TFTD - April 2012

[Resource Manager]

01 April 2012

 

"God will be all in all and will at last be revealed to men. In Revelation 21:3-4 we are given a glorious glimpse of God’s perfected plan, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men, He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”

 

In the very last chapter of the Bible we read more about the “healing” of our sick world, and there we meet the joyous, thrilling news;

 

“There shall be no more curse.”

 

And so is brought to its grand finale God’s plan with man.

 

As we look out on the present evil state of this godless world, we may not see much in the shape of a plan. But it is the end we must look to. You do not see the noble lines of a stately building while it is in course of being erected. But the man who designed it ­ the architect ­ and those who have looked upon his plan can see, with the eye of faith, the finished work. They know that when all the waste and worthless and unwanted materials are cleared away after the task of building is complete, the edifice will be plainly seen by all in its full grandeur and beauty.

 

God is the Supreme Architect, the Designer of the great plan of the ages. In His written Word He graciously permits us to view the splendid blue-print of His grand redemptive scheme. Don’t let men’s deeds hide from your mental view this wondrous plan of God. The works of men will pass away; God’s purpose will stand. Nothing that men may do can cause that plan to fail. As the poet has so well put it:

 

What though none on earth assist Him!

God requires not help from man,

What though all the earth resist Him!

God will realize His plan."

 

- Harold Wright

God's Plan with Man

[Resource Manager]

02 April 2012

 

"The best gifts to give:

To your friend, loyalty;

To your enemy, forgiveness;

To your boss, service;

To a child, a good example;

To your parents, gratitude and devotion;

To your mate, love and faithfulness;

To all men and women, charity."

- Oren Arnold

 

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

to which indeed you were called in the one body.

And be thankful."

Colossians 3:15

[Resource Manager]

03 April 2012

 

"Christ had no time for immorality, and neither has any Bible-based church. Chastity, honesty and truthfulness are all musts for the genuine Christian.

 

At the same time, Christ hates self-righteousness, hard-heartedness and unkindness. He condemned the smug bunch of Pharisees who were looking down their noses at an adulterous woman - and then he rebuked the woman, 'Go, and do not sin again.' John 8:11.

 

The lesson of this story is clear. Christ hates both sorts of sin: the hidden sins of the heart, like the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and the more obvious sins, like the adultery of the woman.

 

So we must constantly fight against 'internal' sins, like pride, and covetousness, and unclean thoughts; but we must fight equally hard against the 'external' sins, like cheating the income tax man, gluttony, and lying our way out of a scrape.

 

But this is only the negative side of Christian behaviour - the 'thou shalt nots'. Equally important, maybe even more important, are the positive traits listed in Galatians 5:22-23. 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.'"

 

- Alan Hayward

Great News for the World

[Resource Manager]

04 April 2012

 

Grace - Relying on Grace Rather than Works

 

"We need to be continually reminded that it is not our good deeds or our scriptural knowledge that will save us. It is not a matter of performing sufficient good works in our life to earn us a place in God's kingdom. Nor can we perform enough good works to compensate for the bad things that we do.

 

God requires that we confess our sins and accept his grace. Rather than trying to earn salvation by our works, our works should be motivated by gratitude to God for his grace toward us.

 

When we realise that our works cannot save us, we may be tempted to stop doing good and start doing whatever we feel like. The apostle Paul warned first century believers against being tempted to sin more to receive more grace. He asked,

 

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!"

Romans 6:1-2

 

God will not let us take his grace for granted!"

 

The Way of Life - edited by Rob Hyndman

[Resource Manager]

05 April 2012

 

Can We Have the Best of Both Worlds?

 

"Acts 5 records the sad tale of Ananias and Sapphira, early disciples who pretended to be something more than they were. Caught between two worlds, desiring to have one foot in each, imperfect in their devotions, they lied to the Holy Spirit. They kept back part of the sale price of their possessions, and were struck dead for their pains.

