Divine Sugar Sticks for April 2002

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Tuesday, April 30, 2002

Witnesses That Say that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World

1. John the Baptist, John 5:32-35
2. The works of the Lord Jesus Christ, John 5:36
3. God the Father, John 5:37-38
4. The Word of God, John 5:39
5. Moses, John 5:45, 46
6. The Word of the Lord Jesus Christ, John 5:47
   

“We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight”

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him”

We live a life of faith upon Promises. Today the riches of any nation consist in the credit that is given to notes, bonds, assignments, etc. Likewise the riches of the Christian life are in the notes under God’s hand.

A nation can default in its bonds. With God, however, it is impossible for any Promises of His to fail.

The Bible presents a formidable array of passages, proving that faith, which is the medium of a right relationship Godward, is also the condition on which depends the security and enjoyment of promised blessings.

Faith Confidently Expects the Fulfillment of the Divine Word

A Promise is God’s bond and is intended to set our minds at rest. Trusting God’s Word then, we need fear no foe or dread any trouble. We are not only saved but safe.

“I Will Trust in Thy Word,” Psalm 119:42

Trusting God’s naked Promises may be difficult. Yet it is obtainable.

It is unsafe and improper to trust our feelings or fancies, or to be guided by appearances. Our guide is God’s Word and that should be the Object of our trust.

If we seek to claim a Promise for wrong ends to consume upon our own lusts and not for God’s honor, then we ask amiss and cannot receive the Promise.

Spiritual Adjustments to Life

Facing rejection

You can never be an orphan as long as you have God as your Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “I will not leave you an orphan.”

Spiritual Adjustments in Life

When you are in despair

Psa 34:17-19, “The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit; Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them.”

Rom 8:32, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.”

Monday, April 29, 2002

How to Recognize the Right Man the Lord Has Designed for You

Principles taken from Song of Solomon – Act One – S.O.S. 1:1-3:5

1. Everyone is designed differently, but the Lord has a right man designed for you.
2. Because of knowing your right man, you, as a woman, will want to please him. S.O.S. 1:5, 6
3. The relationship between right man and right woman is a soulish relationship. S.O.S 1:7
4. Soul love must always preceded sex love. S.O.S 1:7
5. The right man will be a responsible person. S.O.S 1:7
6. The right woman will not be pushy or in pursuit of any man. S.O.S. 1:7-8
7. If you will take in the Word of God daily, the Lord will protect you with His Word while you wait for your right man. S.O.S.
8. A true test of right man is: Do you think of other men? S.O.S 1:7
9. Your right man compliments you and you will love him for it. S.O.S. 2:5
10. The wrong man compliments the body to the exclusion of the soul. S.O.S 1:9-11
11. The right woman will be protected by her fragrance of memories. S.O.S. 2:4
12. Your right man will have a disposition compatible with yours. S.O.S. 1:16

We are only one third through Act One of the Book Song of Solomon. More to come.

The Approach to the Word of God

1. Our steps must be ordered by it. Psa 119:133
2. We must not be mere hearers of it. James 1:22
3. It must be fully believed. John 2:22
4. Obedience to its demands must be given. Psa 119:158, Luke 8:21, 11:28
5. The Spirit alone can unfold its truths. John 18:13, 1 Cor 2:10-11, Luke 24:45
6. It must be grasped as a whole. 1 Pet 1:20
7. It must be accepted as the Divine Word. 1 Thes 2:13, Psa 119:42
   

To Appropriate to the Full All the Promises Associated with Scripture, Certain Definite, Positive Attitudes Toward it Must be Constantly Observed

1. We must daily search it. John 5:39, 7:52 with Acts 17:11
2. Its awesomeness must be recognized. Psa 119:161
3. Remembrance of it is enjoined. Isa 66:2, Psa 119:16
4. It must not be handled deceitfully. 2 Cor 4:2, 2:17
5. Its truths must not be twisted. 2 Pet 3:16, Jer 36:29-32, 1 Pet 2:8

How privileged we are to have such a treasure as the Bible, which like its Giver, “Shall stand forever,” Isa 40:8.

Promises Made to the Church of the Living God. 1 Timothy 3:15

1. She was promised by God in eternity past.
   “God gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church,” Eph 1:22.
   
2. She exists to display the wisdom of God.
   “Might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God,” Eph 3:10.
   
3. She manifests the glory of God.
   “Unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen,” Eph 3:21.
   
4. She was promised by the Lord Jesus Christ.
   “I will build My Church,” Matt 16:18.
   “The Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the Head of the corner,” Matt 21:41 with Psa 118:23.
   
5. Love is the cement that binds together the fellowship of the Church.
   “The body edifying itself, in love,” Eph 4:16, John 15:12.
   
6. She was promised Christ as her Head.
   “The Head over all things in the Church. The Head, even Christ, Christ is the Head of the body,” Eph 1:22, 4:15, 5:23.
   
7. She has promises attendant upon the observation of ordinances.
   “Go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Matt 28:19, 20.
   “This do in remembrance of Me,” Luke 22:19, 20; Acts 2:38, 22:16; Rom 6:3; 1 Cor 10:16, 11:13, 12:13.

More Promises for the living Church to follow.

Promises Made to the Church of the Living God – Part 2

8. She can appropriate spiritual gifts.
   ”The gift of Christ. He gave gifts unto men,” Eph 4:4-11, Psa 68:18
   
9. She has promised completeness in her Head.
   ”Ye are complete in Him, which is the Head,” Col 2:10
   
10. She has Christ as her promised Corner Stone.
    ”Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone,” Eph 2:20, 1 Pet 2:6
    
11. She has her Lord’s promised love.
    ”Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for it,” Eph 5:25
    
12. She has His promised care.
    ”Nouriseth and cheriseth, even as the Lord the Church,” Eph 5:29
    
13. She has His promised protection and preservation.
    ”My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” Matt 16:18.

His Church is invincible and His petition for her, John 17, assures her that all that Christ wishes for her will certainly be granted.

