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If Stones Could Talk

The Elder Brother

October 31   That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened         Eph. 1:17 , 18 We were coming down a mountain in Switzerland one evening, when a black thunderstorm blotted out the day, and all things were suddenly plunged into darkness. We could only dimly see the narrow, dusty footpaths, and the gloomy sides that were swallowed up in deeper gloom. What, then, of the majesty all about us, heights, and depths, and wonders? All was darkness. Then came the lightning—not flashes, but the blazing of the whole sky, incessant, and on every side. What recesses of glory we gazed into! What marvels of splendor shone out of the darkness! Think how with us, in us, is One who comes to make the common, dusty ways of life resplendent, illuminating our dull thoughts by the light of the glory of God; clearing the vision ...

October 31: Speaking the Truth Daniel 11:1–12:12 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:1–18 ; Job 42:10–17 “And now I will reveal the truth to you” ( Dan 11:2 ). How much better would our world be if more of us were willing to take this kind of stand—to make these kinds of statements? The truth Daniel refers to are the prophecies foretelling what will happen in the Persian Empire. Great power and wealth are coming, and with them comes the fear of how that power and wealth may be used. If we read between the lines of the prophet’s statements in Dan 11 , we can feel the trepidation. He is concerned that wickedness will once again sweep over the land. Such was the case for Paul: “Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may progress and be honored … and that we may be delivered from evil and wicked people, for not all have the faith” ( 2 Thess 3:1–2 ). Paul was aware that unbelievers would seek his life. He wasn’t sure what the future would look like. We can imagine the fear that he must have felt, w...

October 31st Discernment of faith Faith as a grain of mustard seed.… Matthew 17:20 We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, it may be so in the initial stages; but we do not earn anything by faith. Faith brings us into right relationship with God and gives God His opportunity. God has frequently to knock the bottom board out of your experience if you are a saint in order to get you into contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of sentimental enjoyment of His blessings. Your earlier life of faith was narrow and intense, settled around a little sun-spot of experience that had as much of sense as of faith in it, full of light and sweetness; then God withdrew His conscious blessings in order to teach you to walk by faith. You are worth far more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight and thrilling testimony. Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find...

Morning, October 31       Go To Evening Reading           “Renew a right spirit within me.”            — Psalm 51:10 A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s energy as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now as ever they were. Let thy personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make thee pray earnestly to thy God ...

God Has Dealt Well With Us However God has dealt with us, he has dealt with us better than we deserve; and all in love, and for our good. Many have knowledge, but little judgment; those who have both, are fortified against the snares of Satan, and furnished for the service of God. We are most apt to wander from God, when we are easy in the world. We should leave our concerns to the disposal of God, seeing we know not what is good for us. Lord, thou art our bountiful Benefactor; incline our hearts to faith and obedience. The psalmist will go on in his duty with constancy and resolution. The proud are full of the world, and its wealth and pleasures; these make them senseless, secure, and stupid. God visits his people with affliction, that they may learn his statutes. Not only God’s promises, but even his law, his precepts, though hard to ungodly men, are desirable, and profitable, because they lead us with safety and delight unto eternal life Henry, Matthew, and Thomas Scott. Ma...

Righteousness Romans 5:21 The concepts presented in this verse have been commented on in earlier passages. However, for purposes of translation the use of righteousness in this verse needs to be made clear. Righteousness is best understood in the sense of “God’s putting men right with himself,” which is understood as the beginning point and eternal life as the final point of the salvation experience. The meaning, then, is that God’s grace rules us by putting us into a right relation with him and by leading us to eternal life ( see verse Romans 6:22 ) through Jesus Christ our Lord. The phrase through Jesus Christ our Lord must be connected in meaning both with the matter of putting men right with God and of leading them to eternal life. The transition so then may be rendered in some languages as “to sum up everything,” “finally we may say,” or “as a conclusion.” Though in some languages one cannot say sin ruled, it may be possible to say “sin was powerful.” By means of...

