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TFTD - September 2017


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01 September 2017

 

"You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh." (Psalm 90:8-9). 

 

"The deplorable consequence of sin is that it estranges, isolates us from God and each other. And although "the wages of sin is death ... the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). The keynote of Psalm 90:12: "So teach us to number our days, that we may get us an heart of wisdom" (R.V.). This may sound like numbering sadly the days and vicissitudes of life. This is not for the sake of sentiment but for a practical purpose. And that aim is to furnish a motive for a wiser life, to see that we have the right end in view—this end, "that we may get us an heart of wisdom", to go all out in seeking the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). The real motive is the furnishing of a wiser life of the heart, the allied forces of mind and will, the inner life. The resultant illumination will transfigure the life in its character and conduct."

 

- Claud Lamb

So Shall Your Strength Be (1997)
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02 September 2017

 

"If we count ourselves as friends of God, and if we are to be numbered among those who are called the beloved of God, there are many ways in which God will expect a loving response. The initiative was His, in Christ; the response is up to us. John describes this situation very succinctly in a couple of phrases: “We love him because he first loved us ... Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:19,11). In other words, the love which God has shown us in Christ should first of all be reflected in loving worship and obedient service to God, and at the same time should be reflected in our love for others. Indeed the one is impossible without the other: “He that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20) There is more to this sort of love than a feeling of human warmth and well-being, which seems to be all that the modern [...] groups experienceand even then it is not long before the spell is broken and their happiness disappears. True love is service, devotion and, in the case of love to God and the Lord Jesus, reverent and humble worship. It is down to earth, and it demands action: “You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:13). “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3). “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments” (2 John 6)."

 

- John Morris

Beloved of God (1973)

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03 September 2017

 

"... An omer of manna was the measure for a man. It was the divine standard. By command of God, one omer of manna was placed in the Most Holy Place. Hebrews tells us that it was in a pot of gold, stored with the rod that budded and the tables of the word. Here is promise indeed. The word of God liveth and abideth for ever; it is the word of life, the life to come, and contains the promise of life by resurrection. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna" (Revelation 2:17)—a meal in God’s holy place, from the golden cup. Life for ever with God and the Lord himself, the living bread. Nothing else will satisfy the truly yearning heart. "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness." (Psalm 17:15)

 

Let us then keep the feast with an ancient prayer upon our lips:

 

"Lord, evermore give us this bread." (John 6:34)"

 

- Harry Tennant

What is it? (1974)
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04 September 2017

 

"This world is not the place for God’s kingdom. Jesus was cast out of it, and we must follow him in the spirit of the wholesome prescription: "in the world but not of it." Our detachment from the affairs of this life is essential to our loyalty and faith in Jesus. We have no permanent home in this world. "Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

 

Do good and communicate. God loves it! Put into practice what your spiritual guides have taught you; they too have a responsibility to Godand give them joy, not sorrow (Hebrews 13:16-17)."

 

- A.R. Longley

Better! (1974)

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06 September 2017

 

"Let us face the challenges of this life in the faith that they are meant to be stepping-stones not stumbling blocks, milestones and not millstones. We can escape useless fretting, and our lives will be braver and happier, if we are unshakeably confident that all things must work together for good to those who love God, "to them who are the called according to this purpose" (Romans 8:28)."

 

- Claud Lamb

Fret Not Thyself (1993) 

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07 September 2017  

 

"God’s law working in men will spring up into eternal life, and the nations will be healed (Revelation 22:2) by the ministrations of the King’s Son and his bride, who is “a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon” (Song 4:15)."

 

- Vincent Eastman

My Doctrine Shall Drop as the Rain (1991)

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08 September 2017

 

"Taking the man apart from the crowd, Jesus used physical means to communicate with him so as to arouse his faith; he put a finger into each of his ears, and spat on to his tongue. It was as though Jesus silently imparted a word that would be nigh him, in his mouth. Then Jesus looked to heaven and sighed, and speaking deliberately to the man so that he could lip-read, he said "Ephphatha", Be opened. With that the deaf ears were opened and "his tongue was freed from its fetter".

 

God who made the ear can not only hear but give hearing; He who made the mouth can give it speech; and, to carry the thought one vital stage further, He who made the understanding can teach man knowledge. Jesus, who came as God-with-us, could release even from the dullness of hearing which afflicted the children of God. Yet this miracle was performed in a mainly Gentile area. And there, in the land where the swine were kept and Jesus had been abruptly asked to leave, it was recognized as a Messianic work. Astonished beyond measure (and Mark piles on the superlatives), the people said, "He has done all things well: he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."