The Lord Jesus Christ and the Church of the Living God – Part 3

1. His undying love for His Church is revealed in His death for her. Acts 20:28, Eph 5:25, Heb 9:12
   
2. His desire to sanctify her. 1 Cor 6:11, Eph 5:26-27
   
3. Making her the object of His Grace. 2 Cor 8:1
   
4. In His request for her subjection to Himself. Rom 7:4, Eph 5:24
   

   

Promises, Provision, and Protection of the Church of the Living God, Christ’s Bride – Part 4

1. She has His promised presence.
   ”There I am in the midst of them,” Matt 18:20
   ”He may abide with you forever,” John 14:16, 21
   ”I will never leave thee,” Heb 13:5
   ”In the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like the Son of man,” Rev 1:13
   
   Too often we gather together in a building set aside for the worship of and the service for the Lord Jesus Christ all unconscious of His promised presence in midst of His own.
   “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not,” Gen 28:16-17
   
2. He has promised addition to her numbers.
   ”There were added unto them about three thousand souls,” Acts 2:44
   ”The Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved,” Acts 2:47, 4:6
   
   While it is the Lord who calls them by His Grace and quickens them by His Spirit, and adds them to His Church, yet it is to His Church that He has committed the task of evangelism. Such evangelism is the constant proclamation of the Gospel in public and private, with a view of winning men and women, young people and children, to the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby helping to complete the Church, which is His body.
   

Promises for the Living Church – Part 5

1. She is promised a spiritual unity.
   ”That they all may be one, even as We are one,” John 17”21, 22
   ”So we being many are one body in Christ,” Rom 12:4-8
   ”For us being many are one bread and one body,” 1 Cor 10:17
   ”For the body is one being many, as one body,” 1 Cor 12:12-31
   ”Ye are all one in Christ Jesus,” Gal 3:28
   ”The unity of the Spirit. There is one body,” Eph 4:3, 4
   
   Outer unity among those naming the name of Christ is conspicuous by its absence. And the manifold denominations and sects confuse the mind of the man in the street outside the pale of the Church.
   
2. She is promised punishment for those who defile her.
   ”If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy,” 1 Cor 3:17
   

Sunday, April 28, 2002

Birthdays

Birthdays, whether natural or spiritual ones, should always be associated with gratitude. As we reach each new milestone, we should be found reviewing with gratitude for God’s unfailing Grace and stepping out into the future with renewed dedication to His service.

Here are two Bible birthdays observed in different ways.

Joseph interpreted to the butler and baker what would happen to them as soon as Pharaoh’s birthday came around. As prophesied, the butler was freed from prison, but the baker died.

It was a good day for the butler, as with wine he added to Pharaoh’s merriment on the anniversary of his birth. What a good opportunity it was to speak a kind word in favor of Joseph. But the story reads, ”Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

May no birthday of ours be marred by forgetfulness and ingratitude.

“When Herod’s Birthday Was Kept,” Matthew 14:6

A terrible tragedy was enacted when Herod’s birthday was kept – John the baptist was beheaded. Yet for John himself that orgy of a birthday was a happy occasion, since it witnessed his liberation from the toils, trials, and tears of earth.

The moral however is this: that when birthdays are misspent, they usually bring sorrow in their trail.

“The Birth of Jesus Christ,” Matthew 1:18

This momentous birthday changed the calendar of the world. This is why we have B.C. and A.D. and recognize this as the year 2002.

In the fulness of time the Lord Jesus Christ came as the promised Saviour. What a dark, sad world ours would have been if He had not been born of a virgin as prophesied and promised.

The first birthday of His caused Heaven to rejoice and hell to rage. Jesus Christ was born to give us second birth.

Do you celebrate two birthdays in a year? When you celebrate the day of your natural birth, are you happier over another day, which reminds you of all you are heir to because of Christ’s incarnation and death?

Can we say, on your birthday, “Happy birthday, happy birthday?”

“The Birth of Jesus Christ,” Matthew 1:18

Do you ever pause to wonder what thoughts the Lord Jesus Christ had as His birthday came around? What emotions must have been His as He remembered that Deity and humanity were in Him, and that He appeared as the God-man in order to bring man to God. Countless millions in Heaven and on earth praise Him for His lowly birth knowing that He came into the world to save sinners.

Is the world better for your birth? Voltaire the French skeptic, died groaning, “I wish I had never been born.”

What enrichment has your birth added to life? When you reach your next birthday, ask yourself the question, “As my years come and go, is my life telling for the Lord upon others around me?”

Live for self, you live in vain. 
Live for Christ, you live again.

“Joash Was Seven Years Old When He Began to Reign,” 2 Chronicles 24:1

How gratifying it is when children like the child Samuel grow up in the fear of the Lord. How preserved they are if their young minds are saturated with the Truths of the Bible.

Seven was a very early age for the son of Ahaziah to be crowned king. Joash had been but a year old when he was preserved from slaughter and kept hidden for six years. Now on his seventh birthday he is produced and exclaimed king of Judah.

Is there a boy or a girl in your home or Sunday School class celebrating a seventh birthday today? Well, why not use the coronation of Joash as the basis of an appeal for a decision? If he was not too young to be crowned king, such a child at your side is not too young to learn about the King of kings.

“He began to reign.” That was the crisis. He began to reign, and reign he did. “For he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.”

The youngest can be taught how to reign in life by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Friday, April 26, 2002

Nehemiah 9:17, “Thou Art a God Ready to Pardon, Gracious, and Merciful.”

What a beautiful glimpse of the Divine character Nehemiah gives us. Not only have we a pardoning God, but One who stands with a pardon in His hand, so to speak, waiting for the sinner to accept it

A God ready to pardon.

This God of infinite kindness has not to be coaxed into pronouncing the criminal forever cleared from guilt. He is ready to pardon. If only we were as ready to receive this completed offered pardon written out in the sacrifice of the Lord Who died in our stead.

“The Lord God, Merciful and Gracious, ... Forgiving,” Exodus 34:6-7

Nowhere in all the Bible is there a more satisfying revelation of God’s character than here, where the Lord granted Moses the sublime revelation of His pardoning Grace. No wonder Moses bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped.

