SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022
CHRISTMAS SUNDAY
“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Luke 2:9-11
We have celebrated HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE during the past four Sundays of Advent. Now we gather to celebrate the day designated as CHRISTMAS! It is the time to specifically remember that God, the Divine took on a human body and lived on this earth in the very form of a man. This is an historical fact that defies logic and surpasses human understanding, but God has written as much explanation as we need to be able to respond to this act of God in faith. He did this mighty, awesome deed on our behalf and has made it known how we should respond to it. We are called to believe and accept the deliverance that the Savior offers each of us. He will deliver us from sin, its power, and its consequences in our individual lives. Hallelujah! He will save those who believe and call on His name for salvation!
All that God has prepared for us to enjoy is found completely and only in the Savior, Jesus Christ. If you receive Him, you receive all that God has promised you. Receive this precious and greatest gift from God today!
“….The song in your heart will daily be:
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find.
“Forget the past, throw off your last fear, and leap boldly forward to complete emancipation!
O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found, And found in Thee alone,
The peace, the joy I sought so long; The bliss till now unknown.
I sighed for rest and happiness, I yearned for them, not Thee;
But while I passed my Savior by, His love laid hold on me.
I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, But ah! The waters failed.
E’en as I stooped to drink they’d fled, And mocked me as I wailed.
Now none but Christ can satisfy, None other name for me;
There’s love, and life, and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, found in Thee!
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2022
THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love!” I John 4:7-8
Here we are at the final Sunday in the 2022 Advent season. We have been celebrating the themes of HOPE, PEACE, and JOY! On this fourth Sunday, our theme to think about is LOVE! If we remember these words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about love: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE!” (I Cor. 13:13), we might apply the same statement to Hope, Peace and Joy. When God stepped down into this world in the form of a Babe, the little infant Jesus, I am caused to remember the refrain of the old hymn, “Ivory Palaces:” “Out of the ivory palaces (i.e. heaven), Into a world of woe (i.e. the Incarnation), Only His great, eternal love made my Savior go.” Christmas was a giant step of love from God to you and me! Hallelujah!
This past Tuesday, the reading in Andrew Murray’s Daily In His Presence was titled, “The Greatness of Love.” The following is a portion of that message to challenge all of us to know His love more fully!
“God is love. Christ is the Son of His love. And because He loved His people to the end, He asked them to prove their love to Him by obeying His commands, and by loving one another with the love with which He loves them. In heaven and on earth, and in all our work for Christ and our care for the world, the greatest thing is love.
“To everyone who longs to have Jesus manifest Himself in their life, the essential requisite is love. Peter teaches us that man does not have the power to offer such love. We become partakers of this love through the power of Christ’s resurrection life. Thank God, if Peter the self-confident could be so changed, Christ will work in us the wondrous change, too. It is to love that Christ will manifest Himself, as only fitness for feeding His sheep and tending His lambs.”
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2022
THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.’” Luke 2:10
We have been celebrating the past few Sundays as part of the season of Advent. It is an amazing story how God took on human flesh and lived on this earth as a man. He came to earth (that is His advent) in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the anointed One of God. John records that Jesus knew “that He had come from God and was going to God.” (John 13:3) The Incarnation is a marvelous mystery that we are given information about yet remains beyond our full comprehension. Paul wrote that Jesus Christ was “…in the form of God, did not consider it something to be grasped to be equal with God (because He was already and always was God Himself), but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (See Philippians 2:5-11, where a description of the Lord’s condescension is given) He did all of that because He wanted to identify with man! He wants to be available and accessible to us! He wants us to know that we can approach Him because He became like us (except for sin!).
Hallelujah! He is available, accessible, and approachable to us all. We can come to Him in humble repentant faith, and He will receive us! This is the most wonderful news the world could ever hear. The Creator God, who is holy, holy, holy and cannot tolerate impurity, uncleanness, wickedness, or sin, has moved toward man and made a way for us to come to Him! Hallelujah! This message is embodied in the Christmas story about The Babe born in a stable and laid in a manger. Is there any reason to doubt that joy comes from this message?
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2022
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
We are celebrating the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day as the season of Advent. Since the word has the meaning of “coming,” we are remembering several of the reasons why Jesus came to the earth the first time and why He will return “in like manner” to the earth as His ascension into heaven. It is a time to remember the coming of the Messiah into the world was primarily to save us from our sins. Jesus has appeared for our salvation so that we might live free from the consequences and power of sin. Many of us know that when He came to “seek and save that which was lost,” His sacrificial death on the Cross was required. He accomplished that work on our behalf! Hallelujah! Our salvation is “finished;” our sin debt is “paid in full!” We rejoice that He came to earth!
Yet after He died on the Cross and rose again, He did not physically remain on the earth. After His resurrection, He told Mary not to cling to Him because He had not yet ascended to His Father. In the Upper Room, Jesus had announced that He would be going away to His Father’s house in order to prepare a room for each of us. He repeated the statement, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Jesus knew that His physical absence could be a source of consternation and fear. It was in this setting that Jesus gave the great promise, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.” While we are waiting for our own ascension into heaven, either at our death or His return, we can have hearts filled with peaceful assurance that all the promises of God in Jesus are yes and Amen!
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Romans 8:24-25
It is a long-established tradition in the church to celebrate the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day as the season of Advent. The word has the meaning of “coming” or “the reaching of a destination.” It is a time to remember the coming of the Messiah into the world to save us from our sins. It is also a time to be encouraged that the Lord Jesus will appear on the earth a second time “without sin” to usher in the full effects of the salvation He has purchased for us all. During this special season we should reflect on how His appearing has impacted our lives presently and how wonderful it will be when He comes and sets up His throne on this earth. King Jesus is coming again! Are you and I fully prepared for that great future event?
During this year’s celebration we will focus our attention on certain qualities of the Christian life. They are qualities that are certain to be a part of the Kingdom of God. These are real emotions that believers can experience because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am praying that many of us will enter into a genuine experience of these graces working in our personal lives.
1st Sunday in Advent, November 27 – HOPE!
2nd Sunday in Advent, December 4 – PEACE!
3rd Sunday in Advent, December 11 – JOY!
4th Sunday in Advent, December 18 – LOVE!
Thanksgiving Sunday NOVEMBER 20, 2022
“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.” Ephesians 1:15-16; 3:17b-19a
We are thankful for all of God’s blessings, but today we want to thank Him for His great love! The following is from the November 16th reading in Lettie Cowman’s Springs in the Valley.
“We do not really see the ocean. To do that is beyond our power. Through that vista we glimpse a bit of blue water as though God has painted a picture and framed it with hills and trees. But southward and northward on distance-hidden shores stretches water we have never seen. Bays lie placid by sunlit rocks, and long surges roll in soothing rhythm on smoothly sloping sands. Inlets ripple under tropic moons, and warming currents bear springtime’s promise to frozen arctic reefs. Beyond that curved blue line that limits our sight, there rolls an open plain of waters to realms where we have never been, leaving the strands of palmy islands of which we do not know. And this is but the surface! Beneath are miles of depth, fathomless with mysteries beyond the thoughts of men.
“God’s measureless love is like the ocean. Through the windows of earthly life we catch a gleam. From the valleys of trouble we glimpse it near the shore. On the sands of hope we see it, wave on wave. From the headlands of faith we view a broader tide to the line that blends eternity with time. Our happiest days are islands set in its boundless breadth. Yet, as with the ocean, we have never seen it all! Even eternity cannot reveal its greatness to the wondering hosts of heaven, nor all the universe exhaust the fountains whence it flows.”
We can only see a little of the ocean, Just a few miles distant from the rocky shore,
But out there – far beyond our eyes’ horizon, There’s more – immeasurably more.
We can only see a little of God’s loving – a few rich treasures from His mighty store;
But out there – far beyond our eyes’ horizon, There’s more – immeasurably more.
SUNDAY – NOVEMBER 13, 2022
“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” II Corinthians 6:17, 18; 7:1
There are many references in the Bible about marriage and its comparison to the relationship that the Lord wants to have with us. It is clear that God Himself established marriage as the most foundational of all relationships for human beings. The relationship of marriage as designed by God is the pattern for behavior between God and His people. He wants to be “married” to us, and He wants us to “marry” ourselves to Him. In marriage, there is a “two-way” street for loving, serving, and caring. Both “parties” must be willing to live in an exclusive and committed relationship to each other. One great thing is that we know God does His part perfectly. He calls us to respond in the same manner to Him, and then to each other. The following paragraph comes from Lettie Cowman’s Springs in the Valley for November 8, but she does not identify the original author.
“The coming of the Comforter is a holy thing, a solemn act, and must be preceded by an intelligent and solemn covenant between the soul and God. It is the marriage of the soul to the Redeemer, and it is not a ‘trial marriage.’ No true marriage is rushed into carelessly. It is carefully considered, and it is based upon complete separation (in the marriage ceremony it is asked, “Will you keep yourself only unto her [him] as long as you both shall live?”) and consecration (in the ceremony it is asked, “Do you promise to love and to cherish…for better or for worse?) and the most solemn pledges and vows. So, if the Comforter is come to abide, to be with us and in us evermore, we must come out and be separate for Him. We must consecrate ourselves to Jesus fully and forever, and we must covenant to be the Lord’s ‘for better or for worse,’ and we must trust Him. The soul that thus truly and solemnly dedicates itself to Him becomes His, and He will come to that soul to abide forever, to be its ‘shield and exceeding great reward.’”
