Some are in a desperate hurry to have the bird in the hand, for they regard the Lord's promise as a bird in the bush

He that believeth shall not make haste. (Isaiah 28:16)

He shall make haste to keep the Lord's commandments; but he shall not make haste in any impatient or improper sense.

He shall not haste to run away, for he shall not be overcome with the fear which causes panic. When others are flying hither and thither as if their wits had failed them, the believer shall be quiet, calm, and deliberate, and so shall be able to act wisely in the hour of trial.

He shall not haste in his expectations, craving his good things at once and on the spot, but he will wait God's time. Some are in a desperate hurry to have the bird in the hand, for they regard the Lord's promise as a bird in the bush, not likely to be theirs. Believers know how to wait.

He shall not haste by plunging into wrong or questionable action. Unbelief must be doing something, and thus it works its own undoing; but faith makes no more haste than good speed, and thus it is not forced to go back sorrowfully by the way which it followed heedlessly.

How is it with me? Am I believing, and am I therefore keeping to the believer's pace, which is walking with God? Peace, fluttering spirit! Oh, rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him! Heart, see that thou do this at once!

True. We are saved by grace through faith, not by feelings.

Often people have said, "I just don't feel anything in my heart! I try to obey everything the Bible says to do, but I wish I could 'survey the wondrous cross' and have that love for Jesus that Paul talks about so much. Why do I feel so cold? I'd be willing to wash Jesus' feet but I don't have any tears like Mary Magdalene had. Why does nothing happen when I read my Bible and pray?"

Well, a wise pastor will tell you not to depend on emotional feelings. True. We are saved by grace through faith, not by feelings. But, was there something the New Testament writers saw that we don't see? If God were to give us a video of the crucifixion of Jesus would that help? (If the answer is yes, then it's God's fault that we are left so cold-hearted).

Could it be that living under the Roman Empire they were privileged to witness genuine crucifixions (they were common), which thank God we don't have to watch? Then they projected onto the Son of God their feelings of sympathy for those helpless (and maybe often innocent) victims writhing in their anguish, and that did it for them? Why do we read that John "wept much" and was moved in his heart to sing with all his soul, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" (Rev. 5:4, 12)? Something MUST have moved him deeply!

Says Paul, "If we have become incorporate with [Christ] in a death like His, we shall also be one with Him in a resurrection like His. … The man we once were has been crucified with Christ, for the destruction of ... self" (Rom. 6:5, 6, New English Bible). But in the Revised English Bible it's clearer: "If we have become identified with Him in His death, we shall also be identified with Him in His resurrection." Other translators say, "become united with Him," "one with Him," etc., but that word "identified" helps. No, we don't need a movie or a video; the Holy Spirit will do very nicely. Give Him "a thoughtful hour" in prayer, and "identify."

"Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord."-Zechariah 3:1

"Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord."-Zechariah 3:1

In Joshua the high priest we see a picture of each and every child of God, who has been made nigh by the blood of Christ, and has been taught to minister in holy things, and enter into that which is within the veil. Jesus has made us priests and kings unto God, and even here upon earth we exercise the priesthood of consecrated living and hallowed service. But this high priest is said to be "standing before the angel of the Lord," that is, standing to minister. This should be the perpetual position of every true believer. Every place is now God's temple, and His people can as truly serve Him in their daily employments as in His house. They are to be always "ministering," offering the spiritual sacrifice of prayer and praise, and presenting themselves a "living sacrifice." But notice where it is that Joshua stands to minister, it is before the angel of Jehovah. It is only through a mediator that we poor defiled ones can ever become priests unto God. I present what I have before!

the messenger, the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus; and through Him my prayers find acceptance wrapped up in His prayers; my praises become sweet as they are bound up with bundles of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia from Christ's own garden. If I can bring Him nothing but my tears, He will put them with His own tears in His own bottle for He once wept; if I can bring Him nothing but my groans and sighs, He will accept these as an acceptable sacrifice, for He once was broken in heart, and sighed heavily in spirit. I myself, standing in Him, am accepted in the Beloved; and all my polluted works, though in themselves only objects of divine abhorrence, are so received, that God smelleth a sweet savour. He is content and I am blessed. See, then, the position of the Christian-"a priest-standing-before the angel of the Lord."

