TFTD - November 2017

[Resource Manager]

01 November 2017

 

"We are told to “walk in love, even as Christ hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour” (Ephesians 5:2). This involves a real sacrifice on our part. We are to be ready to forgive injuries, to fight against the lusts of the flesh. We are to be as lovingly neglectful of self and as lovingly heedful of our neighbours as Jesus was. The supreme account of self-devotion counts life itself of less value than the manifestation of active love to everyone."

 

- Claud Lamb

All Things to All Men (1993)

 

 

[Resource Manager]

02 November 2017

 

"The moment will come when the wisdom of the world of the last days will be confounded, and men will see the glory of the Lord in the earth. In the meantime Peter’s words cross the ages to us and ask: “What manner of persons ought ye to be all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God?” (2 Peter 3:11-12)."

 

- John Marshall

2 Peter (1965)

[Resource Manager]

03 November 2017

 

"The newness of life, if persevered in and nurtured, produces a character having in God’s mercy some basis for perpetuation. In God’s mercy—for we cannot earn life, but we can so follow after righteousness that when the crown of righteousness is bestowed it will be a welcome, an appreciated, and an understood gift. The carnal man who farms the flesh, would feel a stranger in the spiritual world. But a spiritual life now will be found to have been a needful preparation for eternal life which will be bestowed in the day when God judges the secrets of men by Jesus Christ."

 

- John Carter

The Letter to the Galatians 

[Resource Manager]

04 November 2017

 

“To “fear God and keep his commandments”, is “the whole duty of man”, and in that idea we have the foundation of all morality and all good. It is so simple that it seems almost an insult to human intelligence to labour the point, yet it has been so much neglected that even advocates of Christianity have followed secularists in trying to find another foundation for a more limited moral code, and the only other basis they can find is human fashion. If we desired to prepare to meet our fellow man, human fashion would be the best guide, but if we desire to prepare for that far higher society which will only admit those who are made partakers of the divine nature, our foundation must be the law of God.”

 

- Islip Collyer

Conviction and Conduct    

[Resource Manager]

05 November 2017

 

“... “the Father’s will” from the beginning, foreordained from the foundation of the world. The creation of man “in the image of God” is the first step in the divine work. The creation of woman “of the man” as an help-meet for him differentiates mankind from the lower animal creation, and at the same time furnishes a divine allegory of the creation of “the Seed of the woman” and of “the bride” for Christ the heavenly “Bridegroom.” If we destroy the beginning of Genesis we must also destroy the end of Revelation, for Christ’s God-given prophecy is but the complement of the first book of Moses, also and equally God-given.”

 

- C.C. Walker

The Word of God    

[Resource Manager]

06 November 2017  

 

"Life in the modern world is very complex and the disciple is faced with many choices in what to do about everyday matters. Christ has not provided us with a set of rules by which we are to abide, as though being a disciple were to be a matter of law-keeping. Christ’s principles are higher than law, and the disciple’s response is one of love and willingness, reaching out beyond any obligations which laws could provide. His simple daily rule is: What would Jesus do? To a Bible-reading and prayerful disciple the answers to everyday problems are not usually difficult to find."

 

- Harry Tennant 

The Christadelphians - What they Believe and Preach 

[Resource Manager]

07 November 2017

 

"Jesus places no emphasis on legal requirements, but on a transformed heart and mind capable of receiving and understanding spiritual principles, fundamental to the Christian life. The teaching of Jesus concerns the individual. It is a direct appeal to the heart and requires a man to recognize his true nature and so seek salvation by redirecting his life into God’s ways."

 

- Harry Sheppard

The Moral Teaching of Jesus (1960)

[Resource Manager]

08 November 2017

 

"We can scarcely read our Bibles intelligently without quickly becoming aware of two facts. The first is that men can only approach their Maker acceptably in a spirit of humility, and the second is that pride is man’s most deadly enemy, for it is the one thing that above all others separates a man from God."

