Gems for May - wk 3
May 16
"Then he (Elisha) said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours,even empty vessels; borrow not a few." (2 Kings 4:3)
Whatever be the state or condition of the soul - whether it be a question of sorrow, difficulty, or disappointment - the message from God is one and the same. "Go, borrow thee vessels" - and, mark, it is "empty vessels" - vessels "not a few." What magnificent grace shines in the words "empty" and "not a few"!
Our vessels must be empty. God will not pour into a vessel half filled with creature supplies. In every case, the vessel must be absolutely empty, for only then is it fully manifest that the "oil" has come directly from God Himself. The word "empty" shuts out the creature. The words "not a few" leave room for God to come in. (Selected)
N.J.H. # 2978
May 17
"They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and
are at their wit's end." (Psalm 107:27)
Wits' end is one of the most frequented stopping places on life's journey. We reach the end of our resources, our judgment, our calculations, and still no decision seems best or even good. It can be the fork of the road for either good or bad. King Jehoshaphat was at wits' end when he said, "We know not what to do," but he was on the way out when he added, "but our eyes are upon Thee."
It may be declining health, shrinking finances, family trouble, the choice of a trade or profession - you name it - that brings us to our wits' end. The prodigal son came to wits' end when he came to himself as he fed the swine. He said, "I will arise and go to my father."
Wits' end is a good place to start, because our own wits are not so good anyway. We may acquire knowledge, but wisdom comes from God, and we get that when we ask for it in faith. When we are a the end of ourselves, there God begins. We must place ourselves in God's hands without reservation. We can expect an answer, maybe not what we want, but what glorifies Him.
If you are at your wits' end, cheer up. It is a great place to start over! (Vance Havner - Don't Miss your Miracle)
N.J.H. # 2979
May 18
"A very present help." (Psalm 46:1)
He's guiding me now - this moment,
In pathways easy or hard,
Perhaps by a door wide open,
Perhaps by a door fast barred,
Perhaps by a joy withholden,
Perhaps by a gladness given;
In ways that I know and know not,
He's using me now - this moment,
And whether I go or stand,
Perhaps by a plan accomplished,
Perhaps when He stays my hand,
Perhaps by a word in season,
Perhaps by a silent prayer;
In ways that I know and know not,
His labour of love I share.
(ANNIE JOHNSON FLINT)
N.J.H. # 2980
May 19
"His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." (1 Peter 2:24)
There is, in this short text, a problem, a Person and a place. The problem, "our sins"! How awful their power and their penalty. The Person, "His own self." The Son of God, Himself alone, with none to help and none other able. The place, Calvary! The tree! Peter had preached it in those early days "Jesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree," he had proclaimed in Acts 5:30. Now, so many years later, his message is just the same. In His own body, on the tree, Christ finished the work. (Jim Flanigan)
They nailed my Lord upon the tree,
And left Him, dying there;
Through love He suffered there for me,
'Twas love beyond compare.
(C.Austin Miles)
N.J.H. # 2981
May 20
"And Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink; for
there is a sound of abundance of rain." (1 Kings 18:41)
Elijah goes up to the top of Carmel. His patience emerges victor from the trial; his faith has its perfect work. The showers of blessing come after God's judgment has fallen upon the burnt offering and only after Israel, in presence of this event, has acknowledged the Lord and turned their hearts back to Him. In our days abundance of rain is sought without the conscience being reached. This desire can be crowned with but one result. The rain was not given to Israel until after the work of God had been done for them and in them. (H.L. Rossier - Meditations on 1 King)
N.J.H. # 2982
May 21
"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also." (John 14:2,3)
- Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.
- Our heavenly home is our real estate.
- We can endure this life's trial because of next life's joys.
(SOME THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER - R.K.)
N.J.H. # 2983
May 22
"Arise, shine." (Isaiah 60:1)
Love must be active, as light must shine. As someone has said: "A man may hoard up his money; he may bury his talents in a napkin; but there is one thing he cannot hoard up, and that is love." You cannot bury it. It must flow out. It cannot feed upon itself; it must have an object. (D.L. Moody)
N.J.H. # 2984
May 23
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
It is tragically true that some men, because of the pride of their countenance, will not seek after Him, and that they banish Him from their thoughts (Psalm 10:4); but the word of God and human experience alike testify that such men live incomplete lives; that to be without Him is to be without hope in the world; that, indeed, without personal knowledge of Him, life is an existence destitute of significance. "We have been so framed that God alone is the adequate portion of our souls; in Him alone can we find enjoyment for ever. It was a keen sense of this that drew from one, the oft-quoted exclamation: 'Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our heart hath no rest until it rest in Thee.' As the eye was formed for the light, the ear for sound, the palate for taste, the intellect for truth, and as these faculties can find pleasure only in their respective objects, so, the soul was formed by God for Himself, and can never know real or abiding enjoyment except in Him." (George Henderson - Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care")
N.J.H. # 2985
