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Education HUXLEY ONCE SAID, “The most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done whether you want to do it or not.” Using this as a true evaluation it would seem reasonable then that all educated people would be religious. Unfortunately the contrary is true. There are exceptions to every rule but it seems that the more highly educated have less time for God than the humble folk. This proves Paul’s point when he said, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” because “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” With the increase of knowledge that is prevalent today we can become so absorbed in our own wisdom and our own petty problems that we completely fail to do what ought to be done when it ought to be done. Let all of us, educated or not, learn the lesson that Huxley tells us we should learn, that of making ourselves do the thing we have to do when we ought to do it whether we want to do it or not. Actually the difference between success and failure in almost any venture is the ability to do the right thing at the right time. This also illustrates the wisdom of Solomon who said “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die, etc.” Too many of us put off doing the thing that is unpleasant or unappealing. True religion does not attract the natural man. Paul tells us that “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” If we are wise, we will learn what we ought to do and do it. With this comes success. Some well educated men have applied this to business and have risen to great heights. How much more important for us to apply it to serving God. In the final analysis the only education really worth having is in God’s law and the only worthwhile wisdom is Godly wisdom. Too many have spent their lives without doing what they ought to have done for God and realized as they lay on their death bed that all the things they knew and all the money they had was of little use. Let us remember our Creator NOW before the years draw near when we are no longer able to serve God. We must not use the lame old excuse that we haven’t time. We have all the time there is, 24 hours every day, and no one has more or less than that. If we are honest with ourselves we must admit that we find time to do things we like to do. Let us follow Huxley’s definition of the educated man and develop the ability to make ourselves do the thing we should do when it ought to be done. Now is the time to draw nigh unto God. At our death or the coming of the Lord it is too late. “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.” Like learning to eat asparagus, for which a taste has to be acquired, we discover that as we do what we ought to do we find we derive pleasure from it. There is no joy like godly joy and no pleasure on earth like the peace of God but we shall never experience it unless we begin and persevere. By doing so, we, being made “free from sin and become servants to God, have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”

12 March 2021 "We need to scatter the seed of our “bread” upon the waters at all times, in all situations. We cannot say when we are young (in our morning), “I shall scatter in my evening time”; nor can we say when we are old (in our evening), “I scattered in my morning”. The seed must be scattered at all times and throughout life. Casting our bread upon the waters is life. If we can do this with the right spirit we shall enter into the song of Israel’s joy as the captives returned to Jerusalem: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5,6)." - Maurice BealeCast thy Bread upon the Waters (1993)

12 March 2021 Leviticus 20 Psalms 119:129-176 Luke 3 "THE UNFOLDING OF YOUR WORDS GIVES LIGHT" Today we completed reading that marvellous Psalm 119. As we read God’s word day by day how wonderfully true it is that “the unfolding of your words gives light” [Psalm 119:130]. The rest of that verse says, “it imparts understanding to the simple.” Do the wise not need understanding? Reflect on the Proverb we will read later this month! “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” [Proverbs 3:7,8] The Psalmist’s prayer is similar, “Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.” [Psalm 119:133] It is tragic that the word iniquity, that is, sinful ways, describes the way of life around us more than ever. It is even more tragic when new human laws allow behaviour that God hates. We read today in Leviticus 20 of how adulterers in God’s nation were to be put to death [Leviticus 20:10] and “if a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death …” [Leviticus 20:13] God’s attitude is summed up in Leviticus 20:23, “You shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.” Returning to Psalm 119 we noted its concluding words, “Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word … Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation …. Let my soul live and praise you.” [Psalm 119:169; 119:173-175] Finally in Luke we read John Baptist’s words of the ultimate judgements on evil that God will send Jesus to accomplish. We must be close to the fulfilment of these words. “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” [Luke 3:17] Our meditations on the Psalms will help us to be among the wheat. ------- - DC

