Gems for August - wk 3
August 16
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith in Christ. Faith is that act of the soul whereby it rests on Christ crucified for pardon and life, and that upon the warrant of the word. The person of Christ is the object of faith as justifying: secondly, Christ as crucified. First, the person of Christ, not any axiom or proposition in the word; - this is the object of assurance, not of faith. Assurance saith, I believe my sins are pardoned through Christ: faith's language is, I believe on Christ for the pardon of them. . . . Not every one that assents to the truth of what Scripture saith of Christ doth believe on Christ. This believing on Christ implies trusting decumbency (reclining) on Christ. It is no the sight of a man's arm stretched out to a man in the water will save him from drowning, but the taking hold of it. "Let him take hold of my strength." (Isaiah 27:5) (William Gurnall - The Christian in Complete Armour - 1665)
N.J.H. # 3067
August 17
"And He (Jesus) said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?" (Luke 11:5,6)
The story of the man who said, 'I have nothing to set before him', has been helping me this morning (not for the first time). It says so exactly what I so often feel. 'A friend of mine in his journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him' - no, not even a crumb.
I expect you also often feel like that. I can well understand how the devil will make you feel like that poor man who had nothing to give and went in the night to borrow three loaves. But the end of the story is very comforting, 'He will rise and give him as many as he needs.' As much as you need to do His will and help others, these travelers in life's difficult journey, will be given to you to give. There will be no shortage from the heavenly point of view. So meet the devil's depressing whisper, as I pray this morning that I may, with that dear word, 'As many as he needs', and be at peace. (Amy Carmichael - Candles in the Dark)
N.J.H. # 3068
August 18
"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2 Corinthians 2:11)
It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word (Bible) and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were of no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer; while the truth is in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying; for the less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray. (George Muller)
Satan has many ways of ensnaring God's children, but when he seeks to hinder our prayer life he attacks the very citadel of our spirituality and power. Here therefore let us most resolutely repel him, and at his every approach resort more earnestly to prayer.
Prayer itself is the very best protection to the spirit of prayer. "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation." (Matthew 26:41)
N.J.H. # 3069
August 19
"Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer . . . and a certain man lame . . . (asked) alms of them that entered into the temple . . .And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us." (Acts 3:1-9)
The human race is a race of cripples, maimed in body, mind, and spirit. Even those who seem, apart from saving grace, to be hale and hearty are best described by Isaiah as without soundness but with wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. Sin is a grievous affliction, and we are lame in our souls from birth to death unless we are born again. The crutches are not always visible, and sick souls try to laugh sin off, drink it off, pretend its non-existence, but God knows about it and so do we in better moments.
Peter and John bade the lame man, "Look on us." (verse 4) Deliverance lay in a look. Peter and John were not magnifying themselves; with them stood One whom the lame man and the onlookers couldn't see. There stood one among them whom they knew not. . . .
Peter took the lame man by the hand and lifted him up. The look was followed by the lift. There is plenty of uplifting these days, but much of it is old Adam trying to lift old Adam. The true Christian, filled with the Spirit of the living Christ has life in his lift. It was so with this man and he leaped. He may have come limping but he went away leaping.
(Vance Havner - Don't Miss Your Miracle)
N.J.H. # 3070
August 20
"And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see." (John 1:46)
After all, we do not gain much by discussion. Let objectors or inquirers only get one personal interview with the Son of God, and that will scatter all their darkness, all their prejudice, and all their unbelief. The moment that Philip succeeded in getting Nathanael to Christ, the work was done. (D.L. Moody)
N.J.H. # 3071
August 21
"And he (Andrew) brought him (Simon Peter) to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah: thou shalt be called Cephas,which is by interpretation, A stone." (John 1:42)
Cephas, the evangelist tells us, means "a stone." There was about to be a new thing commenced in the earth - the Church of God; and Peter was, through grace, to have a place therein. Let us note carefully his own words as to this - "To whom coming, as unto a Living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:4-5). Thus the Church of God is a spiritual structure, composed of persons who, like Peter, have come to Christ, and who, in virtue of the divine gift of eternal life, have been constituted living stones. Men's churches, Papal, National and non conformist alike, may contain many adherents who have never been in contact with Christ; the Church which Christ is building consists exclusively of those who have followed in the footsteps of Andrew and Peter, and who thus have life eternal in the Son of God. That no reader may misunderstand, let it be distinctly stated that that which Christ calls "My Church" in Matthew 16:18 is the aggregate of believing souls (of whatever name) from the day of Pentecost downwards. (W.W. Fereday - Peter the Apostle)
N.J.H. # 3072
August 22
"Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand." (Psalm 73:23)
Excerpt of an Address to Young People
Yes, dear child of God, that is the One you have, the Lord. Do not worry about the prosperity of the ungodly; you have THE LORD. What intimacy, love, consideration, confidence that comes to you, and the preciousness of the Lord right by your side! That is the only way to be happy in this world - companionship with Christ - and you can have that. But let me tell you, if you want to enter upon a certain pathway of sorrow, just attempt to get your enjoyment the way the ungodly are getting it; and I promise you, you will have a full cup of bitterness before the end comes. You have heard too much truth, have had too much blessed ministry, you know too much of the way, to ever find your portion of happiness in the pathway of the ungodly in this world. True joy and happiness are found in companionship with Christ. (From The Young Christian)
N.J.H. # 3073
