All The Counsel of God

“I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments” (Psalm 119:59-60).

There are three things that we should consider in entering the NewYear:

Reflection. “I thought on my ways …” We need to think, not just of 2020 in itself or even 2021, but we should turn our thoughts to ourselves and our own relationship to God. Are you saved, born again?

Testimony. “l…turned my feet …” This is repentance. We need to turn our backs upon sin and our faces toward God.

Regeneration. “I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.” This is the new birth. The new life shows itself in a desire to keep God’s Word. May we enter the New Year knowing for sure that we are saved. If you are not sure, then make sure you have received the Lord into your heart and believe God’s Word.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Multitudes throughout the nation will be making New Year’s resolutions. As another year begins, they will want to turn over a new leaf and try again to reform and to do better than before.

While this may or may not be commendable, the fact is that most resolutions are soon broken and forgotten. The new leaf quickly takes on the same old stains of sin and filthy habits. What a man tries to do through his own efforts does not effect his heart, but unless the heart is changed there will be no permanent reform.

What then is the answer for man as he enters into 2021? The answer is found in Christ. The salvation that He imparts changes the heart and gives to man a new nature, which enables him to live and to live abundantly. This change is called in the Bible the new birth.

For all who are willing to acknowledge themselves as sinners before the Lord, there is hope and help in the cross-work of Christ. His salvation is an accomplished finished work. There is nothing more that we can do except to receive Christ into our lives by faith. How wonderful it would be if you would start 2021 by committing your life to the Lord. He is able to save all who come to Him by faith.

“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:9-11).

There is something unique about the New Year that makes us especially aware of time. We look back upon the past year with its joys and sorrows and face the new one with its uncertainties. We make resolutions to better ourselves and project plans into the new year so that we have definite goals toward which to work. But despite our well-laid plans, we realize that all the time we really have is now, the now of today.

None of us know when out time will be up.

As a great French king lay dying, he begged his physicians for time. “I will give half my kingdom for a moment of time,” he cried. But time cannot be bought.

Thomas Edison expressed it in these words, “Time is the cheapest thing that exists in the world and the only thing we cannot buy.”

Fred Smith made this statement, “Great men never complained about the lack of time. They accomplished everything they ever did in twenty-four hour days.”

Benjamin Franklin said, “You may delay, but time will not.”

So it is good for us to be reminded at the beginning of this New Year that time is running out. We can misuse time and waste it, but we cannot stop it. Christians are exhorted to redeem the time (read Ephesians 5: 16). In other words, “buy up the opportunities- make the most of it.” We shall give account at the judgment seat of Christ for how we spent our days and hours.

A little while! He’ll come again; Let us the precious hours redeem; Our only grief to give Him pain, Our joy to serve and follow Him; Watching and ready may we be, As those who long their Lord to see.

The New Year is also a time when many resolve to start over. Many a man or woman whose life is troubled, tormented, and tortured by the power of sin would give anything for the chance to start life all over again. “Things would be different ifl had another chance,” they say.

Well, there is good news for those who have this desire for a fresh beginning. The Lord Jesus Christ offers you the opportunity to be born again! No, you cannot tum back the years and become an infant once more, but you can have an entirely new and wonderfully different life through the transforming power of the Saviour. He will bring into your life new motives, new ideas, new joys, new attitudes, new friends, and new ambitions. In short, He will bring newness of life. A whole new world opens up to us when we surrender ourselves into His hands. The Apostle Paul says it this way, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5: 17).

Would you like to be born again? Would you like to see your unhappy past buried in the depths of God’s love? Would you like to know that all your sins are cleansed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you like all things to become new? Then come to Christ and confess your need to Him; invite Him to come into your heart and life as Lord and Saviour, and He will meet your need RIGHT NOW!

It is Christmas! The best diagnosis of the true meaning of Christmas was given by a doctor over 2000 years ago, and it cannot be improved upon. The doctor is Luke, and the diagnosis is found in the second chapter of his inspired “prescription,” which is known to us as the Gospel according to St. Luke. In the eleventh verse, we have the very core of the message, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Note how clear and sharp is the doctor’s diagnosis! “… unto you …”-that is personal. “… this day … “-that is present. “… a Saviour … ” -that is precious.

There is all the difference in the world between Christmas and Christ. Millions make a holiday over the former and forget the latter. Christ is frequently crowded out of this special day, meant to remember Him the most. Holiness is hidden beneath the holly. The wreath is hung higher than the cross. Often the Saviour is replaced by Santa Claus.

