Gems for the Week
October 27
"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have
a goodly heritage." (Psalm 16:6)
Not for ease of worldly pleasure
Nor for fame my prayer shall be,
Gladly will I toil and suffer
Only let me walk with Thee.
Always remember we are the followers of a Christ, who, on earth had a peasant's lot, slept upon a hillside, and if He wanted to illustrate His preaching, had to borrow a penny with which to do it. And yet His heart was full of the Father's joy and gladness; and if you walk with God, that joy will stay your hearts. (Harold St. John - from his biography)
N.J. Hiebert # 3505
October 28
"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 5:15)
In this generation, we need to preach a message of salvation to Christians who are lost in this world's crazy maze of business and pleasure. We need to ask ourselves:
-What are we pursuing out there?
- Are we finding it?
- How much is it costing us?
Ironically, it is only when we are willing to surrender everything to Christ that we find that we have gained everything in Him. Good and faithful servants have a love for Christ that displaces all selfish ambitions as the ruling motivation of their lives. Do we have that love? (Selected)
N.J. Hiebert # 3506
October 29
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24)
- Favour shown to the miserable we call mercy;
- Favour shown to the poor we call pity;
- Favour shown to the suffering we call compassion;
- Favour shown to the obstinate we call patience:
- But favour shown to the unworthy we call GRACE!
This is favour indeed; favour which is truly divine in its source and in its character.
Light is thrown upon it in Romans 3:24, "being justified freely by His grace." The word here translated "freely" occurs again in John 15:25, and is translated "without a cause" ("they hated me without a cause"). Was there any real cause why they hated the Lord Jesus? No! Nor is there any cause in us why God should ever justify us. So we might read Romans 3:24 thus: "Being justified without a cause by His grace." Yes, this is grace indeed - favour to the unworthy. (TCN)
N.J. Hiebert # 3507
