TFTD - December 2014

[Resource Manager]

01 December 2014

 

"Faith changes the scene of action and places us on a vantage ground so that we are able to yield ourselves in simple but complete trust to the moulding influence of our heavenly Father’s all-embracing love which never fails, falters or forgets."

 

- Claud Lamb

Spiritual Wrestling (1998)

[Resource Manager]

02 December 2014 

 

"God has chosen the spoken or the written word as His means of communication. Though “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork”, His servant is converted, made wise, enlightened, made glad in heart and warned by His law, testimonies, statutes and commandments (Psalm 19)."

 

- Alfred Nicholls 

Communication through Words (1976)

[Resource Manager]

03 December 2014 

 

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (Psalm 90:12) Such was the Psalmist’s prayer of old, and we must surely be able to repeat that. How will God teach us in His way? The answer to that is, by the scriptures. The apostle Paul, writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, commended him to the scriptures, which he had known from his childhood, and which, said the apostle, are all "given by inspiration of God, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:17)"

 

- C.C. Walker

In the Beginning, God (1932)

[Resource Manager]

04 December 2014

 

"... To-day, we are not in the presence of those works of God, but we are supplied with all that is necessary to convince us of God’s existence, and His wonderful wisdom and love. From that source we must continually learn. The apostles had the personal Word in their midst to demonstrate the fundamental facts of divine truth: we have the written word. Yet, as with the apostles, so with ourselves, personal experience, joined with daily study, is essential to produce that balancing of faith which blends theory and practice."

 

- J.E. Jarvis

Have Faith in God (1941)

[Resource Manager]

05 December 2014

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters." There is a much deeper meaning in the green pastures and still waters than the things that are necessary for this life. A sound ecclesia is a green pasture for the flock of God. Heart searching talks, encouraging exhortations, comforting words rooted in love—real love, the love of the Shepherd at work among us—result in the ecclesia being a real resting place, refreshing, bringing peace to the soul as it rests beside "still waters".

- A. Styles
Green Pastures - An Exhortation

[Resource Manager]

06 December 2014

 

"Day by day, in the treadmill of our daily life, with its routine of work and duty, it is so easy to forget that men have lived and died in the service of the truth—the same service which is required of each of us. It is so easy to forget that our calling is the same as theirs. Surely something more is required of us than this complacency and contentment that is all around us. Let us catch from these records some of their living fire, pattern our lives enthusiastically and vigorously, prayerfully, after the examples of Jesus and his faithful friends. In a quiet humble way, let us each be like John the Baptist, messengers and forerunners, proclaiming the coming of the King."

 

- Arthur Livermore

The Messenger Before the Lord (1955)

[Resource Manager]

07 December 2014

 

"God can only be known as far as He has chosen to reveal Himself. He has revealed that He is "a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". Just as there are treasures and stores of wealth in the material world to reward the diligent labours of men, so there are spiritual treasures for those who search diligently in the Scriptures that have been handed down to us. In the only way possible or desirable in this mortal condition we shall find God if we search for Him with all the heart."

 

- Islip Collyer

Principles and Proverbs

[Resource Manager]

08 December 2014

 

"The work of grace upon us, as we pursue our pilgrimage, may fashion us gradually by our willing consent according to the image of God’s Son, framing in us the mind which was also in Christ Jesus: or it may bring calamity upon us to bring us spiritually to our knees—as it did with Nebuchadnezzar in our example, or with Peter in the judgment hall. But in one way or the other the victory must be God’s so that He may lead us in triumph in Christ, or we are none of His."

 

- Alfred Norris

The Conversion of Nebuchadnezzar (1970)

[Resource Manager]

09 December 2014 

 

"Christ is the glory of the saints and they are his glory. As Christ reflects the glory of the Father, so the saints will reflect the glory of the bright and morning star. All that they shall be is of him. They have no light or glory of their own. As God is light of Himself and created it in our universe to fill the natural heavens with the glory of God, so Christ, the light of the world, is the glory of the new heavens. The saints will become stars of varying size and brightness in those heavens. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). The spirit of these things is to be found in the New Jerusalem, the bride-city of Christ which will have "no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23)."

 

- Harry Tennant

In the Latter Days (1991)

[Resource Manager]

10 December 2014

 

"There are two ways in which we bear fruit to God, and in both of them He is glorified. We must bear the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives, reflecting those characteristics of God that were exemplified so perfectly by Jesus, and we must bear fruit in the lives of others by encouraging them to accept the way of life that has been shown to us."

 

- Ted Byrt 

The Prayers of Jesus (1995)

[Resource Manager]

11 December 2014

 

"In the God-given opportunity to preach, five lessons may be discerned which will assist in the building up of our own characters and fit us to be better teachers in the Kingdom of God. They are: Patience, courage, endurance, watchfulness, and finally peace. Truly "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy." (Psalm 126:5)"

 

- H.G. Tucker

The Preaching of the Word (1951)

[Resource Manager]

12 December 2014

 

"If we are Christ’s then we have departed from the foolish things of this life. As Christ humbly followed the way of life learned from his Father, so must we in humility follow our Lord. If we are true disciples and followers of Jesus, then this new way of life must be the common way of our lives."

 

- David J. Walters

The Godly Life (1962)

[Resource Manager]

13 December 2014 

 

"It was by the attribute of love that God bridged the gulf that separated His eternal power and divinity, His unapproachable light, and His inherent holiness, from men. Love provided the means by which man may be reconciled to God. Through Jesus He invites men to become His children and to live eternally."

