TFTD - July 2015

[Resource Manager]

01 July 2015 

 

"We are sojourners and pilgrims whether we like it or not. We can secure things for ourselves with title deeds and policies and settlements, but we are still pilgrims and sojourners. Yet, in a truer sense we are those with whom the Lord has built a firm dwelling. He hath founded upon a rock. "Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God: and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."

 

- A.D. Norris

Beware of the World (1981)

[Resource Manager]

02 July 2015

 

"... Peter also uses this incident in the life of Noah, and finds a further application of it. In 1 Peter 3:20 he speaks of the longsuffering of God, who waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing. God could have made the ark instantly, as He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt in a stroke, but in this case time had to be allowed for the public demonstration of the faith of the man whom God approved. The “answer of a good conscience” was not confined to climbing into the ark as the rain began to fall; it found its expression also in the testimony of word and work; the word openly spoken, supported by the undeniable evidence of the ark which at the one and the same time condemned the world, and testified to the faith of the man. Let us walk by the same rule."

 

- D. Bedson

As It Was in the Days of Noah (1962)

[Resource Manager]

03 July 2015

 

"Let us see to it that this is true of us, by giving ourselves wholly to God’s service; loving Him with all our heart, and soul, and might; surrendering to Him the fat and strongest portion of our lives; living by every word that proceedeth out of His mouth; yielding ourselves to the influence of His Spirit: doing all things, however menial, as unto Him and solely to His glory. Then, in His mercy, when that day comes when the earth shall be full of His glory, and when even upon the bells of the horses shall be “Holiness to the Lord”. He will be pleased to dwell in us and admit us into perfect and eternal fellowship with Him and with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, our Saviour and our King.

 

"Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)"

 

- W.F. Barling

Law and Grace

[Resource Manager]

04 July 2015 

 

"... Jesus knew the power of his word over that man who had come to try him, and encouraging, as he always did, the first glimmer of humble recognition in a man, he spurred him on with words that would never be forgotten, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God". Many times we too long to have that encouragement. Yet to see with this lawyer the full scope of our calling, and to recognize humbly that it is satisfied in the love we bear to God and to each other, and not in the meticulous observance of religious conventions, is to have our feet firmly placed on the road to the Kingdom."

 

- Melva Purkis

A Life of Jesus

[Resource Manager]

05 July 2015 

 

"From the beginning of His work of creation the Lord God of heaven and earth has maintained one supreme purpose, that of developing a community of beings able to enter into fellowship with Himself. He has done this by revealing to them principles of truth: His own eternal majesty and supremacy, their own physical weakness and moral frailty, and His desire that they should be saved from everlasting extinction through His infinite grace and mercy."

 

- Fred Pearce

The Work of Redemption (1994)

[Resource Manager]

06 July 2015

 

"With the eye of faith, the disciple of Christ is enabled to look beyond his allotted seventy years (or eighty if his strength holds) to the bright prospect of an enduring inheritance in “a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God”. The promise speaks of a participation in God’s Kingdom; the sharing in a life nobler in its aims and opportunities, in its occupations and in the nature of its joys. Laying this truth to heart, we shall rightly order our days, not merely to realise their brevity but to see by contrast the infinity of God’s years."

 

- Harold Smalley

Teach Us to Number Our Days (1979)

[Resource Manager]

07 July 2015

"We are told that God saw that what was made was good. This reveals God interested in the work and satisfied with its quality. Man, as made, was likewise good—for God’s work could not be other. But in the very freedom to think and to choose, which man was given, lay the possibility that man might choose that which marred. The possibility became a reality and the Bible history is the record of God’s activity as Redeemer, in which He re-creates that which man’s sin has spoiled. “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). But this is of necessity co-operative. Are we working with God, or marring the new creation?"

 

- John Carter

Searchings of the Heart (1954)

[Resource Manager]

08 July 2015

"Jesus had accomplished the seemingly impossible task of both giving and withholding what the disciples asked. He had given them signs and yet kept them in expectation. He had damped down premature hopes and indicated a lapse of time before his return, yet he had called for wakeful zest from the faithful of all ages. He had provided evidence to nurture the faith of believers in the last days; yet he left them too in ignorance of the one thing they would most desire to know. And he had shown that true vigilance is to be found in prayer."

