Gems for the Week
October 17 - 22
"Those that walk in pride He is able to abase." (Daniel 4:37)
How utterly vain it is for man to harden and exalt himself against God; for truly, He can grind to powder the hardest heart, and bring down to the dust the haughtiest spirit. (Christian Truth - Vol. 21 - July 1968)
N.J. Hiebert # 3129
"No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back,
is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
Suppose Columbus had not sailed! Suppose Anne Sullivan, discouraged, had lost hope for Helen Keller! Suppose Louis Pasteur, searching for a cure for rabies, had not said to his weary helpers: "Keep on! The important thing is not to leave the subject!"
Many a race is lost at the last lap! Many a ship is washed on the reefs outside the final port! Many a battle is lost on the last charge!
What hope have we of completing the course upon which we have embarked? What hope? Ah! He is able to keep. "He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him."
God cannot help us until we stop running away. We must be willing to stand somewhere and trust Him. He has reinforcements to send, but there must be somebody there to meet them when they come, and fear takes flight as well as fright. "Fear not" is the first step. (Springs in the Valley)
Alone with God the world forbidden,
Alone with Him, O blest retreat!
Alone with God and in Him hidden,
To hold with Him communion sweet.
N.J. Hiebert # 3130
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears,
'Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.'" (Mark 9:24)
Sometimes we are very much disappointed with ourselves because we cannot pray proper prayers, only little ones that hardly seem to be prayers at all. I have been finding much comfort in the little prayers of the Gospels. They could not be more little.
There was Peter's, "Lord save me." (Matthew 14:30) The poor mother's, "Lord help me." (Matthew 15:25) Sometimes even less, no prayer at all but only the briefest telling of the trouble, "My servant lieth at home sick." (Matthew 8:6) And less than that, a thought, and a touch, "She said within herself, If I may but touch."
Again we hear of just a feeling, "They were troubled." (Matthew 14:26) and a cry, "They cried out for fear" - that was all, but it was enough.
Often in the throng of the day's work and warfare, there will not be time for more than a very little prayer - a thought, a touch, a feeling, a cry - but it is enough; so tender, so near, is the love of our Lord. (Amy Carmichael - Edges of His Ways)
N.J Hiebert # 3131
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)
"My grace is sufficient for thee." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Evil shall pass with the day that brought it,
As the sea is stayed by the barrier land;
When the Giver of Good shall say "No farther",
And bid the foeman restrain his hand;
But the grace of the Lord outstays the evil,
Outlasts the darkness, outruns the morn,
Outwatches the stars in their nightly vigil,
And the foe that returns with the day re-born,
As he left it unwearied, shall find it unworn.
(Annie Johnson Flint)
N.J. Hiebert # 3132
"And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?"
(1 Chronicles 29:5)
Who is on the Lord's side? Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world's side? Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord's side? Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divide,
We are on the Lord's side; Saviour, we are Thine.
(Frances Ridley Havergal)
N.J. Hiebert # 3133
"The way of transgressors is hard." (Proverbs 13:15)
Take heed of deliberate sin; like a stone thrown into a clear stream, it will so disturb thy soul, and muddy it, that thou, who even now could see thy interest in Christ, wilt now be at a loss, and know not what to think of thyself. Like a fire on the top of the house, it will be no easy matter to quench it. If thou hast been so unhappy as to fall into such a slough, take heed of lying in it by impenitence: the sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is the swine that wallows in it. (The Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall - 1665)
N.J. Hiebert # 3134