 

- W.H. Boulton

Reflections (1956)

[Resource Manager]

14 December 2014

 

"Paul reminds us that we can find out God in measure, even in and through the things of His natural creation, for he says in Romans 1: "The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead." In Psalm 19, the Psalmist expresses himself similarly in sublime poetic phrasing: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day to day utters speech, and night to night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

 

- Cyril Cooper

This is the Gift of God (1961)

[Resource Manager]

15 December 2014 

 

"All the classes of inspired men named in due course passed off the scene. But before that happened, their teaching was committed to the written word, and by it the work of the ministry begun by the apostles has continued. The completed Word gives us the full revelation of God, and by it the man of God is thoroughly furnished unto all good works. The word guides and instructs the builders."

 

- John Carter

Builders of God’s House (1960)

[Resource Manager]

16 December 2014 

 

"The very words which express the Scripture’s qualities, are used to express Timothy’s duty. His life from childhood had taught him what the Holy Scriptures could do; in him they were already doing their work. He must, therefore, with the assurance of the kingdom which should come, and with the omen of false teaching and fables which would come before, exert himself to proclaim their message. The Word of the Scripture could reprove, rebuke. Therefore let it rebuke and reprove with all longsuffering and doctrine, while the time offered."

 

- A.D. Norris

Cause and Effect (1951)

[Resource Manager]

17 December 2014

 

"God is also termed “The Father of Lights”, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. This describes not only His Divine essence, but the purity of His character. Light represents all that is godly and true, and we become children of light when we step from the darkness into the marvellous light of the gospel, and come to the light that our deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God. The statement in Genesis, “He made also the stars”, is from a natural point of view merely an act of creation. They may declare His glory but they cannot personally respond to it, because they are not beings of personality. But spiritually applied these words refer to the children of God. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). “Ye are the light of the world”, says Jesus. “Ye are all children of light”, writes Paul; and again: “among whom ye shine as lights in the world”. Light, like salt, is good. As the lights of the world we should spread the beneficial effects of our light all around us. No man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bed or a bushel."

 

- T.P. McCarthy

God Our Father (1971)

[Resource Manager]

18 December 2014

"The man who lives believing that all the world is in orbit around him will discover that he himself is a meteor, flashing into existence and burning out without a trace. The sure beginning to deliverance is to fear the Lord, to recognize His supremacy, His utter righteousness, to acknowledge that He is "the God of the spirits of all flesh"; that He alone has been able eternally to lift His hand and say, "I live for ever"; that should "He gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust."

- Harry Tennant
Living to Die (1963)

[Resource Manager]

19 December 2014

 

"A choice is ours; upon it depends whether we are limited to things temporal, or whether according to God’s abundant mercy we find an abiding place in things eternal, "to go no more out."

 

- James Carter

Temporal or Eternal (1950)

[Resource Manager]

20 December 2014

 

"When we know our God and realise that all good gifts flow from His hand, surely our gratitude should be expressed in an outpouring of praise which is fully conscious that He provides everything for us, life itself and life eternal."

 

- A.D. Nightingale 

Lift up to God the Voice of Praise (1999) 

[Resource Manager]

21 December 2014

 

"Faith, our faith, is both a blessing and a touchstone. Without faith it is impossible to please God and the more God has done for us, the greater the measure of faith expected of us. In Hebrews 11, that wonderful chapter on faith, among the attributes given of Moses is that "he endured as seeing him who is invisible". He had the right perspective. So now it is our turn, in our little wilderness journey, to exhibit the same faith."

 

- John Mitchell

Perspective (1995)

[Resource Manager]

22 December 2014
 

"As God shepherded the nation of Israel from Egypt in the days of Moses, so He is doing today. “I will gather thee”, is His promise now being fulfilled. He will again plant his vineyard in the mountains of Israel—He will “quicken” His people (Psalm 80:18). The dry bones shall “live” (Ezekiel 37:5—the same Hebrew word as “quicken”), and then shall the earth be at rest. Christ will reign supreme. He will have dominion from sea to sea. He will exercise dominion over the works of God’s hands. “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14)."

 

- S.L. Hale

The Sign of the Son of Man (1951)

[Resource Manager]

23 December 2014

 

"For Jesus says it is the man who hears and acts upon "these teachings of mine" who builds to last. He, then, is the Rock; for from him proceed the words of life. "Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). In the light of the fact, however, that Jesus himself has already said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God", he now assumes nothing less than that when he speaks God speaks. If God’s word is the substratum of all things, and the words of Jesus are the foundation of life, then things equal to the same thing are equal to one another: and the conclusion follows that God speaks in him. No wonder his hearers were astonished, "for he taught as one having authority, and not as the Scribes". Here is a humble peasant who speaks words of undeniable beauty and profound spiritual insight; and he leads up to an implied claim which goes beyond that of the prophets of old, for it is a claim to divinity. Not only is it in his hands to judge for God, but his teaching is the basis on which men’s destiny will be determined. "Never man spake like this man!"

 

- L.G. Sargent

The Two Houses (1949)

[Resource Manager]

24 December 2014

 

"The habit of thinking that we could do much more if we were something else than we are can be a real stumbling block to doing what we might do where we are, according to our ability. The man who wasted one talent made the one talent an excuse for his failure (Matthew 25:24-25). But he would have wasted five. A life spent in dreaming what might be in other circumstances cannot act for the best in present conditions."

 

- Claud Lamb

Stephen (1989)

[Resource Manager]

25 December 2014

 

"Eternal life does not issue from forces which are temporary, half-hearted, lukewarm and dilatory. The disciple’s expectation towards age-abiding life is regulated to some extent according to his participation in the labour. In the day of harvest every labourer will need the mercy of God, but notwithstanding sowers are expected to be persistent, faithful and industrious. Sowing is an act of faith. It is done hopefully, trusting that God will do His part, giving the increase and making harvest."

 

- Dennis Gillett

The Genius of Discipleship