Mount Carmel ‎Coming back to Lydda, we start with our pilgrims again toward Nazareth. The route north of Lydda is represented as leading by Antiratris and Bethar and Aner, in the Tretrarchy of Herod Archelaus. Entering the plain of Esdrælon, they would be in sight of Mount Carmel, overlooking the sea to their left. Carmel is one of the prominent objects in sight of which Christ grew up. It is one of the sacred mountains of Palestine. It is associated especially with Elijah— 1 Kings 17:30 . One thinks of the “Altar of God,” the “River Kishon,” and the failure of the “Priests of Baal.” The sea is invisible from the traditional spot of Elijah’s miracle, therefore the Prophet’s servant must have climbed to a higher point of Carmel to see a “little cloud no bigger than a man’s hand spring gradually over the sea.” Carmel is described as “a triangular block of mountains, the apex being the promontory on which the Carmelite monastery stands.” The little town of Haifa nes...

Haman’s Great Hatred ‎After that first feast, Haman left the royal palace, much elated, as indeed to all appearances he might be. Never had his position among these foreigners seemed so assured, his elevation so high. The honor that day accorded him had been most unusual. Not only had he been permitted to behold the carefully secluded queen; but he, he alone, had dined with her and with the king in privacy. ‎Yet even as Haman passed out from the palace he encountered Mordecai; and, as before, the Jew did him no reverence. It was like a sudden chill to Haman’s confidence, this shadowy opponent, grim and silent, scorning him in the very moment of his triumph. He went home to his friends and his wife; he boasted to them of all his wealth and power, of this last great favor the queen had done him; yet he suddenly ended all his vaporizing with that grim outcry which has become the traditional echo of wounded vanity, “Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai t...

Phylacteries with Scriptures phy·lac·ter·y [fi- lak -t uh -ree] NOUN  [PLURAL PHY·LAC·TER·IES.] 1. Judaism. either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses 4–9 of Deut. 6, 13–21 of Deut. 11, and 1–16 of Ex. 13: one is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish men. 2. (in the early Christian church) a receptacle containing a holy relic. 3. an amulet, charm, or safeguard against harm or danger.

Carmel in Judah ‎Carmel in Judah, not to be confused with Mount Carmel, was situated about 7 miles (11 km) south of Hebron in the tribal allotment of Judah. The town was home of Nabal, Abigail’s first husband, who insulted David so badly that David nearly killed him for it, restrained only by God’s wisdom spoken through Abigail. The tower shown in the picture was built in the twelfth century A.D. ‎ Josh 15:55 , 1 Sam 15:12 , 1 Sam 25:2

Redemption Ephesians 1:7 The means of redemption is the sacrificial substitutionary death of Christ (through His blood; cf . Eph. 2:13 ; 1 Peter 1:19 ), which completely satisfied God’s justice ( Rom. 3:24–25 ). This was accomplished in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ( cf . Eph. 1:6 ; Eph. 2:7 ). The cost of Christ’s blood is the measure of the wealth of God’s unmerited favor to every believer. It was accomplished not “out of” but “according to” ( kata ) the wealth of His grace ( cf . Phil. 4:19 ). Six times in Ephesians Paul referred to God’s riches ( Eph. 1:7 , Eph. 1:18 ; Eph. 2:4 , Eph. 2:7 ; Eph. 3:8 , Eph. 3:16 ). Hoehner, Harold W. “Ephesians.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 618. Print.

Roman Military Triumphs 2 Corinthians 2:14     But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. A Roman military triumphal procession was one of the grandest spectacles of ancient times. It was granted to a conqueror only when certain conditions had been fully complied with. Among these it was required that the victory be complete and decisive, that it should be over a foreign foe, that at least five thousand of the enemy should be slain in a single battle, that the conquest should extend the territory of the state, and that it put an end to the war. When the senate decided that all required conditions had been met, a day was appointed and every necessary arrangement was made for the splendid pageant. When the day arrived the people crowded the streets and filled every place from which a good view of the procession could be obtained. The temples were all open and de...

Tomb of Joseph, Nablous ‎The pilgrims from Jerusalem having left Shiloh would in about ten miles’ further travel reach Joseph’s Tomb, a mile and a half to the south of Nablous. This is supposed to be on “the parcel of ground purchased by Jacob,” and is an object of great veneration. It stands at the eastern entrance to the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Mohammedans agree on the identity of this sacred place. The low-domed mosque gleams white against the mountain back ground. The tomb itself is about six feet long and four feet high, covered with ordinary plaster, which has been whitewashed, as are all the Moslem graves of the country. Within the entrance to the inclosure is the vine “whose branches run over the wall,” recording the words of Jacob when he blessed Joseph. Hebrew, Arabic and Samaritan inscriptions are on the wall. It is really the tomb that should mark the resting place of the bones of Joseph, the Hebrew prince of ...