 

We have “sold” the “old man” and laid the proceeds at the feet of Jesus. Have we also kept back part of the price? ­ “I will do this and that for Jesus and then something else for myself.” If we have taught ourselves to think this way as a matter of course, then we will never be “holy”. We will never even be really happy. The “natural man”, like a little parasite, just will not quite let go. The less he is “fed”, the more he will complain and make a nuisance of himself ­ until he is truly killed!

 

Surely, if the cross of Christ is worth anything, it is worth everything. Surely, if Jesus is the Son of God, we must serve him and him alone. Surely, if we recognize that we need the “cure” for sin and death, we must sign up for the “full treatment”. Surely, there can be, in this war, no battles of “containment” or “limited objectives”, but a fight to the finish:

 

“Be ye holy, as I am holy.”

 

“Be ye perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”"

 

That demands our complete dedication."

 

- George Booker

A New Creation

[Resource Manager]

06 April 2012

 

"At every step in that last week at Jerusalem we see Jesus master of the situation and not its victim, controlling events even when men think they have him in their power, making the hour for preparation for the disciples and himself, choosing the time for his rendezvous with his enemies. Master at every moment, shall we say, but one - the mystery of the agony in the garden of the Olive Press when he prays that the cup may pass, yet submits his own will to his Father's.

 

During this week and up to his breathing out his life upon the Cross he more completely than ever lives out the things that were written. Thus it must be - the Son of Man must suffer. Yet he is not merely acting a pre-ordained role; he is meeting his enemies with all the power of his mind and the depth of his own knowledge of "the scriptures, and the power of God". It is they who are fulfilling the prophecy; he knows the course it will take, and he lives it through as the Lamb of God, but he grieves as he sees them going in all assurance the way to their own forewritten doom, judging themselves while they think they are judging him."

 

- L.G. Sargent

The Gospel of the Son of God

[Resource Manager]

07 April 2012

 

"To the thoughtful mind the greatest argument for the resurrection of Christ must always be the fact that Christianity arose with its founder. Nothing but 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. These cowed, despondent men stood forth in the city they dreaded and faced rulers and people alike, indicting them for slaying their Lord, announcing his resurrection, and baptising thousands of repentant Jews who trembled at their words. 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 for his sake."

 

- Melva Purkis

A Life of Jesus

[Resource Manager]

08 April 2012

 

"... the very last word-picture of the Bible-a symbolic Garden in which all these lost delights will be restored to the faithful of mankind. Drawing extensively on the symbology of Genesis this Garden is described as being watered by a river of life, beside which will be a tree of life with healing fruit and leaves. The curse on the earth will be removed, and God will dwell in the Garden and His redeemed will see His face. These also will be invited to serve Him and to have dominion over the earth, this time for ever.

 

... Everything lost on man's expulsion from Eden is restored in far greater measure in the perfect Kingdom of God:

 

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:1-5)."

 

- Peter Southgate

Thine is the Kingdom

[Resource Manager]

09 April 2012

 

"Jesus came with the promise of Life, and he was able to say of himself “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” On the occasion of the death of his friend Lazarus, he comforted his sister Martha with the promise, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11:25.

 

Let us then take hold of that simple fact-­to which human history abundantly testifies, that death is the conclusion of man’s brief life. A future life beyond the grave is not a possession of the soul, but a gift of God to those who have faith in Jesus. To enter that life we must be raised from the dead at the return of Christ.

 

This is a faith for our times, and indeed for all times. By making it our own, our lives will be enriched and encouraged, for to have this faith is to overcome fear and apprehension and to enjoy instead the quiet conviction that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.

 

Let us then take our stand on the side of Christ, for with him is victory and life. Without that faith the future appears dark and foreboding, life itself confusing and purposeless. With that faith we have a sure guide for the present and an assurance for the future, knowing that “We should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:12,13."

 

- R.T.W.S.

A Faith for the Times

[Resource Manager]

10 April 2012

 

Misleading Pictures

 

"More modern ideas present Jesus in a different way. He is the champion of the vagrants, the leader of reactionaries. This too is misleading. Jesus did not come with a social gospel. He was not a superstar. He came to show people a better way.

