Daily Reflections from the Word Dec 8, 2011

December 8

THE MIRROR OF TRUTH

"If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: for he goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."-- Jam_1:23-24.
THERE IS an old fable of a palace, in which one room was remarkable above all others because it was lined with glass of a special quality.

Whenever a person entered whose life was inconsistent with truth, a mist blurred the surface of the mirrors so that he was unable to see himself clearly. It was when the Apostle Paul compared" his own self-centred goodness with the love and purity of Christ, he lost all hope of justifying himself, and confessed that the things which he had counted gain were only loss.

Truth and Love are indissolubly connected. Love is of God, and so is Truth. If you have the one, the other must follow. If the soul, looking into the mirror of God's Word, perceiving that there is a blur, and sets itself to remove all that has caused it; and if it continues in this attitude, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer that works, he shall be "blessed in his doing."

The blessedness of doing and becoming. It is only as we do, that we become. Even to behold Christ will not make us Christlike in character, unless we translate into action what we have discovered in Him. The impressions made on the hearer through the ear are very vagrant, like the breeze on the water. We look at ourselves in the mirror held up before us, and straightway go off and forget what manner of persons we were. It is only as we cease to be hearers who forget, and become doers that work, that we can make any progress in the Christian life and walk.

Listen attentively to the Word of Truth, written or spoken. Be quick to notice the smallest symptom of inconsistency between your life and the perfect beauty of Jesus, and set yourself immediately to correct it. Be merciful to the failings of everyone else, but be merciless to your own. Let no fault remain uncorrected, and no call to duty unanswered. For you to live, let it be Christ. Your blessedness and happiness will come in choosing the Christ-life, in doing, and continuing to do what He would have you do.

PRAYER

Help us to cast out all those things which are contrary to Thy peace, or that are not according to Thy will, so that ours may be the quiet life of trust, and faith, and obedience, longing for Thy truth, and walking in the light thereof. AMEN.

by F. B. Meyer

Daily Reflections from the Word Dec 6, 2011

December 6, 2011

Luke 10:38-42 While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to him teach. But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her." (ERV)

Luke 11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (KJV)

Be persistent, fervent, and constant in prayer every day to your Heavenly Father.

Luke 11:20-23 But I use the power of God to force out demons. This shows that God's kingdom has now come to you. "When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, the things in his house are safe. But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the other man's things. "Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me. (ERV)

The Lord Jesus is referring to His Kingdom (thru His death, burial, and resurrection) overcoming that of satan’s here on earth. All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ; satan has no more power or dominion in their lives.

Luke 11:27-28 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman with the people there called out to him, "Blessings from God belong to the woman who gave birth to you and fed you!" But Jesus said, "The people who hear the teaching of God and obey it--they are the ones who have God's blessing." (ERV)

We must go about isolating the Word of God in the heart and mind and to watch and be on guard in your life by using the Word of God as your weapon against the enemy. We must preserve the Word of God in us and obey all that it speaks to our hearts and minds.

Luke 11:39-40 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil. O you foolish ones! did not he who made the outside in the same way make the inside? (BBE)

Wow! Remember what David said in Psalm 51:6 “Your desire is for what is true in the inner parts: in the secrets of my soul you will give me knowledge of wisdom.”

1 Samuel 27 Do you realize that David was the anointed King of Israel and went and joined himself with the Philistines (Israel’s enemy) and fought with them and for them, until the Princes of the Philistines rejected him (at the Lord’s prompting I believe).

1Samuel 30:11-19 And in the fields they saw an Egyptian whom they took to David, and they gave him bread, and he had a meal, and they gave him water for drink; And they gave him part of a cake of figs and some dry grapes; and after the food, his spirit came back to him, for he had had no food or drink for three days and nights. And David said to him, Whose man are you and where do you come from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master went on without me because three days back I became ill. We made an attack on the south part of the country of the Cherethites, and on the land which is Judah's, and on the south of Caleb; and we put Ziklag on fire. And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, If you give me your oath that you will not put me to death or give me up to my master, I will take you to them. And when he had taken him down, they saw them all, seated about on all sides, feasting and drinking among all the mass of goods which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. And David went on fighting them from evening till the evening of the day after; and not one of them got away but only four hundred young men who went in flight on camels. And David got back everything the Amalekites had taken; and he got back his two wives. There was no loss of anything, small or great, sons or daughters or goods or anything which they had taken away: David got it all back. (BBE)

The Lord will use the enemies’ cruelty and carelessness against him to give you back all that he has stolen from you and give you complete Victory in Jesus Name Amen!!!

MAN'S WAY! GOD'S DIRECTION

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps."-- Pro_16:9.

THE WAYS of a man, we justify them to ourselves, and think that they are necessarily right, but we are liable to be self-deceived. We must employ our sanctified common-sense, or, to adopt the phrase of our text, our heart must seriously and thoughtfully devise our way. First pray for direction; then weigh the pros and cons; then view the matter from the standpoint of trusted friends; see that your eye is single to do only the will of God; be sure that no selfish or evil consideration is allowed to bias or divert you: then make your decision, asking God to block you in whatever would be hurtful, foolish, or perilous. You will not make a mistake if you sincerely and prayerfully adopt these rules. If your eye is single (i.e., straight), your whole body will be full of light.

There is every reason why we should employ the faculties of judgment and choice. When Samuel sent the young Saul away, he said, "Thou shalt do as occasion shall serve thee"; we are also told of Peter, that when the angel left him, he considered the matter, and came to Mary's house.