“Mercy is kept for thousands” which implies that God has an inexhaustible store of it and can draw on it as sinners need it.

As we read the entire verse we find that forgiveness covers iniquity, the fruit of original corruption; transgressions, the doing of what is prohibited; and sin, failure to do what is commanded.

“I, Even I, am He that Blotteth Out Thy Transgressions,” Isaiah 43:25

Is it not wonderful to realize that God, who freely offers to forgive us, is the One Who is constantly sinned against?

Take the last phrase of the previous verse which reads: “Thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities,” and connect it with the above verse for a blessed glimpse of God.

The One despised, outraged, scorned, and deserted for idols was the very One Israel was urged to return to. God further declares His willingness to forgive for His own sake.

Such a glimpse implies because of His loving, righteous character expressed in many of His names, His actions must correspond to His attributes which praise Him.

“He Shall Not Fail Nor be Discouraged,” Isaiah 42:4

What a most unusual Promise of the Lord Jesus Christ Isaiah gives us. “He shall not be discouraged.” Because of this virtue, He is the Lord of all encouragement.

The Bible warns us against discouragement. The spies said to Joshua and Caleb, “Discourage the hearts of the children of Israel.”

But the One Isaiah portrays will never be discouraged until His final task is accomplished. Then what satisfaction will be His!

Slowly, very slowly, He is reaching His goal to establish judgment on the earth.

“He Shall Not be Discouraged,” Isaiah 42:4

Think of Him while among men. Surely He had enough to discourage Him. What with the failure of His own and hostile foes around Him, it would have been human for Him to falter. But no. Courageously He set His face toward Jerusalem. No one and nothing could keep Him back.

Presently it would seem as if the world is altogether out of His control. But He is not discouraged, for He knows His day is coming. What an incentive He provides for our discouraged souls.

Thursday, April 25, 2002

“Grace Did Much More Abound,” Romans 5:20

Sin reigned, Grace reigns. What a contrast of sovereigns Paul presents in this chapter, exulting the gift of Grace.

Abounding Grace, however, making possible our liberty, does not mean license. We must shrink from the false doctrine once saved, we can do as we like.

Divine Grace demands that we must live as He likes. Grace must never be presumed upon.

“Shall we sin that Grace may abound?” “God forbid.”

When Grace reigns, all other claimants for the throne of the soul are deposed.

As to the Salvation so Freely and Fully Provided by Our Saviour, Promises Abound as to its Fact and Features

As to the Extent and Character of This Salvation it is

Heb 2:3, 5:9, 7:25, Jude 3, Isa 45:17.

Such a Salvation is Likewise Embracive Saving Us

“Christ Jesus, Who of God is Made Unto Us Redemption,” 1 Cor 1:30.

One of the marvelous aspects of the manifold provisions of God is the fact that they are all personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus redemption is not something, but Someone. “He was made redemption.”

Attention is focused not so much on the gifts, but on the Giver.

Adoption is the Other Side of the Coin

Regeneration is “son making.” Adoption is “son placing.”

Adoption, son placing, is of roman origin and represents the time when a senator’s son became “of age” and heir to his father’s possessions. At that time, the father took the son into the senate and publicly took off the toga of boyhood and put upon him the toga of manhood. Toga virilla.

We must not read into the word “adoption” our modern thought of it which a man takes a son, not his own, and gives him the place of a son in position and advantages.

As God’s children, we very well cannot be “born and adopted.” If His, then we are His sons now with all spiritual rights and privileges of sonship.

“Now we are the sons of God,” 1 John 3:1.

“Their Redeemer is Strong,” Jeremiah 50:34

Both Solomon and Isaiah also join Jeremiah in extolling the might of our Redeemer, Who mighty as He is, can yet stoop to the sinner’s weakness and empower him to live free from sin.

“Their Redeemer is mighty. He shall plead their cause with Thee,” Prov 23:11.

“I, the Lord, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer,” Isa 49:26.

How mighty Christ might have been when at Calvary He laid hold of the dark forces of hell and spoiled them of their power.

Satan, the slave owner, was conquered and the sin-bound were delivered from the curse and the grave. Then His resurrection added to His might. He became the strength of a glorious Conqueror.

“This is My Father’s Will ... That I Should Lose Nothing,” John 6:39

There are at least five things that Jesus Christ related to His Father in this wonderful verse.

1. He was sent by the Father.
2. We were given to Christ by the Father.
3. It is His will that we should never be lost.
4. Being Christ’s own, our security rests in Him.
5. We are to be raised up at the last day.

Lose nothing!

“Lose Nothing,” John 6:39

Yes, Christ will see to it that not one of the “given ones” will perish. God wills our security and His beloved Son provided it.

Thus when Satan casts doubt about your eternal salvation, remind him that the Lord Jesus Christ has declared that He will lose nothing.

All who are His will be raised up to meet Him at His appearing. The question of great importance is:

Are you among the number given to Christ by the Father?

“They Shall Never Perish ... No One Shall Take Them Out of My Hand ... And My Father’s Hand,” John 10:28-29

With such a double grip, we are doubly safe because the Father and the Son are one in Their purpose to preserve their own. It must be further noticed that there is no condition attached to the promised charter of security.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not say that we can only be eternally safe if we strive to keep ourselves in His hands. Once union with Him has been consummated, it can never be severed.

Communion with Him can be ruptured, but union is eternal. If we can receive life from the Lord Jesus Christ today and lose it tomorrow, how can it be eternal in nature?

“The Apple of His Eye”

“Keep me as the apple of His eye,” Psa 17:8

There are frequent references to the “apple of His eye.” Deut 32:10, Prov 7:2, Lam 2:18, Zech 2:8

It is a most expressive metaphor denoting God’s most careful protection and security.

The eye is always preserved, no matter what may assail it from without. Such a delicate organ is continually protected by the lids and continually cleansed by its tear ducts.

God is willing to protect and purge His children, as symbolized by the apple of the eye. Because we have been redeemed by His Son, God will see to it that neither demons nor men rob him of such a treasure.