The Burning of Jerusalem ‎Nebuchadnezzar, at the time of the carrying away of that first train of captives, did not wholly destroy Jerusalem. On the contrary, he accepted the Jews as subjects, and placed over their heads as his vice-king a third son of Josiah, to whom the conqueror gave the new name of Zedekiah. ‎For eleven years Zedekiah ruled in shame and sin, then, encouraged apparently by the Egyptian government, he rebelled against Babylon. This time Nebuchadnezzar did not come in person against Jerusalem; he sent one of his generals, who besieged the city. When the pinch of famine came, King Zedekiah attempted to break out with his troops and escape. He was captured; his sons were all slain before his eyes, and then, that his might be the last sight those eyes should ever behold, he was blinded, and kept a prisoner until his death. ‎Meanwhile Jerusalem itself was stormed, and set on fire. Massacre was let loose in every street. The huge walls and gorgeous buildings we...

October 30   He placed … cherubim's, and a flaming sword … to keep the way of the tree of life.… Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree at life         Gen. 3:24 ; Rev. 22:14 How remarkable and how beautiful it is that the last page of the Revelation should come bending round to touch the first page of Genesis! The history of man began with angels with frowning faces and flaming swords barring the way to the Tree of Life. It ends with the guard of cherubim withdrawn; or rather, perhaps, sheathing their swords and becoming guides to the no longer forbidden fruit, instead of being its guards. That is the Bible’s grand symbolical way of saying that all between—the sin, the misery, the death—is a parenthesis. God’s purpose is not going to be thwarted. The end of His majestic march through history is to be men’s access to the Tree of Life, from which, for the dreary ages that are but as a moment in the great eterniti...

October 30: An Obstructed View Daniel 9:1–10:21 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–17 ; Job 42:1–9 We need to see ourselves as we truly are, but we can’t do that on our own. Our communities can help us glimpse a more accurate reflection, but we truly know ourselves only when we know God. His light brings us understanding. After suffering incredible loss, Job tries to understand his pain. He speaks some truth, but he often misunderstands God’s motives and minimizes His love. As his friends try to help him grapple with his grief, they sometimes point out truth, but more often they cause even more pain and confusion. It’s only when God arrives to enlighten Job’s understanding that everything changes. First God questions Job’s knowledge ( Job 38:19–21 ), power ( Job 38:25–38 ), and ideas about justice ( Job 40:10–12 ). Then He shows Job that He is all of these things. The realization exposes Job’s heart. “Then Job answered Yahweh and said, ‘I know that you can do all things, and any scheme from ...

October 30th Faith Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Hebrews 11:6 . Faith in antagonism to common sense is fanaticism, and common sense in antagonism to faith is rationalism. The life of faith brings the two into a right relation. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual; of impulse and inspiration. Nothing Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, it is revelation sense, and it reaches the shores where common sense fails. Faith must be tried before the reality of faith is actual. “We know that all things work together for good,” then no matter what happens, the alchemy of God’s providence transfigures the ideal faith into actual reality. Faith always works on the personal line, the whole purpose of God being to see that the ideal faith is made real in His children. For every detail of the commonsense life, there is a revelation fact of God whereby we can prove in practical experie...

Morning, October 30       Go To Evening Reading           “I will praise thee, O Lord.”            — Psalm 9:1 Praise should always follow answered prayer; as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Hath the Lord been gracious to thee, and inclined his ear to the voice of thy supplication? Then praise him as long as thou livest. Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life. Deny not a song to him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the desire of thy heart. To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude; it is to act as basely as the nine lepers, who after they had been cured of their leprosy, returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord. To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remo...

