God's Clock!

John 13:7  Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

In divine providence, nothing comes a moment too soon or too late...

But everything comes in its own complete time.

God's clock is never too slow.

Every link of the chain of God's providence, fits into its own place.

We do not see God's hand at the time...

Not until afterward, will you see that your disappointments, hardships, trials, and the wrongs inflicted on you by others are parts of God's good providence toward you, and full of blessing.

Not until afterward will you see it, but the "afterward" is secure to faithful followers of Christ.

The "afterward" of every disappointment or sorrow is blessing and good.

We only need to learn to wait in patience for Him. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

~J. R. Miller

The "Church"

                                                 
The church should be a healthy, fruitful vineyard that will bring honor to Christ...

A church after Christ's own heart where He can look at the travail of His soul and be satisfied. 

Among the people should be a beautiful simplicity and a radiant Christian love so it would impossible to find gossips and talebearers. 

There should be a feeling of humble reverence and an air of joyous informality, where each one esteems others better than himself or herself, where everyone is willing to serve but no one jockeys to serve.

Childlike candor without duplicity or dishonesty should mark the church...

And the presence of Christ should be felt and the fragrance of His garments smelled by His beloved. 

Prayers should be answered so regularly that we think nothing of it. 

It would be common because God is God, and we are His people. 

When necessary, miracles would not be uncommon. 

Is that, in the light of Scripture, unreasonable and undesirable to expect of a church? . . . 

Is this impossible? 

Is anything impossible with God? 

Is anything impossible where the Lord Jesus Christ is? 

Is this unscriptural? 

No! 

The only thing that is unscriptural about this vision is that it is not up to the standard of Scripture yet. 

The scriptural standards are still high. 

If you answer, "No, it is not unreasonable, undesirable or impossible," then you are saying you believe in this. 

If you believe in this, if you would like to become the church that could begin this reformation, this change toward the better, this recapturing of the ancient power of God in the souls of people...

Then there must be a radical psychological break with the prevailing religious mood.

~A. W. Tozer 

For the church to be Church each of us Must Live In Submission To Christ the Head of the Church and function as healthy body members through whom He can reach out in this world. 

Are we so living?

Renew Your Church, O Lord. Renew me. In Jesus' name.

The Waves Were None Of His Business

Mat 14:29  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
 
Mat 14:30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Peter had a little faith in the midst of his doubts, says Bunyan; and so with crying and coming he was brought to Christ.

But here you see that sight was a hindrance...

The waves were none of his business when once he had set out...

All Peter had any concern with, was the pathway of light that came gleaming across the darkness from where Christ stood. 

If it was tenfold Egypt beyond that, Peter had no call to look and see.

When the Lord shall call to you over the waters, “Come,” step gladly forth. 

Look not for a moment away from Him.

Not by measuring the waves can you prevail... 

Not by gauging the wind will you grow strong...

To scan the danger may be to fall before it...

To pause at the difficulties, is to have them break above your head. 

Lift up your eyes unto the hills, and go forward - there is no other way.
 
Dost thou fear to launch away?
 
Faith lets go to swim!
 
Never will He let thee go...
 
Tis by trusting thou shalt know Fellowship with Him.

You Become Like That Which Obsesses You

You become like that which obsesses you, which occupies you.

Is that not true? You see what people are occupied with, and you can see their character changing by their obsessions.

They are becoming like the thing which is obsessing them; they are changing; they are becoming different.

Something has got a grip on them; they can never think about anything else, talk about anything else; and it is changing their character.

Now Paul said, 'For me to live is Christ - being occupied with Him'.

It is the wrong word to use, but nevertheless it would be a good thing if He became our 'obsession', our continuous occupation.

As we steadfastly fix our gaze upon Him, the Spirit changes us into the same image.

~T. Austin Sparks~

The Paralysis Of A Questioning Mind

This is peculiarly the peril of the Severely Tried children of God, or the lurking danger in times and places of adversity.

