Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
It
is faith without sight.
When we can see, it is not faith, but
reasoning.
In crossing the Atlantic we observed this very principle of
faith.
We saw no path upon the sea, nor sign of the shore.
And yet day
by day we were marking our path upon the chart as exactly as if there
had followed us a great chalk line upon the sea.
And when we came within
twenty miles of land, we knew where we were as exactly as if we had
seen it all three thousand miles ahead.
How had we
measured and marked our course?
Day by day our captain had taken his
instruments and, looking up to the sky, had fixed his course by the sun.
He was sailing by the heavenly, not the earthly lights.
So
faith looks up and sails on, by God's great Sun, not seeing one shore
line or earthly lighthouse or path upon the way.
Often its steps seem to
lead into utter uncertainty, and even darkness and disaster...
But He
opens the way, and often makes such midnight hours the very gates of
day.
Let us go forth this day, not knowing, but trusting.
~Days of
Heaven upon Earth~
Too many of us want to see our way
through before starting new enterprises.
If we could and did, from
whence would come the development of our Christian graces?
Faith, hope
and love cannot be plucked from trees, like ripe apples.
After the words
'In the beginning' comes the word 'God'!
The first step turns the key
into God's power-house...
You can depend upon Him every time.
Waiting on God brings us to our journey's end quicker than our feet.
The opportunity is often lost by deliberation.
Nah 1:12 Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
There is a limit to affliction. God sends it, and God removes it.
Do
you sigh and say, "When will the end be?"
Remember that our griefs will
surely and finally end when this poor earthly life is over...
Let us
quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the LORD till He cometh.
Meanwhile, our Father in heaven
takes away the rod when His design in using it is fully served.
When He
has whipped away our folly, there will be no more strokes.
Or, if the
affliction is sent for testing us, that our graces may glorify God, it
will end when the LORD has made us bear witness to His praise.
We would
not wish the affliction to depart till God has gotten out of us all the
honor which we can possibly yield Him.
There may today be "a great calm."
Who knows how soon those raging
billows will give place to a sea of glass, and the sea birds sit on the
gentle waves?
After long tribulation
the Rail is hung up, and the wheat rests in the garner.
We may, before
many hours are past, be just as happy as now we are sorrowful.
It is not
hard for the LORD to turn night into day.
He that sends the clouds can
as easily clear the skies.
Let us be of good cheer.
It is better on
before.
Let us sing hallelujah by anticipation.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Psa 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
O fair reward of trust! My LORD, grant it me to the full!
The truster
above all men feels himself to be a sinner; and lo, mercy is prepared
for him...
He knows himself to have no deservings, but mercy comes in and
keeps house for him on a liberal scale.
O LORD, give me this mercy, even
as I trust in Thee!
Observe, my soul, what a bodyguard thou hast!
As a prince is compassed
about with soldiery, so art thou compassed about with mercy.
Before and
behind, and on all sides, ride these mounted guards of grace.
We dwell
in the center of the system of mercy, for we dwell in Christ Jesus.
O my soul, what an atmosphere dost thou breathe!
As the air surrounds
thee, even so does the mercy of thy LORD.
To the wicked there are many
sorrows, but to thee there are so many mercies that thy sorrows are not
worth mentioning.
David says, "Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye
righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart."
In
obedience to this precept my heart shall triumph in God, and I will tell
out my gladness.
As Thou hast compassed me with mercy, I will also
compass Thine altars, O my God, with songs of thanksgiving!
~Charles Spurgeon~
The Lord Jesus owns Paul. Paul belongs to the Lord Jesus.
His marks of ownership are upon Paul.
I always look around a statement of this kind to see what it means.
It is not something by itself.
What does Paul mean in Gal 6:17?
Gal 6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
I find the whole letter to the Galatians tells us.
It was written to try to get people to belong to Jesus altogether.
They were being tempted by some people to draw back...
To ease off a bit...
Not to let the Lord Jesus be everything in their lives...
Not to be out and out...
Not to let the Lord Jesus be the fulness of their lives.
These people were going round saying that Paul went too far, that they need not go so far, that it was not necessary to do so.
Don't take Paul too seriously, there is no need at all to do so, and they were drawing people away from the Lord Jesus and His fullness.
Paul, in closing the letter, says, "I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus."
It is really a matter of, “Are you going to be absolutely for the Lord Jesus and follow Him fully?”
OR, are you listening to those who say "Don't be too serious, don't live on too high a level"...
It is a difficult life...
Be simple, don't be so out and out.
And Paul says that is saying the Lord is not absolute Master, that He is not having all.
If "I" must have a place in the matter, then the Lord has not all.
Paul says, "If you go that way I have some place and He has some place...I don't.
He is for me absolute Master, and whatever others say, I belong to the Lord Jesus and listen to His voice.
If He wants me I am absolutely His, branded with His mark.
I belong to Him altogether and can take no other instructions.
If we belong to Him we can take no other way.
He is absolute Master and Owner, and we cannot divide with the world, sin, or self.
We may all ask ourselves the question: Do we have the marks of the Lord Jesus on us?
All can ask themselves that question.
Are we bearing His marks branded on us?
Does everyone know we belong to the Lord Jesus and there is no dispute about it?
If one of those branded horses is claimed by another man, the fact of the brand is the end of all argument.
Have we got the mark of the Lord Jesus on us? See Isaiah 44.
Can you say, "I am the Lord's"?
Are His marks on you?
Not just lip declaration, but His marks.
It is not, 'Are you calling yourself His', but are His marks on you?
It is not what you say, for marks do not speak.
They are seen and it is what people see that declares, "I belong to Him".
Is it true of us that as Paul said: "I bear His marks, I belong to Him and everybody can see it"?
~T. Austin Sparks~
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
It
had pleased God to remove my youngest child under circumstances of
peculiar trial and pain...
And as I had just laid my little one's body in
the churchyard, on return home, I felt it my duty to preach to my people
on the meaning of trial.
Finding that this text was
in the lesson for the following Sabbath, I chose it as my Master's
message to them and myself...
But on trying to prepare the notes, I found
that in honesty I could not say that the words were true...
And therefore I
knelt down and asked God to let His grace be sufficient for me.
While I
was thus pleading, I opened my eyes and saw a framed illuminated text,
which my mother had given me only a few days before, and which I had
told my servant to place upon the wall during my absence at the holiday
resort where my little one was taken away from us.
I
did not notice the words on returning to my house; but as I looked up
and wiped my eyes, the words met my gaze, "My grace is sufficient for
thee."
The "is" was picked out in bright green while the "My" and the "thee" were painted in another color.
In
one moment the message came straight to my soul, as a rebuke for
offering such a prayer as, "Lord, let Thy grace be sufficient for me"...
For the answer was almost as an audible voice, "How dare you ask that
which is?"
God cannot make it any more sufficient than He has made it;
get up and believe it, and you will find it true...
Because the Lord says
it in the simplest way: "My grace is (not shall be or may be) sufficient
for thee."
"My", "is", and "thee" were from that
moment, I hope, indelibly fixed upon my heart...
And I (thank God) have
been trying to live in the reality of the message from that day forward
to the present time.
The lesson that came to me, and
which I seek to convey to others, is...
Never turn God's facts into hopes,
or prayers, but simply use them as realities, and you will find them
powerful as you believe them.
~Prebendary H. W. Webb Peploe~
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,...
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase...
To added affliction He addeth His mercies...
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance...
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done...
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources...
Our Father's full giving is only begun...
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure...
His power no boundary known unto men...
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus...
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
~Annie Johnson Flint~