The great controversy between Christ and Satan, every one on earth will be drawn into this conflict on one side or the other.

If you had been living 2000 years ago, what kind of a life would you have chosen? The world was much like it is today--full of selfish people bent on pleasure and sensual delight and amusement. There were the Roman overlords living in luxury in their fancy villas on the Mediterranean, flocking to sports events in the amphitheaters, eating luxury food, employing poor people to work for them. These upper crust people got the most out of life--or did they?

And now here comes that Man from Galilee who had not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:20), and He says to you, "Take up your cross and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Will you do so gladly? Will you turn your back on the pleasures and wealth of the Roman world, and follow Jesus through a life of self-denial and loving labor for others, spreading the news of justification by faith? Will you join His eleven surviving apostles and others?

Of the two ways of life anciently, which would be the more enjoyable to you? Well, that's exactly where you are today. You have exactly the same choice. Nothing has changed: (1) the same selfish mind-set has captured the world today, and (2) the same pure Gospel of righteousness by faith offers the same alternative to selfish living.

The Bible clearly teaches that we are today living in the antitypical Day of Atonement, the grand climax to the drama of the ages, the great controversy between Christ and Satan. It's the war of all wars. It's not a matter merely of personal survival or personal happiness: it's the honor of God Himself that is at stake. Unless He has a people on earth who "give glory to Him" in this final battle, He will be embarrassed.

Every one on earth will be drawn into this conflict on one side or the other. I suggest that taking up that cross to follow Jesus is by far the more exciting, more joyous alternative. Do you agree?

"What must I do to be saved?"

Right now, there are thousands of people around the world who are thinking seriously about being baptized as followers of Jesus. But some thoughtful ones are disturbed, asking questions: How do I know I can hold out? Suppose I make promises to God that I find I can't keep? Suppose I fall back again into sin? Won't this make Him angry? And some, because of these fears, shy away. What does it mean to be ready to be baptized?

Forget me or any preacher for the moment, and look at what Jesus Himself says: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). And lest you doubt that He really said that (some people do), then what about what the apostle Paul said to the jailer who asked him at midnight, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul's answer was: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30, 31). And then you take a deep breath, and you wonder, Is it really that easy? You've heard so many people talk about doing this or that, and these two texts have you confused. "Don't I have to keep the ten commandments?" you ask.

Well, let's be careful and see what the ten commandments really say. Many preachers misquote them by leaving out the beginning of what the Lord said: "I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex. 20:2). If you leave out that precious Good News you misconstrue all "ten" commandments! If you choose to believe that, then they suddenly change color, and become ten promises.

If you will choose to believe that the Lord has saved you from the darkness, the death, the horror that is "Egypt," the sin of the world, that He has delivered you by means of His great sacrifice for you, that you have been delivered from that "house of slavery," that by His blood He has given you freedom (if you do believe this your heart is melted and is reconciled to God!), then the Lord promises that you will never bear false witness, never steal, never commit adultery, never kill (includes hating people!), etc., etc. And yes, you will keep the Sabbath, the Lord's day. All because you have chosen to believe, to appreciate, what He has done for you! "Why do you tarry?" (Acts 22:16).

Blessed be the name of the sin-annihilating God!

In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve. (Jeremiah 50:20)

A glorious word indeed! What a perfect pardon is here promised to the sinful nations of Israel and Judah! Sin is to be so removed that it shall not be found, so blotted out that there shall be none. Glory be unto the God of pardons!

Satan seeks out sins wherewith to accuse us, our enemies seek them that they may lay them to our charge, and our own conscience seeks them even with a morbid eagerness. But when the Lord applies the precious blood of Jesus, we fear no form of search, for "there shall be none"; "they shall not be found." The Lord hath caused the sins of His people to cease to be: He hath finished transgression and made an end of sin. The sacrifice of Jesus has cast our sins into the depths of the sea. This makes us dance for joy.