SUNDAY – NOVEMBER 6, 2022
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I John 4:7-8
Many of us have been reading Andrew Murray’s Daily in His Presence as our devotional resource. Each month, Mr. Murray uses a specific theme for his writings. The month of November’s theme is “The Secret of Brotherly Love.” I want you to read his introductory explanation about brotherly love.
“The subject of love is one of the most difficult and profound of themes. When one sees the hatred on earth that reached its climax in the rejection and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is difficult to think of the heavenly glory as an ocean of holy, all-embracing love. Think of the state of the world at present, and then realize the power Satan wields to divide even God’s children from each other in bitterest enmity.
“And how shall we, above all, persuade God’s children to believe that this life in the love of God is not only possible, but also a solemn duty and worth the sacrifice of all to possess and proclaim it? People will not believe that it is possible to be so filled with the love of God that love shall flow forth from them as streams of living water.
“The reason so many Christians fail to live a life in the love of God is simply that we have no power in ourselves to love God or our fellow men or our enemies. Such love we can only receive from above when we cast ourselves down before God with a sense of our own impotence and unworthiness, that He may fill us with His Holy Spirit.”
SUNDAY – OCTOBER 30, 2022
“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many,
are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:4-5
We recognize and appreciate that many of those at NBC are “gifted” with certain “talents” that have helped to “build” our congregation. We thank God for each of you! But let me carefully say that you and I are not going to build “the true church” by the power of our talents! We need the Holy Spirit of God to work in and through our lives to build the Lord’s church. Nobody has ever expressed this any clearer than Mr. A. W. Tozer. The following comes from Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, pages 30 and 31.
“So in this realm of religious activity, talent runs the church. The gifts of the Spirit are not recognized and used as God intended.
“Also, much of church activity and fellowship falls back upon the practice of psychology. Many leaders in church groups are skilled and masterful psychologists. They know how to handle people and get the crowds to come, and the operation qualifies as an amazingly ‘successful’ church.
“Part of the successful operation of that church depends upon men with business talents, and part of it depends upon men with natural gifts as salesmen and politicians.
“I say that a Christian congregation can survive and often appear to prosper in the community by the exercise of human talent and without any touch from the Holy Spirit! All that religious activity and the dear people will not know anything better until the great and terrible day when our self-employed talents are burned with fire and only that which was wrought by the Holy Ghost will stand forever!
“Through His Spirit, God is waiting and willing to do for us or for any church what He waits to do for the entire Body of Christ!
“It is the promise of Christ that ‘you shall receive power’ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the disciples were taught that the Holy Spirit would also bestow sweet graces and pleasant fruits of godliness when He could gain control of our persons.
SUNDAY – OCTOBER 23, 2022
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…that no flesh should glory in His presence.” I Corinthians 1:26-29
Unfortunately, the world has influenced the attitudes of God’s people so deeply it is often difficult for even Christians to discern wrong thinking about “Christian celebrities.” In this age of world-wide media, including radio, video broadcast, and internet, many have become famous and wealthy through those mediums. The church has created and accepted “rockstars” in the same way that Motown, Nashville, and Hollywood have made them. The church needs to be called back to biblical principles and godliness as the standards by which we identify the true heroes of the faith. That’s why I especially appreciated the following from Mrs. Charles Cowman’s Springs in the Valley.
“A peasant once came to Tauler to confess; but in place of the peasant confessing to Tauler, Tauler confessed to the peasant. The great preacher said, ‘I am not satisfied.’ The peasant replied, ‘Tauler has to die before he can be satisfied.’
“That great man, who has thousands listening to him, withdrew to a place of quiet and asked God to work out that death in him.
“After he had been there for two years, he came out and assembled his congregation. A great multitude came to hear him, for he has been a wonderful preacher. He began to preach, but he broke down and wept. The audience dispersed saying, ‘What is the matter with Tauler? He can’t preach as he once did. He failed today!’
“The next time he preached only a little handful came together – those who had caught a glimpse of something – and he preached to them in a brokenhearted way; but the power of God came down. God, by the power of the Spirit, had put John Tauler to death!” (pages 301-302)
Then this poem followed:
Higher than the highest heavens, Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered:
Grant me now my supplication, None of self, all of Thee!
SUNDAY – OCTOBER 16, 2022
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
The “final” message, at least the final instruction that Jesus gave to His disciples just before He ascended to heaven has been called “The Great Commission.” Andrew Murray wrote an entire year of devotional thoughts for his congregations in South Africa which have been collected under the title Daily in His Presence. Many of us have been challenged and encouraged by this devotional throughout this year. I was especially encouraged by what he wrote for October 12, entitled “To the Ends of the Earth.” I share it with you all here in the bulletin.
“The fifth truth of the gospel is that we are to spread the message of salvation to the ends of the earth. How could Jesus Christ, who had been crucified by His enemies, speak of the ends of the earth as His dominion? And is it not foolish to dare say that a Jew whose followers had forsaken Him could conquer the world through them? No human mind could have formed such a conception. It is the thought of God – He alone could plan and execute such a purpose.
“Jesus promised His disciples they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, giving them assurance that the Spirit would maintain in them Christ’s divine power. As Christ did His works only because the Father worked in Him, so Christ assured His disciples that He Himself from the throne of heaven would work through them. Whatever they asked of Him, He would do. In the strength of that same promise, the church can make the ends of the earth her aim.
“Christians must understand that the extension of God’s kingdom depends on the united, continued prayer of men and women whose lives have been totally surrendered to Christ. What they desire according to His will, He will do for them. His aim must become their aim; therefore, they must pray continually for the extension of His kingdom.
“What we ask from Him, He will do!”
SUNDAY – OCTOBER 9, 2022
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” I Corinthians 12:12-13a, 27
Last week, I shared some excerpts from A. W. Tozer’s Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts. It was from a section that was written about the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This week, I want to share an excerpt from a chapter entitled “No Second-Class Christians: the Church Still the Church.”
“Do we believe as truth and claim it as we should that the true church as it meets in the Name to worship the Presence finds Christ still giving Himself in the life of the fellowship?
“It is not the form that makes the church or its service. The Presence and the Name – these make the church.
“Wherever people are gathered together in the Name, there also is the Presence. So it is that the Presence and the Name constitutes the true assembly of believers, and it is recognized by God in heaven.
“In my estimation this brings to light a most wonderful truth! In the Body of Christ there are no insignificant congregations. Each has His Name, and each is honored by His Presence.
“It has been related that a young pastor commented when introduced to a well-known church leader: ‘Doctor, I am sure you don’t know me. I am the pastor of just a little rural church.’
“I think it was a wise reply that came from that churchman: ‘Young man, there are no little churches; all churches are the same size in God’s sight.’
“Large or small – it must be an assembly of believers brought together through a Name to worship a Presence. The blessed thing is that God does not ask whether it is a big church or a little church.
“But people do insist on asking questions about the size and number of people in a church because they are carnal. I know all about such human judgments: ‘This is a very little church’ or ‘That is a poor, unknown church.’
“Meanwhile, God is saying, ‘They are all My churches, and each has every right to all that I bestow.” (page 48)
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
October 2, 2022
“…And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.’ After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye shew the Lord’s death till He come…’” Taken from I Corinthians 11:23-26.
In the early years of Israel’s existence, God delivered them from slavery in Egypt and instituted The Passover as a feast to annually commemorate that miracle in their history. In establishing the church, Jesus Christ instituted Communion (also called The Lord’s Supper) to commemorate the Gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Church has been given this feast to be reminded how Jesus brought us freedom from sin and death through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. These two counterpart feasts are the longest practiced religious festivals in the world! This is a wonderful celebration for those of faith!
The following excerpts come from A. W. Tozer’s Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts. Please read them prayerfully to prepare yourself for the celebration of The Lord’s Feast!
“Regardless of traditions and terms and definition, the basic question in our coming to the Lord’s tabled is this: ‘Have we come together to recognize the Presence of our divine Lord and risen Savior?’” (p. 120)
“When we come to the Lord’s table, do we not have to try to bring His presence? He is here!
“He does ask, however, that we bring the kind of faith that will know and discern His presence; the kind of faith that will enable us to ‘forgive one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us” (Eph. 4:32).
“Out of our worship and from the communion, God wants us to be able to sense the loving nearness of the Savior – instantaneously bestowed!
SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 25, 2022
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
Sometimes we emphasize the division between our physical and spiritual existence too much. I know that our physical bodies will be changed from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible, and from terrestrial to celestial. In spite of the promised glorification that our bodies will receive in the resurrection, we must be careful not to minimize the usefulness and importance of our present physical bodies. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about our bodies: “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” (I Corinthians 6:13b) Of course, the great, familiar injunction that Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 implores us to give our bodies to God. The next paragraphs from J. Gregory Mantle reminds us that even the Son of God was “found in the form of a man,” in the flesh!
“Lend Me thy body, our Lord says. For a few brief years, in the body that was prepared for Me I delighted to do My Father’s will. By means of that body I came into contact with the children of men – diseased, weary, sin-sick, heavy-laden ones. Those feet carried Me to the homes where sorrow and death had entered; those hands touched leprous bodies, palsied limbs, sightless eyes; those lips told of My Father’s remedy for sin, His love for a prodigal world. In that body I bore the world’s sin upon the tree, and through its offering once for all My followers are sanctified.”
So that reminds us that even the Savior, the Divine Member of the eternal Trinity, lived in a body of flesh just like we do. He used His physical body to do the Father’s will and work on this earth; now we must do the same! These next paragraphs tell us this truth.