A doubt as to the love, the wisdom, the power, the faithfulness of God.

Few there be that pass through without at least the consciousness of this spectre...

And not many have passed through deep waters and intense fires without a Godward "Why?" at least in their thought. 

Why should it be me?

Why should it always be me?

The ruin of the race was resultant from the acceptance of an insinuation from Satan that God was after all not really favorable to the highest well-being of man...

That there was something He was keeping back...

And suspicion of God has always been a master-stroke against the primary law of union with God~faith.

When this seed of doubt has been sown in the mind and allowed to remain it is not long before every phase of spiritual vitality is paralysed...

Prayer, fellowship, the Word, ministry, service, testimony; and God can do nothing with a doubter.

~T. Austin Sparks~

The House Of Israel Are Joined To Idols

Their strong affection for their idols , their constant worship of them, and their obstinate persisting therein, and the Difficulty there is of bringing them off of it...

They cleaved to their idols, were glued, and as it were wedded unto them, and there was no separating of them...

As men are, who are addicted to the lusts of the flesh, to the mammon of unrighteousness, or to their own self-righteousness...

Or to any idol they set up in their hearts as such: a building, a fellowship, friends, family,

LET THEM ALONE Which Are The Words Of The Lord To The Prophet...

Enjoining him to prophesy no more to them...

To reprove them no more for their sins, since it was all to no purpose...

And Therefore Let Them Alone...

Let them go on in their sins, and in their errors, and in their superstition and idolatry;

God Was Determined To Let Them Alone Himself...

And therefore bids his prophet to do so likewise:

And sad is the case with men when he lets them alone, and will not disturb their consciences any more by jogs and convictions,

But gives them up to a seared conscience, to hardness of heart, and to their own lusts...

When he will not hedge up their way with thorns, or distress them with afflictive providences, and hinder them from going on in a course of sin and wickedness...

Nor give them restraining grace, but suffer them to GO ON In The Broad Road.

There Has Been Too Much Trifling With Jehovah!

Jeremiah 11:5  That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

Perhaps there is a secret contention going on between you and God.

God has spoken to you...but thus far there has not been Jeremiah's response of 'Amen, O Lord.' 

Here you have the one response which a man of God must ever make to the words of God.

When God says anything to him, there is nothing left for him but to bow the head and say, 'Amen, O Lord...so be it!'

This response is the only one that suits a creature's lip.  When God speaks...there is nothing left for man but to hear.

When God decrees...there is nothing for man to do but acquiesce.

When Jehovah gives a command...what is there left for His creature to do but obey?

Any other word than 'Amen' springs from rebellion.

Any other response to the word of Jehovah, simply tells of a heart that wars with God.

It is not for men to judge God's words, far less to amend them.

If it pleases Jehovah to say anything, no matter how stern, how dreadful, or how searching...there is only one position for man: that is to bow his head and say, 'Amen, O Lord.' 

Oh, says one, in the proud spirit of our times, you are making a bold bid for your God this morning.

I am. The sovereignty of God needs to be brought to the front.

There has been too much trifling with Jehovah!

Man needs to have the peacock's feathers plucked out of his cap, and be taught that he is a poor little nothing...

And that for God to speak to him at all is infinite condescension, and that for him to say anything else than 'Amen' is boundless impudence!

If God condescends to utter a command, am I to go and judge whether the Lord has a right to say it?

Shall I take the word of Jehovah my Maker and weigh it in my scales?...

And bring up his thoughts to the paltry bar of my fallen reason?...

And enter my protest unless I can see a good reason for God speaking as He does?

When God makes known a decree, He does not send it to man to be revised. 

His claim is this, "I am Jehovah. I, the Lord, speak that which is right, and let man say: Amen, O Lord."

We are living in the days of the deification of humanity.

We hear so much about 'the glory of humanity', and 'the triumphs of humanity'...that God has become little better than a very inferior deity who runs after man and tips His cap to him.