 

- Ralph Smalley

Along the Road (1959)

[Resource Manager]

09 November 2017  

 

"The candlestick provided light, Jesus was the true light. He also said to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life." As we behold light and life arising from the continual beating of the gold in the production of this vessel, we consider Jesus. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed." Out of all his sufferings Jesus came forth like gold, the symbol of a tried and precious faith."

 

- H. Jenkins

The Light of the World (1965)

[Resource Manager]

10 November 2017

 

“We pray “Thy kingdom come”, and however lofty the meaning of the words they must if they are genuine include the desire for it to come speedily. What relation is there between our prayer for the Kingdom and God’s purpose in appointed times and seasons? The sceptic and the materialist would say “None! how can there be?” Can God advance or hasten His work? The answer involves the tension between foreknowledge and freedom of will which must always exist in our understanding. We cannot know how there can be with God both predetermined times and a loving response to His children’s prayers. To say that we do not know is not an evasion, it is a confession that God is God and we are men. We are sure only of the compassionate Father who through His Son has said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”. Let us ask in faith.”

 

- L.G. Sargent

Continuity in Prayer (1962)

[Resource Manager]

11 November 2017

 

"The mercy shown in Christ went far beyond the restoration of sight to the blind or the strengthening of the wasted limbs of the lame man. It would be perfected in the forgiveness of sins and the abolition of death and the bringing in of immortality through the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). In him the families of the earth would be blessed, as God promised Abraham, and the kingdom would be restored to Israel in terms of the covenants to Jacob and David." 

 

- Alfred Nicholls

Foundation Words of the Faith (1991)

[Resource Manager]

12 November 2017

 

"He became poor that we might be made rich; that we might inherit a precious faith, exceeding great and precious promises, and that we might be partakers of the divine nature. Such, then, are the riches which eclipse all wealth that this temporal life bestows. Such are the true riches of the children of God."

 

- John Morris

Not With Silver and Gold (1987) 

[Resource Manager]

13 November 2017

 

“... to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and faint not when rebuked of him. If we faithfully recognize these warning words, we could obtain much comfort in times of need, for God is merciful. To use the words of the Psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”. Paul says: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).”

 

- J. Clubb

Examining Ourselves (1955)

[Resource Manager]

14 November 2017

 

“It has been the lot of the servants of God in all ages to cry: “Lord, how long?” but the test is in the watching and the waiting. Jesus pointed the way: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. The Psalmist speaks of our “heart being fixed, trusting in God”. If our heart be fixed on the day of Christ we shall be found among those who “love his appearing” and the crown of life will be ours.”

 

- D.S. Grogan

Loving His Appearing (1951)

[Resource Manager]

15 November 2017

 

"God shows His love and gives His blessings to all men. His rain and sunshine are for the benefit of all, even those who deny His existence or blaspheme His name. Such love corresponds with God’s nature, and if we are His children we must be like Him. The love that Jesus inculcates necessitates a real concern for one’s enemies, free from bitterness and in a spirit of disinterestedness. A positive demand is made upon one’s attention which cannot be ignored."

 

- Harry Sheppard

The Moral Teaching of Jesus (1960)

[Resource Manager]

16 November 2017

 

"In a changing world, the things which make up a character pleasing to God do not change—­faithfulness in service, unswerving loyalty to God’s word, diligence in our work, readiness to respond to the call of duty, albeit with humility, in the consciousness of our own insufficiency."

 

- N.L. Evans  

My Servant Moses (1964)

[Resource Manager]

17 November 2017

 

"Once we acknowledge the reality of God, it must follow that the only right conduct—and the only ultimately fruitful conduct—must be that which follows God’s design and purpose for man, and only God can give it. And He has given it—in the law and the prophets, and in the fullness of revelation in Christ. The revealed word of God in the Bible is therefore the only source of moral authority for men."

 

- L.G. Sargent

Moral Standards and Bible Authority (1966)

[Resource Manager]

18 November 2017

 

"Each first day of the week we gather together to worship God, sing praises to Him, pray for guidance, and to remember our Lord Jesus Christ in the way he has appointed: “Do this in remembrance of me.” We remember the sacrifice he made that we might have life eternal. Through his loving submission to death that we might live, he rose again and is now our High Priest in heaven. If we strive to do his will, he will raise us to eternal life in his Kingdom. Then we can share in the glorious work of the future in bringing all nations and peoples to know and love God, so that eventually the whole earth will be full of His glory. This is our hope. The promise for faithful service is: “To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21)."

