yet the grace of God went plunging down through the fathoms of their abominations, until it found them and brought them up to the light. (T. De Witt Talmage)
N.J. Hiebert # 2745
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
What a wonderful statement! It is not a question merely of what will be the justification of the believer when manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ, but "now" there is nothing to condemn to those who are in Christ Jesus. If I look at myself in the flesh, it is, "O wretched man that I am!" If I look at what I am in Christ Jesus, there is now no condemnation. Dead to all that I am, as a child of Adam - dead to sin, dead to law, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Thus, being in and to another, to Christ Jesus raised from the dead, it is not only to bring forth fruit unto God, but "there is therefore now no condemnation." Do you get hold of this? Is there any condemnation possible to that risen Christ in the glory of God? Then, if you are in Him, how can there be condemnation to you? (Charles Stanley - Epistle to the Romans - 1885)
N.J. Hiebert # 2746
"Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh
to Me shall never hunger." (John 6:35)
Field Marshal William Slim was leading the British forces during the Burma campaign of World War 2. Concerned about the men under his command, he learned that one soldier was extremely despondent over bad news from home. So the commander asked his senior chaplain to have a member of his staff talk to the soldier.
Shortly afterward, the field marshal sent for the senior chaplain. Keenly dissatisfied and upset, he said, "One of your chaplains went to see the man. He was very nice and they drank a cup of tea together, but he never showed the soldier what he needed to see." "And what was that?" the surprised chaplain asked. Field Marshal Slim answered, "The Man on the cross."
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) When we interact with needy people, it's important to remember that Jesus is the answer to their loneliness, depression, and heartache. It's true that we must be pleasant and sociable, but we must also point them to the Man on the cross, the sin-bearing Saviour in whom there is forgiveness, strength, grace, and hope.
Yes, Jesus is the only answer to our basic need. (VCG)
I need Jesus, my need I now confess,
No friend like Him in times of deep distress;
I need Jesus, the need I gladly own.
Though some may bear their load alone,
Yet I need Jesus. (Webster)
ONLY CHRIST THE BREAD OF LIFE CAN SATISFY OUR SPIRITUAL HUNGER.
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (1999), Grand Rapids, MI.
Reprinted permission.
N.J. Hiebert # 2747