This is not the picture which God's Book gives.

God's claim is this, "I am the Lord, and you are but the creatures of My hand.

The brightest of My angels are but sparks struck off from the anvil of My creative omnipotence.

When I speak, let men and angels be silent; or, if they must speak, let them say: Amen, O Lord! 

This is the only response that suits a creature's lip.

If you can conceive of a being who is infinitely wise, all-powerful, infinitely righteous, absolutely holy, inflexibly just, and all gathered up into boundless love...that is God.

If such a One speaks...then what is there left for me but to say, 'Amen'?

I am stark, raving mad, if I dare question the utterance of Infinite Wisdom.

I am unutterably vile, if I can dare to criticize the utterance of Absolute Love.

Idiocy must have taken hold of my brain and, alas! of my heart, if I would amend anything which His infinite holiness has declared.

The very nature and character of God declare that the only response for man when God speaks, is 'Amen, O Lord.' 

Oh, for that grand attitude of resignation and submission to God, that bows before every word of God whether it be a silver note of mercy from Heaven, or a thunder-clap of denunciation! 

~Archibald Brown

Is This Like Jesus?

CONSCIENCE is often a faithful monitor, a powerful reprover, and a wise instructor. 

IF conscience is enlightened by God's truth, cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and kept tender by the communion of the Holy Spirit - it should always be attended to, and its admonitions should be carefully regarded. 

Such a conscience will propose questions, draw comparisons, and quote scriptures...which will do us immense good. 

Treat conscience aright and it will be your best friend...

Use it IMPROPERLY and it will be your Most Terrible Foe. 

If then conscience speaks let us listen to it; and if it prompts let us obey it. 

But how will an enlightened and honest conscience instruct and reprove us? 

Take one view of the subject, and one only.

A Christian man gets out of temper. He feels angry. He speaks rashly. His eyes flash fire. 

He is almost as ready to act, as inconsistently as he feels. 

Conscience, is quiet until the storm begins to abate, and then it calmly whispers, "Is this like Jesus?" 

Now the good man admits that he ought to be like Jesus. 

He desires and prays that he may be made like Jesus. 

The question is, therefore, like a thunderbolt. It almost crushes him. He feels condemned. 

He turns the whole torrent of his wrath against himself, and perhaps exclaims, "Like Jesus! No, it is more like the devil!" 

He sinks in his own estimation. He hides his head before God. He loathes himself. Yes, he abhors himself. 

At length, in the dust of self-abasement he confesses his sin before God, pleads the blood of Jesus for his pardon, beseeches the Lord to send the Spirit to sanctify him, and to give him power over his irascible temper. 

Not for one moment will he attempt to justify himself, or plead the weakness of human nature...

But taking to himself all the blame, he creeps like a well-whipped child into his Father's presence, and prays for restoration and peace.

A believer is tempted to idle his time, wrap up his talent in a napkin, and indulge himself in questionable amusements. 

Many excuses are presented to him, the flesh pleads piteously, and he listens to it. 

He becomes idle, slothful, and comparatively unconcerned for the glory of God. 

Conscience for a time seems to slumber...

But at length with a stern strong voice it asks, "Is this like Jesus?" 

He remembers his Master's words when but a child, "I must be about my Father's business!"

And the testimony of the apostles flashes across his mind, "He went about doing good." 

The panorama of his Lord's life is spread out before him, and he sees no self-indulgence, no wasting of the Lord's money, no idling or losing of precious time there. 

He knows that Jesus has left us an example, that we should follow in his steps, and that he said, "You should do as I have done."

He is perhaps tempted to frame an excuse, or yield to temptation...but again conscience, speaking louder and with more authority, asks, "Is this like Jesus?" 

He is obliged to acknowledge it is not, to admit his guilt, to seek for more grace, and again bow to the command, "Occupy until I come."

Many similar cases may be adduced but these two are enough. 