Yet without Christ, there is really no Christmas. Without Him, there is nothing to sing about or rejoice over. Outward merriment all too quickly becomes inward mockery to the starved soul. It is time for us to tum back to that perfect prescription of the old doctor and spend a quiet moment with his words.

“… unto you …” This is a personal message, and there can be no evasion nor denial. What have you done with the Lord Jesus Christ for this occasion? You have remembered family and friends with gifts, but have you remembered Him?

“… this day …” Yes, this day, this very moment! Thoughts of Christmas fill the air, and there is at least the passing acknowledgment of His person. But do you know that the thoughts of Christ concerning you are those of grace and eternal life? He offers you the most wonderful Christmas gift available- the gift of your soul’s salvation. What will you do with Christ this Christmas?

“… a Saviour …” Yes, that is the power source of the prescription. The road from Christmas to Calvary is really a short one, for this Babe of Bethlehem came to die as the Sin-Bearer upon Calvary’s cross. Not “Santa” but the Saviour; not “Claus” but Christ. It is only the man or woman, the boy or girl, who has truly been to Calvary, whose sinful heart has been broken at the foot of the cross, whose life has been cleansed and transformed, who can really and truly know the blessed joy of a “heavenly Christmas” within the heart.

How precious are those words, “… unto you … this day … a Saviour …”, when the heart is open to receive Him.

How is it with you? Do you belong to the Lord? Or are you still passing by the manger, forgetting that the Holy Babe long ago climbed from His cradle and died on the cross for your redemption. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, but we are “… justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

Make this redemption your own by accepting into your heart God’s gift, the Christ of Christmas, as your personal Saviour.

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 Timothy3:16).

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

IS GIVING

Christmas is a time for giving. God’s gift is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable- truly a “changeless Christ, in a changing world.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son …” (John3: 16). “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given …” (Isaiah 9:6). “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

IS GAINING

Christmas is a time for gaining. Obtaining, acquiring receiving. There is much gain in receiving when the gift is of value. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God … ” (John 1:12). “And of his fulness have all we

received … ” (John 1:16). ” … but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

IS GOING

Christmas is a time for going. Jesus Christ sets the pattern in always going to others. “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 1 0:45). ” … and took upon him the form of a servant … ” (Philippians 2:7). ” … Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). ” … give ye them to eat” (Matthew 14:16).

” … they saw the young child … ” (Matthew 2:11). To see is to worship; to worship is to be obedient; to be obedient is to do whatsoever He saith. May these truths become real to us in our attitude toward reaching the lost. ” … Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? … “(Acts 9:6). This can be the most glorious, the most profitable, the most lasting Christmas we celebrate. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God … and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

“… It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

The giving of gifts at Christmas is without Scriptural warrant. When confronted with the question of giving gifts, we usually say, “Well, it was always practiced.” Yet to our surprise the practice of exchanging gifts has really no Bible foundation. It is said that the early Christians made presents to their children on Christmas morning under the pretense that they were the gifts of the Christ Child. This practice has become so commercialized that the real meaning of the Christmas story is completely lost. Yet, we know that God gave us the greatest gift that first Christmas when He gave us His only begotten Son. The exchange of gifts was not between God and man. Therefore, Christmas ought to be a time when we acknowledge “… his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Let us for a few moments examine God’s most precious gift to a sinful world. Its value cannot be computed in silver or gold. There is no human evaluation that can be set on Heaven’s most expensive gift to the undeserved sinners.

A PROMISED GIFT

In the dark shadows of Eden, when Adam and Eve were expelled out of the garden, God promised man a glorious gift, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In this glorious package is wrapped up a promise that the Messiah, born of the virgin, would come and bruise Satan’s head and redeem the human family back to God. The prophet Isaiah catches a glimpse of this generous promise by prophesying, ” … Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son … ” (Isaiah 7:14).Thus throughout the ages the human family looked for the fulfillment of the promised gift.

A PRECIOUS GIFT

“Unto you therefore which believe he is precious …” (1 Peter 2:7). One could almost exhaust the human language to appraise the meaning of the word precious. It must surpass the evaluation of anything in terms of material; be it rubies, diamonds, or gold. This is impossible to appraise. It is Heaven’s best, and who is there that can place a price tag on that which the Father Himself prepared and delivered. Yes, to us who believe, Jesus is very precious. Ask those who have experienced deliverance through His precious blood, and they will all say, “He is precious.”