“But I need a body still; wilt thou not lend Me thine? Millions of hearts are longing, with an indescribable hunger, for Me. On that far-off shore are men, women, and little children sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death – men who have never heard of My love. Wilt thou not lend Me thy body, that I may cross the ocean and tell them that the light after which they are groping has at last reached them; that the bread for which they have so often hungered is now at their very door?
“I want a heart, that I may fill it with Divine compassion; and lips, purged from all uncleanness, wherewith to tell the story that brings hope to the despairing, freedom to the bound, healing to the diseased, and life to the dead. Wilt thou lend Me thine?
SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 18, 2022
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:36-37
One of the passages of Scripture that talks about spiritual warfare very plainly is II Corinthians 10:4-5. In the NKJV: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Now read the same passage from Way’s Translation: “I do not fight with merely human weapons. No, the weapons with which I war are not weapons of mere flesh and blood, but, in the strength of the Lord, they are mighty enough to raze all strongholds of our foes. I can batter down bulwarks of human reason; I can scale every crag-fortress that towers up bidding defiance to the true knowledge of God. I can make each rebel purpose my prisoner of war and bow it into submission to Messiah.” Wow! God’s Word should encourage and embolden us to push forward the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I did not write the following line, but I love its message! “We are not here to be overcome, but we are to rise unvanquished after every knockout blow, and laugh the laugh of faith – not fear.”
The following poem was written by Mary E. Thompson.
Tempested on the sea of life;
Travailed sore, amid earth’s strife;
Afflicted often, and sore dismayed;
Look up, faint heart, be not afraid,
Thou shalt not be overcome!
God’s ways are far beyond our ken;
His thoughts are not the thoughts of men;
And He knoweth what is best for you.
Hope on, my friend, He will bear you through.
Thou shalt not be overcome!
Though “the reason why” we cannot see,
Out Father knows – ‘tis enough that we
But trust His love, when our eyes are dim.
Look up! Hold fast! Though the fight is grim.
We shall not be overcome!
SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 11, 2022
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely,
does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things… And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:4-7, 13
After the description written in the 13th chapter of Corinthians, Paul exhorts us, “Pursue love!” Apparently, it is possible to actually “chase love down!” We are to pursue the love that was just described in the Bible and not the romantic, silly, sappy type of love promoted by Hollywood, most of the world, and the majority of starry-eyed hormonally-driven members of Adam’s race. We are to follow hard after God’s love in order to receive it for ourselves and then pass it on to others. This type of love is strong and powerful. It can transform lives and give hope and peace to a hurting world!
From the September 7th reading in Springs in the Valley:
“I’ll master it!” said the ax; and his blows fell heavily on the iron. And every blow made his edge more blunt till he ceased to strike.
“Leave it to me!” said the saw; and with his relentless teeth he worked backward and forward on its surface till his teeth were worn down and broken, and he fell aside.
“Ha, ha!” said the hammer. “I knew you wouldn’t succeed! I’ll show you the way!” But at the first fierce stroke, off flew his head, and the iron remained as before.
“Shall I try?” asked the still, small flame.
They all despised the flame, but he curled gently around the iron and embraced it, and never left it till it melted under his irresistible influence.
Hard indeed is the heart that can resist love!
SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 4, 2022
“So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.’” Matthew 21:21-22
The Bible teaches us that faith and prayer have tremendous power to accomplish wonderful things. The correct expression might be summarized by the words “believing prayer!” The release of power happens when the two are yoked in our spiritual lives and practice. “Believing prayer” is capable of “moving mountains” according to the statement of Jesus. Is this a generalized promise or is it a specific promise? Let’s consider the context in the record of this event.
Jesus entered Jerusalem as the King! Multitudes cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” These were messianic cries that came from Psalm 118 and expressed the desire for the salvation of the Lord. One translation says, “Save us now, Lord!” This is how the word hosanna might be best understood. The people were desiring salvation to be displayed.
Jesus then proceeded into the city in order to go into the temple of God. He was saddened because the very place that should have been serving out doses of salvation had become barren. He was frustrated and overturned the tables of the religious peddlers. The next morning, he saw a fig tree with no fruit, so He cursed it. It withered immediately! The disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” Then Jesus told the disciples that they could do greater works through believing prayer.
The particular “mountain” that Jesus was talking about was Mount Zion, the temple mount. The “sea” that He was talking about was representative of the nations and peoples of the world! After all, the temple was to be a “house of prayer for all nations”, all peoples (especially the hurting and lost). Jesus told the disciples that if they had faith and prayed in that faith, the work of salvation that was supposed to be going out into the world would happen! We can see to it that salvation gets dispensed into the world of the lost and dying by our believing prayers! Hallelujah! This is the primary reason that we have been given this promise of answered prayer!
RALLY DAY
SUNDAY – AUGUST 28, 2022
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:8-10
Often the question has been asked, “Do you know Him?” The one asking the question is inquiring about the personal acquaintance of Jesus Christ. The Bible indicates both the necessity of being known by Jesus and of knowing Him. (See Matthew 7:23 and John 17:3.) It is necessary to have a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ if a person wants to “be saved” and “go to heaven.” So that question is vital, the most important question that anyone can be asked. Beyond being saved, knowing Jesus Christ personally opens every grace that God can give us for living the “abundant life.” Our personal acquaintance with Jesus Christ is the source of satisfaction and contentment. No thing, no person, no place can fill our lives with the wonderful grace and love of Jesus besides Himself! Let the following poem by J. Danson Smith speak to you about this truth!
Unto Myself, my dear child, I would bring thee! Who like Myself thy sure solace can be?
Who can reach down, down so deeply within thee? Give thy heart such full sympathy?
Mournest thou sore that thy loved ones have failed thee? Failed, sadly failed thy true comfort to be?
“Why did they fail” dost thou ask? Let me whisper “That thou should’st find thy heart’s comfort in Me.”
Unto Myself! Ah, no not unto others, Dearest, or sweetest, or fairest, or best;
Only in Me lieth unchanging solace; Only in Me is thy promise of rest!
Child of My love, to Myself I would bring thee! Not to some PLACE of most heavenly bliss;
Places, like people, may all disappoint thee, Till thou hast learned to drink higher than this.
Unto Myself, my dear child, I would bring thee! None like Myself thy full portion can be!
While, in my heart, there is hunger and longing that I might find choicest treasure in thee.
Unto Myself! To Myself – not My service! Then to most sweetly and certainly prove
That I can make thee My channel of blessing, Use thee to shed forth the wealth of My love.
SUNDAY – AUGUST 21, 2022
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44-45
Those two verses from the sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached, tell us that God loves in a way that is totally others-centered rather than self-centered. He does not choose to love only those who we might think deserve it, but God’s kind of love is extended even when the recipient is actually undeserving. God loves out of His nature; it flows from within His being. His is not a love that is responsive and passive, but it is active and giving. He loves and gives continually to all of us! He wants us to enjoy His love, and He challenges us to give His love to others like He gives. We cannot fully enjoy His love until we learn to “pass it on.” As His love works through our lives we come into a fuller, richer experience of His love for us. Hallelujah!
If we want to enter into a deeper experience of God’s love, we must learn to give and forgive. Paul’s description of love in the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, includes this short but powerful statement: “Love thinketh no evil.” The following comes from the August 15 devotional in Springs in the Valley.
“’Let it rest!’
“Ah! How many hearts on the brink of anxiety and disquietude, by this simple sentence have been made calm and happy!
“Some proceeding has wounded us by its want of tact; let it rest; no one will think of it again.
“A harsh or unjust sentence irritates us; let it rest; whoever may have given vent to it will be pleased to see it forgotten.
“A painful scandal is about to estrange us from an old friend; let it rest, and thus preserve our charity and peace of mind.
“A suspicious look is on the point of cooling affection; let it rest; our look of trust will restore confidence.
“Fancy! We, who are so careful to remove the briars from our pathway for fear they should wound, yet take pleasure in collecting and piercing our hearts with thorns that meet us in our daily intercourse with one another!
“How childish and unreasonable we are!”
SUNDAY – AUGUST 14, 2022
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
This verse does most certainly reveal the true mysterious and miraculous reality of the Christian life. Christian living is not adhering to a set of rules and regulations, but rather it is the power of Christ’s resurrection life actually “quickening” (i.e. giving life) to those who have been born again. That is why I especially appreciated the devotional for August 3 in Springs in the Valley.
“The greatest thing that any of us can do is not to live for Christ but to live Christ. What is holy living? It is Christ-life! It is not to be Christians, but Christ-ones! It is not to try to do or be some great thing but simply to have Him and let Him live His own life in us; abiding in Him and He in us, and letting Him reflect His own graces, His own faith, His own consecration, His own love, His own patience, His own gentleness, His own words in us, while we ‘show forth the virtues of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.’ This is at once the sublimest and the simplest life that it is possible to live. It is a higher standard than human perfection, and yet possible for a poor, sinful, imperfect man to realize it through the perfect Christ who comes to live within us.
“God help us so to live, and thus to make real to those around us the simplicity, the beauty, the glory, and the power of the Christ life.
“Two of us were chatting with Sadhu Sundar Singh in my office one morning. The Sadhu had just arrived in London. We knew little concerning him, and my friend was anxious to find out if he knew the doctrine of that ‘perfect love’ of which Saint John speaks.
“’Does he understand?’ asked my friend, turning to me.
“The Sadhu smiled and quietly said, ‘When I throw a stone at the fruit tree, the fruit tree throws no stone back, but gives me fruit. Is that it?’ Then he went on to ask, ‘Should not we, who love the Lord Jesus, be like sandalwood, which imparts its fragrance to the ax which cuts it?’”