But God's purpose is behind all human decisions. There must be room for man to devise his steps, else we should become automatons. But all our volitions and choices must be ultimately subjected to the Rule and Will of the Most High. Let us commit our works and ways to God. We must roll our burden and ourselves on our faithful Creator. Of what use is it to worry over past mistakes? We cannot undo them, but we can ask God to bring good out of evil. He will put right the mistakes, and compensate for the failures. Let the Father's hand direct your steps. If with all your devising and planning, you cannot settle the matter, throw the whole responsibility back on Him and ask Him to undertake it.

Let us seek so to live that our ways may please the Lord (Pro_16:7). "We beseech you," said St. Paul, "that as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and please God, even so ye do walk." We need to wait on God that He may show us the right way, and there is a sure sign--Via Crucis, via lucis. Jesus said, "I am the Way: Follow Me!"

PRAYER

Lead us, O God, bypaths we have not known. Make the darkness light before us, the crooked places straight, and the rough places plain. Let Thine Angel lead us forth into the liberty of the sons of God. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Daily Reflections from the Word Dec 4, 2011

In Leviticus Chapter 14, everywhere the phrase “running water” is found, this speaks of “living water” and that represents both the Word of God and the Spirit of God who are the Mother and Father respectively in the New Birth. John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (KJV)

Luke 9:17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. (KJV)

When you daily eat of the Bread of Life (Christ) you will always be filled or satisfied.

Hebrews 7:15-19 And this is even more clear if a second priest has come up who is like Melchizedek, That is to say, not made by a law based on the flesh, but by the power of a life without end: For it has been witnessed of him, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. So the law which went before is put on one side, because it was feeble and without profit. Because the law made nothing complete, and in its place there is a better hope, through which we come near to God. (BBE)

The Law (Ten Commandments) was given to restrain man from evil; however, Grace through Christ Jesus is given to empower us to good (moral virtue). The closer to Christ we live daily, the more sin is destroyed. Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (KJV)

Hebrews 7:27-28 Who has no need to make offerings for sins every day, like those high priests, first for himself, and then for the people; because he did this once and for ever when he made an offering of himself. The law makes high priests of men who are feeble; but the word of the oath, which was made after the law, gives that position to a Son, in whom all good is forever complete. (BBE)

This is why we must receive Christ and He will change our hearts and nature.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will also put a new spirit in you to change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart. I will put my Spirit inside you and change you so that you will obey my laws. You will carefully obey my commands. (ERV)

“Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

Rom_8:23

This groaning is universal among the saints: to a greater or less extent we all feel it. It is not the groan of murmuring or complaint: it is rather the note of desire than of distress. Having received an earnest, we desire the whole of our portion; we are sighing that our entire manhood, in its trinity of spirit, soul, and body, may be set free from the last vestige of the fall; we long to put off corruption, weakness, and dishonour, and to wrap ourselves in incorruption, in immortality, in glory, in the spiritual body which the Lord Jesus will bestow upon his people. We long for the manifestation of our adoption as the children of God. “We groan,” but it is “within ourselves.” It is not the hypocrite’s groan, by which he would make men believe that he is a saint because he is wretched. Our sighs are sacred things, too hallowed for us to tell abroad. We keep our longings to our Lord alone. Then the apostle says we are “waiting,” by which we learn that we are not to be petulant, like Jonah or Elijah, when they said, “Let me die”; nor are we to whimper and sigh for the end of life because we are tired of work, nor wish to escape from our present sufferings till the will of the Lord is done. We are to groan for glorification, but we are to wait patiently for it, knowing that what the Lord appoints is best. Waiting implies being ready. We are to stand at the door expecting the Beloved to open it and take us away to himself. This “groaning” is a test. You may judge of a man by what he groans after. Some men groan after wealth-they worship Mammon; some groan continually under the troubles of life-they are merely impatient; but the man who sighs after God, who is uneasy till he is made like Christ, that is the blessed man. May God help us to groan for the coming of the Lord, and the resurrection which he will bring to us.

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Daily Reflections from the Word Dec 3, 2011

ILLUMINATED LIVES

"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord."-- Pro_20:27. "'For Thou wilt light my candle."-- Psa_18:28.
THE TABERNACLE constructed by Moses, and Solomon's Temple were modelled on the divine pattern, and consisted of three parts, outer Court, with its altar and laver, facing the world of human life; the Holy of Holies, facing the unseen and divine; between them, the Holy place, with its candlestick, altar, and table. Transfer that picture to your own nature. The body is the outer court, and through it we touch the world around us; the spirit is our most holy place, and through it we enter into fellowship with God; the soul lies between the two, the seat of our personality, including conscience, will, intellect, and emotion.

Our text tells us that "the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord." The candle is for illumination, but there are many unlit candles! Has the Divine Spirit kindled your spirit, and is the flame burning clear? The windows of your spirit command a view of the Delectable Mountains and the City of God, but have the blinds been drawn up all round, so that the sunshine may shed its radiance into the common places Of daily living? In other words, Is your religious life in living touch with the Person of Jesus Christ?

In its ultimate essence, Christ is the All and In-All of our holy religion. Not creed, nor ceremonials, nor the life of active philanthropy, but His personal life and presence in the heart are the supreme goal of the New Testament. What the Father was to Him, He desires to be to us. Remember He said: "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth (receiveth) Me, he also shall live because of Me," but this indwelling can only be experienced when we have learnt to find all our fresh springs of life, love, and inspiration from Him with whom our life is hid in God.