“If God ... Will Keep Me ... Then,” Genesis 28:20-21

Jacob’s error was that of meeting God’s “I will keep thee” with his, “If God will keep me.”

May we be delivered from the same folly of driving a bargain with God. “If” must not be in the vocabulary of the believer who takes God at His Word.

Jacob was ever the man of sight, taken up with material security. Preservation from danger, bread to eat, and raiment to wear, were the patriarch’s interpretation of the Divine Promise of blessing.

Jacob’s vow, however, must not be lost upon us. Eternal security carries with it the full sovereignty of our Keeper.

“Then shall the Lord be my God.” And as our God, He has every right to all we have and are.

Wednesday, April 24, 2002

“Feed the Flock of God, the Chief Shepherd Shall Appear,” 1 Peter 5:2, 4

Then there must be a remembrance of the resemblance they bear in this work and offices to the Lord Jesus Christ, Heb 13:20, 2 Pet 2:26.

The Promise of the crown of unfading glory can only be claimed by those shepherds who were examples to the flock.

“Quicken Thou Me According to Thy Word,” Psalm 119:25

Here the psalmist is pleading the promise of revival. While the word “quicken” is used of life being given to the dead, it also implies God’s power to raise up and cheer all who languish. And what is revival but God’s quickening of His own? He finds them cleaving to the dust and touches them.

As branches of the vine, they trail on the ground where the sun and the rain and air cannot benefit them. But when His Spirit is abroad in revival blessing, the trailing dust-covered branches are raised to a trellis where fully exposed to the atmospheric conditions they can become fruitful.

Then it must not be forgotten that all revival comes through the medium of the Word. A revival that is not according to God’s revealed will is not a Heaven-sent one.

May the Lord deliver us from Bible-less, and therefore spurious revivals.

“The God of All Grace,” 1 Peter 5:10

He is the Source and Giver of Grace, Psa 84:11, James 4:6, and such Divine Grace needs no supplement.

How wonderful it is that the One sinned against was the One who provided salvation from sin. The hands torn by man’s sins offer free Grace to all.

Although God, because of His holiness, can never excuse iniquity, yet as the Grace of God He deals kindly with those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

He is not a tyrant or a despot, but One whose Grace is sufficient.

“Grow in Grace,” 2 Peter 3:18

It will be noticed that we do not grow “into” Grace, but “in it.”

We cannot grow unless we are rooted. Regeneration is a crisis. Once within the sphere of Grace, we grow within it, just as a child begins to grow once it has life and is in the world.

Are we growing? As in nature, so in Grace, dwarfs are a monstrosity.

“Good Stewards of the Manifold Grace of God,” 1 Peter 4:10

Grace imputed and imparted must be Grace communicated. Receiving the gift, we must transmit it.

Once the Lord Jesus Christ saves us, we must tell it to others. With such good tidings we dare not hold our peace.

The Bible makes it clear that salvation is all of Grace – “lest any man should boast.”

What Exactly is This Promised Salvation?

The Lord Jesus Christ, whose name means salvation (Matt 1:21), came as the promised Saviour, Gen 3:15.

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

“I Will Give You Pastors According to Mine Heart and Shall Feed You With Knowledge and Understanding,” Jeremiah 3:15

Promised pastors were to function as shepherds, feeding the sheep. Pastor and pasture have a vital connection.

The knowledge and understanding a true pastor forms the pasture needy souls feed upon. Is your pastor your pasture?

A flock is always well fed when it has a pastor according to God’s heart. But too many pastors correspond to the description Jeremiah speaks of, who “destroy and scatter the sheep,” Jer 10:21, 23:1, 2.

A modernistic pastor is not a shepherd giving stones for bread. How can he feed the hungry? Denying the fundamental truths of the Word of God, how can he claim to be a pastor according to God’s heart? God-given men believe a God-given message and are always ready to feed hungry souls with the bread of Heaven.

“Behold I Have Made Thy Face Strong Against Their Faces,” Ezekiel 3:8

Here is a chapter every communicator of the Word of God should read on his knees.

1. As a watchman, he must warn souls as from God. Verses 17-21.
   
2. To witness, however, before those who are impudent and hard-hearted is no light task, but courage is promised. Verse 7.
   
3. What a heartening word this is for pastors who have a rebellious crowd to deal with. “Neither be dismayed at their looks.” Verse 9.

Determination must be matched. As fearless as are the people in their rejection of God-given messages, the pastor must be just as fearless in the declaration of the Truth. To win, though, pastors certainly need Grace and grit and gumption. Kindly, yet firmly, he must continue warning the rebellious of their peril.

“They That Turn Many to Righteousness Shall Shine as the Stars For Ever and Ever,” Daniel 12:3

While the entire passage before us is a precious Promise for all soul winners, it has a special application to pastors, seeing that they have one of the greatest opportunities of turning souls to God.

Wise in the winning of men, Paul knew that he would shine as the brightness of the firmament. And that is why he rejoiced over the thought of meeting his Thessalonian converts at the judgment seat of Christ.

As pastors we may not have the brilliance and gifts of others, and our abilities may not be conspicuous. But if we are patient and faithful, the Promise is that if we serve the Lord to the limit of our capacity, eternal brilliance will be ours.

A good many movie and ministerial stars are having “all the shine” they will ever have. Our unnoticed work has the promise of unfading glory.

Thought for the Day!

Prophesy predicting Catholic priests having homosexual acts with young boys.

1 Tim 4:1-3, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” I think it is clear.

Believing is Receiving

“As many as received Him, to them that believe,” John 1:12.

“If thou believest with all thine heart ... I believe,” Acts 8:37.

“If thou shalt believe in thy heart,” Rom 10:8-10.

“Believe that ye may know you have eternal life,” 1 John 5:13.

“He that believeth on Him shall not be confounded,” 1 Pet 2:6.

“Whosoever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life,” John 3:6.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,” John 6:47.

“Blessed are they that have not seen, but yet believed,” John 20:29.

“For by Grace are ye saved, through faith,” Eph 2:8-9.