SUNDAY – AUGUST 7, 2022
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven.”
Mark 13:26-27
The great consummation of this world’s history is going to be an act of God. He is going to “gather” His people unto Himself, and they will dwell with Him throughout all eternity. This must be our focus! Our full attention must be given to this purpose of God in our lives and the life of the church. We must announce to the world of God’s great final act toward this world as we now know it.
“What a scene of unimaginable grandeur that will be, when at last all nations are gathered to His feet! That will include representatives from all the European States, from Iceland in the far North to Greece in the South, and from Portugal in the West to hidden saints of God in Soviet Russia in the East. There will be many from Algeria, Morocco, and the Atlas mountains; from Egypt and the Nile Valley; from the sandy deserts and the mountains of the Sahara; from the great lakes in Central Africa, from the banks of the Niger, the Calabar, the Congo, and the Zambesi rivers; and from the uplands of South Africa. There will be gathered to Christ many from Palestine, Transjordan, and Arabia; India will contribute her millions; and even from closed lands like Nepal, Sikkim, and Tibet, Christ will gather His own.
“From the Islands in the Dutch East Indies they will come – Java, Sumatra, Bali, Celebes, Lombok, Soembawa, Borneo, and the rest, and will be gathered to the feet of the Redeemer. From the teeming millions of Central Asia, from China, Japan, Korea, Manchukuo and Mongolia, there will be an immense home-going to the Savior. From the myriad Islands of the Pacific the people of Polynesia and Melanesia will be gathered to the Lord who redeemed them.
“From Australia and New Zealand there will be multitudes who will join in the glad song of praise. From every republic of Central, South, and North America, and from the West Indies Islands – Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles, they will come. From the far-off forests and lakes of Canada there will a similar home-going.
“Whether the tongues be those of the white race, or of the red, or of the black, the gathering to Christ will be overwhelmingly splendid.”
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast.
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, “Hallelujah!”
– from the BIBLE SOCIETY RECORD
SUNDAY – JULY 31, 2022
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may also be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
John 17:20, 21
Those words above are part of the “high-priestly” prayer that Jesus prayed the night He was betrayed, the night before He was crucified. What an incredible idea we learn from this prayer of Jesus. He knew for a fact that other people would become followers of Him because of those disciples present with Him as He was praying. He said that He was praying not only for the unity of those disciples in the Upper Room, but also for the many who would be added to their number because they would tell them about Jesus. That’s God’s plan. Those who are following Jesus are to tell others about Him so they can become followers of Him as well. He has no other plan! I was challenged by Andrew Murray’s words on July 27th from This Day in His Presence.
“The great power on which our Lord built His hopes of winning the world to Himself was a wonderful love with which all people and nations would be melded, so that even the heathen would say, ‘Behold how these Christians love one another!’
“The Lord has not saved us merely to make us happy. His great object is to use everyone who receives His love as a witness to win others to His service. It is not only a witness in words that is needed, but also the power of a heavenly love by which selfish people may be renewed into a life like that of Jesus Christ – a life of self-sacrificing love that embraces all.
“Do you realize why some preaching holds little power for conversion? The world wants proof that Christians are better than other people. The proof is that Christ can change selfish people into models of love and self-sacrifice. It is a matter of deep concern for the church and for the world that Christians should manifest this heavenly love. What the world needs most today is a revival of love in the hearts of men and women through the Holy Spirit. This would bring untold blessing to every believer, to the church, and to all those who accept what the love of God can do in hearts fully yielded to Him.”
SUNDAY – JULY 24, 2022
“Seeing then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16
In these “last days” God has appointed a great High Priest that now and forever serves in that role. There is no other High Priest, only the one about whom God said, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4) It is Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, that is the High Priest that mediates and intercedes for us before the one true God in heaven. Jesus said that no person can “come to the Father except” through Him. He is the best, most supreme High Priest that we could desire! We are so blessed to have Jesus Christ who opened “a new and living way” for us to approach the God of the universe. Hallelujah!
The Bible also says that Jesus “who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood…has made us kings and priests to His God and Father.” (See Revelation 1:5, 6) Those of us who believe and are saved have become priests in this world. I suppose that not many of you have ever considered yourself a priest, but if you are saved you are appointed by God to serve as a priest under the authority of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. We will never replace Him nor take His position, but He Himself has given all His true disciples a role as a priest in the Kingdom of God. He wants all of us to serve the lost and hurting people of this world in an intermediatory and intercessory ministry. This is what church theologians have named “the priesthood of all believers!” It is a biblical truth that we too often have forgotten!
Just like the world needs Jesus, the world also needs the ministry of the church to intercede for them before the throne of God. Just imagine the miracles that the church could pass on to the mass of humanity if we just simply do our work as the priests that God intends us to be. Let’s pray for those God places before us. Let’s be priests for them before God.
SUNDAY – JULY 17, 2022
“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8
Many years ago I read a poem that spoke to my heart, so I memorized the words. I have often repeated those words to myself and even occasionally have quoted them as part of a sermon. Here is the poem:
Love this world through me Lord, This world of broken men.
Thou didst love through death Lord, O love through me again.
Souls are in despair Lord, O let me know and care,
When my life they see, May they behold Thee, O love this world through me.
This has been a prayer of mine especially in recent years. It has become difficult for me to know “how” to love people that stand on the opposite side of moral issues than where I stand. I want to follow the Lord Jesus completely, yet I want to “stand for truth.” This seems to cause me confusion frequently in my own mind. The following words from A. W. Tozer should encourage us all.
“I am being very frank about this, and I hope I am being helpful: Do not ever say you are not right with God because you like some people better than others!
“I believe you can be right with God and still not like the way some people behave. It is easy to love those who are friendly; others rub us the wrong way or perhaps they cut us down.
“The writer to the Hebrews has appealed to us as Christian believers to ‘let brotherly love continue’ – in other words, ‘never stop loving one another in the Lord.’
“Here is what I have found: It is possible to love people in the Lord even though you may not like their boorish or distasteful human traits. We still love them for Jesus’ sake!
“Yes, I believe you can be right with God and still not like the way some people behave. Our admonition is to love them in a larger and more comprehensive way because we are all one in Christ Jesus. This kind of love is indeed a Christian virtue!”
SUNDAY – JULY 10, 2022
“And they sang a new song saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.’” Revelation 5:9-10
In the book of Revelation, John shares a report of what he saw when he was taken up into heaven and looked at the throne of God. What an incredible scene that is revealed to us. It not only displays the glory that surrounds God, but it also reveals the great theme of His work through creation and redemption. God is seen as the Creator, and the Lamb is seen as the great Redeemer. We are even given a glimpse of the result of all that God has and will do throughout the history of the world. This past week, many of us have read some commentary of this scene from Andrew Murray in Daily in His Presence. The following is an excerpt from Mr. Murray’s comments.
“The Song of the Lamb from Revelation tells us that the redeemed shall come from all the different tribes and nations. The many languages into which the Bible has been translated will give us some idea of how devotedly missionaries in many countries are proclaiming Christ and His gospel.
“Christ came as propitiation not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the world, and to complete the great work of redemption of mankind. When He had accomplished His share of the work on earth, He entrusted the rest of the work to His people. As holy and divine as was Christ’s part, so equally holy is the second part of the work – to bring souls everywhere to know of and accept His great salvation.
“In the Song of the Lamb we find this twofold truth: The Lamb upon the throne has brought salvation to all the nations and tribes of the earth, and the church of the Lamb has been entrusted with the distribution of the message of salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit to all people.
“We shall only be able to truly understand this when we can visualize the great multitude before the throne crying out, ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:10).
Liberty Sunday — JULY 3, 2022
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; …to comfort all who mourn,…to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:1-3
Over the years, I have consistently referred to John 10:10 as a life-verse for me. I am convinced that the life Jesus gives to those who trust in Him is the best life! Hands down! Living as a follower of Jesus Christ is undoubtedly the best, most rewarding way to live. Jesus does indeed give His followers abundant life! Therefore, it makes complete sense that a life of consecration and holiness is the greatest blessing that a Christian can discover. Carefully read the following from Samuel Logan Brengle’s The Way of Holiness.
“’I wish I knew the secret of Paul’s piety,’ said a good man, Asa Mahan to Mr. Finney who replied: ‘Paul said, “The love of Christ constraineth us.”’
“Just then the glorious truth burst upon his mind that we are sanctified not by works, but by faith which works by love; that the religion of Jesus is not one of vows and resolutions, terrible struggle and effort, but of life and power and joyous love. Asa then went out of Finney’s room saying, ‘I see it, I see it!’ From that hour his life was one of triumphant holiness.
“Oh, that all men would see that the way of holiness is not an old, dead, tiresome, heart-aching, heart-breaking way of forms and ceremonies that leave the soul still baffled and unsatisfied, and with a sense of failure and defeat, but a ‘new and living way.’ It is a way of victory and joy!
“The simple secret of this ‘new and living way’ is the constraining love of Christ. When we realize that He loves us, died for us, wants from us a service of love, and then give ourselves up heartily, in faith, to such a love service, the secret becomes ours.”
Let the love of God, demonstrated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, touch you and fill your heart with life from above! It will be the best life for you!
