TFTD - June 2017

[Resource Manager]

01 June 2017

 

"You know what it is to seek; when you want something and you take steps to try to find it; and we are all familiar with the common use of this language about setting our mind upon something. It indicates a persistence and determination to get that which is desired. How often we hear the expression, “They won’t give in; they will get what they want; they have set their mind on it.” It is the same persistence and determination that is indicated when Paul says, “Set your mind on things above” [Colossians 3:2) because you are going to pursue a course which will enable you to get these things because your life is there with Christ."

 

- John Carter

Be You Thankful (1943)

[Resource Manager]

02 June 2017

 

"... because Jesus is near—apply our hearts to self-searching instead of to searching of others, and keep the edge of our conscience sharp, educate it by closer contact with the Word, stop being kind to ourselves and try to be kinder to others? Paul’s claim to Felix that the main object of his moral life was to exercise himself to "have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man" (Acts 24:16) should apply to us too; because he would say to us as he did to the Philippians: "I pray that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and all judgement; that you may approve the things that are excellent, and that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ."

 

- H.A. Twelves

A Good Conscience (1941)

[Resource Manager]

03 June 2017

 

"The Father had decreed that His Holy One should not see corruption; and he did not see corruption: by the glory of the Father he emerged triumphant from the tomb. We may take much comfort in the revealed fact of God’s care of His beloved ones in their sufferings and trials, and remember He has said: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5)." 

 

- W. Woodley

The Resurrection of Christ (1937)

[Resource Manager]

04 June 2017

 

"The peace of Eden was broken by the intrusion of human wilfulness and sin. It was the snake in the green pastures whose evil counsel ruffled the still waters and turned them to a bitterness that nothing but the healing Branch can ever sweeten. The Lord was their Shepherd in the Garden of Eden, but the sheep went astray and ever since have wandered on the dark mountains.

 

Light and peace have not left the earth, and will not be lacking while the true Israel have light in their dwellings, and keep in their hearts the peace that Christ left behind him."

 

- C.A. Ladson

Sunday Morning (1939)  

[Resource Manager]

05 June 2017

 

"Jesus is coming again, and in his presence we shall have but one fear, and that will be as to his verdict upon our lives. Let us see to it that, while “after all these things do the Gentiles seek”: we have but one pursuit—seeking first the Kingdom of God—not anxious about that which is transient but seeking that which is eternal. Let us see to it that we live not in fear of men, but in the fear of God."

 

- G.T. Fryer

Fear Not (1937)

[Resource Manager]

06 June 2017

 

"In our memorial service we "look unto Jesus." We partake of the appointed bread and wine, and remember his death. We also remember that he is not dead. The tomb is empty: he is risen. He is our High Priest, having entered into the holy of holies, and is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. We are also reminded that God has set a time "when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe."

 

- W. Woodley

The Resurrection of Christ (1937)

[Resource Manager]

07 June 2017

 

"Consult in full the beautiful utterances of David in 2 Samuel 22; 23, and listen to Isaiah when he says, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3). God is faithful and we can trust Him completely, abandoning all self-interest and self-reliance, being anxious to obey Him in all things in whom we are assured. And, because we lay hold on Him who is firm and steadfast, we can ourselves become firm and reliable. We become faithful, for our faith promotes our fidelity."

 

- J.A. Balchin

Comments and Commentaries (1961)

[Resource Manager]

08 June 2017

 

"No aspect of Christian living is really more important than another. The whole of our life must be the product of our faith. The perfect pattern of good works is found in the person of Jesus — the preacher of righteousness who practised what he preached."

 

- Peter W. Reynolds

Good Works (1965)

[Resource Manager]

09 June 2017 

 

"Throughout the ages, many of them dark ages, the Christian has in spirit been able to lift his eyes to the hills, and has found strength for the day in the knowledge of what is yet to come. He has seen in his mind’s eye an age of glory and splendour, and the heart of many a patient sufferer has been stirred and thrilled by the vision of the abiding joy of the kingdom."