“The Life Was the Light of Men,” John 1:4

Life and light! What a vital combination they present. Our life is ever the light of men.

What we are never fails to illumine the minds of others. It is not so much what we say, but the Divine life pulsating through our whole life that counts for the Lord.

“Sanctified in Christ Jesus,” 1 Corinthians 1:2

Sanctified means “to be set apart” and in this context it is set apart unto God for all eternity.

As applied to ourselves, it has a four-fold character:

In the passage before us Paul is dealing with positional sanctification. By the Cross, all believers were eternally set apart by and for God.

Our Practice Must Correspond to Our Position

This aspect of sanctification represents our separation from all sinful motives and acts, and also from false teachers. 2 Tim 2:20.

Complicity and conformity with the world and its ways must be shunned. Was this not the burden of our Lord’s intercession for His own? “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from evil,” John 17:15.

Ultimate Sanctification!

What glorious Promises these are! To know that when our eyes behold Him, we shall forever be delivered from the trammeling influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Then a perfect holiness will be ours.

The Sinless One!

“I Find No Fault in This Man”

Unflecked holiness was His. Spotless purity characterized His life and ways.

God and man testified to His sinless character. Had He committed one small sin, He would have forfeited the right to die as the Sinless Substitute for sinners.

It is His sinlessness that gives His blood such abiding efficacy.

When Satan approaches us, he has a part of His territory he seeks to claim, namely the old sin nature, with which we were born. But Satan had nothing in Christ.

He calls His own because He was holy in birth and in practice. This is the One who seeks to make us sharers of His holiness.

The word peace and its cognates appear 400 times in the Bible. Among so many of the peace Promises we can divide them into three categories:

1. Peace with God.
2. Peace of God.
3. Peace from God.

Peace is not something – it is Someone.

There is Peace With God, Which is Secured by the Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ

“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom 5:1.

This aspect of peace is not a mere feeling, but a permanent state of condition into which believers are brought only as the result of the Cross, the value of which is placed to their account as the result of faith. No unbeliever can make his peace with God. Such peace was made when Christ died and rose again. God Himself was the One who “made peace through the blood of the Cross,” Col 1:20. “He is our peace...,” “Preaching peace,” Eph 2:12-17, Acts 10:36.

2. There is a Peace of God, Which is Imparted by God the Holy Spirit

“The peace of God that passeth all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” Phil 4:7.

This particular Promise of peace is communicated by God the Holy Spirit through the filling of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”

The first aspect of peace was the legacy of Christ who died, and this aspect of peace is the gift of the living Christ by God the Holy Spirit.

The first is the peace of conscience through the appropriating of the Saviour. The latter is the peace of mind found in full, unhindered fellowship with Him who bore the “chastisement of our peace.” Isa 53:5, “Peace I leave with you, My peace …” John 14:27.

Peace is Then Not Something, But Someone

Peace is a Person, Jesus Christ, who removed the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile in order that both might be brought nigh to God.

This state of peace we are introduced into by Grace was established between God, who represented the Divine government, and Christ, who represented the offending sinner. The sin-hating God met the sin-bearing Christ at Calvary and settled once and for all the sin question, providing a peace that knows no change.

Sin is therefore no longer the issue. The issue today is, what think ye of Christ?

“Peace I Leave With You, My Peace …”

Materially Christ had nothing to leave. He had no need to make a will, yet the greatest bequest ever bequeathed is ours, His peace. Think of His calm, unruffled Spirit amid turbulent forces all around Him. He could sleep in a wave-tossed boat out in a raging storm. No wonder there is no peace comparable to His. Such a legacy is for every child of God. Have you staked your claim?

Thy peace, so sweet, so wonderful,
None but Thy loved ones know,
The blessed calm, the real peace,
Which Thou dost still bestow.

“My peace I leave, My peace I give.”
Bequeathed to all who in Thee live.

3. There is a Peace “From God” Which is a Full Expression of the Grace of God From the Godhead

“Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom 1:7. Also 1 Cor 1:3, 2 Cor 1:2, Gal 1:3, Eph 1:2, Phil 1:2, Col 1:2, 1 Thess 1:1, 2 Thess 1:2, 1 Pet 1:2, 2 Pet 1:2.

When individuals instead of churches are addressed, the form of the invocation or salutation is generally changed. Peace in this connection includes all the blessings we need for time and eternity.

Grace is the unfailing fountain and peace from the Godhead, the everlasting stream, the outflowing of Grace in practical benefits for those who are at peace with God, and who have peace through believing.

“The God of Peace”

Does not Paul declare the promise of ultimate peace in these words? “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly,” Rom 16:20.

Six times over in the New Testament we have the designation “The God of peace.” Its connections form a profitable Bible study. Peace is not only one of its attributes, but a part of its inherent nature. Phil 4:7, 9; Col 3:15; 2 Cor 13:11; Heb 13:20.

He is peace and as such will destroy everything antagonistic to His peaceful nature.

Is it not comforting to know that Satan, the origin of unrest and disorder, was dealt a death blow at Calvary, and that before long he will be entirely vanquished?

In this age of Grace we need to heed the warning of the Lord Jesus Christ. He would have us proclaim conflict rather than peace. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth,” Matt 10:34. Good-bye Christmas!

“There is no Peace, Saith the Lord, Unto the Wicked,” Isaiah 48:20-22

The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt,” Isa 57:20.

How fittingly this metaphor depicts the unsettled condition of the unbeliever. The craving for satisfaction which Christ alone can impart creates a ceaseless round of worldly pursuits and pleasures. He seeks peace, but it eludes him. Sometimes death is sought in order to end unsatisfied yearnings for peace.

Suicide, however, only plunges the wicked into fiercer restlessness of hell.

“Acquaint Thyself With Him and be at Peace,” Job 22:21

What a gracious Promise that is. Because peace was secured at Calvary, all that one with a troubled conscience can do is acquaint himself with Him who is our peace.

When at peace with God, then as Job promises, “Good shall come unto thee.” How can a person expect anything that is good if a blood-purchased peace is not accepted?

