Gems from Scripture

Oct 26, 2007 at 19:05 o\clock

In His Name

by: dondegr

Title: In His Name

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: John 16:24 Exodus 6:1 

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).

During the Civil War, a man had an only son who enlisted in the armies of the Union. The father was a banker and, although he consented to his son's going, it seemed as if it would break his heart to let him go.

He became deeply interested in the soldier boys, and whenever he saw a uniform, his heart went out as he thought of his own dear boy. He spent his time, neglected his business, gave his money to caring for the soldiers who came home invalid. His friends remonstrated with him, saying he had no right to neglect his business and spend so much thought upon the soldiers, so he fully decided to give it all up.

After he had come to this decision, there stepped into his bank one day a private soldier in a faded, worn uniform, who showed in his face and hands the marks of the hospital.

The poor fellow was fumbling in his pocket to get something or other, when the banker saw him and, perceiving his purpose, said to him:

"My dear fellow, I cannot do anything for you today. I am extremely busy. You will have to go to your headquarters; the officers there will look after you."

Still the poor convalescent stood, not seeming to fully understand what was said to him. Still he fumbled in his pockets and, by and by, drew out a scrap of dirty paper, on which there were a few lines written with a pencil, and laid this soiled sheet before the banker. On it he found these words:

"Dear Father: "This is one of my comrades who was wounded in the last fight, and has been in the hospital. Please receive him as myself. --Charlie."

In a moment all the resolutions of indifference which this man made, flew away. He took the boy to his palatial home, put him in Charlie's room, gave him Charlie's seat at the table, kept him until food and rest and love had brought him back to health, and then sent him back again to imperil his life for the flag. --Selected

This classic devotional is the unabridged edition of Streams in the Desert. This first edition was published in 1925 and the wording is preserved as originally written. Connotations of words may have changed over the years and are not meant to be offensive.

Oct 26, 2007 at 18:42 o\clock

Gems for October - wk 5

by: dondegr

October 26

"Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."  (1 John 4:4)
One of the most alarming symptoms in the religious world at the present day is the idea that there is power in the truth to preserve.  There is no power in the truth to preserve; but the question is, whether the soul holds fast the truth.  Unless my thoughts, my heart, are in the truth, there will be no power in the truth to me.  It is very certain that God will keep His truth; but is my heart kept?  If not, it is the mere confidence of man's mind; for ". . . greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."  (J.N. Darby)
N.J.H. # 3138
October 27
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."  (John 4:14)
Divine institutions are speedily marred in the hands of men: but, oh! how deeply blessed to know that the thirsty soul that feels the barrenness and drought connected with a scene of empty religious formality, has only to flee to Jesus, and drink freely of His exhaustless springs, and so become a channel of blessing to others.  (Food for the Desert)
N.J.H. # 3139
October 28
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe
on the name of the Son of God."  (1 John 5:13)
An old gentleman who was leaving for the Continent called upon his lawyer to have his will attested.  Everything in the will was clearly stated; and he concluded it with these words: "I wish to testify that I die trusting the merits of my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and hope that I am accepted by God for His sake."  The lawyer was a Christian man and said to him:  "Mr.---, why do you only hope that you are accepted when God says that "He hath made us accepted in the beloved?" - Ephesians 1:6. He answered: "Because it would be presumption."  "Well," said the solicitor, "if it be presumption, God has endorsed it."  There is the word: "He hath made us accepted in the beloved."  Without another word, the aged man drew his pen through the word "hope" and wrote the word "KNOW."  "I die trusting in the merits of my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and KNOW that I am accepted by God for His sake."  (George Henderson - In Pastures Green) 
N.J.H. # 3140
October 29
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." (Isaiah 43:2)
"Precious thought, my Father knoweth, in His love I rest,
For whate'er my Father doeth, must be always best;
Well I know the heart that planneth naught but good for me,
Joy and sorrow interwoven - love in all I see."
We should remember, that the husbandman is never so near the vine as when He is pruning it.  It is the experience of all deeply-taught Christians that God is never so real, or so consciously near, as He is in times of trial.
"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
For I will be with thee thy trials to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress."
(His Last Word - Henry Durbanville)
N.J.H. # 3141