Elijah Prays for the Widow’s Son ‎ The poor widow readily brought Elijah drink, even as Rebecca had once given water to Abraham’s steward. But when the prophet asked further that she should take him to her house and give him food, she burst into weeping, and told him her sad plight. She had at home but one more handful of meal and a trifle of oil. With the sticks she was gathering she meant to cook these into one last meal for herself and her little son, and then lie down and die. ‎At once Elijah saw why he had been sent thither, that it was not solely for his own good, and that God values every soul, that He knows and feels for every pang. “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not.… For thus saith the Lord God of Israel. The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.” So these two strangely met companions went together to the widow’s house, and dwelt there, sustained equally by the bounty of th...

Myrrh Resin ‎Myrrh, costly since Bible times, has many uses. The Egyptians used it for embalming, and most cultures in Bible lands burned it as incense or used the essential oil, alone or in combinations, as a perfume, salve, or ointment. Medicinally, it may help regulate cholesterol and sugars in the blood. Myrrh shows analgesic activity in experiments on rats. ‎ Gen 37:25 , Esth 2:12 , Ps 45:8 , Prov 7:17 , Song 1:13 , Matt 2:11 , Mark 15:23 , John 19:39 , Rev 18:13 ‎Image by Birgit Lachner, from Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Faith and Victory Living in obedience to God is the life of faith—a victory over the ways and wiles of the world. Our faith is in the victory of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, over the power of sin and death. Knowles, Andrew. The Bible Guide . 1st Augsburg books ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001. Print.

The Book of Proverbs Proverbs 3:1–12 PROVERBS, BOOK OF. †The twentieth book of the Old Testament according to the Christian canon and third of the poetical books ( Job , Psalms , Proverbs ) in the Hebrew canon included among the Writings. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of largely proverbial Wisdom Literature traditionally associated with Solomon, the Israelite king famed for his divine gift of wisdom ( 1 Kgs. 3–4 ); the Hebrew title for the book ( Heb. mišlê ; Prov. 1:1 ) reflects this association. It is clear from literary analyses and internal evidence that the contents of the book must be attributed to a variety of authors over an extended period of time. At least three authors are named in headings ( Solomon, Pr. 1:1 ;  Pr.  10:1 ;  Pr . 25:1 ; Agur ,  Pr.  30:1 ; Lemuel ,  Pr.  31:1 ), and other segments are attributed anonymously to “the wise” ( Pr.  22:17 ;  Pr.  24:23 ). The designation of the whole col...

Jordan River: Baptism I ‎ Eucalyptus trees are reflected in the still waters at the Christian baptismal site, Yardenit, at the point where the Jordan flows out of the Sea of Galilee. The site is run by members of Kibbutz Kinnereth. Those coming to be baptized in the River Jordan recall the words of the New Testament: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him” ( Matthew 3:13 ). “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him” ( Mark 1:10 ).

One Has Died for All All humans were under sin and merited the just punishment of death ( Rom 3:9–18,  Rom 3: 23;  Rom 3: 5:12 ). We can say that one died as a representative of all and brought benefits to all because that one died instead of all. 751 It follows that “If ‘one died for all,’ then such a ‘one’ must be uniquely significant.” 752 While belief in God today is almost universal, much of the world stumbles over ascribing anything universally significant about Jesus of Nazareth. They may admire his pithy sayings and lament his tragic martyrdom. The lifeblood of the gospel, however, courses from the central truth that in Christ God became one with the human race, that he died for all, and that his resurrection breaks the stranglehold of death. How many people are covered by the “all” ? Texts such as Col 1:20 , which speaks of God reconciling “to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cro...

Columns, Temple of Trajan, Pergamum ‎ Columns in the Trajaneum, the temple that Roman emperor Hadrian built in Pergamum to honor his predecessor and adoptive father, Trajan.

The Head of the Son of Man Revelation 1:14 Ver. 14 .—His head. From the garments of the great High Priest, St. John passes on to himself. What he had seen as a momentary foretaste of glory at the Transfiguration, he sees now as the abiding condition of the Christ. In Dan. 7:9 “the Ancient of days” has “the hair of his head like pure wool.” This snowy whiteness is partly the brightness of heavenly glory, partly the majesty of the hoary head. The Christ appears to St. John as a son of man, but also as a “Divine Person invested with the attributes of eternity.” As a flame of fire. “The Lord thy God is a consuming fire” ( Deut. 4:24 ). “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins” ( Jer. 17:10 ). The flame purifies the conscience and kindles the affections. Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. Revelation . London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909. Print. The Pulpit Commentary.