A PERFECT GIFT

Material gifts, as lovely wrapped and expensive as they may be, are not perfect. They soon lose their luster and become damaged and often destroyed. At best man can only give a perishable gift, that is soon disposed of and even forgotten. But not so with the “perfect gift” that Heaven gives in the person of Jesus Christ. “… This is my beloved Son … ” (2 Peter 1:17) was the Father’s appraisal of His perfection. Sinless gift wrapped up in a napkin of sinless flesh. Like the veil that once wrapped the mercy seat when transported from place to place, so in the veil of sinless flesh, the Father wrapped up “His perfect gift” addressed to us personally in the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, when we accept Christ, we instantly receive a perfect redemption and a perfect justification, so that we can be accepted in the beloved. This is God’s perfect gift, and only God can afford so expensive a salvation absolutely free.

A PRICELESS GIFT

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1). The Bible says that by no amount of money can this gin be purchased. It is freely bestowed because it is already paid for in full by “… the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 19). Salvation cannot be earned; it is given! We are not saved by our good works, but by “… grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). If you have received Christ, you have a “priceless gift” of eternal life right now.

A PERSONAL GIFT

“… to you is the word of this salvation sent” (Acts 13:26). Again Paul says, “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

Dear friend, you need not window shop any longer for the “… unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15), because it is already wrapped up, delivered to your address, and it bears your name. The Holy Spirit delivers this gift to you personally, and it is up to you to accept it or reject it. To those who accept Jesus Christ, you will join the countless millions who throughout the ages have testified, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious … ” (1 Peter 2:7). May this be the happiest Christmas as you accept this ” … unspeakable gift.”

Discipline is the secret strength, and strength is essential to success. Religious life is not to be honestly and usefully cultivated by fits and starts. Every morning its necessities must he provided for, and every night the day’s account should be audited and signed.

At first it may be hard to get rid of pedantry on the one hand, and morbid self-vivisection on the other. But difficulties are not impossibilities. By exercise we acquire skill, and spirituality is the outcome and the reward of carefully adjusted means. We begin in law, but we end in grace. Every morning the soul should come into conscious contact with God, if only for a few moments the very touch will invigorate and cheer the life, and call forth the truest sensitiveness of the moral nature.

If we would know what Christian discipline is, read the testimony of such a man as the Apostle Paul. I lis words arc the words of an athlete bent on victory, “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things …” (I Corinthians 9:25). “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Corinthians 9:27). That is hard work. That is the way to keep down the turbulent body. “But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings” (2 Corinthians 6:4-5). This is consecration! This is loyalty to Christ! But all this was physical discipline, yet the spiritual discipline was not therefore neglected; on the contrary, physical discipline was but the outward proof of inward and spiritual culture. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6: 12). What then? ” … take unto you the whole armour of God … ” (Ephesians 6: 13). Be panoplied, be sober, be vigilant, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life … ” (I Timothy 6:12). The Apostle Paul only exhorted others to do what he had done himself, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

The Apostle Peter was also a disciplinarian. ” … give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11 ).

What is all this but the law of the Saviour, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee … And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee … “(Matthew 5:29-30). “Strive to enter in at the strait gate … ” (Luke 13:24). “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness … ” (Matthew 6:33).

Have we not forgotten the necessity of the advantage of discipline? We are assured by the Apostle Paul that if we live only for the flesh we shall all die, but if through the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live. This is the law of the Kingdom- this the only way to final honour and eternal peace! ” … put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy … seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:8-9). “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself…” (1 John 3:3).

We grow by discipline. Self-watching is the first duty of the day. Do not go out without your sword. Do not advance a step until you have waited upon God in the silence of secret communion. Never plead the exigencies of business or of family life as a reason for neglecting early religious communion. No exigency of the body can be equal to the exigency of eternal things. ” … endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). ” … O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Timothy 6: 11). “… it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Arc we not fighting for a crown? Are we not the soldiers of Christ? “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (2 Timothy 2:4-5).

Is it too much to spend a moment with the Saviour every morning? Is it hard work to take oneself to the heavenly fountain every morning? Is it too severe upon love to look once upon the object of its homage every morning? Does the morning come irregularly? Is the sun an uncertain visitor? Is God fickle? O my soul, bestir thyself and watch early for the coming of Him who bought thee with His blood. Try to be first at the appointed meeting place. Can thou outrun thy Lord? Knowest thou some short way to the altar?

lf I really love my Saviour, nothing will stand in the way of a personal interview every morning. “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it… ” (Song of Solomon 8:7). I do not want more argument, I want more love. I not only want to hear of my Lord, I want to see Him every morning. His written Word is full of tenderness, but O the music of His voice when He whispers His love to my heart! Who would have a letter when he can have a conversation. I want to hear the tender voice. I want to see the radiant face. I want to feel the strengthening touch. “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and look up” (Psalm 5:3).