The reason for the obliteration of sin lies in the fact that Jehovah Himself pardons His chosen ones. His word of grace is not only royal but divine. He speaks absolution, and we are absolved. He applies the atonement, and from that hour His people are beyond all fear of condemnation. Blessed be the name of the sin-annihilating God!

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22)

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22)

This is a promise of promises. It lies at the foundation of our spiritual life. Salvation comes through a look at Him who is "a just God and a Saviour." How simple is the direction! "Look unto me." How reasonable is the requirement! Surely the creature should look to the Creator. We have looked elsewhere long enough; it is time that we look alone to Him who invites our expectation and promises to give us His salvation.

Only a look! Will we not look at once? We are to bring nothing in ourselves but to look outward and upward to our Lord on His throne, whither He has gone up from the cross. A look requires no preparation, no violent effort: it needs neither wit nor wisdom, wealth nor strength. All that we need is in the Lord our God, and if we look to Him for everything, that everything shall be ours, and we shall be saved.

Come, far-off ones, look hither! Ye ends of the earth, turn your eyes this way! As from the furthest regions men may see the sun and enjoy his light, so you who lie in death's borders at the very gates of hell may by a look receive the light of God, the life of heaven, the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God and therefore able to save.

Hunger is by no means a pleasant sensation. Yet blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.

For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. (Psalm 107:9)

 

It is well to have longings, and the more intense they are the better. The Lord will satisfy soul-longings, however great and all-absorbing they may be. Let us greatly long, for God will greatly give. We are never in a right state of mind when we are contented with ourselves and are free from longings. Desires for more grace and groanings which cannot be uttered are growing pains, and we should wish to feel them more and more. Blessed Spirit, make us sigh and cry after better things and for more of the best things!

 

Hunger is by no means a pleasant sensation. Yet blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Such persons shall not only have their hunger relieved with a little food, but they shall be filled. They shall not be filled with any sort of rough stuff, but their diet shall be worthy of their good Lord, for they shall be filled with goodness by Jehovah Himself.

From this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:19)

From Obedience to Blessing

From this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:19)

Future things are hidden from us. Yet here is a glass in which we may see the unborn years. The Lord says, "From this day will I bless you."

It is worthwhile to note the day which is referred to in this promise. There had been failure of crops, blasting, and mildew, and all because of the people's sin. Now, the Lord saw these chastened ones commencing to obey His word and build His temple, and therefore He says, "From the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider. From this day will I bless you." If we have lived in any sin, and the Spirit leads us to purge ourselves of it, we may reckon upon the blessing of the Lord. His smile, His Spirit, His grace, His fuller revelation of His truth will all prove to us an enlarged blessing. We may fall into greater opposition from man because of our faithfulness, but we shall rise to closer dealings with the Lord our God and a clearer sight of our acceptance in Him.

Lord, I am resolved to be more true to Thee and more exact in my following of Thy doctrine and Thy precept; and I pray Thee, therefore, by Christ Jesus, to increase the blessedness of my daily life henceforth and forever.

The Lord can take the feeblest among us and make him like David, the champion of Israel.

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (Zechariah 12:8)

One of the best methods of the Lord's defending His people is to make them strong in inward might. Men are better than walls, and faith is stronger than castles.

The Lord can take the feeblest among us and make him like David, the champion of Israel. Lord, do this with me! Infuse Thy power into me, and fill me with sacred courage that I may face the giant with sling and stone, confident in God.

The Lord can make His greatest champions far mightier than they are: David can be as God, as the angel of Jehovah. This would be a marvelous development, but it is possible, or it would not be spoken of. O Lord, work with the best of our leaders! Show us what Thou art able to do--namely, to raise Thy faithful servants to a height of grace and holiness which shall be clearly supernatural.  Lord, dwell in Thy saints, and they shall be as God; put Thy might into them, and they shall be as the living creatures who dwell in the presence of Jehovah. Fulfill this promise to Thine entire church in this our day, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Paul's God is our God and will supply all our need. Paul felt sure of this in reference to the Philippians, and we feel sure of it as to ourselves. God will do it, for it is like Him: He loves us, He delights to bless us, and it will glorify Him to do so. His pity, His power, His love, His faithfulness, all work together that we be not famished.