October 30

"And he (Herod) sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young Child; and when ye (wise men) have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also."  (Matthew 2:8)
    The Lord knows them that are His.  Sometimes the most unlikely ones are chosen to do His work.  Imagine three kings kneeling before a baby.  God protects all His own for Herod could have easily had them followed instead of trusting them in their return and information.  Satan always fouls up.  God guides by physical circumstances and miraculous events such as stars, prophecy and dreams. (Mediations in Matthew - B.R.)
N.J.H. # 3142
October 31 
"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And He (Jesus) was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish?"  (Mark 4:37,38) 
"Faith delights in "man's extremity," simply because it is "God's opportunity."  It delights in being "shut up" to God - in having the platform thoroughly cleared of the creature in order that God may display His glory - in the multiplying of empty vessels in order that God may fill them.  (2 Kings 4:1-7)  Such is faith.  It would, we may surely say, have enabled the disciples to lie down and sleep beside their Master in the midst of the storm.  Unbelief, on the other hand, rendered them uneasy; they could not rest themselves, and they actually aroused the blessed Lord out of His sleep by their unbelieving apprehensions.  He, weary with incessant toil, was snatching a few moments repose while the vessel was crossing the sea.  He knew what fatigue was; He had come down into all the circumstances.  He made Himself acquainted with all our feelings and all our infirmities, being in all points tempted like as we are, sin excepted.  He was found as a man in every respect, and as such, He slept on a pillow, and was rocked by the sea's wave.  The storm beat upon the vessel, and the billows rolled over it, although the Creator was on board in the Person of that weary, sleeping Workman.  (Christian Truth - Vol. 22 - December 1969)  
N.J.H. # 3143
"God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."  (1 John 1:5) 
No language could be used to describe more forcibly God's intrinsic and absolute purity.  It is a purity that admits of no degree of evil.  Not only is God "light," but no "darkness"  can mingle with that light.  Darkness is necessarily excluded by what He is as light.  And if we have been brought to God, we are not "in darkness," but "in the light."  It is the place and condition into which we have been brought.  We were once darkness, but now light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8).  (A.H. Rule)
N.J.H. # 3144 

Oct 17, 2007 at 21:19 o\clock

Gems for October - wk 4

by: dondegr

October 21
 
"And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?"
(1 Chronicles 29:5)
Who is on the Lord's side?  Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world's side?  Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord's side?  Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divide,
We are on the Lord's side; Saviour, we are Thine.
(Frances Ridley Havergal) 
N.J.H. # 3133
October 22
"The way of transgressors is hard."  (Proverbs 13:15)
Take heed of deliberate sin; like a stone thrown into a clear stream, it will so disturb thy soul, and muddy it, that thou, who even now could see thy interest in Christ, wilt now be at a loss, and know not what to think of thyself.  Like a fire on the top of the house, it will be no easy matter to quench it.  If thou hast been so unhappy as to fall into such a slough, take heed of lying in it by impenitence: the sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is the swine that wallows in it.  (The Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall - 1665) 
N.J.H. # 3134
October 23
"His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord."  (Psalm 112:7)
Faith deals with things not seen, and hence seldom agrees with the conclusions that are drawn from providential events and circumstances.  (Edward Dennett)
N.J.H. # 3135
October 24
"The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."  (Isaiah 1:4)
If God had passed over the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden, I should have been able to say, Sin is no matter, but when I look at the cross I cannot.  (J.N. Darby)
N.J.H. # 3136
October 25
"The fulness of the blessing of. . . Christ."  (Romans 15:29) 
If we were only happy in Him, we should work much better for Him.  It is joy in Christ that gains victory over the world.  Why are we in subjection to the world?  Just because we have not found in Christ all the joy we ought to find.  (J.G. Bellett)
N.J.H. # 3137
 