 

- L.G. Sargent

 Mark, The Gospel of the Son of God

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09 September 2017

 

"Let us strive to develop our minds, to make them permanently alert in thanksgiving; and our gratitude will generate love, love for God who first loved us. In the proportion our thankfulness increases our love will likewise increase. And as we grow in love our times of spiritual indolence will lessen, and we will live positive, dynamic lives in the service of our Lord, for we will be energized by the force of love. If this be so, let us never forget these profound words of David: “O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever” (Psalm 30:12)."

 

- Arthur Armstrong

Love and Thanksgiving (1958)

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10 September 2017

 

"In life let not your objective be the earthly treasure which can corrupt and may be swept away by accident or theft, and in any case can do little for you at the end of your life. Rather set your affections upon that which man cannot reach and spoil. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In judgment be slow and generous, readier to see faults in one’s self than in others. Do these things thought it means keeping to a path that is narrow and trodden by few, for it is the way to the Kingdom of God. Build your lives upon these truths and they will be established upon a rock."

 

- Ralph Smalley

Self-Discipline (1965)
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11 September 2017

 

"... The very best human emotions often fail to grasp the divine mind: “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.” ... I cannot refrain from expressing the view that the call to man the barricades is a big mistake. It is not the authority and reliability of the gospels that is being called in question, but the rightness of certain modern interpretations. We must not allow modern ideas of how the Bible ought to have been written to replace the truth about how it was in fact written under Spirit guidance. In ascertaining the facts of this case it is important that we should forget any twentieth century taboos and proprieties which we all inevitably have. Only so will truth prevail."

 

- Wilfred Lambert

Modern Attitudes and the Gospels (1964)
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12 September 2017

 

"Personal love towards Christ can only be generated by contact with the personal manifestation of him which we have in the apostolic writings. It is thus that all love comes: by knowledge and acquaintance of the things or persons to be loved. The means of acquaintance in this case are wonderfully ample. How full, in the biographic sense, is the exhibition of Christ in the gospels."

 

- Robert Roberts

Sunday Morning (1893)
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13 September 2017  

 

“What is man, that you are mindful of him? and the son of man, that you visit him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands” (Psalm 8:4-6). Some of us may have already passed under the shadow, for others that time may be yet to come. But we need have no doubts and no fears. On the contrary, we are assured that if we hold fast to the confidence that is ours in Christ, through him we may find forgiveness, and by him we shall be healed. We are assured that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17) and the sufferings of mankind through the sin of Adam will be more than balanced by the joy which is to come. If the sufferings of this present time are great, how much greater must be the glory yet to be revealed!”

 

- F.V. Morgan

The Man Born Blind (1944)
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14 September 2017  

 

"A striking feature of the New Testament is its primary concern with the welfare of those who are already related to Christ. The Epistles deal with the need for strengthening and upbuilding those who have already obeyed the call of the gospel. It is an instructive exercise to read carefully through, for instance, the twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans and to ask: with what is the apostle Paul chiefly concerned? There can be no doubt that it is the spiritual wellbeing of the individual members of the body of Christ. His advice to the Galatians remains as valid and as powerful for us today as it was for the brethren of 19 centuries ago: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10)."

 

- Fred Pearce

Involvement and Concern (1971)

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15 September 2017

 

"We who have embraced the Abrahamic covenant have also entered into God’s work. We so easily forget that the seed of Abraham is the channel of salvation to the world. We are also helping in the present age to further the Father’s seeking. We work in a small compass, each according to circumstance and ability, but our prayers can be large. We need to enlarge our vision to equal that of the Son of God and see a world oppressed and in travail. If we think of human suffering spread over six millennia, we shall feel a more urgent desire within us, that all the kindreds of the earth may be drawn to that banner of the root of Jesse. For “his rest shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10)."

 

- Elwyn Humphreys

The Father Seeketh Such ... (1974)
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16 September 2017

 

"... faith is not less important than works, and a building is of little use if it is only for the admiration of those who stand back from it. God invited Noah into the ark he had built and Noah was wise enough to avail himself of the opportunity it afforded to step out of the world and into the protecting care of the Father. Here was not only an example of obedience in all that Noah did, but of faith in his answer to God’s call. All our building works would have been of no help if we had remained outside, and the goodness we think we own in the lives we live now, would still be useless without the faith that has brought us to be “in Christ”, and by which we must continue to live in him."

 

- John S. Roberts

In the Truth (1979)     

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17 September 2017

 

"We frequently hear men say that they do not attach much importance to doctrine; they concentrate attention on the living of a good life. Such a sentiment only emanates from a very shallow brain. It is as if a child should enter a garden, and seeing the gardener planting bulbs, should say, “I do not care for those ugly bulbs, I like the beautiful flowers”. The living of a good life without a foundation of good doctrine is impossible, just as it is impossible to grow flowers without roots. In every case of intelligent action the thought must precede the deed, and thus sound doctrine is the foundation of sound morality."