When we sit before the Lord in meditation, or kneel in our accustomed place, we shall know that the Lord, whom we seek, has suddenly come to His Temple, and the glory of the Lord will illuminate the house of our life, and shed its radiance on the world around. Our life will still retain its characteristic nature, but it will be infilled by the "second man, the Lord from Heaven."

PRAYER

O Holy Spirit, Love of God, infuse Thy grace, and descend plentifully into my heart; enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling, and scatter there Thy cheerful beams; dwell in the soul that pangs to be Thy temple. AMEN.

by F. B. Meyer

Daily Reflections from the Word Nov 27, 2011

Mark 15:15 "So Pilot, wanting to gratify the crowd"

Many of us get caught up in wanting to please the crowd instead of standing for Christ when the stand for Christ on some issues will be unpopular. We want more to draw a crowd of followers rather than be true to our Lord at times. Jesus drew a crowd only by speaking truth at all times.
1Sa 23:28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth (which means, the Rock of Escape). Jesus Christ is our Rock of Escape.

Are you (am I) a prisoner of Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul was;

Phm 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Phm 1:9 Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
"Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord."

- Zec_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."

by Charles Spurgeon

Reflections for November 22, 2011

THE GOD OF PATIENCE AND COMFORT

"Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Jesus Christ."-- Rom_15:5.

WE ALL need Patience and Comfort, especially in times of stress and difficulty. Patience under long-drawn-out trial; Comfort, when the heart is at breaking-point; and God is the source of each! The God of Patience! "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry." The God of Comfort! "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." Let us hush all other voices of consolation, that we may listen to the still small voice of the Comforter, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

But notice that He speaks through the patience and comfort of Holy Scripture. "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope." What the Bible has been to the martyrs, to the sufferers on the rack, and to the harried Covenanters of the Scottish moors; to the myriads of unknown souls who have been persecuted, to lonely exiles and bereaved hearts, can never be told.

If we were condemned to banishment, and could take only one Book of the Bible with us to Patmos, or to prison, we should find it extremely difficult which to choose. Some would select the Psalter, some the Fourth Gospel, some would probably decide on that wonderful anonymous writing, the Epistle to the Hebrews. And in each they would have matter enough to explore for a lifetime. Always His Spirit will be teaching and enabling us. Always His Shepherd rod and staff will lead us to living fountains of water. He is always realising more deeply in us the Divine ideal, and increasing our capacity for God.

Is not this comforting! The minister, to whom you owe your conversion, or who has helped your Christian growth, may die or be removed; the friend on whom you depended for help and guidance may have to leave you, but our Saviour will continue His care of us, His nurture of our growth. His unfailing intercession, when the sun has ceased to shine, and the universe is wrapped up as a worn-out garment. His ministry is unchangeable. The God of Patience and Comfort will never fail us!

PRAYER

Comforter of the comfortless, bind my soul with Thine in intercession! Wherever there are broken hearts, bind them: captives, release them. Bless especially my loved ones. Visit us with Thy salvation, and suit Thy gifts to our several needs. AMEN.

Reflections for November 19, 2011

BEARING THE CROSS

"He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me."-- Mat_10:38.
HOW WONDERFUL it is that in the thirty-seventh verse of this chapter, our Lord faces the whole race of men, and claims their supreme love, asking that they should love Him more than their dearest from whom they have derived, or to whom they have given life. He does not attempt to justify His demand, and the only consideration that makes His claim reasonable is that He is the Son of God, who died for us on the Cross, and that each one of us has a separate place in His Divine-human love. What a rebuke lies in the word: "is not worthy of Me." Surely in this sense there is no one of us worthy of our Divine Lord.

Christ asks for the surrender not of the heart only, but of the life. Self-denial for His sake is the badge of the disciple. It is a strange procession of cross-hearers, following the Crucified. Each man has his own special form of self-denial, which is required of him, and it must be undertaken willingly.

Of course, it must be understood that the confession to which Christ summons us does not consist in a single utterance of the lips; it is the constant acknowledgment of Him by voice and life, maintained to the end, and the context makes it clear that this will have to be maintained in the face of opposition, and that often in its bitterest form--the opposition of the home. Many of us would find it easier to face outward persecution and the tyrant's frown, than to stand against the light banter, the sneers and suspicions, the cruel words of those who live within the home. In every age there have been those who have had to stand absolutely alone for Christ, not hating their dear ones, but being hated by them because of their allegiance to Christ, and destined to find the most dutiful love and care repaid by stony indifference or active persecution. Nothing is harder to bear, and there is no other course for us but to silence the enemy and the avenger by patient continuance in well-doing, always believing that God is faithful, and that He will not allow us to be tempted above that we are able to bear.

PRAYER

Be the corrective, the complement, of every trouble and need through which we may be called to pass; if we suffer for Christ, may we not threaten; if we are spoken against, may we answer with blessing; if we are tried by the fiery trial, may we rejoice; if we are lonely and desolate, may the Holy Spirit make Jesus real to us. AMEN.
by F. B. Meyer

Reflections for November 14, 2011

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT--SELF-CONTROL

"Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.-- 1Co_9:25.
IN HIS early life Paul must have been keen on sport! He uses the phrases for the gymnast, the boxer, and the racer. He had probably stood, many times, watching the great games, which were held in various parts of the Greek-speaking world. He knew the long and arduous training through which competitors had to pass.