Oct 16, 2007 at 22:52 o\clock

Gems for October - wk 3

by: dondegr

October 15

"Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends."  (John 15:15)
A Christian lady visited a blind girl whom she had taught to read the Bible in raised letters.  She said: "I went into her room one morning, and before I had time to reach her hand and let her know that someone was present, I found her speaking to the Lord about a verse she had just spelled out - 'Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.'  Lifting her sightless eyes to Him she said, 'Oh, I like to hear Thee say that!  I ONLY knew before that You were my Friend, the sinner's Friend - I did not know that we were friends of Yours!' "  (T.M.O.) 
"A friend of Jesus! Oh, what bliss, that one so vile as I
Should ever have a Friend like this to lead me to the sky;
A Friend when other friendships cease, a Friend when others fail,
A Friend who gives me joy and peace, a Friend who will prevail." 
N.J.H. # 3127
October 16
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." 
(1 John 2:1) 
God has been perfectly satisfied, as to all the believer's sins, in the cross of Christ.  On the cross a full atonement was presented for every jot and tittle of sin, in the believer's nature, and on his conscience.  Hence, therefore, God does not need any further propitiation (atonement).  He does not need aught to draw His heart toward the believer.  We do not require to supplicate Him to be "faithful and just," when His faithfulness and justice have been so gloriously displayed, vindicated, and answered in the death of Christ.  Our sins can never come into God's presence, inasmuch as Christ, who bore them all and put them away, is there instead.  But if we sin, conscience will feel it, must feel it; yea, the Holy Spirit will make us feel it.  He cannot allow so much as a single light thought to pass unjudged."If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)   (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J.H. # 3128  

October 17

"Those that walk in pride He is able to abase."  (Daniel 4:37)
How utterly vain it is for man to harden and exalt himself against God; for truly, He can grind to powder the hardest heart, and bring down to the dust the haughtiest spirit.  (Christian Truth - Vol. 21 - July 1968)
N.J.H. # 3129
October 18 
"No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  (Luke 9:62) 
    Suppose Columbus had not sailed!  Suppose Anne Sullivan, discouraged, had lost hope for Helen Keller!  Suppose Louis Pasteur, searching for a cure for rabies, had not said to his weary helpers: "Keep on!  The important thing is not to leave the subject!"
    Many a race is lost at the last lap!  Many a ship is washed on the reefs outside the final port!  Many a battle is lost on the last charge!
    What hope have we of completing the course upon which we have embarked?  What hope?  Ah!  He is able to keep.  "He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him." 
    God cannot help us until we stop running away.  We must be willing to stand somewhere and trust Him.  He has reinforcements to send, but there must be somebody there to meet them when they come, and fear takes flight as well as fright.  "Fear not" is the first step.  (Springs in the Valley)
Alone with God the world forbidden,
Alone with Him, O blest retreat!
Alone with God and in Him hidden,
To hold with Him communion sweet.
N.J.H. # 3130
October 19 
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24) 
    Sometimes we are very much disappointed with ourselves because we cannot pray proper prayers, only little ones that hardly seem to be prayers at all.  I have been finding much comfort in the little prayers of the Gospels.  They could not be more little.
    There was Peter's, "Lord save me." (Matthew 14:30)  The poor mother's, "Lord help me." (Matthew 15:25)  Sometimes even less, no prayer at all but only the briefest telling of the trouble, "My servant lieth at home sick." (Matthew 8:6)  And less than that, a thought, and a touch, "She said within herself, If I may but touch."    
    Again we hear of just a feeling, "They were troubled." (Matthew 14:26) and a cry, "They cried out for fear" - that was all, but it was enough.
    Often in the throng of the day's work and warfare, there will not be time for more than a very little prayer - a thought, a touch, a feeling, a cry - but it is enough; so tender, so near, is the love of our Lord.               (Amy Carmichael - Edges of His Ways)
N.J.H. # 3131
October 20 
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."  (Matthew 6:34)
"My grace is sufficient for thee."  (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Evil shall pass with the day that brought it,
As the sea is stayed by the barrier land;
When the Giver of Good shall say "No farther",
And bid the foeman restrain his hand;
But the grace of the Lord outstays the evil,
Outlasts the darkness, outruns the morn,
Outwatches the stars in their nightly vigil,
And the foe that returns with the day re-born,
As he left it unwearied, shall find it unworn.
(Annie Johnson Flint)
N.J.H. # 3132
October 21 
"And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?"
(1 Chronicles 29:5)
Who is on the Lord's side?  Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world's side?  Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord's side?  Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divide,
We are on the Lord's side; Saviour, we are Thine.
(Frances Ridley Havergal) 
N.J.H. # 3133
October 22
"The way of transgressors is hard."  (Proverbs 13:15)
Take heed of deliberate sin; like a stone thrown into a clear stream, it will so disturb thy soul, and muddy it, that thou, who even now could see thy interest in Christ, wilt now be at a loss, and know not what to think of thyself.  Like a fire on the top of the house, it will be no easy matter to quench it.  If thou hast been so unhappy as to fall into such a slough, take heed of lying in it by impenitence: the sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is the swine that wallows in it.  (The Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall - 1665) 
N.J.H. # 3134