11 March 2021 "God promises to bring His children through trial, suffering and tribulation, and to do abundantly for them above all that they ask or think. Let us trust Him implicity and He will help us in our weaknesses and lovingly correct us in our errors. He will, in short, "cause all things to work for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28)." - Harold Smalley Sitting on the Fence (1979)

10 March 2021 "We cannot – and would not if we could – borrow the methods of the evangelical campaigns. We must often feel that the message preached is so inadequate and misleading as not to be the Gospel. But we can be reminded that only the Gospel can bring men to life, or life to men. Not the exposure of error, though that may be necessary; not the display of learning, though learning may have its uses; not even the exposition of prophecy, though prophecy is a vital witness to the truth: but 'good news of God' (Romans 1:1) – that is the essential of all our preaching." - L.G. Sargent Fundamentalism (1955)

11 March 2021 Leviticus 19Psalms 119:81-128Luke 2 "IT IS TIME FOR THE LORD TO ACT" “How sweet are your words to my taste. Sweeter than honey … ” [Psalm 119:103] What makes them sweet? Most children like sweets! Why? Because they enjoy the taste. Do we enjoy the “taste” of God’s words? Do we feel their value to us in our hearts and minds? They present a great variety of thoughts to us. This variety serves a whole variety of needs for the different circumstances we have and will encounter in life. With the stresses and strains that life presents to so many people, more and more are seeking medical help and, as a result, quite a variety of so called specialists now exist. But efforts to wisely treat the problems and provide effective medication has met with only limited success. What a wonderful Psalm 119 is. If we had no other Psalms, it would go a long way to fulfilling human needs for deep meditation. We understand that in the days when only men like the scribes were trained to read and write and hand written scrolls were most precious, some people trained their memories to learn all the Psalms by heart! Look at verse 97 and onwards, “Oh how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment make me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers….” [Psalm 119:97-128] The Psalmist then declares, “I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word” [Psalm 119:101] Now note verse 126, “It is time for the LORD to act for your law has been broken” [Psalm 119:126] – and we reflected on the fact that exactly one year ago today the world was shocked, numbed, by the awesome effects of a 9.0 earthquake and resultant tsunami that critically afflicted Japan. It has still a long way to go to overcome the effects, if it ever will! Was this the final outworking of judgement on a nation that unleashed the Pacific war 70 years ago? God knows. How long before it is time for the LORD to act to bring the whole world to its knees? Paul told the Romans, “because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgements will be revealed.” [Romans 2:5] Romans 2:7 gives us the contrast! “To those who by patience and well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality he will give eternal life.” The Psalms are a great help to us in doing that.-------- DC

10 March 2021 Leviticus 17; 18 Psalms 119:41-80 Luke 1 "THAT WE SHOULD BE SAVED FROM OUR ENEMIES" Today we began reading Luke’s Gospel. The father of John the Baptist is inspired by the Holy Spirit to say, “you child will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” [Luke 1:76]. He speaks of “a horn of salvation” that God “has raised up” [Luke 1:69] “that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us” [Luke 1:71]. Now this was not fulfilled in the First Century because the nation rejected their ‘horn of salvation.” These words still have to be fulfilled! The scene in the Middle East today appears to be ‘setting the stage’ for Christ to return and fulfil these words and establish his kingdom and so fulfil the rest of the words Zechariah was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say – “that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness …” [Luke 1:74,75] That time may be very near as the enemies that surround God’s land and others nearby now sense they have the support of the majority of nations in their hatred of Israel. We see the abject weakness of the United Nations to take any action. Those who have a sure faith in God’s word note Mary’s words in magnifying the Lord, “his mercy is for those who fear him” but “he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts” [Luke 1:50,51] Let all who truly believe and fear God look for his mercy and guidance as our world plunges into distress and darkness and is completely oblivious to the “light of the world” that is about to shine forth. ------- - DC