SUNDAY – JUNE 26, 2022
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37, 38
God knows that this world can often seem like parched ground to us. Even believers can have those times when they seem to be passing through “desert places.” At the end of Hosea, the nation of Israel was called to “return to the Lord”, and God would do wonderful things for them. God said, “I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.” (14:4) Then God declared, “I will be like dew to Israel.” (14:5) This reflects God’s desire to “refresh” His people and continually make them like a “watered garden.” God has no delight in our miserable “desert” experiences.
Here is what W. Mallis wrote about Hosea 14:5: “Hosea leads us to the source of the dew-drenched life. It is from Him that this priceless gift comes. Those who spend much time with the Master come forth with the dew of blessing upon their lives.
“The dew falls in the still night when all nature is hushed to rest. What is true in nature often holds true in spiritual things; in this we have the key reason why so many of God’s people are living dewless lives. They are restless, anxious, impatient, fussy, busy, with no time at all to be still before the Lord.
“The finer things are being sacrificed for the coarser, the things of value for the worthless.
“In Job 38:28 the question is asked, ‘Who hath begotten the drops of dew?’ It is one of God’s secrets. It comes quietly, and yet works so mightily. We cannot produce it, but we may receive it and live, moment by moment, in that atmosphere where the Holy Spirit may continually drench us with His presence.”
Robert Murray McCheyne wrote: “God feeds the wildflowers on the lonely mountainside without the help of any man, and they are as fresh and lovely as those that are daily watched over in our gardens. So God can feed His own planted ones without the help of man, by the sweet falling dew of His Spirit.”
Father’s Day — JUNE 19, 2022
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” I John 3:1a
Why do we call God “Father”? After all He is the divine Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and He is holy, holy, holy! He is completely different than we are, and yet we call Him “Father!” We call Him “Father” because He has chosen to reveal Himself in that manner. It is His Spirit within us that actually causes us to cry out, “Abba, Father.” He wants us to know Him as our Heavenly Father in understanding His character, His care for us, and our relationship with Him. Do you know God as your personal and loving “Father”?
Edgar Guest wrote the following poem during a much more home-and-family-centered time.
ONLY A DAD
Only a dad with a tired face, Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four, One of ten million men or more,
Plodding along in the daily strife, Bearing the whips and scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate, For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud, Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day, Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn, And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad but he gives his all, To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen: Only a dad, but the best of men.
SUNDAY – JUNE 12, 2022
“Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them… All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them.” John 14:21, 23
For several years in the ministry of the Released-time Bible Program we used a song entitled, “O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E!” The main line in the little tune was “Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.” This is certainly a biblical idea. James wrote about faith without visible, active expressions as being a “dead faith.” (See James 2:18) John wrote about love that is only real when demonstrated by actually giving food and clothing to the hungry and destitute. (See I John 3:17-18) Both of those biblical authors would help us to actually put action to our words. They have encouraged us to do more than just talk about our faith and love. Jesus has taught the very same principle during His ministry and even gave us an example to follow.
Andrew Murray wrote: “What does Jesus say about obedience?” ‘Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me’ (John 14:21). ‘If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love’ (John 15:10). In faith we can trust Christ to enable us to live such a life of love and obedience.
“No father can teach his children unless they are obedient, and no teacher can impart knowledge to a child who will not listen. No general can lead his soldiers to victory without prompt obedience. Allow God to teach you that a life of faith is a life of obedience. Just as Christ was obedient to the Father, so we also need obedience for a life in the love of God.
“Maybe you think it impossible to be obedient, but think about these words and pray that God, through His Spirit, will teach you to live in obedience to Him.”
SUNDAY – JUNE 5, 2022
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed,
but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.” Psalm 127:3-5
The Bible gives us some very clear thoughts about children and their usefulness in the life of believers. In the verses written above, we learn that children are “given” to us by God. They are not merely the product of biological processes, but they are uniquely created by God and placed in the household of His choosing. The children then become the “responsibility” of the parents to provide for and to protect so they can “grow up” safely in this world. If the children are “trained up in the fear and admonition of the Lord,” those children become an “asset” to the family. They add “strength” to the household and actually become part of the “weaponry” of the family to “stand against the wiles of the Devil.” They are called “arrows” which are offensive instruments in the “war” against “powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenlies.”
We must not “lose” our children! We must nurture them in “the faith once delivered to the saints.” We must equip them to “know the voice of truth” and recognize the lies of our enemy when they are confronted by them. Our children are very precious treasures that we must “guard” with great concern. We know that “Kids Matter to God” as the AWANA motto states. They must also matter to us!
Memorial Day Weekend — SUNDAY – MAY 29, 2022
“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength… Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” Psalm 33:16-17, 20-22
A very good principle to guide us from generation to generation can be expressed by the word-picture, “passing the baton.” Imagine yourself part of a relay race in which the runner before you has just completed their “lap” in the best time that they have ever done it. They hold out the “baton” to you and expect you to grab it and run the same “course” that they have just finished. They expect you to run it as fast as you possibly can in order to pass that “baton” on to the next runner in the race. The understanding is that the “team” can only win as each of the successive runners completes the “course” with the “baton” just as the others have done. This concept is also true about succeeding generations who have been blessed and benefitted by what the previous generations have accomplished and passed on to each of us.
Abraham Lincoln understood this principle and expressed it in his not-to-be-forgotten words of the Gettysburg Address. He ended his brief address with the following words.
“But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
SUNDAY – MAY 22, 2022
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16
There is a very basic and foundational truth taught in the Bible about human existence. All human beings are a unique creation of God with “a plan” for their existence. People are not “accidents” or “freaks of nature.” Each person has been “fashioned” individually by God, hence we each have many unique characteristics that identify us as us. In the present age scientists are able to examine our DNA, the basic building blocks for our physical body, the blueprint for the person that God has created. No other person has the identical DNA that we have. Each of us has a set of individual fingerprints and even a “voiceprint” that makes us different from every other created human being. This created uniqueness makes us one-of-a-kind persons. It also means that we are special and important. We have value even as we are being “fashioned” and “woven together” in our mother’s womb. God “sees” the days He has planned for us even before we are born and begin to breathe air on our own. Each of us is highly valued by God, and we should highly value each other! We must treat human life with high regard and the utmost respect.
The following poem was written by Alva Romanes near the beginning of the last century, over 100 years ago, yet seems so relevant and appropriate for today.
I am not the brood of the dust and sod,
Nor a shuttled thread in the loom of fate;
But the child Divine of the living God,
With eternity for my life’s estate.
I am not a sport of a cosmic night,
Nor a thing of chance that has grown to man,
But a deathless soul on my upward flight,
And my Father’s heir in His wondrous plan.
SUNDAY – MAY 15, 2022
“And I also say to you that…on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18, 19
It is impossible to read the New Testament and not gain some understanding of the church and its mission in this world. You cannot find Scripture to teach that the church will be weak and ineffective on the earth. The Lord Jesus came to earth to redeem all of God’s children, to save them from the powers of darkness, and to “call out” all those who believe and call on His name. The church is God’s plan and His project; He has not chosen any “backup” or “replacement” for His “flock.” The Lord Jesus has loved the church so much “…He purchased it with His own blood.” (See Acts 20:28)
God has designed and provided all the necessary resources for the church to be the most powerful influence in this world. God thinks that the church should be in the business of impacting the world around causing positive changes and hastening the presence of God’s kingdom on earth. It might be asked by some why the church doesn’t appear to be doing its ‘job” as well as what’s recorded in the Book of Acts. The answers to that question might take different forms, but one important and basic answer is that the church prays too little! Often as we do practice prayer, it is not Spirit-born nor Spirit-empowered. Mr. R. Arthur Mathews wrote the following in his book Born for Battle.
“We would be inclined to shrink (I would) from the public exposure of our inner prayer life. That could be because there is so little room for God’s longings in the cluttered prayer chamber of our hearts. We are not in the habit of visiting this hallowed place often enough. Nor do we stay long enough to generate any fervor.
“The casualness of our attitude towards this most important part of Christian living, together with the shallowness of our desires, are enough reason to avoid the exposure of our prayer life.
“The sleeping pill is the enemy of this kind of praying. Uninvolved Christianity has little inclination for the sacrifice of time and convenience demanded. Consequently the church, like the ’ram caught by his horns,’ has lost its attack power, and this at a time when the devil is deploying his forces for a grand assault.
“But for those willing to commit themselves to Christ for this kind of warfare, enlistment could well be the watershed of their lives. On one side are half-developed values, wrong priorities, and a frustrated casting around for spiritual shortcuts to exorcise a sense of failure. But over the watershed, new standards are discovered – new touchstones. We learn how few things are really essential and how essential those few things really are. One of these is ‘my prayer.’” (From pages 98 to 102.)
Mother’s Day — MAY 8, 2022
“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” Proverbs 31:26-28
Most of us know the tremendous value of a mother to her family. We should also recognize how important her role is in our church and community. Mothers can make a very powerful spiritual impact on their households that will influence generations to come. Let’s pray for and also encourage the mothers in our congregation.
The following was given to me by my wife before she departed for her mission trip to Africa. I am sure she heard just about every one of these sayings from her mother.
My mother taught me about WEATHER. “Your room looks like a tornado hit it.”
My mother taught me about RELIGION. “You better pray that comes out of the carpet.”
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. “If you don’t straighten up I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week.”
My mother taught me about OSMOSIS. “Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
My mother taught me about the CIRCLE OF LIFE. “I brought you into this world; I can take you out.”
My mother taught me about ENVY. “There are millions of less fortunate children in the world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
My mother taught me about RECEIVING. “You are going to get it when we get home.”
My mother taught me about GENEALOGY. “Shut that door. Were you born in a barn?”