What a measure doth the Lord go by: "According to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." The riches of His grace are large, but what shall we say of the riches of His glory? His "riches of glory by Christ Jesus"-who shall form an estimate of this? According to this immeasurable measure will God fill up the immense abyss of our necessities. He makes the Lord Jesus the receptacle and the channel of His fullness, and then He imparts to us His wealth of love in its highest form. Hallelujah!

The writer knows what it is to be tried in the work of the Lord. Fidelity has been recompensed with anger, and liberal givers have stopped their subscriptions; but he whom they sought to oppress has not been one penny the nay, rather he has been the richer; for this promise has been true, "My God shall supply all your need." God's supplies are surer than any bank.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Paul's God is our God and will supply all our need. Paul felt sure of this in reference to the Philippians, and we feel sure of it as to ourselves. God will do it, for it is like Him: He loves us, He delights to bless us, and it will glorify Him to do so. His pity, His power, His love, His faithfulness, all work together that we be not famished.

What a measure doth the Lord go by: "According to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." The riches of His grace are large, but what shall we say of the riches of His glory? His "riches of glory by Christ Jesus"-who shall form an estimate of this? According to this immeasurable measure will God fill up the immense abyss of our necessities. He makes the Lord Jesus the receptacle and the channel of His fullness, and then He imparts to us His wealth of love in its highest form. Hallelujah!

The writer knows what it is to be tried in the work of the Lord. Fidelity has been recompensed with anger, and liberal givers have stopped their subscriptions; but he whom they sought to oppress has not been one penny the nay, rather he has been the richer; for this promise has been true, "My God shall supply all your need." God's supplies are surer than any bank.

If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14)

If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14)

What a wide promise! Anything! Whether large or small, all my needs are covered by that word anything. Come, my soul, be free at the mercy seat, and hear thy Lord saying to thee, "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."

What a wise promise! We are always to ask in the name of Jesus. While this encourages us, it also honors Him. This is a constant plea. Occasionally every other plea is darkened, especially such as we could draw from our own relation to God or our experience of His grace; but at such times the name of Jesus is as mighty at the throne as ever, and we may plead it with full assurance.

What an instructive prayer! I may not ask for anything to which I cannot put Christ's hand and seal. I dare not use my Lord's name to a selfish or willful petition. I may only use my Lord's name to prayers which He would Himself pray if He were in my case. It is a high privilege to be authorized to ask in the name of Jesus as if Jesus Himself asked; but our love to Him will never allow us to set that name where He would not have set it.

Am I asking for that which Jesus approves? Dare I put His seal to my prayer? Then I have that which I seek of the Father.

" It will all end with a final confrontation between "the mark of the beast" and "the seal of God."

During the greater part of two centuries there has been a group of Christians who see in the Bible a vast cosmic "controversy" between Christ and Satan--Christ in Daniel spotlighted as "the Son of man," and in Revelation as "the Lamb." World history is symbolized by seven angels sounding "seven trumpets." Under the sixth, Islam is pictured as a torment and torture to apostate Western Christianity, but not as gaining a final ascendancy over it.

Under the seventh trumpet God's love is highlighted in a final message of mercy and warning for "every nation, kindred, tongue and people" just before the second coming of "the Son of man." Revelation 14 introduces the final scene as a conflict between the pure, true "everlasting gospel" and a massive counterfeit known as "Babylon." The prophetic drama is starkly simple; even a child can grasp its overall significance. The special enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is what God solemnly promises to anyone who will seek to understand (see Dan. 12:4, 10; Rev. 1:1-3).

The mysterious machinations of Islamic terrorism are seen in Revelation as simple compared with the subtle religious deceptions foisted on the world by "Babylon." It will all end with a final confrontation between "the mark of the beast" and "the seal of God."