Evolution “I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no god.” Abraham Lincoln It would seem that too few people have been looking up lately for more and more people are saying, “There is no God.” David said that this would be said by the fool but look how many there are! David, like Abraham Lincoln, was convinced that there is a God when he looked upward and he recorded his thoughts saying, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” When we consider the vastness of space measured in light years we also humbly ask, what is man that the God of the universe is mindful of him? The atheist and the agnostic will proudly tell us that all of this “just happened by chance” and that man is the ultimate. Actually this belief requires more faith than that of creation because it is so unscientific and unprovable. Professor Henry Morris rightly said, “The main reason most educated people believe in evolution is simply because they have been told that most educated people believe in evolution.” It is so obvious that it is ridiculous to deny it and unnecessary to prove it, so they say, and therefore they accept as a fact what is at best an unproven and unprovable theory. The professional scientists have an interesting way of quoting one another so that A quotes B and B quotes C and C cites a paper by D while D now refers back to what A has said and by this process it is quite possible to confuse and therefore convince all those who want desperately to be convinced already. Charles Darwin said, “I would give absolutely nothing for a theory of natural selection if it required miraculous addition at any one stage of descent.” Dr. Watson stated that he believed in evolution “not because it had been observed to occur, or was supported by logically coherent arguments, but because the only alternative, special creation, was clearly incredible.” Yes, those who believe in evolution do so, not because it is scientific because it isn’t, or because it can be proved, for it can’t, but simply because there is only one alternative and that is in creation as recorded by God in our Bibles. Truly it does take more blind faith to be an evolutionist than it does to be a believer in creation. Now what are the advantages in being an atheist or agnostic and rejecting creation for evolution? Well, of course, the strongest point in its favor is the fact that now we can do just as we please because there is no one who is greater than us; man is the supreme being. This means that man is the ultimate and therefore there is no hope of salvation and no one who can deliver us from the mess that the world is in as a result of man’s bungling. There is no use looking up for there is no one above to help. Everything just happened by “chance” and no one has the right to tell us to do anything for we are each the master of our own destiny. We haven’t any future anyway because death claims each one in due course. Are you willing to trade evolution for creation? With creation comes the responsibility to learn of God, to obey His commands, to put our faith and hope in Him knowing that as great as He is, and the vastness of His universe, still He cares for us and numbers the very hairs of our head. This is the God who created all things and He invites you to learn of Him, to obey His commands and to become a recipient of His gift to the faithful, life without end. Take your pick, choose between life and death, creation or evolution. The choice is yours, but be prepared to accept the consequences of your choice.

09 March 2021 "The true motive for getting things into the right perspective is not fear or dread of blind compulsion. It is the master principle of love. People give the Truth top priority because they love it. Any other motive will fail and eventually the disciple becomes disgruntled and half-hearted. ... Loyal for love’s sake: this is the true perspective." - Dennis GillettThe Genius of Discipleship

Enthusiasm “Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” This quotation is taken from a plaque said to have been posted over the desk of General Douglas MacArthur. Someone else has said that to lose enthusiasm is to bankrupt the soul. It is interesting to discover that the etymology of the word enthusiasm comes from theos, the Greek word for God. It literally means en theos or to have God within us so it is quite true to say that a person who does not have enthusiasm (does not have God in them) has bankrupted his soul. Consider what we have to be enthusiastic about!! We have the Truth, God has called us to His high and holy calling. We have become members of His royal family, Jesus Christ is now our elder brother, we are related to Abraham and an heir to the same promise God made to him. No one in all the world is as well off as we. And we’re not enthusiastic? Absurd. None have such reason to be glad. If a man just inherited a million dollars we can be sure he would be excited. We have more cause for being enthusiastic, for he can’t take it with him and within a few years he’ll be leaving it to someone else. Worldly riches also have a way of becoming tarnished even while in our hands but not so with God’s promises. Even now, God has promised us “houses, and brethren, and sisters and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” David was an enthusiastic man. Imagine him dancing before the Ark with all his might! No wonder he was called a man after God’s own heart. God surely would have us to be enthusiastic. He says “Be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” We all enjoy being around someone who is enthusiastic. God in describing creation to Job tells that “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” When His own son was born His angels enthusiastically proclaimed to the shepherds who were abiding in the field, “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy.” How are we reacting to the good tidings of great joy that God has revealed to us through the pages of His Holy Book? Does the Gospel message fill us with enthusiasm? Are we excited about our high and holy calling? “Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king’s son in law?” asked David. How can we fail to be excited about being a king’s brothers and sisters? It has been said that if you can keep your head when everyone else is losing theirs, then you just don’t understand what’s happening. If we can stay calm and unemotional about the high calling to which we’ve been called, perhaps we just do not understand. “Be glad in the Lord, rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” To be enthusiastic is to stay young and those who have en theos will be young for ever for “they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars for ever and ever.”