My mother taught me about JUSTICE. “One day you’ll have kids of your own. I hope they turn out just like you.”
My mother taught me about LOGIC. “Because I said so, that’s why.”
My mother taught me about STAMINA. “You’ll sit there until your spinach is gone.”
My mother taught me about IRONY. “Stop crying, or I’ll give you something to cry about.”
SUNDAY – MAY 1, 2022
“The Lord is my shepherd… He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.” Psalm 23:1, 3b
A well-known and frequently memorized passage of scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” These words certainly offer us wise counsel that we all should follow. It does require faith, though, that God’s way for you will be the best you could possibly choose for yourself. You actually must abandon your own natural wisdom and throw yourself totally into the hands of God. S. D. Gordon wrote the following about this whole idea.
“Someone has said very pertinently, ‘There was no rudder to Noah’s ark.’ It was hardly necessary. He had obeyed God and now was shut in, with God only to steer his ark; for he was on God’s errand. The man who could endure what he must have endured for more than a century, while preaching the Word amidst a hostile people, did not have any fears as to where he was going. The fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the deluge must have confirmed a faith already strong.
“It is a delightful experience when we really believe that God is steering our little bark over life’s tempestuous sea. Only supreme and absolute abandonment to the will of God will give perfect rest of soul. It is this that enlarges the soul. Fenelon says: ‘If there be anything that is capable of setting the soul in a large place it is absolute abandonment to God. It diffuses in the soul a peace that flows like a river and the righteousness which is as the waves of the sea’ (Isaiah 48:18). If there be anything that can render the soul calm, dissipate its scruples, dispel its fears, sweeten its sufferings by the anointing of love, impart strength to all its actions, and spread abroad the joy of the Holy Ghost in its countenance and words, it is this simple and childlike repose in the arms of God.
“God could give to Abraham, because he had made such a wide opening into his life. God can give only into an open hand. This hand was opened wide. This door swung clear back. God had a free swing, and He used it. He could, and He did. He always does. Let this be your rule: ‘Give all He asks; then take all He gives!’ And the cup will be spilling joyously over the brim!”
SUNDAY – APRIL 24, 2022
“Therefore I…do not cease…making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation…that you may know…what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…!” Ephesians 1:15-21
The following comes from the April 18th reading in Springs in the Valley compiled by Mrs. Charles (Lettie) Cowman, founders of the Oriental Mission Society, now OMS International. This was not written necessarily for the day after Easter, but the message absolutely flows out of the message of our Lord’s resurrection.
“We are profoundly impressed with the unlimited resources of the God of the Bible. He never does anything small. When He makes an ocean, He makes it so deep that no man can fathom it. When He makes a mountain, He makes it so large that no one can measure or weigh it. When He makes flowers, He scatters multiplied millions of them where there is no one to admire them but Himself. When He makes grace, He makes it without sides or bottom and leaves the top off. Instead of giving salvation with a medicine dropper, He pours it forth like a river.
“When God sets out to do a thing for us, He does it with a prodigality of love-prompted abundance that fairly staggers one who reckons things by the coldly calculating standards of earth.
“Whatever blessing is in our cup it is sure to run over. With Him the calf is always the fatted calf; the robe is always the best robe; the joy is unspeakable; the peace passeth understanding; the grace is so abundant that the recipient has all-sufficiency for all things, and abounds to every good work.
“There is no grudging in God’s benevolence; He does not measure out His goodness as the apothecary counts his drops and measures his drams, slowly and exactly, drop by drop. God’s way is always characterized by multitudinous and overflowing bounty, like that in nature which is so profuse in beauty and life that every drop of the ocean, ever square inch of the forest glade, every molecule of water, teems with marvels and defies research and investigation of man. Well may we cry with the apostle, ‘I have all, and abound!’”
EASTER SUNDAY — April 17, 2022
“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God,
and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”
Acts 2:32, 33.
Easter is not the “best” name for this day on which the church commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The name “Easter” is found at Acts 12:4 in the King James Version of the Bible, but it has been corrected in later versions with the word “Passover,” the accurate translation of the Greek manuscript. Easter was a secular word applied to the resurrection celebration. The celebration of Jesus’ resurrection was first associated with Passover, but the Bible reveals the church worshiped on the “first day” of the week and began to celebrate the resurrection every Sunday. The proper designation of Christian worship on Sunday is “The Lord’s Day,” because His resurrection proves Jesus is Lord! Every Sunday that we gather to worship our God, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, we are in essence celebrating His resurrection! Every Sunday should have as much excitement as we have on Easter Sunday.
“A little lad was gazing intently at the picture in the art store window: the store was displaying a notable picture of the crucifixion. A gentleman approached, stopped, and looked. The boy, seeing his interest, said: ‘That’s Jesus.’ The man made no reply, and the lad continued: ‘Them’s Roman soldiers.’ And after a moment: ‘They killed Him.’
“’Where did you learn that?’ asked the man.
“’In the Mission Sunday School,’ was the reply.
“The man turned and walked thoughtfully away. He had not gone far when he heard a youthful voice calling: ‘Say, Mister,’ and quickly the little lad caught up with him. ‘Say, Mister,’ he repeated, ‘I wanted to tell you that He rose again.’
“That message, which was nearly forgotten by the boy, is the message which has been coming down through the ages. It is the Easter message – the story of the eternal triumph of life over death; the promise and pledge of man’s immortality.
“The grave to Him was not a terminus!
“This is the day of glad tidings! Go quickly, and tell the message! ‘He is risen!’ Hallelujah! Christ is risen! Hades could not hold Him! Corruption could not devour Him! ‘I am He that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of death and Hades.’ Blessed be God! Jesus lives to die no more! Go quickly, and tell everywhere the glad news!” (Taken from Springs in the Valley.)
PALM SUNDAY — April 10, 2022
“The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He
who comes in the name of The Lord! The King of Israel!’” John 12:12, 13
On several occasions during His ministry, Jesus Christ of Nazareth made a statement about “His hour.” During the beginning of WWII, Winston Churchill spoke to the House of Commons in England and attempted to encourage the British nation to prepare for battle against Nazi Germany. He made a statement that they could possibly be annihilated, but they should fight nobly so that a thousand years from that time, men would say of them, “It was their finest hour!” When Jesus spoke of His hour, it would be best to understand that He was talking about “His finest hour!”
At the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, when His mother asked Him to do something about the lack of wine at the feast, Jesus asked, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4) Jesus did perform His first recorded miracle by turning six waterpots filled with water into wine. So in one sense, He did have some sort of an hour that could be heralded, yet He was clearly saying that it was not His “finest hour.”
Later there were opponents of Jesus and His ministry who wanted to both stop and destroy Him. John recorded, “Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.” (John 7:30) Later in Jerusalem, men again sought to remove Him from the public. “These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.” (John 8:20)
SUNDAY – APRIL 3, 2022
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
Paul’s prayer for the believers at Ephesus included their experience of God’s love in a manner beyond intellectual understanding. The Bible is very clear about the fact that God has a special love for people that is greater than any other love found in this universe. The Bible teaches that God’s love has been expressed and demonstrated far beyond any other. Paul wrote to the Romans, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (5:8) The Apostle John wrote, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (3:16) Most of us have heard stories of God’s love, but have each of us come to “know” that love in a personal way? God has no greater desire than for each of us to be the recipient of His love within our own heart.
On Thursday, many of us read a devotion written by Andrew Murray entitled “To Him the Honor.” It included some very positive and powerful statements about God’s love beginning with the Scripture from Revelation 1:5, “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.” Murray gave a challenge to believers about the demanding difficulty of following and serving the Lord in this world. Then he wrote: “But Christ says that His yoke is easy and His burden light. Love makes everything easy. Do not think of your love for Him; rather think of His great love for you, which He gives through the Holy Spirit. Think of it by day and by night; mull it over, until you have the assurance, His love for me is indescribably great. It is through the love of Christ on the cross that people are drawn closer.
“Here in His love you have the answer to that which enables you to find fulfillment in fellowship with the crucified Jesus. The answer lies in the continual guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit in your heart. Think of the everlasting love that longs to take possession of you and to fill you with unspeakable joy.”
SUNDAY – MARCH 27, 2022
“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” Isaiah 41:17-18
Spring is the time when we observe the return of “green” all around us. It seems as if “new life” appears before our very eyes. It is also the season when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the grave. Spring is a time of the year that helps to point us to the life-giving power of our God. I pray that you will be encouraged to believe for “new life” in your world! God has spoken to His people throughout the ages, and He has most frequently given promises of hope and a good future.
Back in January, I read the following that Lettie Cowman recorded in her Springs in the Valley.
“Over in Canada there lived an Irish saint called ‘Holy Ann.’ She lived to be one hundred years old. When she was a young girl, she was working in a family for very small wages under a very cruel master and mistress. They made her carry water for a mile up a steep hill. At one time there had been a well dug there; it had gone dry, but it stood there year after year. One night she was very tired, and she fell on her knees and cried to God; and while on her knees she read these words: ‘I will open…fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make…the dry land springs of water.’ (Just a few verses later in the same passage she read,) ‘Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons.’ These words struck Holy Ann, and she produced her cause before the Lord. She told Him how badly they needed the water and how hard it was for her to carry the water up the steep hill; then she lay down and fell asleep. She had pleaded her cause and brought forth her strong reasons. The next morning early she was seen to take a bucket and start for the well. Someone asked her where she was going, and she replied, ‘I am going to draw water from the well.’ ‘Why, it is dry,’ was the answer. But that did not stop Holy Ann. She knew whom she had believed, and on she went; and, lo and behold, there in the well was eighty-three feet of pure, cold water, and she told me that the well never did run dry! That is the way the Lord can fulfill His promises. ‘Produce your cause…bring forth your strong reasons,’ and see Him work on your behalf.”