Paul was running a race for an imperishable wreath. He had no doubt as to his goal, and therefore did not run uncertainly. He went straight as an arrow to its mark, and his mark was to win souls for Christ. To gain some, to save some, was his passion (1Co_9:22). He needed to discipline himself, putting aside much that was innocent in itself, and which others could enjoy without reproach (Rom_14:13-21). The Apostle was also engaged in a boxing-match, his own body being the antagonist. He knew that spiritual power existed for his appropriation in Christ, but to have it he must be a spiritual man, and to be that necessitated the subdual of his fleshly appetites.

We must exercise "self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control." It is best to hand over the whole of our nature to the Master, and ask Him to direct, control, suggest each day whatever we think, or do, or say. It is infinitely happier to be Christ-controlled than self-controlled. Happy are they who from the earliest are able to subordinate the delights of sense, however innocent, to some high quest of the spirit. The soldier has to forfeit many things which are legitimate for the civilian, because he must be able to march rapidly from place to place. He has to forego the use of many comforts, but he is compensated if his name is placed on the honours list. The husbandman has to submit to hardships of weather, and to encounter difficulties and discomforts which do not occur in the lives of others; but there is no other way if he is to procure the fruits of his toil. These deny themselves for lower considerations, but we have an infinitely higher object in view; but by so much the more should we lay aside every weight. Never forget Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, your great Exemplar and Life-giver--the source of all spiritual power.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, engraft Thy Son, Jesus Christ my Lord, inwardly in my heart, that I may bring forth the fruit of holy living, to the honour and praise of Thy Name. AMEN.

Reflections for November 9, 2011

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT PEACE

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful."-- Joh_14:27.
BEING JUSTIFIED by faith in His blood we have peace! what peace can there be so long as our guilty conscience dreads each footstep, lest it be for its arrest. Though some rich evil-doer is surrounded by the trappings of wealth and state, what is their value, when at any moment he fears that the story of his crime may get out. The first condition of peace is to see your sin borne by Christ in His own Body-on the Cross.

The second condition is to keep His words, His commandments. See in every pressing duty your Master's call. Do everything in His name and for His glory. This is the way that Jesus lived. He came down, not to do His own will, but the Father's; and in every incident, as it offered, He felt that God's bell was ringing to some new opportunity of service. Sometimes you must just bear His will, at others you must fulfil it. Say to Him each day: "I delight to do Thy will, O my God." The rule of duty is changed into the service of love, that counts no sacrifice too great, no alabaster box too costly.

Peace for the troubled heart! Jesus is not unmindful of your human affections and anxieties. Does He expect you to be absorbed with His interests, and will He not look after yours? He knows where your loved ones are, their names, their needs, their sorrows. He will do exceeding abundantly for them. Did not David have the lame Mephibosheth to his table, because he was Jonathan's son; did not the Lord heal Peter's wife's mother out of love for Peter? Hand over to Christ all that makes you anxious, both for yourself and others. Transmit and commit! Hand over, and then hands off! Let the peace of Christ keep heart and mind as a sentry, and rule within as the sole judge and arbiter of thought and action. If any thought would intrude which would break in upon our peace, let it be arrested on the threshold; if any passion would arise that threatens the harmony of our inner household, let the solution be the Peace of Christ. "My peace," He said, i.e., the peace that kept and ruled Him. He calls us to share it, not hereafter only, but here and now. It is His legacy guaranteed to us, by His blood, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

O Lord, may I not be satisfied with refraining from sin; but as I abide in Thee, may I bear the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, and peace, to Thy honour and glory. AMEN.

Reflections for November 6, 2011

THE AUTHORITY OF REALITY
     Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.
     James 4:8
    
It is essential to give people a chance of acting on the truth of
God. The responsibility must be left with the individual, you cannot
act for him, it must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical
message ought always to lead a man to act. The paralysis of refusing
to act leaves a man exactly where he was before; when once he acts,
he is never the same. It is the foolishness of it that stands in the
way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God.
Immediately I precipitate myself over into an act, that second I
live; all the rest is existence. The moments when I truly live are
the moments when I act with my whole will.
Never allow a truth of God that is brought home to your soul to pass
without acting on it, not necessarily physically, but in will. Record
it, with ink or with blood. The feeblest saint who transacts business
with Jesus Christ is emancipated the second he acts; all the almighty
power of God is on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, we
confess we are wrong, but go back again; then we come up to it again,
and go back; until we learn that we have no business to go back. We
have to go clean over on some word of our redeeming Lord and transact
business with Him. His word "come" means "transact." "Come unto Me."
The last thing we do is to come; but everyone who does come knows
that that second the supernatural rush of the life of God invades him
instantly. The dominating power of the world, the flesh and the devil
is paralysed, not by your act, but because your act has linked you on
to God and His redemptive power. by Oswald Chambers

Reflections for November 4, 2011

Matthew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. (KJV)