It is hoped that you are acquainted with God and have a soul as tranquil as the lake the Lord Jesus Christ calmed while here on earth.

My soul has found a resting place,
And I am now through heavenly Grace,
At peace with God, at peace with God.

“By a Riverside Where Prayer Was Wont to be Made,” Acts 16:13

Wherever we pray, God is present. He heard Jonah as he cried out of the belly of a whale. That was a whale of a prayer! He answered the dying thief on the cross.

If the spirit of the prayer is sincere, the sphere makes little difference. Yes if at all possible, it is so helpful to have a sanctum, a trusting place, where God and the soul can meet.

Paul found his way to a sheltered spot by the riverside where a few faithful souls were in the habit of meeting for prayer and worship. The Lord Jesus Christ loved to pray on the mountainside or in a garden. Many of the saints in all ages have found themselves so near to God in the cathedral of nature.

It would be interesting to know where you pray the best. On the freeway?

For those of you who may be interested or know of others who are interested, I have been given permission by my apartment complex to hold Bible classes Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. We will start this Sunday night.

“The Lord gave the Word; great was the company that published it.”

“Evening and Morning and at Noon Will I Pray,” Psalm 55:17

Set times as well as set places contribute to the value of our prayer life. How often do we pray?

David opened the door into Heaven three times a day

Praise would be expressed for Divine guidance through the day and rest sought for in the silent hours of the night.

The ideal attitude is to live in the spirit of prayer. It is so natural and easy for us, even in this busy world, to turn aside and talk to God just as it is to converse with a friend at your side.

Is prayer your native air?

“Make Thy Prayers ... Pay Thy Vows,” Job 22:27

To pray then means to pay, but how slow we are to learn that he who prays, pays.

We get, but we do not give. Our answered prayers do not lead us to fulfill our obligations, both Godward and manward.

We keep the angels busy coming down from God with required provision, but we send them back empty handed. How the angels love to carry home to a prayer-answering God the praises and gratitude and fuller obedience of those He has so richly blessed.

Have we forgotten the practical side of prayer? Then pay that thou owest.

“The Lord is Nigh Unto Them That Call Upon Him in Truth,” Psalm 145:19.

Prayer is an acknowledgement of the Lord’s all sufficiency and of our dependence upon Him for all things necessary in our life on earth.

It is likewise an evidence of our helplessness and all insufficiency to help ourselves. In this Psalm, David emphasizes two important factors in all true prayer.

We don’t need to cry out as if God is far away and deaf. The wondrous Promise is that He is nigh unto all who call. Whenever we need Him, He is at hand.

The second aspect is that He only responds to our approach if we will call upon Him in Truth. Which means that our praying must be in accordance with His revealed will. It is only thus that He promises to hear and answer. 1 John 5:14-15.

“He Shall Pray Unto God and He Will be Favourable Unto Him,” Job 33:26

If we draw near to God in all reverence, adoration, and faith, He then has delight in responding to our petitions. God never withholds any good thing from them that seek Him in truth.

There are times, however, when granted answers appear to be most unfavorable to our finite understanding. We pray to be kept in health, and sickness comes. We pray for relief from a burden, but it remains. Has God forgotten to be gracious? Of course not. But because of His infinite wisdom, He knows what is best for His own.

Therefore, if He permits sickness, He knows that this is the most favorable experience for us. Often a bed of pain makes a far more powerful pulpit than a healthy body.

God gives the best to those
Who leave the choice with Him.

“Lord, Thou Hast Heard the Desire of the Humble; Thou Will Prepare Their Heart; Thou Will Cause Thine Ear to Hear,” Psalm 10:19

In this gracious Promise, three Divine actions are taken:

1. God hears the desire of the humble even before it is expressed. He hears before we call.
2. Then He prepares our heart, mind, not only to pray correctly, but to be in a fit condition to receive His answer.
3. He inclines His ear to hear.

The necessary preparation of the heart in order to approach God in a way agreeable to Him is the work of God the Holy Spirit. Too often we rush into God’s presence and hurriedly express ourselves as if the mercy seat was a fast food lunch counter.

Effective prayer must have earnest prayer for mind and spirit.

“Fear Not For I Have Redeemed Thee, I Have Called Thee by Thy Name; Thou Art Mine. When Thou Passeth Through the Waters, I Will be With Thee; and Through the Rivers, They Shall Not Overflow Thee,” Isaiah 43:1, 2

How blest the saint who thus in whatever state he may be has a Divine secret that keeps him always whole-souled and fills him with a joy that is unspeakable and a hope full of glory.

Take the Promises of God as children of God and plead them as your title to the inheritance and you will be owned. They are your charter and covenant from the Lord Himself.

If we would personally enjoy the Promises, we must see to it that they have a place in our souls.

“He Hath Given Us Exceeding Great and Precious Promises,” 2 Peter 1:4

“Precious” means valuable, highly prized. The milk and honey of all the Promises are for you and me without money and without price.

Given equally, with royal fullness, to all believers, not to a happy few selected among you, the elder’s sons, or favorites of God’s great family. But to all alike with an impartial hand as they have shown themselves fitted to receive. There is not a single Promise in all of the Bible that the poorest saint may not plead, if he or she really comes to the Lord.

“The Lord Hath Given Us Exceeding Great and Precious Promises,” 2 Peter 1:4

The Promises of God are exceeding great and precious in their boundless diversity and scope. Human promises can only meet a few needs.

Divine promises cover all our needs, as their abundance clearly proves. Let us try to classify a quantity of these Promises according to the manifold phases of life.

1. There are Promises for temporal needs, covering all of our material requirements here below.
2. There are Promises for the physical realm, covering associations with the human body.
3. There are Promises for the marital realm, covering different aspects of our human life.
4. There are Promises for the spiritual realm, covering the needs of the soul and of Christian experience.
5. There are Promises for the eternal realm, covering all the future inheritance of the saints.
   