They show the value, importance, and blessedness, of having an honest, enlightened, and tender conscience. 

Beloved, have you such a conscience? 

My soul, have I? 

We ought to have. 

Let us therefore ascertain for certain, whether we have, or have not. 

If we have, let us encourage it, and bow to its authority, next to the word of God. 

If we have not, let us take it to the blood of atonement to be cleansed...

To the word of God to be enlightened...

And to the Spirit of God to be made honest and tender.

Let us take the question we have supposed to be proposed for our daily use, and in all our transactions with our fellow men, in all our conduct toward God, and in all we do, both in public and private, let us test it by this, "Is this like Jesus?"

Is it like Jesus to be so irritable, so hasty, so unkind?

Is it like Jesus to be so resentful, or spiteful, or sulky?

Is it like Jesus to be so hard, overreaching, or covetous?

Is it like Jesus to be so vain, so foolish, so full of jests?

Is it like Jesus to be so dull, so gloomy, so forbidding?

Is it like Jesus to be so dissatisfied with my lot, to murmur on account of my circumstances, or to complain of my afflictions?

Is it like Jesus to be so self-willed, so self-confident, so self-conceited?

Is it like Jesus to be so exacting, so ready to take offense, so backward to forgive?

Reader, is your spirit, temper, disposition, and daily conduct like Jesus? 

It should be. 

Are you holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners? 

You ought to be.

Surely if we tried ourselves thus if we often called ourselves to account as we ought we would have more humility and less pride...

More spirituality and less worldliness...

More of the temper of Christ and less of the spirit of Satan. 

We would have more frequent dealings with the blood of Jesus; we would walk closer with God; we would depend more on the Holy Spirit; and we would adorn the doctrine of God our Savior, more than we do.

We would treat the world, more as it befits a child of God- we would set our affections more on things above; and we would be more prepared than we are, for the coming of the Savior...

Satan would not so easily get an advantage over us; the world would not so frequently ensnare us; nor would the flesh get such fearful conquests over the spirit!

Let us then, as we value our own peace, as we are concerned for the honor of God, as we desire the welfare of this poor fallen world, as we feel our obligation to the Lord Jesus, and as we would be found prepared for glory - let us endeavor to act more like Jesus! 

And in order to this, let us make frequent use of this testing question, whenever our temper rises, or our lusts inflame us, or our tongues run too freely, or our conversation is not with grace, or we slight God's ordinances, or prefer the ease of the body to the prosperity of the soul...then let us press home the question, "Is this like Jesus?"

~James Smith

When God Says No

1Ki 8:56  Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

Some day we shall understand that God has a reason in every NO which He speaks through the slow movement of life. 

Somehow God makes up to us.

How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their prayers not being answered, is God answering them in a far richer way! 

Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains for the future.

If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart, And the sunlight is golden, the sky is blue...
 
While the smooth road beckons to me and you, And the song-birds warble as on we go...
 
Pausing to gather the buds at our feet, Stopping to drink of the streamlets we meet...
 
Happy, more happy, our journey will grow, If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart.

If God says 'No' to our prayer, dear heart, And the clouds hang heavy and dull and gray...
 
If the rough rocks hinder and block the way, While the sharp winds pierce us and sting with cold...
 
Oh, dear, there is home at the journey's end...
 
And these are the trials the Father doth send To draw us as sheep to His Heavenly fold...
 
If God says 'No' to our prayer, dear heart.

Oh for the faith that does not make haste, but waits patiently for the Lord, waits for the explanation that shall come in the end, at the revelation of Jesus Christ! 

When did God take anything from a man, without giving him manifold more in return? 

Suppose that the return had not been made immediately manifest, what then? 

Is today the limit of God's working time? 

Has He no provinces beyond this little world? 

Does the door of the grave open upon nothing but infinite darkness and eternal silence?

Yet, even confining the judgment within the hour of this life, it is true that God never touches the heart with a trial without intending to bring upon it some grander gift, some tenderer benediction. 

