Month: December 2022

^“ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

This is one of the reasons for Christian suffering: that we might be better prepared to comfort others in their sufferings.

“For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:17

The verse is altered in the new Bible perversions with the word “corrupt” being changed to “peddle” or something similar. Naturally, those guilty of corrupting the word of God do not wish to be exposed.

^“ For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:1.

A great passage that calls us to focus on the unseen world rather than on this present world, and it reminds us that our bodies are nothing more than earthly tabernacles that will be dissolved so we can move on up to our heavenly tabernacle.

Christmas spells the only message of peace and love:

C-Comfort. The Christ of Christmas promises,” … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

H – Hope. ” … Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

R – Redemption. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

I – Inspiration. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God … ” (2 Timothy 3:16).

S- Salvation. The Bible says,” … now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

T -Truth. Jesus said, ” … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

M – Mercy. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:8).

A-Assurance. ” … the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:17).

S- Satisfaction. “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).

All these longed-for blessings can by yours today. They are all wrapped up in one ” … unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)-Jesus Christ. What better time is there than this sacred season to receive Him into your heart and life? “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come fort unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have I been from of old, from everlasting.” – (Micah 5:2

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 14).

What a glorious scene it must have been to the poor shepherds of Bethlehem ” … keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8), when, after the angel had given his wonderful message and told them of their Saviour’s birth, there suddenly burst upon their astonished sight ” … a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).

Very glorious and very awful must it have been; and yet, how must their hearts have thrilled and leaped with joy and gladness at such blessed words. They were the best tidings the world had ever heard. Surely no heart that heard them could be cold and thankless.

But the same ” … good tidings of great joy … ” (Luke 2:10) are spoken to us now. Every Christmas does the joyous song of the angels ring anew in our ears, and the tidings are quite as ” … good tidings … ” for us as they were for the shepherds of Bethlehem. For us, as much as for them, was ” … born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” How then do the tidings fall upon our hearts now? Are they ” … good tidings of great joy … ” to us? Or do they enter our dull ears and cold hearts like an old tale that has lost its charm by being often told?

Oh! Can any true Christian help rejoicing at this blessed season? Is there any faithful child of God whose heart can help bounding again at the joyous Christmas tidings, as they fall, in all their old familiar gladness, upon the ear? They call back childhood’s happy days, when the blessed words of this day’s triumphant joy rang so freshly in our hearts, when the old chiming of the bells, and the old words of the well-remembered hymn, and the bright unfading holly, and the cheerful fireside, and all the many joys of this holy and happy time gave a charm to blessed Christmastime.

This charm it can never lose till our latest hour on earth, and which, perchance, shall help to make the remembrance of it beautiful throughout all eternity. Yea, though years may creep over us, and life with its sins and its sorrows, its disappointments and its weariness, may somewhat deaden the fresher feelings of our younger days, yet cold and deadened indeed must that heart be that, even in saddest sorrow, has no welcome left for Christmas.

Yet, though joy is so natural at this joyous season, there is need of much care and watching that our Christmas rejoicing be of the right sort. It is very easy to rejoice after a wrong fashion – to join in all the merriment and pleasure of the season without having any true Christian joy, without thinking at all of the wondrous event which makes this so really blessed a day to man.

Paul’s command is to “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). This is true Christian rejoicing, to “Rejoice in the Lord … ” When can we more fitly and more fully obey this command than on that day when we remember that the Lord was born into the world to live and die for us, when ” … unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given … ” (Isaiah 9:6). The heavenly hosts themselves rejoiced in the Lord, chanting in heavenly strains their song of triumphant praise, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 14).

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Judgment is coming and every secret thing will be weighed. Good cross references are:

Luke 8:17 – “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”

Revelation 20:11-15 – “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Romans 2:16 – “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)

The idea is that of a speedy trial and a speedy punishment. If every killer in America knew beforehand that, if caught he would be convicted and hung before the end of the month, the murder rate would be cut in half before the end of the week.

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Anything worth doing is worth doing with passion. There is no place for half-heartedness in the life of the Christian.

“Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” (Ecclesiastes 10:20)

This where the expression “a little bird told me” comes from.

^“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6).

The ”bread” is the word of God Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said,It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”, and the “waters” are the lost people of the world, Isaiah 57:20 “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” Revelation 17:15, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” That’s the ministry of the word of God: sowing the seed by faith and not being deterred by circumstances. It might take years (“after many days”), but you will reap if you will sow.