Gems worth pondering
July 9
"And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee."
(Psalm 39:7)
This is a searching question for the heart; but it is oft-times a most salutary (beneficial) one, inasmuch as we may constantly detect ourselves in an attitude of waiting for things which, when they come, prove not to be worth waiting for.
The human heart is very much like the poor lame man at the gate of the temple, in Acts 3. He was looking at every passer by, "expecting to receive something"; and the heart will ever be looking for some relief, some comfort, or some enjoyment in passing circumstances. It may ever and anon be found sitting by the side of some creature stream, vainly expecting that some refreshment will flow along its channel.
It is amazing to think of the trifles on which nature will, at times, fix its expectant gaze,
- A change of circumstances.
- Change of scene.
- Change of air.
- A journey.
- A visit.
- A letter.
- A book.
Anything, in short, is sufficient to raise expectations in a poor heart which is not finding its center, its spring, its all, in Christ. Hence the practical importance of frequently searching our hearts with the question "What wait I for?" Doubtless the true answer to this enquiry would, at times, furnish the most advanced Christian with matter for deep humiliation and self judgment before the Lord. (CHRISTIAN TRUTH - VOL. 21 - MARCH 1968)
N.J. Hiebert # 3760
July 10
"Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."
(Jeremiah 29:12-13)
What a precious promise these verses contain: "You pray, and I will hearken; you seek, and you will find Me." But we must notice the phrase, "For ye shall search for Me with all your heart."
The lips can often say very much while the heart is somewhere else completely. The Lord has said of Israel before through Isaiah: "This people draw near with their mouth . . . but their heart is removed far from Me" (Isaiah 29:13). True prayer must come from the heart. One of the reasons the Lord allows us to go through difficulties is to learn how to pray to Him from the heart. We see often in God's Word that when people go through severe trials they cry to the Lord and He hears them; this crying to the Lord is a prayer truly from the heart.
But the heart also must be searched before it can pray. We read in Psalm 66:18, "Had I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear."
To pray from the heart and to have a cleansed heart are two "musts" before we can expect answers to our prayers. So we read in Hebrews 10:19,22, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus . . . let us draw near with a true heart . . . having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience."
Thus we must learn to pray with perseverance, and to pray from clean hearts with a true sense of need. it is only then that we may expect answers to our prayers . (A.M. BEHNAM)
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Saviour, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free.
(J.E. ORR)
N.J. Hiebert # 3761
July 11
"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
(John 13:34-35)
An interesting study reports that only 15% of one's success at work depends on job knowledge and technical skill. It goes on to say that 85% of a person's success at work is determined by his attitude and ability to relate to others. There is a spiritual lesson in this for us all. Christian fruitfulness depends not only on what we believe, but also on how we live it out.
In the upper room the Lord Jesus instructed His disciples at least five time s to love one another. He told them this would mark them as His disciples. True Christian love is not a feeling that comes and goes. It is an act of the will. It should be the motivation of our daily lives. The instruction to love one another is given at least sixteen times in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus said that all the law and Prophets hang on two commandments: Loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Romans 13:8 instructs us to "Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Genuine love should be the controlling principle in every Christian's life.
Loving one another is not only the law of Christ, but is also something that God Himself teaches us (1 Thessalonians 4:9). His love toward us has been demonstrated when He gave his only-begotten Son while we were still in rebellion against Him (Romans 5:8). His love has now been poured out into the heart of every believer (Romans 5:5). God is love, and since He has shed His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit we too ought to love one another. In fact, love is evidence that the Spirit of God is at work in and through us. May loving one another mark each of us today! (T.P. HADLEY)
N.J. Hiebert # 3762
