Jump to content

TFTD - April 2016


Resource Manager
 Share

Recommended Posts

01 April 2016 

 

"Life has its clouds and mysteries, even for the godly, but God’s goodness never fails. His mercies are new every morning. His promises are sure. The security of the abiding soul in a troubled world is set forth in the 91st Psalm. The life lived near to the Most High is very safe, though much threatened. The snare of the fowler and the noisome pestilence (Psalm 91:3), the night terror and the daylight arrow (Psalm 91:5), the lion and the adder and the dragon (Psalm 91:13) are all there in some form along the pathway of our lives.

 

But He is there too: "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation" (Psalm 91:15,16).

 

"And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:14).

 

One day every question mark will be erased, every complaint stilled, every patient vigil rewarded, every misunderstanding rectified, His people at last satisfied with His goodness."

 

''O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."

 

- Claud Lamb

The Goodness of God (1974)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

02 April 2016  

 

"There is much intellectual pride in the world today, and intellectual pride is inimical to the truth of God. Let us be ready always to accept truth but beware of pride, for pride is the ultimate sin. It can come to us in many forms, and none is more insidious than the appeal to intellect and the authority of scholarship. Where facts are concerned we must recognise the claims of scholarship, but in many ways bearing especially on faith in the Bible, fact and judgement or opinion are so interwoven as to be very difficult to disentangle. The “wisdom of the world” starts its thinking from presuppositions which govern its conclusions, and where the presuppositions are false the conclusions will be also, no matter how learnedly and persuasively they are presented."

 

- L.G. Sargent

A Sound Mind

Link to comment
Share on other sites

03 April 2016

 

"... The wind ceased, the waves died away, and there was a great calm. No longer was it a question of a new teacher, or even of a new teaching. There came the realisation that they were in the presence of One who had the power to subdue even the forces of nature. No wonder they asked the question, "What manner of man is this?" It was no longer a question of what he was, or even what he could do, but who he was. And the answer to that question is seen in what he did. Not only did he care for those who were in danger from the storm; his care for those who were perishing is manifested in the fact that he gave his all, his own life, for sinners. What manner of man is this!"

 

- P.B.H.

What Manner of Man is this? (1974)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

04 April 2016

 

"A river cleanses by washing away. Jesus descended to immersion in Jordan; he who did no sin and was made sin for us submitted to baptism, the symbolic washing away of sin. If the natural river is to serve as a cleansing agent there must be a full and continuous supply to promote a current. The more copious the inflow, the greater the volume of outflow; and the swifter the current, the more effective the cleansing. Impurities are native to mortality, so that the heart needs to receive avidly the grace that Jesus offers if it desires continual cleansing. We are the channels; God’s grace, through Jesus, is the water."

 

- C.A. Macdonald

The River of God (1953)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

05 April 2016            

 

"Truly humble men are willing, not stubborn: “I know not God”, said Pharaoh, and when he was made by events forcibly to know Him, he saw Him only as a rival. If we resist God’s will for us, if we close our eyes to His Word, shut our ears to His voice in our conscience and spurn His love and truth in His Son, we too shall become progressively hardened in reaction. It is inevitable! What we may have considered a problem in the life of Pharaoh will become our problem. God hardens; Christ hardens; truth hardens; love hardens; mercy hardens—if we are that sort of person.

 

God has revealed the qualities He is seeking: “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isaiah 66:2)."

 

- Norman Richards

What God Requires (1987)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

06 April 2016

 

"Unlike men, who treat appointments lightly, “God hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31). That day is fixed, for God has given the assurance by raising Christ from the dead. Why then should we be anxious? God will not let us down. Rather He will raise us up!"

 

- Ken Begbie

Out of the Depths (1987)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

07 April 2016

 

"The Lord Jesus Christ is concerned preeminently not with justice for himself but with how to save the unjust. He is training us along the same lines, so that when he says “turn the other cheek” he means, we believe, “Leave the injured cheek in the care of God and turn to consider the aggressor from the angle of his needs”. When Christ himself was hit on the face, there was no literal and useless offering of the other cheek, but rather: “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?” If his accusers had stopped to think this out, it could have led to repentance; his reply tended to salvation ..."

 

- Norman Richards

Thoughts from the Mount (1965) 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

08 April 2016 

 

"The Son of God is the true Light: but the servant shall even be as his Master. It is not enough for the disciple merely to look upon the true light and be enlightened himself. He must then become a lightbearer himself, and the living fellowship of cross-bearing believers together becomes a world-illumining beacon-light. Not only "I am the light of the world" now, but "you are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) are the Master’s words. Such is our precious privilege and our solemn responsibility."

 

- Alan Eyre

The Light of the World (1968)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

09 April 2016

 

"The day approaches when the fetters of mortality will be shed for ever and all creation will share the glorious freedom of the sons of God. This liberating consummation inspires a hope which makes all the sufferings of the present an unworthy pre-occupation. Let our hearts be lifted up: God is with us, no power can stand against us. Christ is our Saviour; nothing can break the bond which unites us with him."

 

- Melva Purkis

The Epistle to the Romans (1970)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 April 2016

 

"Paul wrote that the sufferings of the brethren were "not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed" (Romans 8:18). The coming glory would prove to be the fullest compensation for suffering in Christ’s name. For us who, for the most part, are not called upon to suffer as our early brethren did, the coming of the Lord will mean the fulfilment of our ardent desire, the solution of every problem, the bringing to the world of just, perfectly balanced judgment: it will be a time of receiving, in the Apostle’s words, "above all that we can ask or think."