“…and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s”(Psalm 103:1-5).

There are four kinds of people with regard to this matter of being thankful: First, there are those who are constantly complaining and grumbling. No matter what their circumstance in life, they always have a way of expressing their dissatisfaction.

Second, we have those who live lives of ingratitude. They do not complain, but they never thank God for His obvious blessings.

Third, we have those people who thank God for obvious blessings. When something good happens, then they are grateful. Surely these are better than the two groups above.

Fourth, we find the highest level of men who are grateful for all things at all times. Yes, for these people, thankfulness is the secret of their happy and productive life. The thankful heart counts his blessings and carries his burden.

Sad to say, ingratitude is one of the greatest flaws in the nature of man, and we dare say that most individuals are given to it. One of the most pathetic cases of ingratitude is seen in Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers – only one of them came back to thank Him for such a tremendous blessing. He obviously was disappointed, for He said in Luke 17:17, ” …Were there not ten cleansed’? but where are the nine?”

During the great depression days, which were desperate times for so many, there was a radio personality who had a program called “Job Center of the Air.” He did his best to find jobs for those in need, and, in fact, he did find jobs for 2,500 people in the days when jobs were as “scarce as hen’s teeth.” He reported that out of that large number who received assistance, only ten ever took the time to thank him. What base ingratitude!

A story also is told of a man who remembered a school teacher who had been very helpful to him when he was a child. She was now in her eighties and living all alone. So he sat down and wrote a letter expressing his thankfulness to her. Upon receiving his letter, she wrote to him, “I can’t tell you how much your letter meant to me. You will be interested to know that I taught school for fifty years, and yours is the first note of appreciation that I have received. It came on a blue, cold morning and filled me with cheer.”

Friends, if our ingratitude to man is bad, what about ingratitude to God? The chief enemy for being thankful is self, which is the essence of all sins. This matter of being thankful has to do with the attitude of our heart. The child of God ought to be able to thank God every moment of every day no matter what may be his lot in life. “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5 :20).

The Bible says that in the last days ” … men shall be lovers of their own selves … “ (2 Timothy 3:2). This has always been true, for man is basically selfish, but it is increasing and intensifying like all other sins in these last days. However, God’s people ought to take this time to express their thanksgiving to God for His salvation and provision. Unfortunately, this sin, like many others, is becoming more and more evident in professing Christians. Thanksgiving for most professed believers in Jesus Christ is nothing more than a holiday, a time of feasting, ballgames, and so one.

Dear friend, how grateful are you for God’s blessings and bounty? How grateful are you for God’s ” … unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)? Are you thankful enough to surrender your all to Him who loved you and gave Himself for you? In spite of the sad condition of our land today, how blessed of God we are. Abraham Lincoln, in his Thanksgiving proclamation, in the midst of that horrible war, said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven … but we have forgotten God.”

If we are true believers in Jesus Christ, our gratitude ought to be abundantly evident because of all that He has done for us. “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11). “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”(Psalm 107:8).

(1 Peter 4:7)

Go not, my friend, into the dangerous world without prayer. You kneel down at night to pray, drowsiness weighs down your eyelids; a hard day’s work is a kind of excuse, and you shorten your prayer, and resign yourself softly to repose. The morning breaks; and it may be you rise late, and so your early devotions an: not done, or are done with irregular haste.

No watching unto prayer! Wakefulness once more omitted; and now is that reparable? We solemnly believe not. There has been that done which cannot be undone. You have given up your prayer, and you will surfer for it.

Temptation is before you, and you are not ready to meet it. There is a guilty feeling on the soul, and you linger at a distance from God. It is no marvel if that day in which you suffer drowsiness to interfere with prayer be a day in which you shrink from duty. Moments of prayer intruded on by sloth cannot be made up. We may get experience, but we cannot get back the rich freshness and strength which were wrapped up in those moments.

If Jesus, the Son of God, felt it necessary to rise before the breaking of the day to pour out His heart to God in prayer, how much more ought you to pray unto Him Who is the giver of every good and perfect gift, and Who has promised all things necessary for our good.

What Jesus gathered into His life from His prayers we can never know; but this we do know, that the prayerless life is a powerless life. A prayer less life may be a noisy life, and fuss around a great deal; but such a life is far removed from Him Who, by day and night, prayed to God.