09 March 2021 Leviticus 16 Psalms 119:1-40 2 Corinthians 12; 13 OH THAT MY WAYS Psalm 119 is very special. When we were young we used to just think of it as an extra long chapter, the longest in the Bible, 176 verses, impossible to read at one go. And nor should we try to read it like that! God's word is food for the mind, we should savour it and "eat" it slowly. This Psalm is like tender tasty 'meat' causing much reflection on our ways before God. It is surprising have often the word 'way' or 'ways' occurs in it. David, like all of us, is on a journey through life, we all have to decide the best WAY to take, what career path to try to follow. We must recognise there is a spiritual career path too! Well our decisions are based on our aims, and an important part of our decisions is how far into the future we are looking. Now look at the words of this Psalm. "Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast …" [Psalm 119:1-5] In some modern versions, such as the New English Bible, they use the word "Happy" instead of "Blessed", interesting, what is the way to true happiness. What is it to be happy? "How can a young man (or woman) keep his way pure?" David asks! His answer! "By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." [Psalm 119:9-11] Think about that! How much of God's word do we have in storage? We prove how much, by how much we can bring out when it is needed. David later writes, "Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! I have chosen the way of faithfulness … Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways." [Psalm 119:29,30, 37] In many ways this Psalm contains the essence of the prayers of David; examples on which to model our prayers. ------- - DC

08 March 2021 "We see the character of God manifested in His purpose with mankind. In spite of the waywardness and obstinate pride of men and women, God’s love will prevail and many will receive the gift of the divine nature to enjoy everlasting fellowship with Him and His beloved Son. "But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The apostle, well aware of such love, writes, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)." - Arthur ArmstrongLove and Thanksgiving (1958)

08 March 2021 Leviticus 15 Psalms 117; 118 2 Corinthians 10; 11 UNCLEAN A person with leprosy in Bible times was expected to cry out 'Unclean, unclean" so that people would know not to touch him or her for fear of contagion and their own infection. The word 'Leprosy' covers a multitude of skin infections, some serious, so not and we read in the last 2 days in Leviticus of the Priest's responsibility in determining which were serious and the action to prevent infections from spreading. Today's chapter [Leviticus 15] is about the precautions to be taken with sick people and others who had bodily discharges with the object of preventing the spread of other infections and disease. We also read that if those unclean with a "discharge" touch anyone "without having rinsed their hands in water" then the person touched is also regarded unclean until the evening and needs to "wash his clothes and bathe himself" [Leviticus 15:11] They also had to cleanse the drinking and other vessels they used. Now it is only about 200 years since our world discovered how infections spread and the great importance of hygiene; before then countless needless deaths and plagues occurred. In the 19th Century we read that a few medical men, suddenly realizing that the Bible had such laws given by God 4,000 years ago became convinced it really was a divine revelation from God and followed the way of life and belief found in the Bible. In today's 2nd Corinthians reading in chapter 11 we see a spiritual counterpart as Paul laments that some were easily "led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." He then writes, "if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus that the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." [2 Corinthians 11:3-5] Then he writes, "such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ." [2 Corinthians 11:13] Sadly; it is the same today – and many accept an "unclean" gospel – but some, by God's grace, come to realize this and go through a cleansing process. But there is, of course, a limit to the spiritual counterpart; note what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13. ------- - DC