 

- Ralph Smalley 

Along the Road (1959)

[Resource Manager]

10 June 2017

 

"God's judgments are necessary surgical operations. His mercy is over all His works; and this mercy falls first on Israel. A divine transformation is wrought upon the people whose stony-heartedness has become proverbial, and whose whole history is a testimony of waywardness. The few great and godly men that the nation has produced, among whom some of the kings and the prophets stand out as examples, only set in contrast the general lack of response to God's guidance on the part of the bulk of the nation for so large a part of their history: yet God has never cast them away. Even when cast out of their land, He ensured their perpetual existence by the statement that He would not make a full end of them, but correct them in measure. As unfruitful branches of a vine God has broken them off, but Paul says He is able to graft them in again if they abide not in unbelief. As God has shown mercy to Gentiles so He will yet reveal His mercy to Israel. "God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all" (Romans 11:32)."

 

- John Carter

Prophets after the Exile

[Resource Manager]

11 June 2017

 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2). We should remember to thank Him for His gentleness with us. He desires our reciprocal love and allegiance with a love more constant than we can fully comprehend.

 

He knows our stumbling minds yet does not break down our feeble thinking with overwhelming might. "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:13-14). What more encouragement do we need: "If God be for us who can be against us?" Growth in gratitude is a sign of spiritual growth.

 

As soon as grateful expressions fill our hearts, leaving no room for complaining, we shall fully grasp the profound meaning of Paul’s wonderful words:

 

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18)."

 

- Claud Lamb

A Sense of Gratitude (1981)

[Resource Manager]

12 June 2017

 

"Remember …" was the watchword for Israel. "Remember and forget not." … "Do this in remembrance of me", were our Lord’s words to us. The danger of forgetting his life’s work is as great as Israel’s was of forgetting their deliverance from Egypt. Forgetting is as easy for us as it proved to be for them. They forgot to practise remembrance. This should be a deliberate exercise, a constant rehearsal in the mind, a daily re-living of some part of the life of Christ. There is no safety in having heard. The safety is in hearing—now."

- Harry Tennant

Moses My Servant

[Resource Manager]

13 June 2017

 

"There will always be the need for thoughtful proclamation of the Gospel whether it be from platform, bus top or armchair, but it should never be a good performance that springs from an academic exercise; rather should it be the humble invitation of a perceptive hearer telling what he has seen and heard, witnessing to the grace of God as much through a life disciplined by the Word as by a mind instructed in it."

 

- Melva Purkis

The Climate of Study (1970)

[Resource Manager]

14 June 2017

 

"How true is the record in its revelation of human nature—and yet how continually surprising are its manifestations in the light of the divine revelation that God has made in his word! The humble centurion, free from inhibitions, saw further than the Jews with their heritage of God’s dealings with the nation. How often does pride, intellectual snobbery, human self-sufficiency close the eyes to what has been done, while the humble and contrite in heart find wondrous things in God’s law and in His gracious approaches to men through prophets, apostles and pre-eminently in His Son."

 

- John Carter

Delight in God’s Law

[Resource Manager]

15 June 2017

 

"We are human, and human nature fails and must fail, and can only seek forgiveness and atonement in the High Priest. This pattern of Divine holiness and love is none the less the ideal set before us. Human nature may indeed strive and fall and strive again, but unless we do strive with the ideal in Christ Jesus constantly before our eyes, his Passover sacrifice has no meaning for us. Let us then keep the feast, not with the old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

 

- L.G. Sargent

Christ, our Passover (1959)

[Resource Manager]

16 June 2017 

 

“I AM the first.” Consider this aspect of the greatness of our God. Before all creeping things or fish or fowl; before every kind of beast and the first man; before mountains and seas and the earth itself; before the reeling stars and silent planets; before light itself: God was. The first, the cause, the origin of all things and source of the energy of universe and the fountain of life. “To whom, then, will you liken God?”

 

- Harry Tennant

The First and Last (1963)

[Resource Manager]

17 June 2017

 

"... Christ’s works did agree with his words. He did “ascend where he was before”, and his words have not passed away, as he declared they should not. We cannot understand him by seeking to eliminate the miraculous and to reduce him to the human plane. He is Son of Man truly, but more than that; he is “the arm of the Lord” revealed for the judgment and salvation of the world. Let us take heed to all that is testified concerning him, and gradually we shall come to know him aright in relation to God and to ourselves."