 

- S.F. Jeacock

Keeping a Balance (1964)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 April 2016

 

"God’s word is our sword (Ephesians 6:17), not only the word of truth as laid upon the mind but that of the commandment laid upon the will. The dutiful way, pleasing to God, is to take the word of obligation, using it as a sword to silence the word of temptation."

 

- Claud Lamb

Spiritual Wrestling (1998)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 April 2016

 

"Our aim must be to defend the Truth, denouncing error where necessary, whilst at the same time seeking in love and compassion to save any who might have been affected. Truth can be defended only by those who are thoroughly grounded in it; and Christlikeness will be shown by those who know the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ. It behoves those who preach the gospel to make it plain, simple, sound, and vitally interesting; and those who exhort to do so with humility and with the wholesome words of Christ."

 

- Harry Tennant

Special Study Section (1992)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 April 2016
 
"The call begins when the Gospel is heard and understood. It means that insofar as men repent it will be in response to the initial constraint laid upon them by God through His word. By the very nature of the case God takes the initiative. The invitation must precede the response. Faith is man’s reaction to the revelation of Truth, but the truth comes from God. So God is the caller—man the responder. Understood in this way doubtless everyone would agree that God calls people to the Truth."
 
- Dennis Gillett
The Genius of Discipleship 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 April 2016

 

"It has been well said that the Bible is lit up from beginning to end. We find it to be really so when we become acquainted with it. Wherever we dip into it, we find ourselves in the presence of light and comfort. Our methodical reading keeps us in continual contact with it. The light does not shine for the haphazard or the casual reader. The Bible is so constituted that it requires constant faithful familiarity to make visible and available the light that is in it. To this kind of familiarity, light yields itself everywhere—even in parts where to the uninitiated there seems none."
 
- Robert Roberts
Sunday Morning (1890)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 April 2016

 

"Why, we may sometimes wonder, are the gospels the most familiar part of Scripture? Is it because of their narrative character, the interesting stories in which they abound? Not really. The reason for their familiarity is surely found in the arresting power of the words Jesus used. “How forcible are right words” (Job 6:25). They shine with a brilliance that is all their own. Who can ever forget a word like this: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). An illustration of the healthiness of Jesus’ words in regard to conduct may be seen in the absence of any minute details. He lays down great principles and leaves it to the capacity and conscience of the individual to apply them to life."

 

- Claud Lamb

Wholesome Words (1991)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 April 2016

 

"As God has loved us, so we should love Him. Where true love is, it becomes a working principle. It does not lie dormant, but it works—works abundantly. Let us first remember that we should never have loved God if He had not first loved us. Love is a divine principle. It is a precious thing because it is of God. Our love for God and His Son should be greater than anything else and this will show in our lives. It is the Apostle John who uses some great little words, which in their miniature form contain whole worlds of meaning:

 

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God ... In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (1 John 4:7-11)"

 

- Alan A.G. Siviter

The Love of God (2000)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 April 2016

 

"... And the vineyard has been given to others. Because of Israel’s rejection of “The Stone” we Gentiles have been allowed to become fellow-heirs of the Seed of Abraham and partakers of the promise. We do well, however, to bear in mind Paul’s admonition not to be high-minded but to fear, lest we also become the subjects of rejection when the restoring again of Israel is as life from the dead—that death having occurred when, nationally, they were “stoned with stones” in A.D. 70."

 

- James Carter 

The Rejected Stone (1954)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 April 2016

 

"Let us rejoice in that we belong to God, that we do say of the Lord with the Psalmist: "He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust" (Psalm 91:2). Let us rejoice in the knowledge that even when we fall and sin against our Father, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, if only we confess. Let us rejoice in the certain knowledge that man will not always strive against God; the day will come, in which the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Let us too, with confidence, look forward to that day, knowing that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord; then the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."

 

- Trevor Pritchard 

Rejoice Always (1972)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 April 2016

 

"We are blessed beyond our deserving. In the end, however, it is not only what we know that will count, but the character of our service to the Father and Son and the Household of Faith, the sacrificial love that we manifest towards one another, and the yearning for the return of the one who closed the final revelation of his life and teaching to his brethren and sisters, with the words: "Surely I am coming soon!" Amen, Come, Lord Jesus."

 

- John Marshall

Who is wise ... ? (1980)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 April 2016

 

"We sometimes sing of the "amazing gift of love" that sinful sons of men should be called sons of God. If we are sincere in using such words we can appreciate all that is written regarding divine grace and mercy without finding the slightest difficulty in understanding the sternest of warnings. The way to life is narrow and "few find it". "Many will seek to enter and not be able." Such failures will be due to man’s perverse determination to choose his own way, not to difficulties inherent in the way itself."

 

- Islip Collyer

Called to be Saints (1949)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 April 2016

 

"... the Word of God is a lamp, a candle, a clear bright point of light which illumines our spiritual lives. Compared with the lights which flood our homes, the candle of the Lord’s commandment may sometimes appear to shed a very little light; but it can penetrate the deep recesses of our lives and illuminate our way. It focuses our vision; it outshines distracting images; God’s Word is truly a lamp to our feet."

 

- John Morris

The Commandment Is a Lamp (1993)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 April 2016

 

"... As our love to the brethren is the sign and test of our love to God, so conversely our love to God tested by the keeping of His commandments is the only true basis of love to our brother. The love of God and the love of our brethren are each a test of the other, so to speak. They are mutually interpretive: "For this is the love of Christ that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3)."

 

- W.A. McLennan

Sincerity (1981)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...