Overview of History From the Biblical Perspective

Reviewing Gentile history we find Promises of a varying nature associated with each epoch. Stretching from Adam to Abraham we get a glimpse of the heart of God. As the human race progressed, so did the sin of those comprising it. Yet mercy was mixed with judgment and God gave sinning humanity many a rainbow of Promises during the 2000 years of human history marked by failure.

There was the Promise of Shem’s peculiar relation to the Lord. “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem,” Gen 9:26. From this point on attention is focused upon the line of Shem from whom sprang Abraham, the Hebrew race, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There was the presence of Ham’s inferior and servile posterity, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren,” Gen 9:22, Gen 9:25-27.

“Consider How Great Things the Lord Hath Done for You,” 1 Samuel 12:24

Too often we dwell upon the miseries of the past and forget our mercies.

But as He has supplied us through all our yesterdays and satisfied us with His Grace, He will not withhold any good thing from us in the days to come. He gave us faith to trust Him and Promises to plead with Him. And proofs of His care and provisions without number.

Should these not encourage us to face the days ahead with confidence?

“He Will Bless Them That Fear Him, Both Small and Great,” Psalm 115:13

How full of cheer is this Promise for those of humble estate and whose fare is frugal. God cares for the small things in His creation, even for the sparrows. No one is too small for Him to bless.

If you are poor, unnoticed, and unknown, you loom large in His eyes and have the Promise of His best.

“His Waters Shall be Sure,” Isaiah 33:16

The Bible gives us abundant proof of the Divine ability to fulfill even this encouraging Promise. Death from thirst faced Hagar’s son, but God provided the well of water and Ishmael lived. Oh no!

In the wilderness the Israelites thirsted for water, and God provided an unfailing supply which lasted for 40 years. “They drank of the Rock which followed them.”

Elijah knew what it was to languish by the side of a dying brook and to live through a three-and-a-half-year drought.

The Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity knew how beneficial cool water was to a thirsty soul and so He begged for a drink from the woman at Sychar’s well, Matt 25:35-42.

At the Cross the Lord Jesus Christ thirsted and those around Him gave Him vinegar to drink instead of the cooling water His parched lips needed.

“I Will Pour Water Upon Him That is Thirsty,” Isaiah 44:3

The Promise John has given us of eternal satisfaction holds more for those saints in the dry uncivilized parts of the world than for those of us living in areas in which there is seldom any scarcity of life-giving water.

The Lord interposed and fulfilled this Promise when three armies were perishing of thirst. Although there were neither cloud nor rain, yet He supplied an abundance of water which filled all the prepared ditches, 2 Kings 3:16-17. God is not dependent upon ordinary methods, but is able to surprise His people with novelties of wisdom and power.

Saturday, April 6, 2002

Thought for the Day!

What description of Christ is given in context so that we can see the impact we have as Christians! Here is the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who dwells in you.

He lives in you. Can you fathom that?

That is where the impact is. That is where the dynamic in Christianity really is.

Recently I visited a lady who was dying of cancer and it reminded me of this verse which I hope will help others who are bedridden.

What a sweet Promise this is for all those who are in beds of sickness. Nurses are especially trained in the art of bedmaking. Without undue discomfort or inconvenience to a sufferer unable to leave a bed, a careful nurse can change the bedclothes. To one forced to stay in bed, it seems so much to have the sheets changed and the pillows turned and fluffed up.

But can we conceive of the Lord acting as tenderly as a nurse? He here Promises to make our bed in sickness. Is not this a precious glimpse into the tender soul of the Lord?

When we are laid aside, He does not neglect us. The rustle of His seamless robe can be heard by the bed of pain. In every sick room He is present, seeking to ease the afflicted. He it is who imparts strength and courage to sufferers and who upholds and sustains the sufferer through long and difficult days.

Are you on a bed of sickness? Then look up and trust your Divine Nurse to do the very best for you … to make your bed for you.

“The Tongue of the Wise is Health,” Proverbs 12:18

1. A good Word is able to cheer the heavy heart. Prov 12:25.
2. Godly merriment can produce a smiling countenance. Prov 15:13.
3. And prove more effective than medicine. Prov 17:22.

Is your talk a tonic? Are sufferers in mind and body somehow blessed, comforted, and heartened as you pass by with a smile of encouragement and a word of compassion?

If words are able to chase the shadows from the face and inspire sufferers to carry their cross courageously, graciously, and accept the words that the Bible presents to them. If somehow your tongue has not functioned in a health-giving factor, why not ask God to take your lips and purge them of all that is cynical, critical, sharp, ironical, harsh, and bitter, and make them a media of blessing to the sick and weary you meet on life’s highway. “Sound Doctrine.”

“I Shall Not Die, But Live and Declare the Words of the Lord,” Psalm 118:17

Many a Christian brought down to a sick bed has been inspired by this Promise. Death seems to be near, but the Lord whispered the assurance that gripped the psalmist’s soul and as by God’s Grace and power, the afflicted one was spared and raised to render many years of service.

Vigor returned to declare the work and the Word of the Lord. While it may sound a paradox, yet it is true, although we may die, we shall not die but live forever. The grave may claim your body, but not you.

“Because I live, ye shall live also,” John 14:19.

There Shall be no More Death,” Revelation 21:4

John found it difficult to describe Heaven. All he could do was to outline with a few negatives what will be missing in the Lord’s new order.

Thus he gives us a series of “no mores” of which “no more death” is second. What a blessed Promise this is! Death is finally banished and there will be no more sorrow and no more crying and no more pain – all of which are associated with man’s last enemy.

In summer-land above there are no funeral homes, and no cemeteries, and no more cruel separations. Now death is a grim reality, but the dawning of the Lord’s new world order, no eyes will ever be wet with tears. Now caskets, graves, and heartaches are ours. But when the Lord makes all things new, sin and death will never again mar His creation.

It is not death to close,
The eyes long-dimmed by tears.
And wake in glorious repose
To spend eternal years.

Lord, Thou Prince of life,
Believers cannot die.
Like Thee we conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.

The First Promise Given to Our First Parents

To this first Promise given to our first parents many more Promises throughout Scripture are directed and indirectly associated with the love-union – marriage, wives and husbands, and home and children.