But there is great Good News: (a) a "remnant" "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth"; (b) their "names are … written in the book of life of the Lamb"; and (c) "they that are with [the Lamb, on His side] are called, and chosen, and faithful." What does it take to be in that blessed group? You "survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died"; your heart is moved by His agape (He died your second death). As His love motivates you, self is crucified with Him. You can't help but live to His glory.

What we need is not new flesh, but a new mind in our old flesh.

What we need is not new flesh, but a new mind in our old flesh. God doesn't zap the flesh and make it sinless; He does give us a new mind that triumphs over the sinful flesh. (The Bible word for "sinful nature" is "flesh.")

But someone asks, "Well, the bottom line must be: how do we get that 'new mind'"?

Not by working; not by DOING. The answer is in Philippians 2:5-8: "LET this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." The grace of God GIVES that "mind" to you; don't resist. As great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary (don't think of it as millions of light years away!) Christ works to impart that "mind" to us. The process is ministered by "grace," an appreciation of His gift to us.

The story is in those seven steps of condescension the Son of God took in coming to where we are, to save us--here's His "mind": (1) He gave up His "equality" with God; (2) "emptied Himself" like you turn a bottle upside down to drain it; (3) gave up His "reputation"; (4) was "made in the likeness of men," lower than the angels; (5) "humbled Himself," became a slave washing people's dirty feet (John 13); (6) "became obedient unto death," the only one in 6000 years to do so (a suicide is running away from reality, but this "death" that Christ was "obedient" to is the real thing--the "second death," the "curse of the law" (Gal. 3:13; Rev. 20:15); (7) He died "the death of the cross," the curse being "forsaken" by God forever.

Where did Jesus have to go to find us lost sheep? There, to hell; to dying the death that sin "pays" as "wages," eternal separation from the Father, from life and light and love. You ponder, you begin to appreciate the dimensions of the agape that drove Him there. And His "mind" begins to be imparted to you. And you "overcome even as [He] overcame."

It is one thing to hope that God is with us and another thing to know that He is so.

Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34:30)

To be the Lord's own people is a choice blessing, but to know that we are such is a comfortable blessing. It is one thing to hope that God is with us and another thing to know that He is so. Faith saves us, but assurance satisfies us. We take God to be our God when we believe in Him; but we get the joy of Him when we know that He is ours and that we are His. No believer should be content with hoping and trusting; he should ask the Lord to lead him on to full assurance, so that matters of hope may become matters of certainty.

It is when we enjoy covenant blessings and see our Lord Jesus raised up for us as a plant of renown that we come to a clear knowledge of the favor of God toward us. Not by law, but by grace do we learn that we are the Lord's people. Let us always turn our eyes in the direction of free grace. Assurance of faith can never come by the works of the law. It is an evangelical virtue and can only reach us in a gospel way. Let us not look within. Let us look to the Lord alone. As we see Jesus we shall see our salvation.

Lord, send us such a flood-tide of Thy love that we shall be washed beyond the mire of doubt and fear.

God's grace enough for me! We might never have known the power of grace if we had not felt the weakness of nature. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Our weakness should be prized as making room for divine strength. We might never have known the power of grace if we had not felt the weakness of nature. Blessed be the Lord for the thorn in the flesh, and the messenger of Satan, when they drive us to the strength of God.

This is a precious word from our Lord's own lip. It has made the writer laugh for joy. God's grace enough for me! I should think it is. Is not the sky enough for the bird and the ocean enough for the fish? The All-Sufficient is sufficient for my largest want. He who is sufficient for earth and heaven is certainly able to meet the case of one poor worm like me.

Let us, then, fall back upon our God and His grace. If He does not remove our grief, He will enable us to bear it. His strength shall be poured into us till the worm shall thresh the mountains, and a nothing shall be victor over all the high and mighty ones. It is better for us to have God's strength than our own; for if we were a thousand times as strong as we are, it would amount to nothing in the face of the enemy; and if we could be weaker than we are, which is scarcely possible, yet we could do all things through Christ.

