Month: February 2022

Many years ago, there came to Chicago a man who sold goods for a New York firm. He had been stealing money from his company until the amount totaled a few thousand dollars. The man had worked out a plan by which he thought to stifle his conscience. He would work hard all day and go out to places of amusement at night, and remain to a late hour.

One day in a Chicago hotel, he was stropping an old-fashioned razor, and, looking for a piece of paper to wipe the blade on, he tore out a page from a Bible found in the hotel room. Starting to wipe the blade, his eye caught these words, “For the wages of sin is death …” Conviction struck his heart, and smoothing out the page, he read, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The startled salesman read the Bible for two hours, and then on his knees beside the bed with the Bible open in front of him, he acknowledged himself to be a sinner and in need of a Saviour. Realizing a new life had been bestowed upon him, he wired the firm in New York that he was returning. He made a confession of the stolen money. This man was not discharged but allowed to pay back the stolen money each month from his pay.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing assunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”(Hebrews 4:12).

A traveler upon a lonely road was robbed by three men. They then led him into the depths of the forest. There, in the darkness, they tied a rope to the limb of a great tree, and ordered the man to catch hold of it. Swinging him out into the blackness of surrounding space, they told him he was hanging over the brink of a precipice, and the moment that he let go he would be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Then they left him.

The traveler clutched to the rope, but strength gradually failed him. At last, he could hold on no longer. He let the rope go and fell just six inches – to the solid ground below. The robbers did this to make good their escape. When he let go, it was not to his death but to the safety that had been waiting him all through his time of terror.

It is the devil’s trick to do everything possible to keep you from being saved. Holding on to the rope of this world will not help. While you serve and follow the devil, your heart is also full of fear. Let go, God’s plan is to save you. Underneath is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who died for you and shed His blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Trust Him today to save you and hand over your life to Him for time and eternity.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

We should trust in the Lord for His guidance. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalms 32:8).

We need His Word to guide us as we journey through life. “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel…” (Psalms 73:24).“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:1 05).

We should trust in the Lord for salvation. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22).

Salvation is of the Lord; He has provided the way. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life … “ (John 14:6). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4: 12).

We should trust in the Lord for security. “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation … “ (1 Peter 1 :5).

Many put their trust in earthly things, and find that they fail. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25). “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

We should trust in the Lord for provision. “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” (Psalms 37:3). “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5)

The Lord is the source of all blessing, temporal and spiritual. ” … A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27). ” … no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11), “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1 :3).

We should trust in the Lord for protection. “Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me” (Psalms 56:2-4).

As long as Israel put its trust in the Lord, it was protected. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalms 20:7). “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me” (Psalms 56:11). “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Psalms 91 :2-4).

We should trust in the Lord for companionship. ” … I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world … “ (Matthew 28 :20).

He is a companion that goes with us and assists us. “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones … “ (Isaiah 58:11). ” … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). ” … The Lord is my helper … “ (Hebrews 13 :6).

We should trust in the Lord for the future: “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).

He has not failed us in the past, so we may look to Him for the future.

“And if l go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

In 1 Chronicles 12:32, we read of ” … men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do … “ In Hebrews 5:14, we read of ” … them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

It seems that the church could use a goodly number of just such folks today. Compromise has dulled the senses of pastors and people alike to the extent that “fundamentalists” see no harm in working with “modernists” -just as long as it is for the purpose of “winning souls to Christ.” We see the sad spectacle of those who once held and taught sound doctrine now working and fellowshipping with cults, and urging that they be given a “standing” in the fellowship of believers. We see churches where once the Word of God was taught now given over mainly to social activities and religious projects. We see the church, once separated from the world, now engrossed in it.

But most tragic of all perhaps is the loss of spiritual discernment which makes folks content to disobey God’s Word- and then try to “twist the Scriptures” to justify their ungodly conduct. It is indeed heartbreaking to see pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and church members in the midst of such compromise that apparently can no longer “tell the difference between truth and error.”

May God deliver us from such a position and give us so much love for His Word that we will “… meditate therein day and night… ” (Joshua 1:8) and willingly obey it, exercising discernment and warning others of the dangers of compromise.