He has attained to an eminent degree of Christian grace who knows how to wait.
 
~Selected

When the frosts are in the valley, And the mountain tops are grey...
 
And the choicest buds are blighted, And the blossoms die away...
 
A loving Father whispers, "This cometh from my hand"...
 
Blessed are ye if ye trust Where ye cannot understand.

If, after years of toiling, Your wealth should fly away...
 
And leave your hands all empty, And your locks are turning grey...
 
Remember then your Father Owns all the sea and land...
 
Blessed are ye if ye trust Where ye cannot understand.
 
~Selected

They Want To Keep As Near To Sodom As Possible!

Gen 19:17  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

This is still the gospel message. 

We are in danger of God's judgment and must escape from it if we would live. 

We must not stay anywhere in all the plain of sin for there is no safe spot, no shelter anywhere, no place where the fires of judgment will not fall.

Some people would like to compromise...

They are willing to flee from some sins but not from others.

There are some professed Christians who like to stay on the borders of their old life. 

They are continually asking whether they can do this or that, go here or there and still be Christians.

They want to keep just as near to Sodom as possible, so as not to be burnt up in Sodom's destruction! 

The answer to all such questions is, "Run for your lives! 

Do not stop anywhere in the plain. 

Do not look back! 

Escape to the mountain, or you will die!

Even the borders are unsafe! 

The only safe place is the mountain, the mountain where Christ's Cross stands!

Lot's wife 'looked back'. 

There had been a specific command, "Do not look back!" 

Why Lot's wife looked back is not explained. 

Was it curiosity to see the nature of the terrible destruction that she heard roaring behind her? 

Or was it her dismay as she thought of her beautiful home, with all its wealth of furnishing and decoration, and all her jewels and garments and other possessions which were now being consumed in the great conflagration?

It would seem to be, that she was appalled at the thought of leaving and losing all her beloved possessions...

And paused in her flight and looked back, with the hope that possibly she might yet run back and snatch some of the ornaments or gems, something, at least, from the awful destruction.

But Lot's wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt!

Remember Lot's wife! Luke 17:32. 

We should not miss the 'lesson' which our Lord Himself teaches us from the tragic fate of this woman...

We cannot have both worlds!

Lot's wife could have escaped with her husband and her daughters but she could escape only by resolutely and determinedly leaving everything she had in Sodom. 

Her love for her possessions, cost her her life!

Just so, there are thousands today, to whom God's message comes, "Run for your lives! 

Do not stop anywhere in the plain. 

Do not look back! 

Escape to the mountain, or you will die!

They somewhat desire to follow Christ  but their love for the world is so intense that they cannot give it up they cannot renounce it.

They must decide, however, which they will renounce, Christ or the world. 

They cannot keep both!

In Lot's wife, we have an example of one who was almost saved, and yet lost! 

She was lost because she loved the world.

Remember Lot's wife!

~J. R. Miller~

Bearing The Sting

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

How much grace it requires to bear a misunderstanding rightly, and to receive an unkind judgment in holy sweetness!

Nothing tests the Christian character more than to have some evil thing said about him.

This is the file that soon proves whether we are electro-plate or solid gold.

If we could only know the blessings that lie hidden in our trials we would say like David, when Shimei cursed him, "Let him curse, it may be, that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day."

Some people get easily turned aside from the grandeur of their life-work by pursuing their own grievances and enemies, until their life gets turned into one little petty whirl of warfare.

It is like a nest of hornets. 

You may disperse the hornets, but you will probably get terribly stung, and get nothing for your pains, for even their honey is not worth a search.

God give us more of His Spirit, "who, when he was reviled, reviled not again"; but "committed himself to him that judgeth righteously."

Consider him that endureth such contradiction of sinners against himself.

~A. B. Simpson

Before you He trod all the path of woe, He took the sharp thrusts with His head bent low.
    