Our God is the God of miracles. There is nothing too difficult for Him, and He has promised to not withhold any good thing from His children. Let’s believe that we are going to see “new life” spring forth in our midst!
SUNDAY – MARCH 20, 2022
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…, you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” II Peter 1:2, 3a, 4b
In our daily devotions from Andrew Murray’s Daily in His Presence, we have been reading and learning what the work of Christ on the Cross has accomplished for us. Murray has been emphasizing that the Cross does more than just cancel our sin debt, as great as that is, the Cross has a continuing impact on our lives as believers. There is a “continuing” work that gives us the power to live as Christ lived. We can actually be “Christian” in our actions and behavior. He repeatedly states that we are joined to Christ in His death on the Cross, and therefore are dead to sin. Sin no longer has power over those who have died with and in Christ! He states that our union with Christ also connects us with His life that He now lives which has been demonstrated by His resurrection. Murray’s conclusion: “By the power of the Holy Spirit we can lead a life of righteousness, obedience, and sanctification.”
Cathy and I were shopping in the Christmas Tree Shoppe this past week. They have changed the manner in which customers approach the checkout counters. There is a large and very obvious sign that states: Wait here until a green light is turned on, or the cashier says, “Next!” I suppose that all of us have been frustrated by slow lines which seem to happen most frequently when we are in a hurry. We should still “wait here” until the cashier is ready for us. There was a couple behind us that I noticed seemed to be in a hurry and pushed their cart to the counter even before the customer before them had finished having their purchases completely bagged. I thought that the couple was a bit rude. Then I noticed part of a word on the lady’s shirt. I could see “SAV…” That was all, but I thought to myself it might be a witness-wear T-shirt. I was a little saddened because I observed behavior that spoke louder than the T-shirt.
About an hour later, Cathy and I were leaving another store, and I clearly saw the same couple, and I was able to see the entire message on the lady’s shirt. “Saved by Grace” was written boldly across the front of her shirt. Then I wondered if she thought “Saved by Grace” was an excuse for bad behavior. It reminded me of the old bumper sticker (that I never liked) which read “Just forgiven, Not perfect.” In my mind that was used as an excuse for acts of road-rage.
SUNDAY – MARCH 13, 2022
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” I Corinthians 10:31
In the hymn we used to sing regularly in church, we would declare, “What a wondrous blessing! I am saved from the awful gulf of sin.” Yes, there is unspeakable joy when we come to a full realization and personal experience of the salvation that Jesus Christ has purchased for us on Calvary. The hymn writer went on to say, “It is like a great o’er-flowing well springing up within my soul.” If this is true in your life, do you tell others about it? Can they tell by looking at you and listening to your conversation that you are saved, and you belong to the One who saved you? There ought to be an intimation, a mark or sign that you belong to Jesus!
In one of Lettie Cowman’s devotions, she communicated about the “impress” that the presence of Jesus makes on us. He impacts our lives with a “new spell; some unexplained, mysterious miracle.” She wrote: “Stradivari of Cremona is said to have marked every one of the priceless violins which he made, with the name of Jesus, and so well-known did this become that his work is still called “Stradivarius del Gesu.”
“If our lives might become equally well known because of that sacred mark by which He said that all men shall know, there would be more people who, like the blind beggar, would come to Him that they might receive their sight, and who, too, would worship Him.”
We must surrender all our life to Him to be used for His glory! We will not call attention to ourselves, but we will have a “mark” on our lives that will clearly identify us as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SUNDAY – MARCH 6, 2022
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
Throughout the centuries since the church was birthed in Jerusalem by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the saints of God have been used to bring life, freedom, wholeness, and the love of God to multitudes of lost, broken, and bound people. Sin and the devil have brought a “whole lot of hurt” to this world, but Jesus and the church have brought miracles of salvation to as many as “will call on the name of the Lord!” On many occasions Christians have faced what seemed to be insurmountable opposition when giving the type of compassionate help that can make a real and eternal change in broken lives. Often there have been sacrifices made by Christians that might have seemed wasted and fruitless, nevertheless the Church has pressed on. In the end God has been glorified, and the devil has been horrified! We certainly are committed to carrying out the great commission that the Lord has given to us as long as the earth stands, and we have breath.
Many great works have been organized into mission agencies which have been led by some of God’s faithful heroes. Two of those faithful heroes were Charles and Lettie Cowman, a husband-and-wife team who worked to spread the gospel throughout Japan and parts of China from 1901 through 1917. That work, originally called the Oriental Missionary Society, has expanded to reach into many other countries of the world and has established hundreds of thousands of churches. The work continues even until today and is most frequently known as OMS International. There are many reasons for the work’s continued “success” including prayer, the blessing of God, and the continued support of many, many faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
MISSIONS SUNDAY February 27, 2022
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
We have titled our weekend of services with an emphasis on missions “Obeying The Last Command!” God continues His work in this world through His people. Those people are the ekklesia, the “called-out ones.” We know that group as the church. We have been taught by Jesus that the church, those called-out people are to be enabled, empowered by the Holy Spirit to fill the world with the witness of the gospel. Because the power is given to the church to accomplish His plan, He had no difficulty giving us the command to make disciples of all nations.
The Lord has an expectation that we will be faithful to obey His command, and in the process, we will seek to be filled and used by the Holy Spirit. Our first response in seeking to fulfill that command is to seek all of the Holy Spirit as possible. We must know that God “has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.” (Galatians 4:6) Andrew Murray wrote the following about this verse and about the Holy Spirit living in us.
“I can rely on the Spirit of God to manifest the life of Christ in me. The Spirit will bring into fulfillment all that which Christ has said concerning His remaining in me and I in Him. Through the Spirit, Christ’s indwelling becomes an experiential reality, forming and manifesting in me the mind and disposition of the Savior.
“Furthermore, the Spirit of God equips me for God’s service. As the Spirit that sanctifies, He will reveal Christ to me as my sanctification. The Spirit will enable me to overcome the world and its entanglements, and bear witness to the wonder and possibilities of Christ’s life in me. He will fill me with love for God’s people; with love for those who dislike or ignore me; and with love for those who do not yet know Christ, so that I shall pray for them and be ready to help them. He will give me love for the whole world and fill me with enthusiasm for those activities that bring the gospel to all humankind.”
SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 20, 2022
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
During this month, we are spending time praying and pondering the real task of the church, world evangelization and fulfilling the Great Commission. From a totally human perspective, evangelizing the world is a very daunting task. In fact, it would be easy to conclude that it is an impossible task, but you and I will look at this responsibility from God’s perspective as revealed in the Bible. God has always had His heart set on saving the whole world. You know the verses! “For God so loved the world (that’s the whole, entire population of the human race!) that He gave His only begotten Son….” Paul wrote, “God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved…” Finally John saw the finished work in heaven, “For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation…” God obviously plans for the Great Commission to actually be accomplished before the “end of the world” as we now know it.
How does God plan for it to be done? Acts 1:8 reveals the answer: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” God has planned that His people will be enabled with His own power through the Holy Spirit to fill the entire earth with witnesses of Jesus Christ. God is planning that you and I will work together as His church to accomplish this great task! He has already provided His part and continues to do His work throughout the world wherever His people go. The only part that hasn’t been fulfilled until this very day is our part! God is still calling, equipping, and sending willing and obedient workers to the work.
In the prophet Isaiah’s day, God asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah heard and responded, “Here am I! Send me.” And then God said to Isaiah, “Go, and tell this people.” He was willing and obedient! God continues to ask the same question. The only thing needed is people responding like Isaiah.
SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 13, 2022
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
As I was reading, praying, and thinking about what to write for this week’s bulletin (February 13, 2022) during our Missions Month, with special plans for an emphasis on our congregation’s role in fulfilling the Great Commission, a FedEx truck was driven to the front of the church building. I was in my office, and there was no one else in the entire building. I heard a knock on the church’s office door, so I got up from my desk to speak to the driver of the truck. He had an envelope that was addressed to me, Pastor Doug Poffenberger, Needmore Bible Church. He asked me to give him my signature and asked me to state my last name for him. He thanked me and left. I came into my office and thought about what I might have ordered, so I opened the envelope with anticipation, and I was caught a bit off guard. It was an official letter, a copy of a will, and a check written to Needmore Bible Church.
I think that wills reveal what was the core of the person’s mind and heart, especially this will that was written and notarized just 10 days before the person’s passing. After several distributions to family and individuals, there were three specific requests for funds to be given to mission works in three different foreign countries. I will not give the details of those. I will share though about the distribution of remaining funds in 25% increments, including #3 that I write in the following paragraph.
“25% to Needmore Bible Church, 6939 Great Cove Road, Needmore, PA 17238, for their Missions Account for the projects of Dr. Michael and Cheryl Gayle in Togo, West Africa. Please thank the Ladies’ Group, especially Bonnie Gordon, for their prayers and support during my fight with cancer.”
SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 6, 2022
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
We have designated the month of February as Missions Month here at NBC. We want each of us to be reminded of our Lord’s plan for His church and to allow Him to make us a Great-Commission church. We want to see the world as He sees it… a world of people lost in sin, walking in darkness, and living under the power of Satan. We know the world must hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ so that it might be rescued, saved, and be given the hope of eternal life. The following was written by my wife, Cathy, back in 2014 for our Advent devotional, and I just recently found it in my documents.
