November 17
"The Lord knoweth that are His." (2 Timothy 2:19)
Is it possible for one to be a believer in Christ, and not bear fruit?
We are glad to see fruit, but fruit is for the Father, and He can see what we cannot see. Fruit makes no noise; it is the life of Christ seen in our behaviour (Galatians 5:22,23). Even Lot is called a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7,8) but he was not a happy saint. (The Christian Newsletter)
N.J.H. # 2799
November 18
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)
Corruption comes in through those who do not openly deny but pare down inspiration, allow errors in history or other (as they call it) secondary matter, and attribute the selection of what is written to the instruments without God. But this is to deceive themselves and others, to say and unsay. It God inspired the writings, He suggested, He selected, He included, He left out. He gave the thoughts and the words; He guided and controlled all. This is scripture. (William Kelly - The Epistles of Peter)
N.J.H. # 2800
November 19
"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? . . . God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of His understanding." (Isaiah 40:12,28)
What can we wish for in an inheritance that is not to be found in God?
- Would we have large possessions? He is immensity;
- Would we have a sure estate? He is immutability;
- Would we have a term of long continuance? He is eternity itself.
(Arrowsmith)
Supreme in wisdom as in power the Rock of Ages stands,
Though Him thou canst not see, nor trace the working of His hands.
Mere human power shall fast decay, and youthful vigor cease;
But they who wait upon the Lord in strength shall still increase.
On eagles' wings they mount, they soar-their wings are faith and love -
Till, past the cloudy regions there, they rise to heaven above.
(Isaac Watts)
N.J.H. # 2801
November 20
"Keep yourselves in the love of God." (Jude 21)
How can I keep in the love of God? Am I responsible to keep God loving me? He says, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Does it mean that I am to keep loving God? No; "We love Him, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19) But I am to keep in the realization of His love; the constant enjoyment of it. Suppose my child has been ill, and during dark and murky weather he has to be kept in the house. Then one day the sun shines brightly, and the doctor says, "He can go out today for a few hours, but be sure to warn him to keep in the sunshine." I say to my boy, "Son, you may go out and enjoy yourself, but the doctor says you are to keep in the sunshine." The boy asks, "How can I keep the sun shining?" I explain, "I did not tell you to keep the sun shining; I am telling you to keep in the sunshine." This makes clear what is meant here - keep in the love of God. "The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God." (2 Thessalonians 3:5) As we enjoy His love and learn to rely upon it, we can wait in patience for the day when all our trials will be ended, and the Lord Jesus will come to take us to be forever with Himself. (H.A. Ironside)
N.J.H. # 2802
November 21
". . . He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)
The Christian should be encouraged to know that he is not trapped in the treacherous fist of fate, but is secure in the mighty hand of the Father. Although the purposes of God are not always made clear, he can rest in "the good pleasure of His will."
Dr. Leon Tucker, a gifted preacher and teacher, was a frequent visitor in our home when I was young. Once he told us of a woman who had been broken by a great tragedy in her life. She had been living under the crushing weight of a heavy burden for so long that praise had given way to complaint. Finally she cried out in bitterness of soul, "Oh, I would to God I had never been made!" In response to her rebellious words a friend wisely replied, "Why my dear child, you are not made yet; you are only being made, and you are quarreling with God's process."
The apostle Peter must have had a similar idea in mind when he wrote, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to test you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." (1 Peter 4:12) Often we argue with God because He subjects us to hardships in order to accomplish His gracious purposes. The Master Craftsman has a perfect design for each of us. Sharp tools must be employed at times, but every stroke of the Father's hand brings us a little closer to the finished product. How short-sighted to concentrate on the means rather than the end!
Child of God, you are not made yet; you are just being made. The Lord who "hath begun a good work in you" will certainly complete it. Just be patient while He works! (P.R.V.)
When burdens and trial seem heavy,
And troubles are pressing me sore,
I know it's the Master who's trying
To polish His precious stone more.
(Beattie, alt.)
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man
perfected without adversity.
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission.
N.J.H. # 2803
November 22
"I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of
God I am what I am." (1 Corinthians 15:9,10)
I am not what I ought to be.
I am not what I wish to be.
I am not even what I hope to be.
But by the cross of Christ,
I am not what I was.
(John Newton)
N.J.H. # 2804
November 23
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth
unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
(Micah 5:2)
The apostles preached Jesus, not from their own writings, which did not exist then, but from the Scriptures. What was Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost? He announced:
(1) The outpouring of the Spirit according to Joel 2.
(2) The resurrection of Jesus according to Psalm 16.
(3) His ascension according to Psalm 110; and on this basis,
(4) The lordship of Jesus as the Messiah.
(Dr. Adolf Saphir - Christ and the Scriptures)
N.J.H. # 2805
November 24
". . . All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night, His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." (Psalms 42:7,8)
Someone once wrote that the man who can sing, "It is Well With My Soul" at a time in his life when "sorrows like sea billows roll," has learned the secret of the Lord, and can faithfully exclaim with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
Such a man was Horatio Spafford, a lawyer in Chicago. When the great fire swept the city in 1871, he lost all his material possessions. Two years later, he sent his wife and four children to Europe, while he applied himself to retrieving his lost fortune.
They sailed on November 15, 1873, on the "S. S. Ville de Havre." In mid-ocean, one afternoon, six days after they had left New York, the ship collided with a sailing vessel.
Gathering her children on deck, immediately after the collision, Mrs. Spafford knelt in prayer, asking God to save them, or make them willing to die, if that were necessary. In fifteen minutes the boat sank! They were cast into the water and separated. Mrs. Spafford was taken out of the water unconscious by one of the oarsmen on duty in a life-boat, but the children were lost.
Then days later Mrs. Spafford landed in Cardiff, Wales, and cabled to her husband, "Saved Alone."
On receiving this terrible news Attorney Spafford exclaimed: "It is well; the will of the Lord be done!" To give expression to this faith he wrote the hymn which has blessed so many souls in deep trouble:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul."
A wealthy man ruined in the panic of 1899 was giving himself up in despair, when a friend of his related to him the story of the writing of this hymn. Immediately he responded, "If Spafford could write such a beautiful resignation hymn, I shall never complain again." (Traveling Toward Sunrise)
N.J.H. # 2806