He knew deepest sorrow and pain and grief, He knew long endurance without relief...

He took all the bitter from death's deep cup, He kept not a blood-drop but gave all up.

Before you and for you, He won the fight...

To bring you to glory and realms of light.

~L.S.P.

Sovereignty Behind The Lives Of His Own!

The Word of God makes it clear in more than one place that there is a sovereignty behind the lives of His own, "the called according to His purpose"...

Which may have not just let that thing happen, but actually ordained it...

And made that very thing, ordered by the will of God, the means by which something should come from our lives very much to the glory of God. 

I know that it is not easy to take that attitude toward things when you are in them - it is the most difficult thing...

But here is something which is concrete as a statement, and it says in a general way to us, "to them that love God... that are called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28): 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

~T. Austin Sparks

Die To The Opinions Of Men

Psalm 107:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. 

All who fight the Lord's battles must be content to die to the favorable opinions of men and the flattery of human praise. 

We cannot make an exception even in favor of the good opinions of the children of God. 

It is very easy for the insidious adversary to make this also an appeal to the flesh.
It is all right when God sends us the approval of our fellow men...

However, we must never make that approval a motive in our life. 

All such motives are poison and deprive us of the strength with which we are to give glory to God. 

Rather, we must be content with the solitary way and the lonely wilderness.
The man of God must walk alone with God. 

He must be content in the realization that God knows all things. 

It is such a relief to the natural man within us to fall back upon human countenances and human thoughts...

And sympathy that we often deceive ourselves and think it "brotherly love"...

When, in fact, we are just resting in the earthly sympathy of some fellow worm!

~A. B. Simpson

Vision Essential To Progress

                                            
You and I, dear friends, individually, and if we belong to a company of the Lord's people, that company, will only make progress toward that full, ultimate end of God in Christ if we have a spiritual vision of Jesus Christ.

Vision is essential to progress.

Is it necessary for me to stay with the word 'vision'? I am not thinking about something objective that you see with your eyes of flesh.

It is something that has happened inside of you, and your inner spiritual eyes have been opened.

You can say: I have SEEN, and that has revolutionized my life. 

That has put me on my feet. 

That has set me on a course.

That has become a dynamic in my life which, IN SPITE OF MYSELF, keeps me going.

Yes, thank God, it works like that.

I know the aspect, the factor, of our responsibility, but God help you and me if it is all going to be left to our responsibility and what we do!

I tell you - and this may have been your experience, or it may interpret your present experience - many, many times I would have given up the race.

That is an awful confession! 

Indeed many times I have given it up in my heart. 

It became so difficult that I could go no further, so I gave up.

It was not, therefore, my persistence that enabled me to go on, but what the Apostle calls "the power that worketh in us".

What is that? 

The Holy Spirit has put a dynamic in us and we have seen. 

We cannot un-see! 

We cannot go back.

The seeing may fade, and it may even be eclipsed by days of darkness and trouble. 

We may know what Paul meant when he said: 2Co 1:8  For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

That was a terrible thing for the greatest of all apostles to say! 

What happened? 

Did Paul give up and say: 'Well, I cannot go on!'? 

No, not at all!

The power that worketh in us got him on his feet again and again. 

Let Elijah seek out his juniper tree and say: 'Take away my life!', but the Lord does not agree....

He has given Elijah a part in his great, eternal purpose, and so he will come up again.

Be encouraged! Are you down? Are you despondent? Are you despairing? Are you feeling you cannot go on?

You still come up again, for something has taken place.

I am calling it 'vision', but that may be misleading. 

What I mean is that something has come into our life which is a spiritual knowledge and has become a spiritual dynamic, giving us a sense of purpose, God's purpose.

It is something that God has done, and that is going to be the secret of our survival, at least.

But for that we will not survive.

We will not get through on any resource of our own, but we will go on in the going as the eternal goings of God if there has been this initial seeing of God's purpose in Jesus Christ.

~T. Austin Sparks