Religion can have people jumping through all kinds of hoops running here and there and involved in many types of activities i.e. conferences, meetings, etc., yet the heart can still be stony ground. As the Lord told Samuel, that man looks upon the outward appearance or actions, but God is pondering or looking upon every human heart. Paul in Romans Chapter 1 gives us a laundry list of the filth that man sunk into, but he warned religious people who condemned those things and practiced the same that they would not escape God’s Righteous Judgement. Paul said that the day is coming when God the Father will Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to the Gospel. Hypocrisy is a cruel thing for people to be caught in because it is so subtle that years can go by and one can rationalize it away. However, at the new birth, Jesus takes up residence in every heart that He adopts to Himself. Therefore, to think one can use religion to fool the Omnipotent Christ is absolute insanity. In Galatians 5:19-21, we find the sins of hatred, jealousy, and envy right alongside murder, fornication, witchcraft, and adultery. All of these things (in the heart and life) are the evidence of an unregenerate heart. The sin of the older son in Luke 15 was not the outward acts of his younger brother, but they were just as damming (hatred, jealousy, and envy). Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. He can clearly see all things. Everything is open before Him. And to Him we must explain the way we have lived. (ERV) Christ sent Prophet after Prophet to the children of Israel and each one He spoke through condemning their evil; they persecuted and killed because they did not want to change. No human being is the agent of their own change of heart (that can only be done by God) but that person must be willing to open the door for Christ to come in and facilitate a change in them. Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (KJV)

Listen to these words from Matthew Henry, “Now the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or the dressing up of a dead body, only for show. The top of their ambition was to appear righteous before men, and to be applauded and had in admiration by them. But, they were foul within, like sepulchres, full of dead men's bones, and all uncleanness: so vile are our bodies, when the soul has deserted them! Thus were they full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Hypocrisy is the worst iniquity of all other. Note, it is possible for those that have their hearts full of sin, to have their lives free from blame, and to appear very good. But what will it avail us, to have the good word of our fellow-servants, if our Master doth not say, Well done? When all other graves are opened, these whited sepulchres will be looked into, and the dead men's bones, and all the uncleanness, shall be brought out, and be spread before all the host of heaven, Jer_8:1, Jer_8:2. For it is the day when God shall judge, not the shows, but the secrets, of men. And it will then be small comfort to them who shall have their portion with hypocrites, to remember how creditably and plausibly they went to hell, applauded by all their neighbours.”

Reflections for November 3, 2011

Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered, "You are so wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures say. And you don't know anything about God's power. (ERV)

Not understanding the Word of God will cause people to mock it, ridicule it, and belittle it. It will also render the power that is inherently in every word to be of no effect. Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge. You priests have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests for me. You have forgotten the law of your God, so I will forget your children. (ERV) The Word of God is not like any other book ever written, because the words come from the mind, mouth, and majesty of God Himself. There is great power in the Word of God. By the Word of God all things were created instantly, therefore, those same words today will create in human hearts the very things they decree. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and full of power, and is sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through and making a division even of the soul and the spirit, the bones and the muscles, and quick to see the thoughts and purposes of the heart. (BBE) At the new birth, the veil over a person’s spiritual eye site is removed and then God the Holy Spirit proceeds to make the Word real and alive to that persons heart and bondage and yokes are broken in that life. Religion or rituals will never allow a person to see the Word of God work in their lives.

1Samuel 3:17-19 And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good. And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. (KJV)

Eli wanted to know the truth and nothing but the truth from the Word of God. This must be our hearts today. We must not pick and choose what we shall read from the Bible, but we must desire the whole counsel of God no matter what it says in rebuke or warning to us. To proclaim only half of the Word of God only makes that half a lie. We must endeavor to give people the uncompromised full counsel of God’s Word. Samuel’s words never failed because e only spoke the Word of God. Likewise our words will never fail if we only say what God has already said.

THE INDWELLING SPIRIT

"I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever."-- John_14:16.

THE GIFT of the Holy Spirit was due to the intercession of our Lord, and St. Peter refers to it when he says: "Having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit" (Act_2:33). In 1Jo_2:1 (R.V.) marg. the word Comforter is translated Advocate--"One who makes us strong by His presence, as Helper, Guide, and Instructor." Think what this means, to have always beside us, not a vague influence, but a Divine Person, who waits to be our strength in weakness, our peace in trouble, our wisdom in perplexity, our conqueror in temptations, our consoler in sorrow. The Lord meant that the Holy Spirit should be to us all that He Himself had been. This is the meaning of Another. There are two Advocates, or two Paracletes. When the One ascended to the glory, the Other descended into the hearts of His disciples. "He abideth with you, and shall be in you."

"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." Christ had been speaking of sending Another; now He says, I am coming Myself, so that we learn that He is so indissoluble One with the Holy Spirit, Whom He sends, that the coming of the Spirit is His own coming. Do not look for the Spirit apart from Jesus. As the sun comes in the light, so does Jesus come in the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, we shall not think of Him, but of Jesus to whom He bears witness, and when our hearts are taken up with the Lord, we may know that we have received Him, who is the Gift of gifts.

Open your whole nature to the entrance of the Holy Spirit. Unlock every door, uncurtain every window, that entering He may fill you with the glorious indwelling of the Father and the Son. "I will prepare a "mansion," Jesus said; and, "We will make the holy soul Our Mansion."

"'He shall teach you all things." His lesson-book is the life and words of our blessed Lord. We may think that we are fully informed of all that He has said, but as we study the Bible, the Holy Spirit brings us back to them again and again, always revealing new light, and undreamt of depths. Never let a day pass without reading some of the words of Jesus under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

Thou hast not left us comfortless, O God. May life be renewed in its springs, by the gracious operation of Thy Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and leading us from grace to grace. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Reflections for November 2, 2011

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 5:10

I am not saved by believing; I realize I am saved by believing. It is not repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause. It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration. Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God; and by the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.

The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement. The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done - "It is finished."

By Oswald Chambers

Reflections for November 1, 2011

WALKING IN THE SPIRIT

"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."-- Gal_5:16.