Did not Paul worship “The Father of Whom every family in Heaven and earth is named,” Eph 3:15?

Because family life was Divinely instituted, it is fitting that the Bible should contain clear and explicit Precepts and Promises regarding the exact nature and order of all that is connected with marital life.

By ordaining marriage, God planned that men and women through physical union might share with Him a partnership in begetting new lives.

God alone possess the power to create, that is, to bring something out of nothing. But through marriage, mating, conception, and childbearing, God permits a man and a woman to be His instruments in creating a new life – an immortal soul. What a tremendous thought! A partnership with God.

A Trinity of Assurance

1. Assurance of the understanding in a well-grounded knowledge of Divine things founded on the Word of God.
   “Unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,” Col 2:2.
   
2. Assurance of faith does not relate to our personal interest in Christ, but consists in a firm belief of the revelation that God has given us of Christ in His Word with an entire dependence upon Him.
   “In full assurance of faith,” Heb 10:22.
   
3. Assurance of hope in a firm expectation that God will grant us the complete enjoyment of what He has promised.
   “The full assurance of hope unto the end,” Heb 6:11.

In the light of apostolic assurances, how wrong it is for any Christian to say that it is nothing but assumption to say that they know they are saved and that eternally. To doubt what God says is to make Him a liar.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, “If we believe in Him, we have eternal life,” John 3:36. How then can it be assumption to take Him at His Word?

God has told us what He thinks of the garment of self-righteousness we try to weave in order to hide our nakedness in His sight.

Through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who came as the personification of Divine righteousness, there was provided for a sinful and sinning race a perfect covering.

When free Grace awoke me by light from on high,
Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die.
No refuge, no safety, in self could I see,
”JEHOVAH TSIDKENU” my Saviour must be.

JEHOVAH TSIDEKENU means the Lord, our righteousness. “He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Cor 5:21.

“Through One Man Sin Entered Into the World,” Romans 5:12

Here is a striking illustration of Solomon’s dictum about one man destroying much good, Ecc 9:18.

All the tears, sorrows, losses, graves, which sin has caused can be traced back to the one sin Adam committed.

Satan was not long marring the handiwork of God for the Promise for any sinner is that through the obedience and sacrifice of another Man, myriads have been delivered from the guilt and government of sin. And because influence is never neutral, each one of us is either helping others Heavenward or hellward.

Is our life a blessing or a blight? “In Adam all die; in Christ all are made alive.”

“Shall Your Brethren Go to War and Shall You Sit Here?” Numbers 32:6

Whenever war breaks loose upon a nation, the vexing questions of Christian participation inevitably arise. When I became a Christian, I was told that it was a sin for Christians to fight for their country. But it was too late, for I had already served six years in the Army.

Pacifists and conscientious objectors become conspicuous as they affirm their unwillingness to take up arms against any man. War is anti-Christian, it is said. Diametrically opposed to the witness and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ in our so-called democratic society, such individual conscience is respected.

Still the problem is, what should be the attitude of a Christian when war arises? Is he like the children of Gad and the children of Reuben to sit in comfort after others go out to bleed and die?

A Christian, although a citizen of Heaven, is likewise a citizen of earth and he has to decide whether or not he has corresponding responsibilities and should he be in subject to the powers that be.

Peter gives us the answer in 1 Pet 2:12-25. “12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth:
23 Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:
24 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.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

Bravely to do whatever the time demands,
Whether with pen or sword and not to flinch;
This is the task that fits heroic hands,
So are Truth’s boundaries widened inch by inch.

A Wonderful Feature of “War Promises” Have Brought Consolation and Strength to Thousands of Believers Caught up in the Horror of War in Succeeding Ages

Such Promises are inexhaustible.

With passing generations they seem to hold a deeper meaning and greater truth. During warfare, Promises seem to be as fresh as ever and imparted tireless power of endurance and strength of courage as seen among the sacrifice and carnage of war.

War Promises

While the above and similar Promises do not guarantee immunity from the sorrows of war, they nevertheless imply that if we should be swept away by the currents of war, we have a Source of consolation and hope, of which the godless are ignorant.

“He Shall Redeem Thee in War From the Power of the Sword,” Job 5:30

Through the ages, the instruments of war have become more deadly. But Job’s promise declares that God is able to preserve both man and family and produce in time of war.

True, Christians perish as do non-Christians when battles rage, but for Christians who perish by the way, there is the consolation that warring forces are not “able to kill the soul,” the real you.

No one and nothing can ever kill a soul. A soul lives forever somewhere. It is up to you to decide where you spend it–Heaven or Hell.

Bombs only deliver believers from the sordidness of earth. For them, sudden death is sudden glory. Some of the early martyrs would kiss the flames encircling them seeing it only hastened their entrance into Heaven.

Mother Nature – Who is She?

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator and the Controller of the earth.

All the foregoing evidences of Divine ownership and sovereignty prove that as a servant is dependent upon on his master, so is all of nature upon the Lord.

Nature is not her own governess. She does not follow her own will, but her Lord’s will. She does not express her own thoughts but His thoughts and His purpose.

For instance, the sun rises every day at the right moment. Who is the thinker? The sun? No, but the Lord who created it. The bee builds her comb according to the severest principles of geometry. Who is the mathematician? The bee? No, but the Lord who created it.

Thus so-called nature has no thought and no will of her own. She is entirely under the control of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a magnificent display of the Lord’s dominion in His own world Job gives us. Read this absorbing and incomparable description in Job chapter 37 through chapter 41.

Jesus Christ is a Righteous God

God the Holy Spirit is righteous. “He will reprove the world of righteousness,” John 16:7-11.

“Filled with the Holy Spirit ... thou enemy of all righteousness,” Acts 13:9, 10.

The gracious ministry of God the Holy Spirit is to bring sinners face-to-face with the justice and righteousness of God, and to enable them to realize His sufficiency of a Divine righteousness, which is the only covering for the sinner.

Check back tomorrow for more Divine Sugar Sticks!

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