Eclipse On a cloudy dreary day when we take the breakfast tray into our 93 year old father-in-law’s room he will cheerfully say “even though we can’t see the sun, it is shining up there, it is always shining even if we can’t see it.” How true this is, and what a wise observation. The sun may not be shining on us, but it is shining. We tend to judge everything in its relationship to us. It is almost as if we think the sun, moon and earth all revolve around us. Of course from our view point they do, but we need to stop and learn to view things from God’s point of view. Isaiah tells us that God will make Jesus of quick understanding, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” We take comfort that our Master will not judge just by what he sees and hears, and we need to learn that we also cannot always make wise decisions based on merely what we see and hear. When the sun stops shining on us, it simply means that there is something in between us and the sun, not that it has ceased to shine. It may be a cloud, or it may be that the earth has revolved so that the sun is now shining upon another part of the world, but the sun never sets and never stops giving off its healing beams of light. Sometimes there is an eclipse of the sun when the moon gets in between us and it. There is also an eclipse of the moon when the earth gets in between the sun and the moon. When something comes between us and the sun or moon, then the good effects of the sun’s rays or the moon’s beams become lost to us temporarily. Fortunately eclipses do not last long. We need to remember that the light never really stopped shining, it only stopped shining on us because something came between us and it. Now there is a scriptural lesson we can learn from this We all want “The LORD to make his face to shine upon us.” David cried out in the Psalms, “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us.” The face of God, just like the sun, is always shining, and if it does not shine upon us it is because we have allowed something to come between us and Him, just as there is an eclipse when something comes between us and the sun or moon. It is interesting to remember that the moon has no natural light of its own, only the reflected light of the sun. When the earth comes between the sun and the moon, the light of the moon goes out and does not return until the earth gets out of the way again. If we allow the son of God to shine upon us, then we can reflect that light to others. Paul tells us that we are in a “crooked and perverse generation among whom we shine as lights in the world.” Now we can only shine if we bask in the light of the son of God. When we allow worldly things to come between us and our saviour we can go into eclipse and fail to reflect light. What is it that can cause us to have an eclipse so that we no longer shine? Paul asks this same question when he says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Paul’s answer was a resounding “No.” He says, “I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Let us be wise and resolve not to let anything come between us and the son of God. Daniel tells us that the “wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

07 March 2021 "... We have an obligation to walk in newness of life-to serve God rather than sin. The reality of the resurrection imposes on us an obligation to be “instruments of righteousness unto God” until the return of our Lord from heaven. The Lord’s return is as certain as his resurrection. Like the disciples we can be slow to recognise the obvious signs and messages around us. Like them we can be bewildered and confused when events do not work out as we expect they should. Let the First Century disciples be an example to us. Let the reality of the Lord’s resurrection inspire us to dedication and service. And finally, let us be sensitive to the momentous times in which we live and also to the way in which we live our lives. “Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.” - Geoff HenstockThe Power of His Resurrection (1997)