WHEN WE walk in the spirit we shall be led by Him. In the early stages of life we are apt to be headstrong and impulsive, as Moses when he felled the Egyptian. But as we grow in Christian experience, we wait for the leadings of the Spirit, moving us by His suggestion, impressing on us His will, working within us what afterwards we work out in character and deed. We do not go in front, but follow behind. We are led by the Spirit.

The man or woman who walks in the Spirit has no desire to fulfil the lust of the flesh. The desire for the gratification of natural appetite may be latent in the soul, and may flash through the thoughts, but he does not fulfil it. The desire cannot be prevented, but its fulfilment can certainly be withheld.

When we walk in the Spirit He produces in us the fruit of a holy character. The contrast between the works of the fleshly--i.e., the selfish life.--and the fruit of the Spirit, which is the natural product of His influence, is very marked. In works there is effort, the clatter of machinery, the deafening noise of the factory. But fruit is found in the calm, still, regular process of Nature, which is ever producing in her secret laboratory the kindly fruits of the earth. How quiet it all is! There is no voice nor language. It is almost impossible to realise what is being effected by a long summer day of sunshine. The growing of autumn arrives with noiseless footsteps. So it is with the soul that daily walks in the Spirit. There are probably no startling experiences, no marked transitions, nothing special to record in the diary, but every year those who live in close proximity witness a ripening wealth of fruit in the manifestation of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control.

PRAYER

Gracious Lord! May Thy Holy Spirit keep me ever walking in the light of Thy countenance. May He fill my heart with the sense of Thy nearness and loving fellowship. Order my steps in Thy way, and walk with me, that I may do the thing that pleaseth Thee. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Reflections for October 26, 2011

THE BLAMELESS LIFE

"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."-- 1Th_5:23-24.

HE WILL do it. There is a tone of confidence in these words which bespeaks the unwavering faith of the Apostle in the faithfulness and power of God to do for these early Christian folk what indeed is needed by all of us; first, to be sanctified wholly, and secondly, to be preserved without blame until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can hardly realize how much this meant for men and women reared amid the excesses and evils of those days, when religion was another name for unbridled indulgence. Blamelessness of life, the stainless habit of the soul, self-restraint--these were the attributes of the few whose natures seemed cast in a special mould. And yet how strong the assertion of the Apostle that, in the face of the insurmountable difficulties, the God of Peace would do even as much for them.

We must distinguish between blamelessness and faultlessness. The latter can only be ours when we have passed into the presence of His glory, and are presented faultless before Him with exceeding joy (Jud_1:24). The former, however, is within the reach of each of us, because God has said that He will do it. The Agent of the blameless life is God Himself. None beside could accomplish so marvellous a result, and He does it by condescending to indwell the soul. As His glory filled Solomon's Temple, so He waits to infill the spirit, soul, and body of those who trust Him.

He will do it as the God of Peace. The mightiest forces are the stillest. Who ever heard the day break, or detected the footfall of Spring? Who thinks of listening for the throb of gravitation, or the thud of the forces that redden the grape, golden the corn, and cover the peaches with bloom? So God works in the hearts of those who belong to Him. When we think we are making no progress, He is most at work. The presence of ozone in the air can only be detected by a faint colour on a piece of litmus-paper, and God's work in the soul is only apparent as the bloom of perfect love is shown in the life.

PRAYER

Almighty God, who lovest us, and to whom are known our yearnings for this blessed life; work Thou within us, quietly, gently, mightily, ridding us of the love of sin, and producing within us that blamelessness of soul which in Thy sight is of priceless value. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Reflections for October 25, 2011

The Private Worship of the Christian

The distinctive exercises of the Christian are exercises which he never can reveal. Among all the differences between the pagan faiths and the faith which is our treasure and our glory, none is more marked or more notable than the change from an outward to an inward worship. It is almost impossible for us to realize how wholly external the old religions were. The idea that a man might move among his fellows, carrying all his religion in his heart, would have been laughed to scorn in pagan Rome. It was under the shadow of consecrated temples, or where the altar stood ready for the oxen, or within the sacred circle of the augur, or in the brilliant procession through the streets, it was in such scenes that the religious life of paganism found its peculiar and distinctive exercises. It knew not the secret of the closed door nor of the head anointed during fasting.

I need hardly stay to tell you how Jesus Christ has come and changed all that. The distinctive exercises of the Christian life are not procession and sacrifice and augury. The distinctive worship of the Christian life is worship which we never can reveal. Could you conceive of anyone in earnest making a parade of secret prayer? Are there not hours of fellowship with heaven which would be tarnished if we talked of them? Do we ever speak of the minute denials or of those strengthening of the will in little things which every honest Christian practices? All that is most distinctive in the Christian — his prayer, his battle, his joy, his cross-bearing — takes place in the mystical room with the closed door. And it is this- the silence and the secret — that makes the Christian as a man unknown.

By George H. Morrison

Reflections for October 24, 2011

IS GOD'S WILL MY WILL?

This is the will of God, even your sanctification.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of saying - Oh, I am longing to be sanctified. You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of transaction - "Nothing in my hands I bring." Receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification (see Rom. 5:8) No wonder Paul says nothing is "able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the outcome of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvellous sanctification wrought out in me because of the Atonement.

By Oswald Chambers

Reflections for October 23, 2011

Psalms 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (KJV)

Lead me here by Your grace and blood and keep me here Dear Lord Jesus.