 

It is his strength of purpose more than his physique or his manner that we should admire. It is the fortitude with which he met scorn and ridicule. It is the way in which, unflinchingly, he faced the cross. The prophets had foretold his suffering. Yet his determination never wavered.

 

Even quite early in his ministry, Jesus had experienced rejection. He had visited Nazareth. At first he had received an enthusiastic reception. People had heard of his teaching and miracles. Men like to be associated with a hero. They welcomed him and pressed home the fact that he had grown up in their town.

 

As Jesus began to talk, they were pleasantly surprised by his words. When, however, he began to say that they would be unwilling to receive his teaching, they changed. They quickly became opposed. When he showed that God had turned to the Gentiles in the past, they became angry.

 

Jesus said that they would use a proverb against him. It was "Physician, heal yourself!". They led him out to the top of the hill on which Nazareth was built. They had intended to throw him over as they did with criminals. Jesus, however, escaped. His words were prophetic though. At the cross they threw those words back at him. "He saved others; himself he cannot save." In effect they were repeating the proverb, Saviour, save thyself.

 

Despite the experience of Nazareth, Jesus did not turn away from Jerusalem. Luke's gospel shows that he "steadfastly set his face" to go there. It is this courage and determination that makes the picture of a pale and sickly figure so unsuitable. It is his isolation from the crowd that makes the idea of a hero of the masses so untrue.

 

Yet there was much more to the Lord than strong resolution only. People came to him with different needs. Whatever their need was, it was met and answered in Jesus. No-one ever came to the Lord and found him too busy. None was ever asked to make an appointment or turned away."

 

- John S Roberts

The Bible, the Lord Jesus and You

[Resource Manager]

11 April 2012

 

Does it Matter What We Believe?

 

"In the sight of God all are sinners and their goodness is inadequate to justify them in His presence. There is only one standard of righteousness, holiness and justice, and that is God’s standard, and God will not at any time compromise that standard in order to accommodate the fickleness of men and women. Sin today is no less sinful than it was in the days of Noah or Eve. God has not evolved from a God who hates sin to a God who merely overlooks it. Human goodness compared with God’s standard of righteousness is stunted and impoverished. It is no good coming to God with our ‘scorecard’ which testifies that we are decent people, we pay our debts and never harm our neighbours. In the context of respectability this may be important, but in the context of salvation it is paltry. Our bit of righteousness is no passport to God’s favour. The Bible teaches that we have to repudiate our own withered morality and confess that we do not measure up to God’s standard. This is called Repentance.

 

Since men and women cannot be received on the basis of their natural goodness, which is inadequate and unfair, God receives them on the basis of their faith. The faith they show is counted by Him as righteousness. This is the great doctrine of justification by faith and explains why it is impossible to come to God faithless, and why those who come must believe. In order to show how the great principle operates the Apostle Paul takes the case of one man, Abraham. Abraham received certain promises from God which, at the time they were spoken, appeared, humanly speaking, to be impossible of fulfilment. But Abraham had faith in the promises in spite of adverse appearances and God counted this for righteousness:

 

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:20-25).

 

Paul insists that the principles which operated in the case of Abraham are true for every man who will come to God for salvation."

 

- Dennis Gillett

One Bible, Many Churches

[Resource Manager]

12 April 2012

 

"The person who removes a mountain

begins by carrying away small stones."

- Chinese Proverb

 

"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,

'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart,

but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask,

believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you."

Mark 11:23-24

[Resource Manager]

13 April 2012

 

The New Man

 

“Follow me” said the King. The call is so simple any child can understand it. Its meaning is so sublime that no philosopher, be he ever so clever, can exhaust the infinite meaning of the mystery-­its genius. It is not misery-­it is joy. It is not doubt-­it is conviction. It is not fear-­it is blessed assurance. Disciples are bond servants, but also friends who know their Master’s will. They are not dragging themselves along reluctantly hoping that their misery may win them some reward. They follow gladly for love’s sake, trusting that because he lives, they will live also.