- L.G. Sargent
The Gospel of the Son of God

[Resource Manager]

09 July 2015 

 

"We look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God: a world dominion, founded on the eternal laws of the Creator, and established under His direction, which will reflect His glory and bless and regenerate the earth. But looking for this glorious consummation is not sufficient: we must prepare ourselves for it, so that we may be permitted to share in its benefits and partake of the honour reserved for those who are entrusted with its administration. We cannot expect to reign then unless we prepare now."

 

- F.W. Turner

Meditations (1946)

[Resource Manager]

10 July 2015 

 

"When the Bible speaks it is not at pains to prove itself to be the word of God. Even when the well-known 'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God' enters our ears, it is not a defence of the word but a promise: 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God ... that the man of God may be ... throughly furnished.' The perfect word will complete a perfect work. The inspiration of Scripture is designed for the inspiration of men. The power and truthfulness of the word of God are released in the believing heart. The word is like a seed which bursts forth because of the life within when moisture and warmth are applied."

 

- Harry Tennant

A Word in Your Ear (1963)

[Resource Manager]

11 July 2015 

 

"He that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) "The words are simple and intelligible, and simple men and women can take them to mean what they say on the face of it. Yet they are at the same time one of the most profound utterances ever made. When their meaning and implications are more fully drawn out they provide a searching test of a great deal of the thinking of our time in theology, morals, philosophy, and one might add sociology and psychology. And they can test equally some of the thinking in our own midst which may reflect modern influences. These words are in every sense the truth of God."

 

- L.G. Sargent 

Foundations (1965)

[Resource Manager]

12 July 2015   

 

"It is a true anticipation of the Kingdom which will encourage us to "redeem the time". As Peter says, "Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness" (2 Peter 3:11). 2 Peter 1 concludes with this illustration of the vision of the kingdom: it is like "a light that shineth in a dark place" to which we look "until the day dawn, and the day star arise in our hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).The present is a night to be endured awake, watching for the dawning of a new day as the transfiguration prophesied when Jesus’ face "shone as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light". Peter’s illustration comes from an O.T. passage which presents a beautiful vision of Christ:

 

"The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springeth out of the earth by clear shining after rain” (2 Samuel 23:24)."

 

- Stephen Palmer

The Vision of the Kingdom (1977)

[Resource Manager]

13 July 2015

 

"Through the Lord Jesus Christ ... God’s grace was revealed anew, and more fully, and finally. Amazingly, Jesus did not himself use or explain the word “grace”—but he did not need to, for he was its very embodiment. After his death and resurrection, he sent forth the apostles to proclaim the Gospel of saving grace: “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved” (Acts 15:11); and, in fact, the Gospel itself came to be referred to as “the grace of God”—see and compare Acts 11:23; 13:43; 14:3,26; 20:24,32."

 

- John Morris

The Truth of God (1994)

[Resource Manager]

14 July 2015

 

"We must abide in the ark, as Jesus himself said to his disciples in John 15. He stresses this point very strongly in this chapter, comparing himself to the Vine: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit ... Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me." 

 

- J.J. Mills

Sunday Morning (1944)

[Resource Manager]

15 July 2015

 

"... Jesus gives the perfect example of humility, the perfect submission and surrender, which is the pattern for his disciples. His sacrifice is both the proof of what men are before God and the example of what they must be if they will be reconciled to Him. And so all the lessons which have been unfolded in this passage of the Lord’s life find their demonstration in the Cross. From it shines forth at the same instant the love and bounty of God who is supreme and the humility of man in his dependence on that sovereign bounty. It is through the cross of Christ that God makes the impossible possible, and men of child-like spirit may be saved."

 

- L.G. Sargent

With God all Things are Possible (1953)

[Resource Manager]

16 July 2015 

 

"Has anyone, ever, been able to unfold to us the entire meaning of the gift of God to us? Many have often tried, yet how far short have they fallen? Shall we ever be able to comprehend the giving of Jesus for our sins to die? It is an amazing fact that we have been given the wonderful opportunity of immortality because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been lifted up from the degradation of sin and placed in a position of mercy, which if believed will bring salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is described as “the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42); and again, “the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10)."

