Bible Gems

August 28

"Christ is all and in all."  (Colossians 3:11)

True service is love in work clothes.

To gain self control, give Christ control!

Our love has limits but God's love is boundless.

Contentment is realizing that God has already given me all I need.

Attachment to Christ is the secret of detachment from the world.

Confession is the soil in which forgiveness flourishes.

(SOME THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER - R.K.)

N.J. Hiebert - 3810

August 29

"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
(Proverbs 27:1)

D.L. Moody said one of the  greatest mistakes he ever made occurred October 8, 1871.  On that night he addressed the largest crowd he had ever spoken to in Chicago.  His message dealt with the trial of Jesus in Pilate's hall, and was based on the text, "What then shall I do with Jesus?"  He concluded his sermon by saying, "I wish you would take this text home with you and seriously consider it, and next Sunday we will speak on the cross, and we will decide what we should do with Jesus."  Speaking of this incident later, Moody called it a tragic error and "one of the greatest mistakes of my life; for I never saw that congregation again."  When the sermon was finished, he asked Mr. Sankey to sing, "Today the Saviour Calls."  Almost prophetically the third verse ran:

"Today the Saviour calls; for refuge fly;   
The storm of justice falls and death is nigh."

It was the last song sung in that hall, for even as Sankey sang, his voice was drowned out by the clanging of fire engine bells in the street.  It was the night of the great Chicago fire, in which Mr. Moody's hall was left in ashes and in which one thousand perished, some of them undoubtedly from that audience.  Moody said he learned the lesson, "When preaching Christ, press for an immediate and definite decision."  He explained, "I would rather lose my right hand than ever again give an audience a week or a day to decide for Christ."  (SELECTED)

Don't put off till tomorrow what you should do today.

"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance; but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination."
(AUGUSTINE) 

N.J. Hiebert - 3811

August 30

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort."
(2 Corinthians 1:3)

In one of his letters, Adolph Monod tells how he found in his hardest moments that it was enough to take firm hold on a single promise.  It sustained him in the sorest difficulties.  He loved the words Father of Compassions, as 2 Corinthians 1:3 has it in French.

When one is in great pain or trouble, or caught suddenly by fierce temptation, it is the word of strength or comfort that is set deep in the memory that takes life.  It speaks in a new tone, and becomes to us at that moment more than we could have ever believed it would be.  John 14:26 explains this: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever, I have said unto you."

So let us fill the storehouse of our mind with the treasure of God's word.  Every day offers opportunities.  When we go to bed tonight, let us think, "What treasure did I put in my storehouse today?"   (AMY CARMICHAEL - WHISPERS OF HIS POWER)

N.J. Hiebert - 3812

August 31

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
(Hebrews 2:9)

But We See Jesus

I don't look back, God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets,
I leave them all with Him who blots the record,
And mercifully forgives, and then forgets.

I don't look forward, God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face with me its every trial,
And bear for me the burdens that may come.

But I look up - into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled,
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.
(FLINT'S BEST-LOVED POEMS)

N.J. Hiebert # 3813

September 1

"The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
(1 Corinthians 2:10)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139:23,24)

If there is a corner of my heart that Christ has not searched down to the very bottom, I am undone.  Would I have a blind Christ, one whom I should not like to search out every part of my heart?  Ah! I would rather have Christ  pointing out everything, than friends praising.  I adore God that gave Him to me.  Who am I, that my Lord should so condescend to search me?  And where there is evil in me, that is just where God lets His streams flow into me.  He sees everything that hinders and chokes - would I stay His hand?  (GLEANINGS of G.V. WIGRAM)

N.J. Hiebert - 3814

September 2

"Spread the sail."  (Isaiah 33:23)

Picture a vessel lying becalmed on a glassy sea - not a breath of air stirs a sail.  But, presently, the little pennant far up on the masthead begins to stir and lift!  There is not a ripple on the water; not the slightest movement of the air on deck, but there is a current stirring  in the upper air!  At once the sails are spread to catch it!

"So in life," says Dr Miller, "there are higher and lower currents.  Too many of us use only the lower sails, and catch only the winds blowing along earthly levels.  It would be an unspeakable gain to us all were we to let our life fall under the influence of these upper currents."  (SPRINGS in the VALLEY)

Spread your sails to catch the upper currents!

N.J. Hiebert - 3815