Psalms 51:8 Make me full of joy and rapture; so that the bones which have been broken may be glad. (BBE)

When I sin against You Dear Lord Jesus, You will correct me out of Your great love for me. Here also King David shows and tells us (because of his own trouble, despair, and agony) that the Lord Jesus will not allow us to live in sin, rebellion and disobedience and be happy and peaceful in sin. We must forsake or leave that sin (repentance) and then our Lord Jesus will answer by giving us the petition of verse 12 in this same Psalms.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (KJV)

You Dear Lord Jesus will never turn away from any person, any soul that comes to this point in their inner man or woman.

Evening

“Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”

- Luk_22:46

When is the Christian most liable to sleep? Is it not when his temporal circumstances are prosperous? Have you not found it so? When you had daily troubles to take to the throne of grace, were you not more wakeful than you are now? Easy roads make sleepy travellers. Another dangerous time is when all goes pleasantly in spiritual matters. Christian went not to sleep when lions were in the way, or when he was wading through the river, or when fighting with Apollyon, but when he had climbed half way up the Hill Difficulty, and came to a delightful arbour, he sat down, and forthwith fell asleep, to his great sorrow and loss. The enchanted ground is a place of balmy breezes, laden with fragrant odours and soft influences, all tending to lull pilgrims to sleep. Remember Bunyan’s description: “Then they came to an arbour, warm, and promising much refreshing to the weary pilgrims; for it was finely wrought above head, beautified with greens, and furnished with benches and settles. It had also in it a soft couch, where the weary might lean.” “The arbour was called the Slothful’s Friend, and was made on purpose to allure, if it might be, some of the pilgrims to take up their rest there when weary.” Depend upon it, it is in easy places that men shut their eyes and wander into the dreamy land of forgetfulness. Old Erskine wisely remarked, “I like a roaring devil better than a sleeping devil.” There is no temptation half so dangerous as not being tempted. The distressed soul does not sleep; it is after we enter into peaceful confidence and full assurance that we are in danger of slumbering. The disciples fell asleep after they had seen Jesus transfigured on the mountain top. Take heed, joyous Christian, good frames are near neighbours to temptations: be as happy as you will, only be watchful.

By Charles H. Spurgeon

Reflections for October 22, 2011

THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God; I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."-- Act_2:17.

IN HIS sermon, on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quoted the latter part of this prediction by the Prophet (Joe_2:28). Not much is known of this prophet, who probably lived in Judah during the reign of Uzziah. But evidently his anticipation of the outpouring of the Divine Spirit had its fulfillment in those memorable scenes in which the Christian Church was born.

Before the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had descended only upon the elect souls of the Hebrew race---upon Abraham and Moses, upon Samuel and Elijah, upon Isaiah and others of the prophets. This supreme gift of God was reserved in those days for the spiritual aristocracy of Israel, for the men who were called to eminent office and responsibility, as kings, prophets, or leaders. But Joel said that the time would come when the Holy Spirit, who had been reserved for the few, was to be poured out upon the many--the young men and maidens would prophesy; even the slaves and the most despised classes of the community would partake of the Divine experience.

Whatever Pentecost means--it is open to the reception and enjoyment of us all, "Every one of you," said St. Peter, "shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." To you are the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Act_2:38-39). Let us take this to heart.

Some years ago, electricity was the perquisite of the few, but now the poorest girl or lad may utilize it and be carded along in the electric car; and it is the boast of our scientists and inventors that they are able to bring the benefits of their discoveries within the reach of the neediest amongst us. And Pentecost resembles this, in that the forces and gifts of the Eternal Spirit are now within the grasp of the feeblest hand which is stretched out to appropriate them. But there must be first the putting away of evil, the emptying of our hearts, the hunger and thirst of the soul for righteousness, before God can give us our share in the Gift which was made once for all to the Church, but must be claimed by each successive believer.

PRAYER

Let Thy Holy Spirit dwell in me continually, and make me Thy temple and sanctuary. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Reflections for October 21, 2011

THE UNHEEDED SECRET

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (KJV)

The great enemy to the Lord Jesus Christ in the present day is the conception of practical work that has not come from the New Testament, but from the Systems of the world in which endless energy and activities are insisted upon, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, for lo the kingdom of God is within you," a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives in the shop window. It is the innermost of the innermost that reveals the power of the life.

We have to get rid of the plague of the spirit of the religious age in which we live. In Our Lord's life there was none of the press and rush of tremendous activity that we regard so highly, and the disciple is to be as His Master. The central thing about the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship to Him, not public usefulness to men.

It is not its practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College, its whole strength lies in the fact that here you are put into soak before God. You have no idea of where God is going to engineer your circumstances, no knowledge of what strain is going to be put on you either at home or abroad, and if you waste your time in over-active energies instead of getting into soak on the great fundamental truths of God's Redemption, you will snap when the strain comes; but if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in God on the unpractical line, you will remain true to Him whatever happens.

By Oswald Chambers

Reflections for October 20, 2011

WHEREBY SHALL I KNOW?

Matthew 11:25 I thank Thee, O Father ... because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (KJV)

In spiritual relationship we do not grow step by step; we are either there or we are not. God does not cleanse us more and more from sin, but when we are in the light, walking in the light, we are cleansed from all sin. It is a question of obedience, and instantly the relationship is perfected. Turn away for one second out of obedience, and darkness and death are at work at once.

All God's revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God's truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up.