Oct 9, 2007 at 18:26 o\clock

Gems for October - wk 2

by: dondegr

October 7

"Thy hidden ones"  (Psalm 83:3)
"And many resorted unto Him (Jesus), and said, John did no
miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.  And many believed on Him there."  (John 10: 41-42) 
    Do the commonest and smallest things as beneath His eye.  If you must live with uncongenial people, set to their conquest by love.  If you have made a great mistake in your life, do not let it becloud all of it; but, locking the secret in your breast, compel it to yield strength and sweetness.
    We are doing more good than we know, sowing seeds, starting streamlets, giving men true thoughts of Christ, to which they will refer one day as the first things that started them thinking of Him; and, of my part, I shall be satisfied if no great mausoleum is raised over my grave, but that simple souls shall gather there when I am gone, and say, "He was a good man; he wrought no miracles, but he spake words about Christ which led me to know Him for myself."  - George Matheson.    
(Submitted by Dick Gorgas, The Singing Pilgrim (February 24, 2001) - Hidden Workers)
N.J.H. # 3119
October 8 
"I can do all things through Christ (who) strengtheneth me." 
(Philippians 4:13)
Job or Ministry?
A job is at your choice;
A ministry is at Christ's call.
In a job you expect to receive;
In a ministry you expect to give.
In a job you give something to get something;
In a ministry you return something that has already been given to you.
A job depends on your abilities;
A ministry depends on your availability to God.
A job done well brings you praise;
A ministry done well brings honour to Christ.
(James N. Spurgeon)
N.J.H. # 3120
October 9
"There was one Anna."  (Luke 2:36)
"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."  (Matthew 5:8)
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee, near to the heart of God. -  C. McAfee
Here was a woman whose eyes were not focused on her circumstances.  The Roman government in Israel was cruel and oppressive.  Corruption was taking place in the Temple.  But Anna's eyes were not focused on what was going wrong.  Her eyes were focused on the One who would set it right - the One that the Scriptures had promised would come.  When the Redeemer of Israel came, she recognized Him for her heart was pure.  And her heart was pure because she kept it focused on the Lord and His coming - wondrous circle.  Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus and you will see Him too.  (V. Gaynier) 
N.J.H. # 3121
October 10
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water."  (Jeremiah 2:13)
From these two great truths - the fact that God may be found and that for certain reasons some never find Him - we draw this inference, namely, that we shall never find God to be a living reality until first of all we feel Him to be an absolute necessity.  His complaint against His people Israel was that they committed two evils.  (Jeremiah 2:13 quoted above).  But these broken cisterns only intensify the thirst which they profess to allay; and the child of God who is seeking satisfaction at them is like a man dropping buckets into an empty well and growing old in drawing nothing up.  (George Henderson - Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care)  
N.J.H. # 3122
October 11
"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him."  (Colossians 1:16)
"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed."
(1 Peter 2:24)
God alone has a right to act as He pleases.  He had an only Son, of whom He could say, "He is all my delight;"  and if He would make that Son the One on whom all His wrath should fall, who could dare to say to God, "What doest thou?"  He is God, and He alone had a right to do what He liked and do it how He liked.  If He had a plan in connection with that Son, He must have the cooperation of that Son to carry out His plan, and He had it.  Christ came to the cross to die there.  (Gleanings From the Teachings of G.V. Wigram)
N.J.H. # 3123
October 12 
". . . the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus."  (Matthew 1:20, 21)   
The Lord has His ways to accomplish His purposes.  He uses whatever means He desires to turn the mind and hearts of man towards His purposes.  He sends "the angel" to announce His plan to both Joseph and Mary entrusting them with the birth and care of His Son, hence the importance of the messenger.  A dream might require interpretation but the angel was clear and direct.  God allows nothing to chance in the accomplishment of His purposes.  (Submitted by a reader - B.R.)
N.J.H. # 3124
October 13
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)
    The spirit of antichrist is already in the world, and we have to meet it on all sides.  It is the spirit which denies man's ruin, and which would exalt him to the skies.
    But we have a very blessed statement as to all believers: "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." The presence of the Holy Spirit in the family of God (for here the "children" takes in all Christians) is a most wonderful fact, and He is infinitely superior to the terrible and restless spirit which is in the world.
    They are of the world, and speak according to its principles, and are listened to readily; the false prophets have very often a philanthropic doctrine to propound, the amelioration (improvement) of the whole human race, universal brotherhood, and other very grand schemes; but all these things are of the world, that is, according to its principles.  (From Christian Friend, 1894)
N.J.H. # 3125
October 14
"Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith, but they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."  (2 Timothy 3:8, 9)  
Jannes and Jambres were the magicians of Egypt who withstood Moses and Aaron in the presence of Pharaoh.  When Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, as the Lord had commanded, and it became a serpent, the magicians "also did in like manner with their enchantments." (Exodus 7:10,11)   They thus resisted the truth by imitating the action of the Lord's servants; and it is in this way the truth will be, and is being, opposed in the perilous times.  It is precisely in this character of opposition that the danger lies for unwary souls.  Thus at the present moment all the false systems of men claim that they present all the characteristic truths of Christianity, or that these truths are only expounded in accordance with modern ideas.  Satan is too subtle to commence by denying the truth of God; and hence he seeks first of all to insinuate that which seems like the truth, but which, under the expansion of which it is capable, finally ripens into anti-Christian error.  This is why the name of Christ is attached, for example, to many soul-destroying systems, and why men, who really ignore every fundamental truth of Christianity, claim to be Christians.  (Edward Dennett - Exposition of Second Timothy) 
N.J.H. # 3126

