Gems worth pondering
September 17
"Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."
(2 Corinthians 4:16)
The old house is breaking down; with some of us the roof is thatched now with white hair, and we are reminded that day by day we shall soon move out unless Christ Himself returns. But we are not disheartened, we are not discouraged, for "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." My hope is brighter now than it ever was; my joy in Christ is greater than it has ever been; the world means less to me today than it has ever meant, and the applause of men means less. But the approval of the Lord means more than it has ever meant. (EXTRACT)
Heaven is commenced already for the heart that is in the joy of resurrection,
and in association with Christ.
N.J. Hiebert - 3830
September 18
"Come up in the morning . . . and present thyself unto Me in the top of the mount."
(Exodus 34:2)
The morning is the time fixed for my meeting the Lord. The very word morning is a cluster of rich grapes. Let us crush them, and drink the sacred wine. In the morning! Then God means me to be at my best in strength and hope. I have not to climb in my weakness. In the night I have buried yesterday's fatigue, and in the morning take a new lease of energy. Blessed is the day whose morning is sanctified! Successful is the day whose first victory was won in prayer! Holy is the day whose dawn finds thee on the top of the mount! (STREAMS IN THE DESERT)
N.J. Hiebert - 3831
September 19
"Blessed us with all spiritual blessings . . . in Christ."
(Ephesians 1:3)
It is easy to be earthly minded, caught up in those things that depress and distress. Instead of thinking about the mundane, try a different view today. Think of these spiritual blessings.
- We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:19);
- Regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5); and,
- Reconciled by the Father (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).
We who were by nature rebels, reprobates, and condemned, are now cleansed, forgiven, and fit for heaven. Truly we are a blessed people, with much to be thankful for. Have you blessed Him for how He has blessed you? (FRANK BURGESS)
N.J. Hiebert - 3832
September 20
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3)
- The plan of deliverance was divine,
- The provision of the sacrifice was divine,
- The shedding of the blood was divine,
- The sprinkling of the blood was divine,
- The record as to the result was divine:
- In short it was all divine.
It is not that we should undervalue realization, or, to speak more correctly, communion, through the Holy Spirit, with all the precious results of Christ's work for us. But then, we are no more saved by realization, than the leper was cleansed by it. The gospel, by which we are saved, is that "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) There is nothing about realization here. No doubt, it is happy to realize. It is a very happy thing for one, who was just on the point of being drowned, to realize himself in a life-boat; but, clearly, he is saved by the boat and not by his realization.
So it is with the sinner that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is saved by death and resurrection. Is it because he realizes it? No, but because God says it. it is "according to the Scriptures." Christ died and rose again; and, on that ground, God pronounces him clean. (C.H. MACINTOSH)
N.J. Hiebert - 3833
September 21
"He was despised and rejected of men." (Isaiah 53:3)
Jesus of Nazareth was hated by the world - the very people He came to save. The lowly man of Sorrows was persecuted and treated as an outcast. His disciples were martyred for His name's sake. Christians throughout the ages have also been hated and persecuted by the world. Because of our association with the rejected Christ, we live in a foreign environment. As ambassadors of Christ we are here to minister the gospel. We should have no part with the world who crucified our Lord. When we sense the world's animosity and disdain, we will know that we are walking as He walked (E. MAC-LELLAND)
N.J. Hiebert - 3834
September 22
"And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel." (Luke 2:34)
Do you know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ proves either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death? You sometimes hear people say: "We will go and hear this man preach. If it does us no good, it will do us no harm." Don't you believe it! Every time one hears the Gospel and rejects it, the hardening process goes on. The same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay. The message that would have moved to action a few years ago makes no impression now.
There is not a true minister of the Gospel who will not say that the hardest people to reach are those who have been impressed, and whose impressions have worn away. It is a good deal easier to commit a sin the second time than it was to commit it the first time, but it is a good deal harder to repent the second time than the first. (D.L.MOODY)
N.J. Hiebert - 3835