The Mount of Olives from the Jericho Road ‎This view was taken by our artist after his return from Jericho on Friday, April 26, 1894. We have left Bethany. We shall soon turn around the brow of Olivet and see the Holy City before us. The lofty dome of the Russian church crowns the summit of Olivet. After the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his visit to the temple Jesus returned to Bethany. The next morning as He went into the city again He pronounced a ban upon the fig tree, and it withered. Having cleansed the temple, He returned to Bethany. This, if our chronology be correct, was on Friday, March 31, A. D. 30. On Saturday, the 1st of April, He was anointed by Mary; on Sunday, April 2nd, He entered triumphantly into Jerusalem, visited the temple and returned to Bethany. It was on Monday, April 3rd, that the barren fig tree was cursed and the temple cleansed, and on Friday, April 4th, that the fig tree was found withered on the Mount of Olives. Let us move on toward the Ho...

The Meaning of Teaching Proverbs 3:1 Teaching renders the Hebrew word Torah, as used in Pr.1:8 where the learner was advised not to forsake his mother’s “teaching.” The term should not be translated as “law” in these contexts, even though the law lies behind and supports the teaching given by the wise ones. Reyburn, William David, and Euan McG. Fry. A Handbook on Proverbs. New York: United Bible Societies, 2000. Print. UBS Handbook Series.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

October 29   He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded         John 13:4 , 5 Acts are common and mean because they are ordinarily expressive of the common and mean thoughts of men. Let us not accuse the acts that make up our daily life of meanness, but our ignoble souls that reveal themselves so unworthily through those acts. The same act may successively mount up through every intermediate stage from the depth of unworthiness to a transcendent height of excellence, according to the soul that is manifested by it. One of the glorious ends of our Lord’s incarnation was that He might propitiate us with the details of life, so that we should not disdain these as insignificant, but rather disdain ourselves for our inability to make these details interpreters of a noble ...

October 29: Apocalyptic at Its Best Daniel 7:1–8:27 ; 2 Thessalonians 1:1–12 ; Job 41:21–34 Daniel is full of spooky scenes. If Daniel doesn’t scare you a bit, you’ve probably watched too many horror movies. Apocalyptic literature in the Bible has a way of playing tricks on us. It’s full of vivid imagery that can be haunting—and that’s intentional. The pictures it paints are meant to stay with us. We’re meant to remember what these passages are teaching. Of course, the same can be said of the entire Bible , but apocalyptic literature is especially vivid because its message requires us to choose: to follow or to turn away from God at the most important time—the end. The dreams Daniel has, including those recorded in Dan 7:3–14 , are images of what is and is to come. The beasts in Daniel were evocative symbols for his audience. When they heard of the lion with eagles, they envisioned Babylon ( Dan 7:4 ). When the bear appeared, they thought of Media ( Dan 7:5 ). Likewise, the ...

October 29th Substitution He hath made Him to be sin for us, … that we might be made the righteousness of God.… 2 Cor. 5:21 . The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy. The New Testament view is that He bore our sin not by sympathy, but by identification. He was made to be sin. Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the explanation of His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy with us. We are acceptable with God not because we have obeyed, or because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and in no other way. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the Fatherhood of God, the loving-kindness of God; the New Testament says He came to bear away the sin of the world. The revelation of His Father is to those to whom He has been introduced as Saviour: Jesus Christ never spoke of Himself to the world as one Who revealed the Father, but as a stumbling-block ( see John...

Morning, October 29       Go To Evening Reading           “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, etc.”           — Matthew 6:9 This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, “Our Father.” There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, “I will arise, and go unto my Father.” This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father “in heaven,” and ascends to devout adoration, “Hallowed be thy name.” The child lisping, “Abba, Father,” grows into the cherub crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration— “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God— “Give us this day our daily bread.” Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he...

Brick Makers at Work Brick makers at work; a wooden model from an ancient Egyptian tomb. The Israelites in Egypt were brick makers ( Exod. 5:6–9 ). Dearman, J. Andrew. “Brick.” Ed. Mark Allan Powell. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) 2011 : 106. Print.