Oct 1, 2007 at 18:39 o\clock

Gems for October - wk 1

by: dondegr

October 1

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  (Isaiah 1:18) 
    The infinite LORD of Glory requests to communicate with sinful man. "Deity stoops to speak to dust." Look again at Calvary and see our Saviour, bearing in our stead, the "consuming fire" of judgment that we deserved. Now the scarlet sins have been forgiven and God sees us as white as snow. Listen now to the Saviour, "Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matthew 9:2).                    (Milton Haack)
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;
My sins were washed away, and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. - John Peterson
N.J.H. # 3113

October 2

"I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."  (2 Timothy 1:12)
There is a day coming when the trust that we have committed to God's keeping will be returned to us a millionfold more.  We shall find what a good investor of our treasures God is, when the pleasure we laid down and the friendship we committed to Him, shall come back to us from His hands multiplied, when our teardrops shall have been crystallized into diamonds, our cups of cold water shall have turned into heavenly wine, and He shall say, "Ye did it unto Me."  (TCN - March - April 1992)
N.J.H. # 3114 

October 3

"And He (Jesus) said unto then, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." (Mark 2:27,28)
Holy as is the Sabbath, I have no hesitation in saying that the Lord's day, with which the Church has to do, is founded on a deeper sanctity.  The believer has not to beware, on the one hand of confounding the Sabbath with the Lord's day, and on the other of supposing that, because the Lord's day is not the Sabbath, it may therefore be turned to a selfish or worldly account.  The Sabbath is the holy memorial of creation and of the law, as the Lord's day is of grace and of the new creation in the resurrection of the Saviour.  As Christians we are neither of the old creation nor under the law, but stand on the totally different ground of Christ dead and risen.  The Sabbath was for man and the Jew - the last day of the week, and one simply of rest, to be shared with the ox and the donkey.  This is not the Christian idea, which begins the week with the Lord, gives the best to Him in worship, and is free to labour for Him to all lengths in the midst of the world's sin and misery.  (William Kelly)    
N.J.H. # 3115
October 4
"Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money."  (Acts 8:20)
    A missionary to the people of the Philippines was trying to explain salvation to a wealthy woman, but the woman didn't understand that she couldn't pay for it.
    So the missionary gave her this illustration: "If you wanted to give your daughter a big, beautiful mansion as a gift, how would you feel if she said, 'Mother, you must let me help you pay for the gift.  You know I work for the mission hospital and don't make much money, but I think I can squeeze out $8 a month.' "
    She went on: "That's what you are saying to God.  You want to help pay for what Jesus has already paid for.  A home in heaven is a gift.  It is an insult to try to help pay for it."
    All over the world devout, well-meaning people - rich, poor, and in-between - struggle to understand that Jesus paid it all.  Convinced that they have to do something to earn God's favor, they attempt to pay for salvation as best they can.
    We need to understand that when God gave His Son Jesus as a sacrifice, the bill for out sin was paid.  For us to try to pay for God's gift is insulting to Him.  Genuine trust is believing that God has already taken care of the payment.  We don't need to buy something that has already been purchased with Jesus' death on the cross.  (David Branon) 
