Month: July 2021

Only a blast of ram’s horns and a shout – and God made the walls of proud Jericho crumble to their foundations, and the key of all Canaan was in the hand of lsrael (Joshua 6).

Only two women: one, Deborah, who inspired courage in the fainting hearts of lsrael’s men; the other, Jael, who with a hammer and nail laid Israel’s master low; thus the end came of twenty years of mighty oppression (Judges 4-5).

Only an ox-goad, but with it six hundred Philistines were slain, and Israel was delivered by Shamgar’s God (Judges 3:31).

Only a trumpet blast, the smash of lighted pitchers, and a shout, but by these, and Gideon, God delivered Israel from the seven-year yoke of the Midianites (Judges 6-8).

Only the jawbone of an ass, yet heaps upon heaps of Philistines fell before it, because God strengthened Samson’s arm that wielded it (Judges 15).

Only a sling and a stone, but with unerring precision, directed by Almighty God; and that day Philistine’s mighty men were put to shame, the Philistine giant licked the dust, and God’s honour was vindicated (1 Samuel 17).

Only a few ignorant, unlettered, yet whole-hearted and consecrated men and women, but by the power of God they taught men the way of salvation, which transforms its possessors into the likeness of the Son of God Himself and brings them into eternal glory (Acts 1-2).

As children of the Lord, we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to return in person for us. What should be our attitude to Him and to His second advent? Knowing that that glorious day is drawing nearer, our lives should be consistent with such a blessed hope. We should be:

LOOKING FOR HIM

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The glorious appearing of our Saviour should not be simply a doctrine to us. We should be looking forward to His return with eager expectancy.

It is not to be regarded only as a truth to which we give our assent. It should also be a glorious prospect. Looking forward to meeting a dear friend can give great pleasure; but with what intense joy we anticipate meeting the One who has died for us, and who has planned so glorious a future for us!

LIVING FOR HIM

“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14). Our lives should be very different because we believe our Lord is returning for us. Everything should be done in the light of that day. How different some of our lives would be if we commenced each day with the thought that “perhaps today” the Lord will come. It would have a purifying effect on our conduct.

“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). Of course, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us: that is our standing; but God expects us to seek to live purified lives, and by His grace to bring our state up to our standing. The truth of the Lord’s coming surely should make us “… strangers and pilgrims …” (Hebrews 11:13). on this earth. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that “…your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23).

LABOURING FOR HIM

We should work for our coming Saviour because it is His command. In His parable of the pounds, the Lord Jesus says, “… Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). Therefore, if we are not serving the Lord according to the talents He has given us, we are disobedient. Our Lord has given us a job to do. Let us do it faithfully and in love.

In his daily thanks to God, Paul remembered the “…labour of love …” (1 Thessalonians 1:3) of the Thessalonians. The Lord tells us, “I know thy works, and thy labour …” (Revelation 2:2). Let us not labour for Him merely as a duty, but because we love Him – doing whatever task He has entrusted to us gladly and patiently. Service that is undertaken in love will bear fruit. It will also receive rich rewards.

We should labour for Him because many fields “… are white already to harvest”(John 4:35). There is much to do before our Lord comes, and there are many indications that He is coming quickly. Hands to the plough, therefore, and no looking back! What a joy it will be to share in the harvest.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

LEARNING OF HIM

The Lord Jesus said, “…learn of me …” (Matthew 11 :29). During this time of sojourning here, we should be learning of Him. We ought to be learning of Him through the Scriptures. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). In the Scriptures, the Lord Jesus Christ makes Himself known, and He reveals Himself to any seeking soul.

We also learn of Him through prayer. What sweet fellowship we can have with our Saviour in this way. It is only as we spend time with our Lord that we get to know Him and learn of Him. Prayer is vital to the Christian, yet how difficult many of us find it to spend unhurried time with God.

Because our Saviour is coming, let us give ourselves to prayer and Bible study. What a joy it will be to anticipate meeting the One with whom we have blessed fellowship now!

LEANING ON HIM

We should put our “Trust in the LORD… and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3: 5). He has promised to return for us, that “… where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

As we have His promise to come back for us, then we can surely trust in Him now. If we can trust Him for our future, we can trust Him for the present. All our circumstances are known to Him, and He controls everything. How inconsistent is worry and anxiety and fear in the light of the Lord’s coming. We can have His blessed leading day by day.

In His Word He has sought to encourage us during our time of sojourning on earth, and yet how many of us have a limited spiritual experience through lack of faith! May the fact of His glorious appearing quicken our faith.

LOVING HIM

“Whom having not seen, ye love…” (1 Peter 1:8). The Holy Spirit has revealed the wonderful things of Christ to us who“… he hath chosen…” (Ephesians 1 :4). What precious things He has shown us in the Word of God about our Saviour and Lover. As we wait to meet our Lord and be together with Him, how we should love Him and serve Him.

Choose your weapons! How shall we live? Each one of us has already made a choice. Perhaps we do not even realize we have made the choice, but we have. We are either living by force or by faith.

The Bible says in I Samuel 17:45, Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee In the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of lsrael, whom thou has defied.”

David summarized the battle that was about to take place. It was not really a battle between a shepherd by and a giant. It was not even a battle between the army of lsrael and the army of the Philistines, though it may have appeared at first glance to be a national conflict represented by two champions, one representing each nation. David

declared, “… Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts… “

Notice how carefully God states this for us. Again we read, “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me…” This is the way the giant was coming, “… with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield…” Then David said, ” … but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts…”

“…Thou comest to me …” and “…I come to thee…”; it is always one way or the other, but it is never both. We must decide whether we are going to face our problems with a spear, and with a word, and with a shield; or if we are going to face them in the name of the Lord. We are all going to live either by force for by faith.

It goes without saying that the world’s way is the force way. “I can overpower you. I can out-run you. I can out-scheme you. I can out-talk you. I can out-anger you. I can out-scream you. I can out-fight you. I can out-spend you. I can out-force you.” That is the world’s way. That is the only way those who do not know Christ operate, whether it is in business, at home, or in personal conflict. It may manifest itself in many different forms, but it is always the same. It is not the Lord’s way.

The Lord’s way is to trust in Him. That is the faith way. There is one open secret that reveals whether we are living by force or by faith -our secret, private prayer life. No matter what we say about how we are living, we are not living the faith way if we do not have a prayer life.

Do you know that once you come to the place where you trust God, everything else is settled? The fact that Goliath was a soldier, a giant, and a Philistine champion did not have anything to do with whether David would go down into the valley or not. It was all dependent on whether or not David would trust God. Once David placed his faith in God, everything else was settled. I think we fight many battles we do not need to fight, and get involved in many skirmishes we do not need to be involved in. The truth is that we have one great thing to decide; it is whether or not we are going to trust God.

How are you going to live? In your personal life, family life, and business life, are you going to live by faith or by force?

There is only one way to know Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? You may have grown up in a Christian home and have a Christian mom and dad, but this does not make you a Christian. There is only one way to God. That is to know Him by personally trusting Him by faith as your Saviour. Have you trusted Him?

This decision to live by faith cannot be made by anyone else. By faith, take every need in your life to the Lord. Many people are crushed under a weight God never intended for them to carry. I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Cast all your care upon the Lord Jesus.

A Man and His Soul

“I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12).

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

The Redeeming Blood of Christ

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 18-19).

The Inspired Word of God

“…the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:9-10).

Wisdom and Understanding

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold” (Proverbs 3:13-14).

The Knowledge of God

“Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold” (Proverbs 8:10).

A Good Name

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1).

The Trial of Your Faith

“…ye greatly rejoice…That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).