Gems for May - wk 1
May 1
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
(Romans 10:17)
Does faith come by reason, and reason by the word of man? It would seem that many think so, and that the rare and exquisite touches of the pen of inspiration must be tried by the clumsy rules of arithmetic, or the far more clumsy rules of the infidel's moral sense; and the precious sacrifice of the Son of God must be treated more as a subject for a doctor's case-book than as a holy mystery revealed in the pages of the Book of God.
May God preserve His saints in these perilous times! May He fill our hearts with a very deep sense of the solemnity of the present moment, and lead us to keep close to Himself and to His Word! Then shall we be safe from every hostile influence. Then shall we not regard the sneer of the skeptic or the arguments of the infidel. We shall know whence all such things come and whither they tend. Christ will be our enjoyed portion, His Word and Spirit our guide, His coming the hope of our hearts. (Christian Truth - Vol. 23 - November 1970)
N.J. Hiebert # 3325
May 2
"Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee."
(Psalm 119:11)
Here lies the great moral safeguard for the soul in this dark and evil day. To have God's Word hidden in the heart is the divine secret of being preserved from all the snares of the enemy, and from all the evil influences which are at work around us. Satan and his agents can do absolutely nothing with a soul that reverently clings to Scripture. The man who has learned in the school of Christ the force and meaning of that one commanding sentence, "It is written," is proof against all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert # 3326
May 3
"For so was it charged (commanded) me by the word of the Lord."
(1 Kings 13:9)
An experiment with teenagers showed how they handle peer pressure. Groups of 10 adolescents were brought into a room and instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line on three charts. Nine of the people had been told ahead of time to vote for the second-longest line. But one person in the group had not been told.
The experiment began with nine teenagers voting for the wrong line. The tenth person would typically glance around, frown in confusion, and slip his hand up with the group because he lacked the courage to challenge them.
In 1 Kings 13, and unidentified man of God performed miraculous signs at the altar in Bethel (vv.1-6). But then, after this great victory, he took the word of another prophet to be the truth even though he knew it was contrary to what God had told him (vv.15-19). Because of his disobedience, he was killed by a lion (vv.20-24).
The story teaches us that God's Word is superior to anyone else's word and therefore should be obeyed. When we're tempted to buckle under pressure, it's then that we must stand firm. God's Word - the truth - can always be relied on. (Anne Cetas)
O help, us Lord, to heed Thy Word,
Its precepts to obey;
And may we fight the tendency
To walk in our own way. - Sper
God's Word is the compass that keeps us on course.
N.J. Hiebert # 3327
May 4
"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me . . .
My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure." (Isaiah 46:9,10)
The wildest mistake which a man can possibly fall into is to act without taking God into his account. Sooner or later, the thought of God will force itself upon him, and then comes the awful crash of all his schemes and calculations. At best, everything that is undertaken independently of God, can last but for the present time. It cannot, by any possibility, stretch itself into eternity. All that is merely human, however solid, however brilliant, or however attractive, must fall into the cold grasp of death, and molder in the dark, silent tomb. The clod of the valley must cover man's highest excellencies and brightest glories; mortality is engraved upon his brow, and all his schemes are evanescent (passing away). On the contrary, that which is connected with and based upon God, shall endure forever. His name shall endure forever, and His memorial unto all generations (Exodus 3:15). (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert # 3328
May 5
"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep:
for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8)
The Psalmist was "in distress" (verse 1), but by putting his trust "in the Lord" (verse 5), he could sleep "in peace" and live "in safety." We read of peace and safety together in only one other verse in the Bible - "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them" (1 Thessalonians 5:3). What a contrast! Truly, "it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Which peace and safety are you counting on? (W.P.W. McVey)
He that hath made his refuge God,
Shall find a most secure abode;
Shall walk all day beneath His shade,
And there at night shall hide his head.
N.J. Hiebert # 3329
May 6
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)
Sin is directly opposed to the nature of God. The measure of this is the fact that the Son, in whom the Father was well pleased, was the Person whom Satan hated and whom his subjects maltreated and abused. His perfections appalled the evil one and repelled sinners. His obvious insight into the self-righteous heart, hit the mark and stirred up the wrath of men against Himself. Wonderfully that wrath was changed to glory and His death brought forgiveness and ushered us into an intimate relationship with God Himself. (Garry W. Seale)
Monarch of the smitten cheek,
Scorn of both the Jew and Greek,
Priest and King, divinely meek,
He shall bear the glory.
(William Blane)
N.J. Hiebert # 3330
May 7
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth (shuns) evil?" (Job 1:8)
It is not the amount of truth that any man knows, on which his state before God turns, but the using of it excellently. You will find men who know a great deal of truth utterly without principle; utterly without the fear of God. You will find men who know a great deal, and all they use it for is merely to exalt themselves. Sometimes for money, sometimes for a name. But all that is most hateful to God. Here we find a man (Job) that did not and could not know much in those days, but still he made the best use of it. He lived in the faith of it, in the faith of God Himself; and the result was there was none like him in the earth - a perfect man and an upright man, "one that feared God and eschewed evil." (W. Kelly)
N.J. Hiebert # 3331