October 28   Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you         John 16:23 Prayer must be based upon promise, but, thank God, His promises are always broader than our prayers! No fear of building inverted pyramids here, for Jesus Christ is the foundation. Frances Ridley Havergal Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

October 28: Respect Daniel 5:1–6:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:12–28 ; Job 41:10–20 Instead of easing the burdens of our church leaders, we often add to them. The sometimes thankless job of ministry is weighed down with our taking and not giving, our complaining, and our squirming under authority. We can see from Paul’s letters that church communities haven’t changed much since the first century. In his letter to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul requests: “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and rule over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them beyond all measure in love, because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves” ( 1 Thess 5:12 ). A passage like this might convict us for our bad attitude or lack of service. We might make a greater effort to love and respect those who are in positions of authority. Or we might try to ease the load of our leaders by serving in our communities. But unless we address the disorder within our hearts, our...

October 28th 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 d...

Morning, October 28       Go To Evening Reading          “I have chosen you out of the world.”           — John 15:19 Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard; for some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to dwell upon this high doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of richest cordial. Those who doubt the doctrines of grace, or who cast them into the shade, miss the richest clusters of Eshcol; they lose the wines on the less well refined, the fat things full of marrow. There is no balm in Gilead comparable to it. If the honey in Jonathan’s wood when but touched enlightened the eyes, this is honey which will enlighten your heart to love and learn the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Eat, and fear not a surfeit; live upon this choice dainty, and fear not that it will be too delicate a diet. Meat from the K...

October 27   Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth         Heb. 12:6 Earthly prosperity is no sign of the special love of Heaven: nor are sorrow and care any mark of God’s disfavor, but the reverse. God’s love is robust, and true, and eager—not for our comfort, but for our lasting blessedness; it is bent on achieving this, and it is strong enough to bear misrepresentation and rebuke in its attempts to attune our spirits to higher music. It therefore comes instructing us. Let us enter ourselves as pupils in the school of God’s love. Let us lay aside our own notions of the course of study; let us submit ourselves to be led and taught; let us be prepared for any lessons that may be given from the blackboard of sorrow; let us be so assured of the inexhaustible tenacity of His love as to dare to trust Him, though He slay us. And let us look forward to that august moment when He will give us a reason for all life’s discipline, with a smile—that shall thril...

October 27: Dreams of Redemption Daniel 4:1–37 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11 ; Job 41:1–9 I’ve known people who seemed beyond saving—who seemed to have gone too far down the wrong path to ever turn to the right one. But in the Bible we see that this is not the case. God is capable of turning anyone’s heart. One of the most shocking examples is Nebuchadnezzar. In a decree to all the nations he rules (and perhaps other nations as well), Nebuchadnezzar remarks: “It is pleasing to me to recount the signs and wonders that the Most High God worked for me. How great are his signs and wonders, how strong is his kingdom, an everlasting kingdom; and his sovereignty is from generation to generation” ( Dan 4:2–3 ). He then goes on to recount a dream that Yahweh planted in his mind. Before Nebuchadnezzar experiences redemption, he tastes humiliation and endures great trials ( Dan 4:28–33 ). But Yahweh does not intend to merely humble the king—He intends to make him a righteous man who can be...

October 27th The method of missions Go ye therefore and teach (disciple) all nations. Matthew 28:19 . Jesus Christ did not say— ‘Go and save souls’ (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but— “Go and teach,” i.e., disciple, “all nations,” and you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples came back from their first mission, they were filled with joy because the devils were subject to them, and Jesus said— ‘Don’t rejoice in successful service; the great secret of joy is that you are rightly related to Me.’ The great essential of the missionary is that he remains true to the call of God, and realizes that his one purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. There is a passion for souls that does not spring from God, but from the desire to make converts to our point of view. The challenge to the missionary does not come on the line that people are difficult to get saved, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, th...

Morning, October 27       Go To Evening Reading          “It is a faithful saying.”           — 2 Timothy 2:11 Paul has four of these “faithful sayings.” The first occurs in 1 Timothy 1:15 , “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” The next is in 1 Timothy 4:6 , “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation.” The third is in 2 Timothy 2:12 , “It is a faithful saying—If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him” ; and the fourth is in Titus 3:3 , “This is a faithful saying, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.” We may trace a connection between these faithful sayings. The first one lays the foundation of our eternal salvation in the free grace of God, as show...