 

- Alan A. G. Siviter

The Love of God (2000)

[Resource Manager]

17 July 2015

 

"The natural works of men and women lead to death. We cannot earn immortal life (Romans 6:23). But the wonderful good news is that we are not saved by works; rather, we are saved for works. This is the message of Titus 2:13-14 where the Apostle reminds us that salvation is by grace through “Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds” (R.S.V.). Thus it is through faith that we know and experience the love of God and on that basis we devote ourselves to living a life that is in harmony with God’s love. We accept God’s grace in faith and we show our appreciation of His love by pure thoughts, sound speech and kind actions."

 

“Lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10 R.S.V.)."

 

- Ken Camplin

Zeal (1987)

[Resource Manager]

18 July 2015

 

"Think of your own garden: when it is free of pests, and weeds and diseases, given the right feeding, growth flourishes. When growth diminishes and plants become weary and withered, it is nearly always due to some horticultural hindrance—beetles, blight and bindweed. The teaching of Jesus confirms it. In the parable of the sower the unfruitful seed was unfruitful because of some hindrance to growth—rocky subsoil, weeds, hungry birds. The fruitful seed flourished in good soil free from hindrances. So here emerges an important principle of progress—master the hindrances."

 

- Dennis Gillett

The Genius of Discipleship

[Resource Manager]

19 July 2015

 

"We are called to God’s Kingdom and glory, and we may sometimes emphasize the kingdom which is to be established to the neglect of the glory. What is the glory of God? Moses on one occasion asked God, “Show me your glory”, and in the revelation that was given to Moses God declared His name in which was unfolded God’s character in dealing with men. He is longsuffering and gracious, kind and forgiving."

 

- John Carter

I and My Father Are One (1957)

[Resource Manager]

20 July 2015 

 

"The four words with which the English Bible commences express the most fundamental of all truths; they assert that God was, in the most absolute sense, before all other beings or things. There is no attempt to define the beginning, or when it began, since God was before any beginning that could be suggested by that term. The words convey the fact that a living, vital power existed before any of the things man can visualize or conceive, including the universe itself, began to exist. The idea may be beyond human comprehension, but the words express an unqualified truth; it may be expressed in the phrase “from everlasting to everlasting, you are God” as used in the prayer of Moses. (Psalm 90:2)"

 

- W.H. Boulton

In the Beginning, God ... (1961)

[Resource Manager]

21 July 2015

"God ... spake in times past." (Hebrews 1:1) This makes all the difference between the wisdom of the Bible and the wisdom of "the wise" of this world. In the one is light and harmony: in the other, darkness on the highest problems. Let us walk in the light and rejoice in the light that we may be children of light, both now and in the glorious age to come."

- Robert Roberts
Sunday Morning (1876)

[Resource Manager]

22 July 2015

 

"... for us there is the unspeakable hope of being the bride of Christ, sharing his throne and the glory of his inheritance—the Son of God! Embraced in his love, and the love of his Father, this is indeed “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8), laid up for us in the love and mercy of God. We have the glorious prospect of “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 1:3)."

 

- Eric Richardson

Joy Unspeakable (1999)

[Resource Manager]

23 July 2015

 

"God is not unaware of the evil state of the world today. Indeed, He foretold it through His prophets, and gave warning to all God-fearing men and women to beware and to see chaos among the nations as a sign of the times, and of the near approach of His appointed king, our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul warned, “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night ... But, you, brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:2,4)."

 

- John V. Collyer

The Patience of the Almighty (1994)

[Resource Manager]

24 July 2015     

 

"Jesus demands to be put first; and when we realise who he is, and what it is he calls us to, we can see the reasonableness of his demand. He is only exacting of us that which will be for our supreme benefit, though it may not appear so now. Joy unspeakable and full of glory is latent in all his commandments. In due season we shall reap the rich harvest of obedience, if we faint not ... The time will come, as sure as the sun tracks his daily course in the heavens, when we shall have to say good-bye to the things of the present life; and when they are cut away, they will be gone for ever; and the man who lives for them, and is part and parcel of them, will vanish with them. Nothing but the truth will remain. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God stays for ever" (1 John 2:16-17)."

 

- Robert Roberts

Sunday Morning (1868) 

[Resource Manager]

25 July 2015

 

"Right thinking is on the mental level what digestion of food is on the physical plane. If we eat food that is not good for us sooner or later we suffer for it. In order to meditate on God and His ways we have to absorb His word, plenty of it and daily. It never fails to provide food for thought and strength for Christ-like actions."

 

- Claud Lamb

Think on These Things (1982)