 

- R. Waite

Service (1968)

[Resource Manager]

19 November 2017

 

“Jesus showed the true ground of eternal life after he had aroused the astonishment of the disciples by saying that it was “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God”. When they asked, “Who then can be saved?” he replied: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible”. It is impossible from the human level—taking your stand alongside of men and trusting to yourselves; but from God’s level—and from that alone—nothing is impossible. The words are so simple as to seem obvious; yet at one stroke they overturn not only the Pharisaic trust in “works of law”, but all human philosophies, which must necessarily start from man’s level and must presume that man has the power to attain his ends. The deepest lesson of the incident of the Young Ruler is that man cannot attain life; his only hope is through trust in Him who makes the impossible possible.”

 

- L.G. Sargent

With God All Things are Possible (1953)

[Resource Manager]

20 November 2017

 

“We are all by nature selfish and it is not easy to grasp the fact that the law and the prophets are founded upon a principle that is selfless: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is a love which yields one’s whole personality, one’s whole being to the Father; it is a love which is purifying and outward looking; it is a Christlike love. It is also a love that was bound to need a second commandment: “You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) as yourself” thus prayer is not only meant to be Godwards, but should turn our thoughts manwards. It is because we remain so strongly selfish that we so often forget to pray for others: our own cares come first.”

 

- John Marshall

The New Life

[Resource Manager]

21 November 2017

 

"We know that those who trust in the Lord will not be disappointed, and that the day comes when all those who have sacrificed little things, which appear great to us in this day of deprivation and weakness, will reap the rich things of the Spirit. They will drink of the river of God’s pleasures: they will have in his presence "fulness of joy for evermore." They will be among those to whom the word comes, "Come ye blessed of my Father; ye have been faithful in few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:34,23)."

 

- C.A. Ladson

Self Control (1921)

[Resource Manager]

22 November 2017 

 

"... "respect of persons," how it touches the natural proclivities of the flesh, does it not? "I am of Paul, I am of Silas, I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?" This is the sort of thing we find in the New Testament. But James directs us to the royal law (James 2:8), the love of God and love of one’s neighbour. What is there above or beyond that? Nothing. Here is the test to apply to ourselves. Is this operative in our case?"

 

- C.C. Walker

The Trying of Your Faith (1925) 

[Resource Manager]

23 November 2017

 

"The consciences of men and women in the world are educated by their environment, by the people they mix with and the books they read. Our standards are similarly influenced to some extent. But the only sound basis for our consciences to build on is the Word of God. According to the degrees of the closeness of our contact with Jesus, and of our sensitiveness to his teaching, there are degrees of conscience amongst us ..."

 

- H.A. Twelves

A Good Conscience (1941)

[Resource Manager]

24 November 2017 

 

"We speak of self-effacement, and mean thereby that a person keeps self in the background, away from view. It is generally a quality which is admirable and bespeaks humility. Often, however, on closer examination, the self which seems so well under control in some ways may be quite unruly in others. That is why we choose to say of Christ that he extinguished self. His victory was not cheaply won, but at the price of strong crying and tears, the mental torment of Gethsemane, and the physical agony of Calvary. Christ sought his Father’s glory, constantly, whole-heartedly, holding nothing back." 

 

- T.J. Boulton

Sunday Morning (1947)      

[Resource Manager]

25 November 2017 

 

“... heavenly citizenship involves not so much forbearing to exercise certain of our rights and privileges as earthly citizens as the undertaking of duties far transcending those which we owe merely as members of some earthly community. “For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the publicans so?” The Sermon on the Mount calls us to something far higher than doing to others what they do to us. “Be you therefore perfect”, is the challenge, “even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

 

- E.J. Newman

Our Citizenship (1940)