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain -
He washed it white as snow.
(Hall) 
If we could earn our salvation, Christ would not have died to provide it.
Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2006), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission
N.J.H. # 3116
October 5
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  (Philippians 1:21)
- Christianity is a battle not a dream.
- Faith makes a Christian.  Life proves a Christian.  Trial confirms a Christian.  Death crowns a Christian.
- One ABC of Christianity: "Always Be Cheerful." (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
-I am ready to meet God face to face tonight and look into those eyes of infinite holiness, for all my sins are covered by the atoning blood.
- When death overtakes us; all that we have is left to others; all that we are we take with us.  (Some Thoughts to Consider - R.K.) 
N.J.H. # 3117
October 6
"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation (deliverance) through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."  (Philippians 1:19)
    "I'm praying for you" can be as frightening a thought as it is encouraging.  Someone is standing at the throne of God with your name on his heart.  This introduces an entirely new set of concerns: Is he praying for me the way I'm praying for myself?  Is he asking God for the answer I'm longing for?  When my Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I was livid when someone told me they were praying that God would take him home quickly -- despite the fact that in between our cries for healing, we were praying God's will would be done.  As someone once noted, prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue.  Knowing that someone is standing before God on your behalf is powerful not because he is standing with you but because he is standing with God.
    The apostle Paul often voiced in his letters gratitude for the prayers of believers on his behalf.  In and out of jail, in abundance and in lack, he saw them participate in bringing about God's purposes in his life through their prayers for him.  He did not thank them for praying that what had happened to him would be altogether reversed, but that the purposes of God would be accomplished in all things.  Paul saw the power in prayers that hope and expect with all boldness that Christ will be exalted whether by life or by death.
    As one has said, "Prayer is not about overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness."  Perhaps the best studies in prayer are in the lives of those who see that its power lies wholly in the One in whom we pray.  (Selected)
N.J.H. # 3118
October 7
"Thy hidden ones"  (Psalm 83:3)
"And many resorted unto Him (Jesus), and said, John did no
miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.  And many believed on Him there."  (John 10: 41-42) 
    Do the commonest and smallest things as beneath His eye.  If you must live with uncongenial people, set to their conquest by love.  If you have made a great mistake in your life, do not let it becloud all of it; but, locking the secret in your breast, compel it to yield strength and sweetness.
    We are doing more good than we know, sowing seeds, starting streamlets, giving men true thoughts of Christ, to which they will refer one day as the first things that started them thinking of Him; and, of my part, I shall be satisfied if no great mausoleum is raised over my grave, but that simple souls shall gather there when I am gone, and say, "He was a good man; he wrought no miracles, but he spake words about Christ which led me to know Him for myself."  - George Matheson.    
(Submitted by Dick Gorgas, The Singing Pilgrim (February 24, 2001) - Hidden Workers)
N.J.H. # 3119