 

The genius of discipleship-­the transformation-touches every aspect of life. Being called, conviction, trust, surrender, purity, peace, prayer, service."

 

- Dennis Gillett

The Genius of Discipleship

[Resource Manager]

14 April 2012

 

"It is only the fear of God that can deliver us

from the fear of man."

- John Witherspoon

 

"The fear of man brings a snare,

but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe."

Proverbs 29:25

[Resource Manager]

15 April 2012

 

"The Lord showed us, by the death He freely accepted, what our flesh deserves, and if we are ready to be crucified and buried with Him, in baptism, we acknowledge that this is so. The Lord showed us, by the sinless life He lived, what God desires of us, and when we rise from baptism it is with that life before our eyes for our admiration and our imitation. The Lord showed us, by undergoing all these things for our sakes, with what love His Father and He have loved us: and it is a response to that love which makes us seek to live our lives, not merely selfishly in the hope of reward, but also gratefully in the hope of filling up the joy which our Lord will have at the end when the saints He has redeemed stand before Him to share His glory."

 

- A.D. Norris

His Cross and Yours

 

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.'"

Matthew 16:24

[Resource Manager]

16 April 2012

 

"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.

I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance,

and obsequious attendance,

but sincerity and truth were not;

and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board."

- Henry David Thoreau

 

"Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,

just as you are in fact unleavened.

For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.

Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven,

nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness,

but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

[Resource Manager]

17 April 2012

 

Life in Christ

 

"Everything depends on those two thoughts expressed by the Lord in those words which have often been regarded as strange and almost meaningless! "You in me, and I in you." The language is so simple and elementary, the idea so profound. Through Christ life is offered to a perishing world; only "in him" is there safety just as the ark offered the only deliverance from the waters of the flood. Having believed and rendered the initial obedience of baptism we are "in him". We must "abide in him" all through life. Under the cover of his righteousness the best conduct we are capable of rendering will be accepted, although in itself it would be totally inadequate. We are "called to God's kingdom and glory", invited to be "partakers of the divine nature", called with "a high and holy calling", far beyond anything for which we are naturally fitted (1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Peter 1:4; Philippians 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:9). Through Christ we are offered deliverance, and all who are "in him" in the final sense when he has passed judgment will be "made alive" in the full and final change of nature, this mortal putting on immortality, and this corruptible putting on incorruptibility (1 Corinthians 15:53).

 

The first step for us to take is easy. If we believe in Christ with that heart-felt confidence which makes for righteousness (Romans 10:10), - if as a beginning of that righteousness we submit to the simple ordinance of baptism in accordance with his command-we are in him, at least in a nominal sense. His final verdict will depend on the other phase of the simple formula. Is he in us? Have we taken his spirit-quickening words into our minds and built them up into our characters as completely and as literally as on the physical plane we build up our bodies with food and drink?

 

"Be not conformed to this world", says the Apostle, "but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds" (Romans 12:2). The only way to effect this transformation is by continually thinking of Christ and keeping his teaching and example before us in the ordinary experiences of life-his devotion to the will of the Father; his kindness and service to humanity; his complete forgiveness even of the deepest wrongs; his humility, self-sacrifice and steadfast courage. Gradually with the sustained effort to put his principles into practice such thoughts may be built up into character. The essentials for Christian discipleship may be expressed in these simple words of one syllable. We must be in him, and he must be in us."

 

- Islip Collyer

What it Means to be a Christian

[Resource Manager]

18 April 2012

 

"The joy set before us! What glorious visions crowd into our minds if we allow our thoughts to dwell on this theme! Partakers of the Divine nature: equal unto the angels: made unto our God kings and priests, reigning in righteousness, ruling in judgment over a redeemed world and a ransomed earth. What greater joy could be ours than that summarized in the words, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things: and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:7).