One reads tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when one five minutes of drastic obedience would make things as clear as a sunbeam. "I suppose I shall understand these things some day!" You can understand them now. It is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming "wise and prudent."

By Oswald Chambers

Reflections for October 19, 2011

Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with every spiritual gift in the heavenly places in Christ, just as God the Father chose me in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and without blame before Jesus Christ in love, having predestined me to adoption as His son by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made me accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:7-10 In Jesus Christ I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound or increase to me in all wisdom and understanding, having made known to me the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of  the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:11-12 In Jesus Christ also I have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of God the Father who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that I who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In Jesus Christ I also trusted, after I heard the word of truth, the gospel of my salvation; in whom also, having believed, I was sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of my inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (me, spirit, soul, and body), to the praise of His glory.

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (KJV)

Now is the time for us (true believers) to decide within our own hearts whether we believe (without compromise) the whole counsel of God (the Bible) or not. If we believe the Bible we must say what it says without fear or reservation (speak the truth in love). Whenever we water down the Word of God, as not to offend people, we only end up offending people in the worst possible way of all by letting them believe that their false beliefs and lifestyles will not end them in eternal destruction. This action does not exemplify Christ love for humanity, but on the contrary perpetuates satan’s original lie he presented in the Garden of Eden.

Reflections for October 18, 2011

Matthew 6:19-21  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (KJV)

My heart must be a single minded devotion to the things of God. I must be governed by My Lord Jesus’ will and desires and He will engraft those desires into my heart when I communicate with Him through prayer and reading of His Word.

Judges 16

This entire Chapter always speaks rebuke to me because I find myself identifying with his weakness for women and making foolish choices by allowing the lust of the flesh to supersede the Word of God. How foolish was Samson to let his lust for sexual pleasure destroy what God had done for him and through him. In my opinion, he cared for Delilah but he was more consumed with lust for her. Delilah used him for monetary gain as many women use sex to control men. I have been where he was and can testify to how debilitated you feel after allowing these weeds that remain in our corrupt nature to sprout and grow into outward sin by not pulling them or cutting them off at the root with the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (KJV)

Three times she asked him to reveal the secret to his strength and each time she did what he told her and the Philistines were upon him. I could understand the first slip, but after the second he should have consulted the Lord and then the Lord would have revealed to him her evil intentions, but his pride and lust outweighed his need to acknowledge his weakness to the Lord and ask for help. This is why God the Holy Spirit over and over in the New Testament through Paul and others tell us to not to be filled with pride and try to stand and fight the devil in the area of sexual lust, but on the contrary He tells us to flee (to run away from this temptation) as Joseph so smartly headed. Genesis 39:12 His master's wife grabbed his coat and said to him, "Come to bed with me." But Joseph ran out of the house so fast that he left his coat in her hand. (ERV) This is what Samson should have done here and I can say I should have done likewise on occasions.

Judges 16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. (KJV)

When I fail to daily devour Your Word Dear Lord Jesus, I become very spiritually weak and vulnerable to sexual lust and sexual sin with women. This is what happened to Samson here, he forgot the source of his strength was from the Lord and not his hair.

Judges 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. (KJV)

Verse 1 says Samson saw the woman and went to sleep with her. The source or root cause of his sin was the very thing the devil afflicted when he was captured. Confirming again the Word of God in whatever we sow we will reap a harvest good or bad. We must guard what our eyes look upon. Mat 6:22-23 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (KJV)

Your conduct will be regular and steady. All that is needful to direct the body is that the eye be fixed right. No other light is required. So all that is needful to direct the soul and the conduct is, that the eye of faith be fixed on heaven; that the affections be there. By Albert Barnes

And what the eye is to the body, the intention is to the soul. We may observe with what exact propriety our Lord places purity of intention between worldly desires and worldly cares, either of which directly tend to destroy. If thine eye be single - Singly fixed on God and heaven, thy whole soul will be full of holiness and happiness. John Wesley

Reflections for October 17, 2011

Nehemiah 9:38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. (KJV)

There are certain principles outlined in these chapters in Nehemiah, which may well be included in our covenant with God:

(1) Never to allow anything in private or business life which is not in keeping with the high ideals of the Bible.

(2) To set aside a certain proportion of our income and time for the maintenance of the Work and House of God.

(3) To observe the Rest-Day.

But a covenant is between two. No resolution of ours is strong enough to keep us true. The most fervent protestations and vows may fail us in the day of trial, and our covenants are permanent only so far as God is party to them. But if Jesus is our Co-Signatory, there will be a safe-guard and certainty which all the powers of evil will not be able to overthrow.

Livingstone's covenant with God was that he might heal the open plague-spot of the Arab slave-trade. A covenant like this, in some cases, has been signed with blood. This was D. L. Moody's prayer, as a young man: "Great God, let the world learn, through my life, what Thou canst do by a man wholly devoted to Thee!"

PRAYER

We present to Thee, O God, ourselves to be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, our reasonable service. Fulfill through us the good pleasure of Thy goodness, and the work of faith with power. AMEN.

By F. B. Meyer

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. (KJV)

Sin is a thing I am born with and I cannot touch it; God touches sin in Redemption. In the Cross of Jesus Christ God redeemed the whole human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a man responsible for having the heredity of sin. The condemnation is not that I am born with heredity of sin, but if when I realize Jesus Christ came to deliver me from it, I refuse to let Him do so, from that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. "And this is the judgment" (the critical moment), "that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light."

By Oswald Chambers