07 March 2021 Leviticus 14 Psalms 115; 116 2 Corinthians 8; 9 "I SAID IN MY ALARM" We come across this phrase in today's Psalm 116:11 It is an encouraging Psalm, it starts, "I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live" Yet there are times when we struggle to call on God, we seem to be overwhelmed by events. The same happened to David, who is almost certainly the writer of this Psalm. We read in Psalm 116:6 "When I was brought low, he saved me. Return O my soul to your rest, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you" David talks to himself, telling himself to rest upon the Lord, to remember all the times God has dealt bountifully with him. Count your blessings, we say – and sometimes sing. Then we come to verse 11, "I said in my alarm, 'All mankind are liars'" Does that seem an odd thing to be alarmed about? We think he means that he cannot trust anyone. He could not trust his own brothers, remember what they said to him when he came to the army camp when Goliath was challenging Israel? [1 Samuel 17:28] Saul's son Jonathan was his closest friend; do you remember how he lamented when Jonathan was killed in battle? Last week we read in Corinthians of the frictions between members, some were even taking each other to court "To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud – even your own brothers! Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" [1 Corinthians 6:7-9] NO, they were blind to that fact! We must not be similarly blind. Remember how the Psalm started? "I love the LORD …" If we can say that with all our heart, then we will not be alarmed and distressed by those around us who do not do the same – and who show they are not doing it by their words, their lies. Have a look at what David says after lamenting that all men are liars – in particular meditate on what "the sacrifice of thanksgiving" means in practice. [Psalm 116:17] ------- - DC

Drive On! There is an old fable that tells about a man that was so lazy that the local townsfolk decided to put him in a wagon and take him out to the graveyard and bury him. He was just too lazy to live. On the way, a farmer stopped the procession to ask what was happening. When he learned of the lazy man’s plight, he offered to give him a load of corn to prevent him from being buried alive. The lazy man lifted himself slowly on one elbow and asked, “Is it husked?” The farmer replied that it wasn’t, and the lazy fellow laid down again and said, “Drive on.” In a way we are all born on a wagon that is going to the grave. Salvation has been offered us by God. It is free. It is the gift of God 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.” Christ asks that “whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Unfortunately, most men are too lazy to accept the gift of God and in essence say “drive on.” What a deplorable state! God is not willing that any should perish and yet the majority of mankind are too lazy to get off the wagon of death and take up Christ’s yoke. Jesus asks us to take his yoke upon us and he assures us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. When we contemplate the glorious gift of God and the sorrowful plight that awaits the sinner, we are appalled at the indifference that our neighbors have toward God. At the same time we must be on our guard not to fall into the same state of do-nothing-ness. It is an insidious disease and is so prevalent and contagious that we can easily become infected if we do not keep our resistance built up. The demands of life and the deceitful pleasures of sin constantly distract us and, if we are not careful, we will find that we just do not have time to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Soon we may find ourselves riding the wagon that leads to death. There are only two alternatives. We either live unto Christ or we live unto the flesh. “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.” The choice is ours. James reminds us “that faith without works is dead.” Salvation is the gift of God but he will only bestow it upon those who have works meet for repentance. It is impossible to do too much for the Lord. We dare not risk giving God anything less than our very best. In athletics the champion is the one who gives it all he has. We dare not be lazy or slothful in the Lord’s vineyard. Let us do all that we do to the glory and honor of our Heavenly Father. We must be wise and climb off the wagon of death and get busy in the Lord’s vineyard. To “drive on” leads to death. Each has a talent or two and it is our use of what we have that will decide our fate when our Lord looks upon us and asks us to account for our talent. “Be ye not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love” (Heb. 6:10).

06 March 2021 "We have no glory of our own; we are dependent upon Christ. "For God hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). To use Paul’s phrase, it is a reflected glory. "We all (not just Moses or Israel but all, both Jew and Gentile) with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18, RV)." - W.H. SimkinsThe Glory That Excelleth (1977)

