TFTD - May 2014

[Resource Manager]

01 May 2014

"The wonderful expression of Jesus to his disciples comes down to us in these last days with undiminshed force and eloquence, as he says: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman" (John 15:1). The word 'husbandman' derives from the Greek georgos and is also translated to mean 'vinedresser' or 'cultivator'. This is the glorious Vine of God’s planting–a unique Vine that sustains us, the branches, with its life-giving sap as we grow spiritually in him as his true disciples and in our longing for the Kingdom and his righteous reign upon the earth. He is the "true vine" that has changed our lives in a way that we could hardly have thought possible by the truths that he taught and by helping us to become fruitful branches in him: "...so shall ye be my disciples" (John 15:8)."

- D. M. Elliott
So shall Ye be My Disciples (1997)

[Resource Manager]

02 May 2014

"For soon the light will shine in the darkness and the morning will break. The fig tree will blossom and the fruit be in the vines and the time of harvest will be come. The garment of praise will be given for the spirit of heaviness and the new wine of the Kingdom will be offered and we shall drink it with our Lord."

- Alfred Nicholls
Until He Come (1976)

[Resource Manager]

03 May 2014

 

"Imagine this fair earth peopled with men and women in loving companionship, exhibiting these beautiful traits of character! Those whose mode of life, whose words and works, justify the conclusion that they are actuated by that wisdom which is from above; being first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good works, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Gone—the coarse jest, the foul oath! Gone—the cheap wit, the smart banter! Gone—the God-dishonouring intellectual vapourings of scientific scepticism! All gone, like a hideous nightmare, never to return; and instead—what? A condition of things in which it will truly be said:—

 

“And God blessed them ... And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.”

 

- W. Biddle

The Godly Man (1911)

[Resource Manager]

04 May 2014

 

"Our friendships, our loves, our fellowship, must be governed exclusively and completely by the expressed will of God in doctrine and practice. We must "hate every false way" in His eyes, no matter in whom found. Only so can we be "lovers of God more than lovers of men"; only so can we be acceptable to Him. He rightly requires that He and His Truth shall stand first of everything in our affections and lives; no thing or person, even the closest human affinity, coming between. "This is a hard saying"—but—"them that honour Me, I will honour."

 

- W.J. Livermore

Musings (1932)

[Resource Manager]

05 May 2014

 

"The religious world is full of people who admire the Man of Nazareth. To admire and to discuss but not to submit is really in the end merely to patronise. Nor will it be accomplished by a kind of ritual imitation. A man may do externally the things which Christ did. He may go about washing people’s feet, using only Bible words, speaking in the open and having no permanent home—and yet be not a true disciple for all that. Because, in the end, the real test is a test of the spirit. The heart is the place where the final judgement is made."

 

- Dennis Gillett

The Genius of Discipleship 

[Resource Manager]

06 May 2014

"The One who authored the instruction book knows. The One who created us knows the best way for us to go. He tells us in His Word how best to live the lives He has given us. And we can prove that to ourselves by learning and living what His Word has to teach us. We’re not left to muddle through this life in frustration and ignorance, living "lives of quiet desperation," to quote the words of Henry Thoreau, which he said, "the mass of men lead." Life is meant to be a whole lot better than that!

You can have all that is necessary for a satisfying life when you follow the way of the Spirit."

- Colin Attridge
The Fruit of the Spirit

[Resource Manager]

07 May 2014

"Holiness comes by consecration of the heart. The world can be in our hearts whether or not we are in the world. We can be apart from the world though our daily task brings us into close contact with it."

- H. Tennant
The Man David

[Resource Manager]

08 May 2014

"Jesus taught that God feeds the birds of the heaven and clothes the grass of the field, He knows the fall of a sparrow to the ground, and the very hairs of a man’s head are all numbered. God counts no detail, however small it may be, as insignificant or beneath His notice; neither is there anything too great for Him."