 

The contemplation of the joy set before us is enhanced by the thought that it will be bestowed in no grudging spirit. Because of our constant recognition of the difficulties of the way and of the possibility of failure in the day of Christ, we may be in danger of conceiving the idea that God's bestowal of the reward must necessarily be a matter of grave concern and even of hesitating doubt. We need have no such fear. The Scriptures assure us that if we succeed in overcoming there will be no limitation of Divine graciousness in granting the reward for faithfulness.

 

"Fear not, little flock", says Christ to his disciples, "for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." What encouragement to greater endeavour do these gracious words supply!"

 

- F.W. Turner

Meditations

[Resource Manager]

19 April 2012

 

"In Jesus God has revealed to us the eternal qualities of his life. Do we feel when we look at Jesus that that is how we should like to live? Do we feel as we contemplate the beauty of his holiness an overwhelming desire to be like him? If we do, then we can truly say that we want eternal life.

 

Jesus said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). There are two kinds of knowledge. There is a knowledge that is merely factual and theoretic, which can be gained by reading and study. There is a deeper and more valuable knowledge that can be gained by experience. It is unquestionably this latter kind of knowledge that we should have of God. Not that we should neglect the former type, for it is essential that we have an intelligent understanding of the will of God; we cannot have the true experience without the factual knowledge. The truth makes its first impression upon the intellect, but if our knowledge of God goes no further than that, it is all of no avail, for primarily the truth is not for discussing but for living. God is not abstract but personal, and the only way we can really know Him is by sharing His life. “Love, joy, peace ...”; it is empty to talk of these qualities if we have not experienced them, for what can we know of love if we ourselves have not loved? It is this practical knowledge, this sharing of the life of God, that constitutes eternal life.

 

Perfect knowledge of God can only be obtained by those who eventually become partakers of the Divine nature, and share the life of God in the very fullest sense. But we today by our way of life, can illustrate that we are growing in that knowledge. It is the only effective way of declaring our desire for eternal life, for if we have developed no abiding traits of character then in effect we are telling God that we are not really interested in the life He offers us. We might want to live for ever, but we do not want to live the life of God.

 

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). To have that perfect knowledge, or as John puts it, to “see him as he is”, is to be like him. It is a glorious prospect:

 

“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (verse 3)."

 

- A. D. Fifield

The Christadelphian, Volume 97, 1960

[Resource Manager]

20 April 2012

 

"A kind heart is a fountain of gladness,

making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles."

- Washington Irving

 

"Light is sown like seed for the righteous

And gladness for the upright in heart.

Psalm 97:11

[Resource Manager]

21 April 2012

 

"Those who love in the Lord never see

each other for the last time."

- German Proverb

 

"Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness,

but rejoices with the truth."

1 Corinthians 13:6

[Resource Manager]

22 April 2012

 

"A kind word never broke anyone's mouth."

- Irish Proverb

 

"An angry man provokes a brawl,

and the patient man reproves a dispute,

extinguishing it."

Proverbs 15:18

[Resource Manager]

23 April 2012

 

"Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him,

and then chose that way with all his strength."

- Hasidic Saying

 

"In his heart a man plans his course,

but the LORD determines his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

[Resource Manager]

24 April 2012

 

"The offer of reward from God to His sons is the final proof of His true personality. To an abstract Supreme Being it would be impossible; to a Father it is not only possible but natural; and to those who are truly His sons the reward is the occasion of responsive delight in that personality. When we are pleased with a gift the choice of which conveys the very personality of a beloved friend, we say, "It is just like him (or her) to send me that." And it is just like the Heavenly Father to give His children the Kingdom: the gift is as it were a part of Himself; He has planned it throughout the ages: He has "prepared" it with loving care. And for His children the gift is the bond of love."

 

- L.G. Sargent

The Teaching of the Master

[Resource Manager]

25 April 2012

 

"Learn to use ten minutes intelligently.

It will pay you huge dividends."

- William A. Irwin

 

"He who heeds the word wisely will find good,

and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he."

Proverbs 16:20