 

- Islip Collyer

Conviction and Conduct 

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18 September 2017 

 

"The new life in Christ affects a person individually and socially; for not only has he become related to Christ but also to those in Christ. The new spirit guides a man’s actions and governs his relations with others. The whole of the believers are so knit together that their relationship to Christ and to each other is described by the figures of the vine, and of the human body. Christ is the vine, they are the branches; Christ is the head, they are members of his body. In Galatians 5:16 Paul had spoken of “walking in spirit”, the reference being to the individual walk in the way of life. In Galatians 5:25 he uses another word (but translated by the same English word) which denotes a walk in relation to others: “to walk in line”; hence the idea of marching, and with perhaps the suggestion of discipline that is involved in its use as a military term. “If we live in the Spirit”, if the new life is our personal environment, then “let us also march in spirit”; let our united activities be animated by the same principles."

 

- John  Carter

The Letter to the Galatians 
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19 September 2017

 

"Ethics—the philosophy of manners and morals, conduct and character. What has the Bible to say on this subject? Are its utterances such as to convince us that it is indeed “the Word of God”? The answer is that the Bible claims the world of mankind as God’s property, and makes the ultimate life of man contingent upon faith in God’s promises and obedience to His commandments."

 

- C.C. Walker

The Word of God 

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20 September 2017  

 

"The disciple is law-abiding in the country of his residence, not because of loyalty to his country, but on account of his allegiance to the commands of God. The disciple does not have two masters. He has One. Christ has given him the blueprint for living in all parts of his life. In this sense the disciple has but one allegiance, and one citizenship, that of the Kingdom of God."

 

- Harry Tennant

The Christadelphians - What they Believe and Preach

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21 September 2017

 

"Love is always owing. Love is an unceasing duty, as continuous as the requirements of God’s law. And to love is to keep God’s law, for as Paul points out, one who loves is beyond the possibility of doing the things prohibited by the law. “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Paul, like his Master, resolves all enactments concerning duty to a neighbour into the one duty of love: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

 

Primarily God is the object of this love of which Paul speaks. “We love him, because he first loved us,” and love directed towards God finds guidance in God’s will. Love is not an undirected impulse, but a joyful compliance with God’s will, in which obedience the doer becomes like God."

 

- John Carter

Paul’s Letter to the Romans
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22 September 2017

 

"Understand this: Christ’s love was not superficial; it was sacrificial. “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Without dispute this is what he did. Even his enemies testified that this was true. They said, taunting him in the hour of his agony: “He saved others, himself he cannot save.” In their anxiety to condemn him they admitted that he had saved others. Further, in order to do it, he would not save himself. So when he said, “as I have loved you”, it cost him his life to give the declaration its true meaning. It teaches us that love measured by Christ’s example is sacrificial."     

 

- Dennis Gillett

The Genius of Discipleship 
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23 September 2017

 

"Doctrinal truths are basic to spiritual lives. There is religious truth, as well as the truth of the second great commandment—"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". Religious truth is more closely associated with the first great commandment—"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." Humanitarianism bases religion on man’s good works: true religion is based upon God’s. True religion makes God supreme, and His word the basis of all light."

 

- F.W. Barnett

And Who is My Neighbour? (1962)   

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24 September 2017

 

"... We need to realize ours is not an isolated, unrelated journey of faith: it is an historic event which God foresaw, for He chose us for the journey “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4); we are not wayfarers of chance, for Jesus prayed for us when he asked for his Father’s care for “them also who shall believe on me through their (the disciples) word” (John 17:20). So that all the chosen might be one with him and the Father."

 

- John Marshall

Where Are You Going? (1966) 

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25 September 2017

 

"... Conscience is simply the conviction that one’s actions do or do not conform to one’s ideal of right and wrong. And since that ideal varies with the individual, the actions may be right “according to the dictates of one man’s conscience” and wrong according to the dictates of another’s. The Bible is full of illustrations of this. Cain worshipped God “according to the dictates of his own conscience,” which ignored a first principle of God’s religion (the shedding of blood in sacrifice). His offering was rejected by God. Abel “by faith” worshipped God “according to the dictates of his own conscience,” which was enlightened by the word of God. He offered “of the firstlings of his flock” (Genesis 4:4). “And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering” because “by faith” it was “a more excellent sacrifice” (Hebrews 11:4). Because of this he was slain by Cain his brother and fellow worshipper."

 

- C.C. Walker

The Word of God 
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