 

- C.C. Walker 

Christ More Than Man (1908)

[Resource Manager]

18 June 2017

 

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Ecclesiastes 7:8). Taken together, these two sayings suggest patience unto the end, and we are reminded of the analogy used by James. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it ...” (James 5:7). The “end” of husbandry is the harvest. Precious seed sown with tears results in sheaves brought in with joy. Nothing can be done to hurry the harvest. Patience is necessary—“first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle”. The man of the world looks for quick returns and easy profit, but wisdom directs our attention to the “end” which will only come in God’s good time.”

 

- P.B. Hinde

Seven Better Things (1958)

[Resource Manager]

19 June 2017

 

"In the ecclesia our differing gifts are bricks of different shapes, sizes and colours. They are not to be used for throwing at each other; we shall never build a temple that way. That is how the Corinthians were using them, and they had to be told to "seek to excel to the edification of the church" (1 Corinthians 14:12). And love is the only mortar that can bind them all together. The third chapter of the letter to the Colossians tells us that, where, after a list of things that we are to "put on", the Apostle concludes: "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness". (Colossians 3:14). He does not mean merely that love is more important than all these things; he means literally, "on the top of all these things", spread over them all to unify them, to bind them perfectly together. He does not mean merely that love is more important than all these things; he means literally, “on the top of all these things”, spread over them all to unify them, to bind them perfectly together. So again the Corinthians, who were told in the 14th chapter of the 1st letter to “let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:24), and to “let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40), could not be left there: they had to be told how; and so in the last chapter comes the final counsel: “Let all your things be done with charity” (1 Corinthians 16:14)." 

 

- H.A. Twelves

Builders or Destroyers? (1950)  

[Resource Manager]

20 June 2017

 

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." He will never change. In Luke 12 we have a delightful picture which shows this and is of interest to you and myself. To those servants of his whose loins are girt and lights burning and who open the door as soon as their Lord knocks, Christ says: "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them" (Luke 12:37)."

 

- T.J. Barling

Our Reasonable Service (1979) 

[Resource Manager]

21 June 2017

 

"All service for Christ begins at his feet. There, learning of him and understanding what he requires of us, our hearts are filled with the glow of his joy and the serenity of his peace. Only then can we arise and serve him in that quiet confidence and love which will guard us from self-righteousness and pride."

 

- Melva Purkis

A Life of Jesus

[Resource Manager]

22 June 2017

"To see with immortal eyes the immortalised Son of God ought to be the great desire of each one of us. To look upon the King, of whom the Psalmist says, 'You are fairer than the children of men ' (Psalm 45:2), is something to which we should look forward with yearning hearts. To be with him in that day when he returns in triumph to Jerusalem, and to understand with the intelligence of Spirit minds why it will be said of him, 'For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!' (Zechariah 9:17), is something which should really stir up our minds. For this is the prospect before us, as we see from Isaiah 33:17, "Your eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off'."

- Spencer L. Hale
The King in His Beauty (1979)

[Resource Manager]

23 June 2017

 

"Life has its clouds and mysteries even for those who 'exercise' themselves 'unto godliness'. But His goodness and mercy never fail, His promises are kept. His mercies are new every morning. The life lived near to Him is very safe though much threatened. Psalm 91 speaks of 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)—all are there, in some form or other, along the pathway of our lives. But God is there too. 'I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my Salvation' (Psalm 91:15-16)."

 

- Claud Lamb

Goodness and Mercy (1980)

[Resource Manager]

24 June 2017

 

"In that great day of Divine appointment, “at the last trumpet”, there will be a rising of faithful ones—the redeemed in Christ—who, in the love and mercy of God, will “mount up with wings as eagles”, and “they shall run, and not be weary ... shall walk, and not faint”. For they are the approved of God, and they will be lifted up to the spiritual mountain tops to everlasting joy, and will behold, with all saints, the glories of the Day of Redemption. The “Sun of righteousness” will have arisen “with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2)."

 

- D.M. Elliott

A Rising of Eagles (1988)

[Resource Manager]

25 June 2017

 

"To the thoughtful mind the greatest argument for the resurrection of Christ must always be the fact that Christianity rose with its founder. Nothing but the resurrection can explain the transformation of the men we saw running in panic from Gethsemane into the fearless evangelists of the Acts of the Apostles ... Before, they had been in mortal fear of arrest; now they were to go forth boldly facing imprisonment, persecution and death, and they were to go forth gloriously, counting it joy to suffer shame for his sake."

 

- Melva Purkis

A Life of Jesus