- J. Sutcliffe
The Immanence of God (1932)

[Resource Manager]

09 May 2014

"Living “according to the course of this world” is the condition of death: being new created in Christ Jesus unto good works is the condition of life. ‘Flesh,’ our mortal, unredeemed condition, is the substance of the former; and ‘spirit,’ the new-found association of the believer with the things of God, is the foundation of the latter: “The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:1-11)"

- A.D. Norris
Understanding the Bible

[Resource Manager]

10 May 2014

"The work of God must go on with unflagging zeal when the Word of God is really appreciated. It is the law of cause and effect. “Faith which works by love”, the Apostle calls it. When the hands hang down in inactivity and the work of the Truth is neglected, let us beware! Where the Living Word is, there will be life."

- L.W. Richardson
The Spectacles of Faith (1948)

[Resource Manager]

11 May 2014

"The problems of life that come upon us daily can best be met with faith and patience, and the lesson of Scripture will not be lost upon those who seek its guidance, such as we find in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1)."

- D.M. Elliott
Patience (1968)

[Resource Manager]

12 May 2014

"Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1)

"With the stereoscope of faith we are able to comprehend "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge"; we can perceive a depth of beauty in the arrangement, and in the order, of things appertaining to the purpose of God; we can estimate the position of our own times relative to the scheme; and we can perceive the relationship of apparently drab and uninteresting happenings in our everyday life. The printed page of Scripture becomes blended with the history of fulfilled prophecy, the two being fused together by the instrumentality of faith to produce the living, life-giving Word. We feel that we are able to say, "We have seen with our eyes and our hands have handled of the Word of Life."

- L. Crawford 
The Stereoscope of Faith (1931)

[Resource Manager]

13 May 2014

"One help not to be neglected in Bible study is reading and discussion with others. We do not all have the same background, experience or disposition, therefore we differ in our perception of the things we read. Gathered around this common interest we complement each other and each other’s understanding ... "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name" (Malachi 3:16)."

- Derrick Banyard
God’s Living Word

[Resource Manager]

14 May 2014

"In our early experience of God, the study of His word may well be a matter of self-discipline but it should grow into a need and a delight, resulting in continuous communion with God ... in the Psalms, we encounter the idea of hunger and thirst for God. One of its most vivid expressions occurs in Psalm 42:1, 2: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?"

- T.J. Barling
Delight in God's Law (1972)

[Resource Manager]

15 May 2014

"The contrast between the wise and the foolish is seen in the parable of the ten virgins. Here are those who know that the bridegroom is coming, and who know too that they must be prepared. The difference between them is the degree of preparedness. There is a deal of self-examination when the cry is heard "Behold the bridegroom cometh", but it is too late. The time for self-examination has gone. Clearly the right time to examine and test the lamps, and to see to the supply of oil is before the call comes, before the virgins fall on sleep. And what is more, such an examination can yield a positive answer. The virgins in the parable could have checked their supplies; either there was enough oil, or there was not. Here was an ascertainable fact, not just an opinion. This suggests that it is possible to arrive at an assessment of our position by applying the test, or in the words of Paul to see "whether we are in the faith". The figure used in the parable suggests the nature of the test. The purpose of the oil was to provide light, and the only light we have, or can have, is provided by the living Word. Here we can take stock and assess our resources. How regularly and how diligently do we apply ourselves to the reading and study of the Word? How often have we neglected our spiritual food for other things? Is our knowledge and understanding of the truth continually being extended and enriched? The answers to questions like these, which we are all able to provide for ourselves, will determine whether we are wise or foolish, whether we are "in the faith"."

- Philip Hinde
Examine Yourselves (1975)

[Resource Manager]

16 May 2014

"It is a wonderful destiny which is held out to us, and we can well appreciate that none of the things of the present can be comparable “to the glory which shall be revealed”. We are certainly living in the days when Jesus will leave the Father’s right hand and descend to earth to re-establish “the tabernacle of David which is fallen down”, to assert his power and authority, to cleanse the world ... and give the world a righteous government such as is depicted in Psalm 72."

- James Carter
Equal Unto the Angels (1973)

[Resource Manager]

17 May 2014

"Jesus was the wise ambassador who successfully chose the middle course. He was such a good mixer that he was invited to a banquet in his honour by Matthew, the dreaded public servant. This was probably because Jesus had recently added a new dimension to Matthew’s life. Jesus accepted the invitation, and during the evening found the opportunity to reply to a remark made to the disciples by the Pharisees, who were critical of what they erroneously saw as Jesus’ “non-exclusivist” policy: “Why do you eat with tax-collectors and sinners?” It was in such a delicate situation that Jesus showed his competence in promoting the Truth. Again, how easily and how quickly he was able to enter into conversation with the rather disreputable woman at the well. He was a brilliant opportunist in turning all openings to the advantage of the Gospel."

