November 14
"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself . . ."
(Daniel 1:8)
"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
(Philippians 1:21)
How much better to have the heart full of lively affection for Christ than to have the intellect stored with the most accurate knowledge of the letter of Scripture! What is the melancholy characteristic of the present time? A wide diffusion of Scriptural knowledge with little love for Christ, and little devotedness to His work; abundant readiness to quote Scripture, like the scribes and chief priests, but little purpose of heart, like the wise men, to open the treasures and present to Christ the willing offerings of a heart filled by the sense of what He is. What we want is personal devotedness, and not the mere empty display of knowledge. (Selected)
N.J. Hiebert # 3523
November 15
How Much I Owe
(Robert Murray McCheyne - May, 1837)
When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glowing sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know -
Not till then - how much I owe.
Even on earth, as through a glass
Darkly, let Thy glory pass,
Make forgiveness feel so sweet,
Make Thy Spirit's help so meet.
Even on earth, Lord, make me know
Something of how much I owe.
N.J. Hiebert # 3524
November 16
Prisoners of Time
"Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."
(Psalm 90:12)
TIME is a happening that affects us all. We may employ it as a servant or fight it as an enemy. We may pay the price and buy up its opportunities or squander it as of little value. We may think we are "passing the time" when all the while it is passing us at sixty seconds every minute. We may lose money, health, or friends, and recover our loss; but if we waste our time, it is gone forever. We may complain there is not enough time to do all we want to do, but there is ample time to do all that God has willed us to do.
He who has no vision of eternity will never know the true value and use of time. The Lord has a purpose for each of us to fulfill in the present. If we "number our days", walking always in the fear of God, we will be ready to face eternity at any moment. (Extract)
N.J. Hiebert # 3525
November 17
"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He (Jesus) was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish?"
(Mark 4:37,38)
The One who had made the sea and could hold the winds in His almighty grasp, lay sleeping in the hinder part of the ship, and allowed the sea and the wind to treat Him as unceremoniously as though He were an ordinary man. Such was the reality of the human nature of our blessed Lord. He was weary; He slept; and He was tossed on the bosom of that sea which His hands had made. Pause and meditate on this wondrous sight. Look closely; think deeply. No tongue, no pen, can do justice to such a scene. We cannot expatiate (elaborate); we can only muse and worship.
Unbelief roused the blessed Lord out of His sleep. "They awake Him, and say unto him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish?"
What a question! "Carest Thou not?" How it must have wounded the heart of the Lord Jesus! How could they ever think that He was indifferent to their trouble and danger? How completely must they have lost sight of His love, to say nothing of His power, when they could bring themselves to say, "Carest Thou not?" (Christian Truth - Vol. 22 - Dec. 1969)
N.J. Hiebert # 3526