06 March 2021 Leviticus 12; 13 Psalms 113; 114 2 Corinthians 5; 6; 7 TODAY'S TEMPLE Remember how the disciples showed Jesus the grandeur of the Temple [Mark 13:1,2] and he shocked them by saying it was all going to be destroyed! Now see how today's reading in 2nd Corinthians makes the point of how the temple was replaced. There is a new kind of Temple where God wants to dwell and that is the most important thing in the life of a believer. Paul writes, "we are the temple of the living God, as God has said …" [2 Corinthians 6:16]. But remarkably, Paul then quotes words of God that we are going to read later this month in Leviticus. And what did God say to Moses that Paul felt he should quote in his letter? "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go from out from their ( i.e. the unbelievers) midst and be separate from them … then I will welcome you and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty." [2 Corinthians 6:16-18] Now notice what Paul adds after quoting these words from Leviticus 26:11,12. "since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" [2 Corinthians 7:1] Paul is saying that we, our minds and heart, are God's spiritual temple in which he seeks to live! What occupies our minds, what are the things we meditate upon? Now it is vital that we are positive in our reaction to this fact – how utterly wonderful to have God in our very being, watching over us! In answering this question we see how important it is that we read God's word every day. Take time to note how at the beginning of Chapter 6 Paul quotes from Isaiah 49:8 – "now is the day of salvation" Think of the hymn Islip Collyer wrote, We know the end, we know the way, And some with life he will endow, Shall we be will him on that day? We make the answer now. ------- - DC

Double Talk “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” This double talk saying is seen in many offices and usually produces a smile since it is true that what we think we said and what people think about what we said are so often different. Our words are very important. Jesus said that “by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Moses, the meekest man in all the world, spoke in advisedly with his lips and as a result was barred from entering the promised land with the children of Israel. What he said was spoken in a time of trial when the angry mob was pressing in upon him because they were thirsty. Just the same, he said the wrong thing and had to suffer the consequences. Lovable impetuous Peter was the one who spoke before he thought and as a result he wept bitterly. It is important that we think before we speak. It is important that we speak clearly so that others will know what we mean by what we say. There was a famous entertainer who is now dead who was well known for his double talk routine. It was entertaining but it certainly did not edify. Are we sometimes guilty of double talk? Do people know where we stand and what we stand for? Is our speech “always with grace, seasoned with salt” as Paul exhorts? The gift of speech is a wonderful gift and we are apt to take it for granted. Like many other things, we usually do not appreciate something unless it is lost or is in danger of being lost. Think a minute about John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias. He was dumb and could not utter a word for about nine months. One moment he could converse and the next not a sound would come out. For nine long months it was like this. When he could speak again, what did he say? Did he complain and go on about how terrible it was not to be able to talk? Did he ask for pity? No, he praised God. He used his voice to glorify his Creator who had struck him dumb and had opened his mouth. He lived out the truth expressed by Job, that “the Lord gives and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Zacharias followed the example of David who said, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. Let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.” Do we use our breath to praise the Lord? Are our lips constantly blessing our Heavenly Father? James tells us how inconsistent it is for our mouth to bless one minute and curse the next. He says, “out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things out not so to be.” We know they ought not be so, but we have to admit that they sometimes are so. James asks us a personal question. “Who is wise and understanding among you?” We don’t need a high IQ to answer this question. All we need is the sincere desire to serve God. It is not the wise of the world James is addressing, it is the simple folk who are dedicated to Jesus. James then gives a good piece of advice to everyone who will answer with a “yes” or at least with a “here am I, I’m trying.” He says to us “By your good life show your works in the meekness of wisdom.” Let us then join in the prayer of David. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

05 March 2021 "Some who saw the work of Jesus said, "John did no miracle, but all the things John said about this man were true," and therefore believed. Like John, we do no miracle, but if our presentation of the Saviour in word and in deed is of such sincerity and earnestness that men see what we say about him is true, and determine to follow him on that account, we shall have caught some of the evangelizing spirit of him who stood so highly in the estimation of the Christ." - F.E. MitchellThe Voice (1944)

04 March 2021 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish ... For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17). We thank God that when He saw the faults He did not withdraw His love, and His way was to save what was soiled. God saw the broken lives and He is willing to touch and to heal. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. How to touch the unclean with a healing hand must be learnt in master class. It was the Master’s way." - Philip VysePractical Living (1990)