- S.L. Dando
Ambassadors for Christ (1975)

[Resource Manager]

18 May 2014

"Let us take courage ... and go on our chosen way, encouraged by the thought that the Lord God of heaven looks with favour upon the humble and the contrite and those who "tremble at his word". He remembers those who "fear his name" and "speak often one to another". He will have mercy on them and will make them part of His treasure in the day when He sends Jesus to judge the earth. In thankfulness we await in quiet reverence the next stage in the long process of the formation of God’s people, rejoicing in the hope of our redemption from "this bondage of corruption" and our inheritance of eternal life."

- Fred Pearce
A People of God's Name (1996)

[Resource Manager]

19 May 2014

"The Truth is something very much more than a set of doctrines; it is a living thing, something that must find expression in our lives, in the things we think, and say, and do."

- W.H. Boulton
The Influence of Christ (1935)

[Resource Manager]

20 May 2014

"The trusting heart believes that nothing in the life of faith is outside the compass of the Lord’s control. Underneath the deepest weakness are the everlasting arms. Sorrows are encircled and fears are cradled by the tenderness of the great God. In the very thing which seemed full of perplexity his love is discovered. His strength is made perfect in weakness. The purpose of God gets underneath rock bottom. By faith the perplexed heart may receive of His quietness and strength. Even hard things He will make to be the minister of good. The adversary proves to be a friend."

- Dennis Gillett
Diseases of the Soul

[Resource Manager]

21 May 2014

"The uniqueness of our faith ... arises first from our whole-hearted acceptance of all the Scriptures and all their teaching. This is its essential basis. Realising that this teaching is the expression of the mind of God, we should strive to accept its spiritual implications, so that we are no longer "fashioned according to this world", but "transformed by the renewing of our minds", and thus enabled to experience what is "good, acceptable, and perfect", even the will of God for us (Romans 12:12), and so to pursue our way, "rejoicing in the Lord alway"."

- Fred Pearce
Our Community Today (1977)

[Resource Manager]

22 May 2014

"The call to preach is not a duty which, with a shrug or a lame excuse, we can opt out of. We must speak;  "we cannot but speak". Though of course God is not constrained by our feeble efforts in His great work of calling out a people for His Name, nevertheless He graciously commands our participation.

"Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8)."

- Morris., Owen
The Ecclesia in the Last Days (1988)

[Resource Manager]

23 May 2014

"Jesus Christ himself attached great importance to keeping his commandments. In language which is simple and clear, he said: "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14). Again he enjoined upon the apostles: "Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). He also said that in the day when the Kingdom of God will be established men will not secure his permission to enter by having acknowledged him as Lord, but by having obeyed God's commandments: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21)." 

- John Carter
God's Way           

[Resource Manager]

24 May 2014

"We are, it is true, called to be separate, purified to God a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9). But the separation is not one of superiority nor of isolation. The "Friend of publicans and sinners" (Matthew 11:19) who received them and ate with them, was nevertheless "separate from sinners, holy, harmless, undefiled." (Hebrews 7:26) When we turned from idols to serve the living and the true God, it was not thenceforth to shun and despise those who seek to idols still, but to yearn and to labour that they might be brought to come with us. We were brought from idolatry, and through no goodness of our own our stain of sin-worship was washed away, and we cannot now turn to those who remain and say, "Depart from me, for I am holier than thou." When David came to know his sin and seek forgiveness, it was with a clear understanding of what he should do when forgiven. "I have sinned," he says. "Forgive and cleanse me, and I will go and preach thy forgiveness to other sinners." (Psalm 51)"

- A.D. Norris
Preaching the Word

[Resource Manager]

25 May 2014

 

"... never forget that ‘believer’ starts with that important little word be. It’s also worth noting that the second half of the word—lieve—shares a common root in English with the word love. So one might say that to be a believer is to be one whose being is associated with loving!"

 

- Colin Attridge

The Fruit of the Spirit