He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:14)

He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:14)

It ought not to be difficult for us to humble ourselves, for what have we to be proud of? We ought to take the lowest place without being told to do so. If we are sensible and honest, we shall be little in our own eyes. Especially before the Lord in prayer we shall shrink to nothing. There we cannot speak of merit, for we have none; our one and only appeal must be to mercy: "God be merciful to me a sinner."

Here is a cheering word from the throne. We shall be exalted by the Lord if we humble ourselves. For us the way upward is downhill. When we are stripped of self we are clothed with humility, and this is the best of wear. The Lord will exalt us in peace and happiness of mind; He will exalt us into knowledge of His Word and fellowship with Himself; He will exalt us in the enjoyment of sure pardon and justification. The Lord puts His honors upon those who can wear them to the honor of the Giver. He gives usefulness, acceptance, and influence to those who will not be puffed up by them but will be abased by a sense of greater responsibility. Neither God nor man will care to lift up a man who lifts up himself; but both God and good men unite to honor modest worth.

O Lord, sink me in self that I may rise in Thee.

"Woe be unto the pastors," the "shepherds," who are "profane," "who do feed themselves." Self-worship disguised as the worship, the ministry, of Christ! That is the essence of Baal worship. God hates it.

When the "Elijah message" comes, what will it do? How can we recognize it, so we don't treat it as the Jews treated John the Baptist? (cf. Matt. 17:10-13).

It will not be a revival of legalism, harsh, vindictive, condemnatory. Just the opposite: "He ["Elijah"] shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Mal 4:6). A message of reconciliation! And that means "atonement"--the cosmic Day of Atonement ministry centered in the sanctuary's Most Holy Apartment.

Elijah had no patience with the "prophets of Baal," but he had enormous patience and tenderness for the people. The people were sheep who had been led astray by their shepherds who had been supported from the national treasury. (Anyone who gains his livelihood administered from the sacred tithe should tremble before God.) Elijah's indignation was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was the "righteous indignation" God expresses in Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 22 and 34 where He says "Woe be unto the pastors," the "shepherds," who are "profane," "who do feed themselves." Self-worship disguised as the worship, the ministry, of Christ! That is the essence of Baal worship. God hates it.

But His heart yearns toward the people who are led astray, especially the youth and the children. "Elijah's" message will heal alienated hearts. Hardness will be melted. Through "the grace of God," not through harsh legalism, buried "roots of bitterness" will be exposed for what they are and a people will realize a precious oneness with Jesus (cf. Zech 13:1; Heb 12:15).

And, of course therefore, a precious oneness with one another! "Elijah's" message will do for God's people what it did for him--it prepared him for translation. Don't kid yourself: Satan will oppose that message hell-bound. But "the grace of God" will be much more abounding. God's people will respond to their High Priest.

The Lord loves His chosen too well to be always angry with them.

I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls; which I have made. (Isaiah 57:16)

Our heavenly Father seeks our instruction, not our destruction. His contention with us has a kind intention toward us. He will not be always in arms against us. We think the Lord is long in His chastisements, but that is because we are short in our patience. His compassion endureth forever, but not His contention. The night may drag its weary length along, but it must in the end give place to cheerful day. As contention is only for a season, so the wrath which leads to it is only for a small moment. The Lord loves His chosen too well to be always angry with them.

If He were to deal with us always as He does sometimes, we should faint outright and go down hopelessly to the gates of death. Courage, dear heart! The Lord will soon end His chiding. Bear up, for the Lord will bear you up and bear you through. He who made you knows how frail you are and how little you can bear. He will handle tenderly that which He has fashioned so delicately. Therefore, be not afraid because of the painful present, for it hastens to a happy future. He that smote you will heal you; His little wrath shall be followed by great mercies.

Although the Lord may not appear for us in the way we expect, or desire, or suppose, yet He will in some way or other provide for us

And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. (2 Kings 3:16-17)

Three armies were perishing of thirst, and the Lord interposed. Although He sent neither cloud nor rain, yet He supplied an abundance of water. He is not dependent upon ordinary methods but can surprise His people with novelties of wisdom and power. Thus are we made to see more of God than ordinary processes could have revealed. Although the Lord may not appear for us in the way we expect, or desire, or suppose, yet He will in some way or other provide for us. It is a great blessing for us to be raised above looking to secondary causes so that we may gaze into the face of the great First Cause.