03 March 2021 "It is a mark of the honour given by God to His Son, that He has invited him to sit at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heaven, "a minister of the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord". In these terms does the writer to the Hebrews emphasise the greatness of the Lord Jesus, who became as much superior to the angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs. But to what angel has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies a stool for your feet?" - Alfred NichollsSeated at God’s Right Hand (1980)

Do Your Dustin’ and Dishwashin’ In a book entitled “The Widow O’Callaghan’s Boys,” Jim, one of the boys, wants to know if his mother thinks he can have a bank one day. “There you go, Jim,” says his mother. “If you’ve got a bank in your eye, you’d best pay attention to your dustin’ and dishwashin.’ That’s your first two steps. The Lord never puts little boys and big jobs together. He gives the little boys a chance at the little jobs, and then as they do the little jobs faithfully get to be the big men that do the big jobs easy.” This was good advice the Widow O’Callaghan gave her son but a greater than she said, “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.” Moffatt’s translation adds, “He who is dishonest with a trifle is also dishonest with a large trust.” Jesus recognized that which we so often forget: that life is made up of small things. Life is not a little bundle of big things, but a big bundle of little things. What a multitude of little things compose our day! From the time we get up in the morning until we retire at night, our energy is consumed in the doing of a thousand little things. How well and accurate are we in all these little things we do? Jesus’ point is, “If, then, you have not proved trustworthy with the wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real?” Today most people do not think that it is wrong to take small things that belong to another. Those who would not think of robbing a bank or stealing a car think nothing at all of using company stamps for personal mail or xeroxing their favorite recipes on the boss’s machine. Unless we have received specific permission from. someone who has the authority to give it, we should be careful not to take anything that does not belong to us, no matter how small it may be. Only recently we heard a business man remark that cheating no longer bothered him since the government was making crooks out of everyone and it was the only way he could get ahead. This feeling is common today but it must not affect Christ’s true brethren and sisters. We need to be faithful and truthful no matter what. Since we are all children in God’s eyes, he is now giving us the little jobs to do as Mrs. O’Callaghan gave her boy dustin’ and dishwashin’ chores. God is watching to see how faithful we are with the things of this world. If we have cut corners here and there how can we expect Christ to give us the wealth that is real when he comes? There is a true story about an elderly business man who hired a bright young fellow to learn the business fully intending to turn it over to him upon retirement. The young man was caught tapping the till and promptly discharged. For stealing a few paltry dollars he lost the entire business. Whatever we might do that would keep us from receiving Christ’s approval at his return is much too high a price to pay for whatever we might gain immediately. Let us all resolve to be faithful in the small details of this life so that Jesus when he returns will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

05 March 2021 Leviticus 11Psalms 110; 111; 1122 Corinthians 3; 4 NOT AFRAID OF BAD NEWS The Psalms are constantly full of challenging words. There are so many positive thoughts in them. But our lives are often invaded by situations that provoke negative thoughts. We need the positive inspired words of the Psalms, Israel's Hymn Book that David began to compile more than 3,000 years ago. They are a great stimulus to positive thinking. "The righteous will not be moved," [Psalm 112:6]. That is, he or she will not collapse, especially in times when they "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" [Psalm 23:4], wrote David. "He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm trusting in the LORD" [Psalm 112:7] "The fear (awe) of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding" [Psalm 111:10]. The foundation of a life worth living before God, is to be in awe of what God must be and to realize that he seeks to have a relationship with us. The recognition of this was the springboard to David's life so that he could begin the Psalm with the words, "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart" [Psalm 111:1]. It became the springboard to Paul's life. Also that of James, who had spurned belief in his half-brother Jesus [John 7:5], but, he like Paul, came to realize that what they saw as bad news then, turned out to be the best possible life-changing good news for a fully meaningful life and an even greater life that is to come. James writes about those who doubt, "the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways". [James 1:6-8] Such a person's heart is not firm, he or she will be afraid of bad news. James continues, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he (or she) has stood the test he will receive a crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." [James 1:12]-------- DC