Gems for April - wk 4
April 19
"Unless Thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in my affliction." (Psalm 119:92)
The Bible is that to which we instinctively turn in the sorrows of life. It is not possible to imagine any circumstance in life for which the Word of the Lord has not a message of comfort or of help. Scarcely can we fix out eyes upon a single passage in this wonderful Book, which has not afforded comfort or instruction to thousands, and been wet with tears of penitential sorrows or great joy, drawn from eyes that will weep no more. I mention seven forms of human sorrow and need, together with God's antidotes for them, which go to show that earth has no sorrow which heaven cannot heal:
AFFLICTION - Isaiah 43:2 - ". . . I will be with thee. . ."
FEAR - Isaiah 41:10 - "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed."
DISCOURAGEMENT - Romans 8:28 - "All things work together for good to them that love God."
LONELINESS - Hebrews 13:5 - "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
UNREST - Matthew 11:28-30 - ". . .ye shall find rest unto your souls."
DISSATISFACTION - Psalm 107:9 - "He satisfieth the longing soul."
DEATH - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 - ". . .the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which. . . remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
(George Henderson - In Pastures Green)
N.J.H. # 2951
April 20
"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, He it is
that loveth Me." (John 14:21)
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you:" (John 14:27)
"As the Father hath love Me, so have I loved you:
Continue ye in My love." (John 15:9)
"That your joy might be full." (John 15:11)
"That they may behold My glory." (John 17:24)
In these chapters the Lord speaks of five personal things:
- My commandments (14:21) - which we are to obey.
- My peace (14:27) - which we are to appropriate.
- My love (15:9) - which we are to enjoy.
- My joy (15:11) - which we are to experience.
- My glory (17:24) - which we shall one day behold.
(Henry Durbanville - His Last Words)
N.J.H. # 2952
April 21
"They crucified HIM . . . and sitting down they watched HIM there." (Matthew 27:35,36)
We are very prone to judge of the world according to its treatment of ourselves. We speak of its hollowness, its faithlessness, its baseness, its deceitfulness, and such like; but we are too apt to make self the measure in all this, and hence we fall short of the real mark. In order to reach a just conclusion, we must judge by a perfect standard, and this can only be found in the cross. The cross is the only perfect measure of man, of the world, of sin. If we really want to know what the world is, we must remember that it preferred a robber to Christ, and crucified between two thieves the only perfect man that ever lived.
Such is the world in which you live. Such its true state as proved by its own deliberately planned and determinedly perpetrated act. And therefore we need not marvel at aught that we hear or see of the world's wickedness, seeing that in crucifying the Lord of glory, it gave the strongest proof that could be given of wickedness and guilt. (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J.H. # 2953
April 22
"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet,
moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;
by the which he condemned the world,
and became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith." (Hebrews 11:7)
Now Noah's was a very distinguished life. Faith laid hold on the warning. Faith does not wait for the day of glory or the day of judgment to see glory or judgment. Faith in the prophet did not ask for his eyes to be opened. Faith here for 120 years seemed to be a fool. Noah was building a ship for dry ground; and he may well have been the mockery of his neighbours; but he saw the thing that was invisible. How rebuking to us! Supposing you and I lived under the authority of coming glory, what fools we should be!
"He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."!
. . .The faith of a saint is an intensely working thing. Will God be a debtor to any man? No; He will pay to those who sow bountifully. (J.G. Bellett - Musings on the Epistle to the Hebrews)
N.J.H. # 2954
April 23
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches,
and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." (Revelation 5:12)
What is the first sweet word we shall hear as we enter heaven? The worthiness of the Lamb, and the blood of the Lamb, and we, there, because cleansed by the blood of that Lamb. What must sin be, to need the blood of God's own Son! Up there, in the presence of God, I learn something of the infinitude of sin, and nothing can fetch out its stain but the blood of God's own Son, and that has done it entirely. (G.V. Wigram - Gleanings From The Teaching of G.V.W.)
N.J.H. # 2955
April 24
"I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seethThee.
Wherefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes."
(Job 42:5,6)
- Tough times can teach us to trust.
- A Christian's life is a window through which others can see Jesus.
- The Bible is old, but its truths are always new.
- Hold tightly to what is eternal and loosely to what is temporal.
- A grudge is one thing that does not get better when it is nursed.
(Some Thoughts to Consider - R.K)
N.J.H. # 2956
April 25
"He that hath seen me (Jesus) hath seen the Father." (John 14:9)
In Hebrews we read that He (Jesus) is the express image of the Father. The real meaning of this is that He is the exact expression of His character. All that God is, is told out in Jesus. Jesus walked this world for a brief period of thirty three and one-half years, and during that time God was manifest, God was seen on the earth, in the person of His blessed Son. And when He went back to heaven from which He came, was God left without any manifestation down here? We read, "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us, and His love is perfected in us." It is not merely that God dwells in us, for God dwells in all believers, but the Greek word for dwelleth is different from that for abideth. If we love one another, we manifest the new and divine nature; if we walk in love, then men can see God in us, for God abideth in us. That is, if we are living in fellowship with God, we are manifesting God, making God known. (H.A. Ironside)
N.J.H. # 2957
