Gems for November - wk 2
November 7
"My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
"Thou hast a little strength." (Revelation 3:8)
What marvelous display of love comes out to fill the soul with joy at the very time that the Lord is teaching us our own nothingness and misery. When one sees the thought of God and of Christ, in the breaking down of the flesh in us, how one should joy in Him and rejoice! Better, saith Christ, be a poor weak creature in utter weakness, than have any amount of power without "my strength." (Gleanings of G.V. Wigram)
N.J.H. # 3150
November 8
"Now the end of the commandment is (love) out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." (1 Timothy 1:5)
When you set sail on the high seas, you need to know three important facts: your location, your destination, and your course. By referring to a map and using a compass, you can end up where you want to go.
The hard part comes in determining where you are at any given moment. Foul weather (strong wind, high waves, and limited visibility) creates conditions that can sometimes confuse sailors. I heard about some one who set out across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Grand Haven. After sailing for two hours, trusting his own sense of direction, he spotted a large city on the horizon - Milwaukee! Somehow, thinking he was headed east, he had gone in a huge circle.
How does a follower of Christ stay on course and avoid spiritual shipwreck? Paul wrote of the importance of holding on to "faith and a good conscience." (1 Timothy 1:19) We can do that by carefully reading and following the directions in God's Word, depending on the Spirit's leading and moment-by moment help, and listening to the wise counsel of concerned Christian friends.
How are you doing? Are you on course or in danger of ship wreck? Determine right now to live in faith and holiness, staying on course until you are safely Home. (DCE)
When you rely upon the Lord
To show you what to do,
He will incline your heart and mind,
To choose His course for you.
(DJD)
To stay on course, Trust the compass of God's word.
Our Daily Bread Ministries, RBC Ministries, Copyright (1999), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission
N.J.H. # 3151
November 9
"God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)
It is a solemn statement which shows the necessary exclusion of evil from His presence. The cross is the measure of this. There we see His awful abhorrence of sin when He abandons His own Son, and commands the sword to awake against Him as made sin for us. Abandoned of God on that cross, the suffering Victim was overwhelmed in darkness, in unfathomable sorrow, left to drink the cup of God's wrath against sin. That bitter cry of anguish, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" shows the utter impossibility of the darkness mingling with the light, or of sin having a place in the presence of God.
All this is unspeakably solemn if we look at the flesh or the old nature and what flows from it; and yet it is unspeakably blessed when we realize that we are in the Son, and that our life is in Him. We are brought to God in Christ. "As He is, so are we in this world." (A.H. Rule)
N.J.H. # 3152
November 10
"When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto Him, 'Twelve'. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They said, 'Seven.' And He said unto them, 'How is it that ye do not understand'?" (Mark 8:19-21)
When the multitude was greater and the supply less, they had twelve large baskets of fragments; and, on the other hand, when the multitude was less and the supply greater, they had only seven small baskets. The greater the demand, and the deeper the need, the more the magnificence of divine grace shines out. Eternal and universal homage to the peerless name of our adorable Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! (C.H. Macintosh)
N.J.H. # 3153
November 11