After Jesus lifted me out of the “slimy pit” and rescued me, my family began visiting churches in the Fulton County area. I was unimpressed after each visit until I heard the Word expounded from the pulpit one Sunday morning at NBC. The rest is history – the Fraker Clan soon became members.
But there was another factor present, and my heart was deeply touched through a piece of paper entitled, “My Faith Promise to share Christ worldwide.” Missions!! God had laid a burden on my baby Christian heart for missions, and here was a church that actively pursued missions!
As I think back over the last 17 years, I thank God for the vision He has given the NBC family for missions. As this little “church in the wildwood” continues to serve our Soon Coming King, I pray that we never lose our passion for His Word and its purifying message (John 17:17). I also pray that we never lag in the work of His commission to His bride in Matthew 28 and that the body at NBC continues to go, give, and pray faithfully just as it has done in the past.
SUNDAY – JANUARY 30, 2022
“And He said unto them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’” Mark 16:15-18
That passage above is called the Great Commission. It is great for several reasons. It is to be the first, or primary task of the church in this world. It is also great because of its extent. God has challenged the church to “ends-of-the-earth” thinking, which involves geography and time. The Great Commission will finally end when Christ returns and gathers all of God’s children to their final home. Another reason why we should be knowledgeable of the Great Commission is because of when and how many times Jesus stated it. The Great Commission was among the last words of Jesus. It is largely accepted that a person’s “last words” reveal the true burden of his or her heart. Do you know on how many occasions after His resurrection Jesus gave what is called the “Great Commission”? The following is from Robertson McQuilkin’s The Five Smooth Stones, pages 117 and 118.
- On the night of the Resurrection, Christ appeared among the disciples in the upper room and said, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you” (John 20:21 NIV). With that same heart of love the Father had in sending Me, Jesus said, “I am sending you and with that same heart of love I want you to go.”
- Next we meet them up north in Galilee where He announced, “All authority is given Me in heaven and earth, go therefore and disciple the nations” (Matt. 28:18-19).
- Then we find them back in Jerusalem, again in the upper room where He explains to them about His intention of world evangelism, showing them from the Old Testament how “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:47-48 NIV).
- From there, He led them out toward Mount Olivet where He was to be separated from them; they were still thinking about Kingdom restoration. He told them that wasn’t their concern and they weren’t ready for what was to be their concern, so they should wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit would come on them. When that happened, He said, “You will receive power…and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
- The most famous Great Commission of all is found in Mark 16:15, but the writer doesn’t give enough context to know if it was on one of the other four occasions or on yet a fifth: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (NKJV). Four or five times He gave the command!
SUNDAY – JANUARY 23, 2022
“…Suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ When they had lifted their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” Matthew 17:5-8
If we heard someone say that Jesus must be “first in our lives,” most of us would nod in agreement. The fact is that most of us don’t know how to do that in a practical way. We might think or ask, “How can I take care of my daily responsibilities and still make Jesus the center of my life?” The following comes from Lettie Cowman’s Springs in the Valley, the January 17th reading with no notation of who wrote it.
“We have to get our eyes off others before we can have the full vision of Jesus. Moses and Elias had to pass to make possible the vision of Jesus only. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah says, I saw the Lord. His eyes and hopes had been upon the mighty and victorious earthly leader, and with his death all these hopes had sunk in despair. But the stars come out when the lights of earth fade. It was when Isaiah’s true vision and life began.
“It is not enough to see Jesus along with other things and persons. What we need is to have Him fill all our vision, all our sky, all our heart, all our plans, and all our future. What He wants from us is ‘first love,’ that is, the supreme place; and He cannot really be anything to us satisfactorily until He is everything. He is able to fill every capacity of our being and without displacing any rightful affection or occupation, yet so blend with all, so control all, so become the very essence of all thought and all delight that we can truly say, ‘For me to live is Christ,’ for ‘the love of Christ constraineth me,’ shuts me up and in from everything else as a pent-up torrent in its narrow course, to live not unto myself but ‘unto Him that loved me, and gave Himself for me.’
“Holy Spirit, bring us our transfiguration, take us apart to our Mount of vision, let Moses and Elias pass, and let us see no man save Jesus only.”
SUNDAY – JANUARY 16, 2022
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Matthew 16:19-20
I can confidently say that there is power in prayer. James wrote, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (See James 5:16.) Many years ago John Wesley said that nothing is done in the Kingdom of God except by prayer. Certainly those of you reading this little article must agree with the idea that the Christian life includes praying as an essential expression of our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father. Now think about how important and powerful prayer becomes when it is shared within a fellowship of believers. When prayer becomes a part of our corporate, united spiritual life, God will respond in incredible and miraculous ways!
Cathy and I had the privilege of meeting and hearing a great stalwart of the faith, Richard Owen Roberts, a number of years ago. It was at a conference entitled “Heart-Cry for Revival.” At the meeting we acquired some of Brother Roberts’ written material on the subject of “fervent revival prayer!” Here is a portion from that material.
“The very heart of the biblical teaching on prayer is fervency and consistency. When men are so earnest that they cannot live without the desired blessing, God is pleased with their attitude and takes delight in their petitions.
“Half-hearted praying doesn’t even produce half-hearted results. It is worse than nothing. In fact, it is an affront against a gracious God. God Himself is earnest. He deals earnestly with people and requires people to deal earnestly with Him.
“Secret prayer for revival is absolutely essential. Men must begin with prayer for revival of their own souls. They must wrestle with God in their own closets for this needed blessing. When it comes, there will come with it a burden for a larger awakening affecting the whole church. This prayer for revival must go on unceasingly. It must shape and affect all of life. It must become a burden of major proportions. It is a duty and a privilege not to be abandoned.
Prayer for revival must also become a major part of the prayer life of the local church. It ought to find its way into the public services of worship. It ought to dominate the prayer meetings of the congregation.”
SUNDAY – JANUARY 9, 2022
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:33, 34
Last Sunday, I preached a message on the passage that contains these verses. The theme of the passage is about trusting the Lord to take care of us each and every day of our lives. On Monday, the very next day, I read the following from Mrs. Cowman’s Springs in the Valley. It is from the writings of a man named Bob Burdette.
“There are two golden days in the week, upon which, and about which, I never worry – two care-free days, kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension.
“One of these days is Yesterday; yesterday, with its cares and frets, all its pains and aches, all its faults, mistakes and blunders, has passed forever beyond my recall. I cannot undo an act that I wrought; nor unsay a word that I said. All that it holds of my life, of wrong, of regret and sorrow, is in the hands of the Mighty Love that can bring honey out of the rock and sweetest waters out of the bitterest desert. Save for the beautiful memories – sweet and tender – that linger like the perfume of roses is the heart of the day that is gone, I have nothing to do with Yesterday. It was mine! It is God’s!
“And the other day that I do not worry about is Tomorrow; tomorrow, with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its perils, its large promise and poor performance, its failures and mistakes, is as far beyond my mastery as its dead sister, Yesterday. It is a day of God’s. Its sun will rise in roseate splendor, or behind a mask of weeping clouds, but it will rise.
“Until then, the same Love and Patience that held Yesterday holds Tomorrow. Save for the star of hope that gleams forever on the brow of Tomorrow, shining with tender promise into the heart of Today, I have no possession in that unborn day of grace. All else is in the safe keeping of the Infinite Love that is higher than the stars, wider than the skies, deeper than the seas. Tomorrow is God’s day! It will be mine!
“There is left for myself, then, but one day in the week – Today. Any man can fight the battles of Today! Any woman can carry the burdens of just one day! Any man can resist the temptations of Today! O, friends, it is when we willfully add the burdens of those two awful eternities – Yesterday and Tomorrow – such burdens as only the Mighty God can sustain – that we break down. It isn’t the experience of Today that drives men mad. It is the remorse for something that happened Yesterday; the dread of what Tomorrow may disclose.
“These are God’s days! Leave them with Him!
SUNDAY – JANUARY 2, 2022
“Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:8,9
Worship and prayer are often very closely related. In a broad sense, you cannot do one without the other. We might be confronted suddenly and need to pray without time to “enter into worship.” It is unfortunately certain that thousands go to a time of worship without the slightest thought of whispering a prayer. Yet the truth is that if we want to pray effectively, we must worship the God that we are crying out to. It is also true that we cannot worship fully and reverently without seeking God in prayer. The disappointing consequence of our lack of worship and prayer is based on our lack of time spent in the company of God. Both worship and prayer require focus and attention given to God!
Andrew Murray’s introduction to the month of January’s devotions in “Daily in His Presence” states:
“…We are too focused on our human limitations, on our own weakness and sinfulness, and not enough on God’s greatness, holiness, love, and omnipotence. The thoughts and feelings that fill our hearts and minds influence our prayer (and worship).
“If we dwell upon our own needs and desires, our own efforts, and our own faith, we shall soon find that there is no real power in our prayers (or worship). It is essential that we see prayer (and worship) in the light of God; the deep interest He takes in us, the great love with which He desires to answer prayer, the omnipotence of His power, and the magnitude of His strengthening grace.
“As with all else, in prayer (and worship) God must be first. Prayer (or worship), to be effective, needs to first be approached in the light of heaven and the infinite glory of the living God. It is when, by His marvelous grace, we have been lifted up into His fellowship and love that He bestows upon us the blessings we need. The first thing, then, must be to bow in lowly reverence before God, offering Him our adoration and worship.”