Have we this day grace enough to make trenches into which the divine blessing may flow? Alas! We too often fail in the exhibition of true and practical faith. Let us this day be on the outlook for answers to prayer. As the child who went to a meeting to pray for rain took an umbrella with her, so let us truly and practically expect the Lord to bless us. Let us make the valley full of ditches and expect to see them all filled.

How much forgiveness was given to you (and me)

How much forgiveness was given to you (and me) when Jesus died on His cross? In a story that Jesus told, He explained it so clearly that a child can grasp it.

"A certain king" found that his servant owed "ten thousand talents" (millions/billions of dollars?), obviously an expression intended to mean an impossibly enormous sum. The "servant ... had not to pay"--he didn't have a dime. So the "lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt." Imagine an electronic transfer of funds; the king's account debited, the servant's, credited. Now think of "all men" being likewise credited--you have a penniless "king." So was Christ "penniless" on His cross--"forsaken" of the Father, bearing the debt of "every man's" sin in His soul, "made to be sin for us," "all men." An infinite transfer of credit! (Matt. 18:23-35).

The "servant" promises in old covenant terms "I will pay thee all," and his "lord … moved with compassion" treats him with new covenant "much more abounding grace." But the servant then demands "a hundred pence" from his neighbor, thus demonstrating he does not receive the forgiveness, although it was truly given him. The king's account was drained by the debit of what He gave His servants; He had given away all His righteousness, "emptied Himself." The servant cannot reverse the transaction, for it was "done" (the cry on the cross was, "It is done!"). But he takes the debt back on himself voluntarily, and totally, unnecessarily, must from now on deal with "the tormentors" until he shall "pay all that is due" (which of course, will be never, ever).

So in the final judgment, when the lost die the second death, they can never "pay" the debt of sin they owe; they can't. Christ already paid it, even though they have never repented. "By grace" they had been saved, but like Esau with his birthright, they had thrown away what "the king" had given them.

That does not mean that everybody is automatically going to heaven; no, because many "receive ... the grace of God in vain" (2 Cor. 6:1), and reject what Christ has already won for them.

Almost everybody at some time has dreams, bad dreams, nightmares. But the universal testimony seems to be that one always wakes up just before the final tragedy, which was so realistically feared. According to the Bible, since the world began no human being has ever experienced the second death, that is, hell itself, with one GRAND Exception--Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second or "last Adam" of the human race.

As the Head of the humanity, He "tasted death for every man" (Heb 2:9), not the first death which the Bible calls a "sleep," but the real thing, the utter God-forsakenness which is "the wages of sin" (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 2:11; 20:14). He died YOUR second death; there is no need for you to endure it! Christ has DONE something for every human being, ACCOMPLISHED it, and GIVEN him the benefit.

"The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). Christ is "the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). Not only is He "the propitiation for our sins," but also "for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). A writer much wiser than I has written, "He restored the whole race of men to favor with God. ... No sin can be committed by man for which satisfaction has not been met on Calvary, ... a thorough expiation."

You and I live today because of that "satisfaction." He has lifted the heart-burden of "condemnation" which sinful Adam passed on to us and has pronounced on "all men" that "verdict of acquittal" that Paul describes in Romans 5:15-18 (REB). That does not mean that everybody is automatically going to heaven; no, because many "receive ... the grace of God in vain" (2 Cor. 6:1), and reject what Christ has already won for them. But "for every man" there is deliverance already achieved for those "who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14, 15).

"Don't I have to DO something?" someone asks. Of course; let your proud, sinful heart be melted; "humble yourselves … under the mighty hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6); let the "constraint" of that love motivate you to live "henceforth … unto Him which died for [you]" and not unto yourself (see 2 Cor. 5:14, 15). Say "Thank You!" with your life.