Month: January 2024

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing” (Matthew 5:13).

We are all familiar with salt, for it is a necessary part of our diet, and is important for the health of our bodies. Salt makes many kinds of food taste better, and has played an important role in the history of this world. Wars have been won or lost based on the availability of salt, for before the invention of refrigeration, armies needed salt to preserve food, and to support their horses and cattle. The availability of salt was a factor in both the American revolutionary war and the American civil war. The ancient Romans used salt on green leafy things that they ate, and often paid their soldiers with salt. For this reason the English words “salad” and “salary” come from the root word for salt.

But salt was also used as a punishment, for salt makes the land unable to grow crops. If saltwater from the sea washes onto farmland, it is useless for one year. If conquered people rebelled against the Romans, they would sow their fields heavily with salt. This made them unable to grow food for three years, and served as a harsh reminder not to rebel again.

In the Word of God, salt speaks of holy grace. It is a preservative, and speaks of the grace and goodness of God, but always in a holy and pure way. For this reason the Lord says that believers are the salt of the earth. We are left here to show both the grace and the holiness of God. Many people may not read the Bible, but they should be able to see God’s character in you and me as Christians.

It is possible even for true Christians to lose that savor, and not to be the salt of the earth. In that case, the Lord asks, How will you season it? It is good for nothing, for you cannot season food with it, and to throw in on the land only makes the land infertile. So it is with unfaithful Christians. They do not feel comfortable with faithful Christians, and if they go out with the world, their consciences bother them there too. They do not feel comfortable anywhere. How important it is to be real salt that has an effect on others!

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27).

It is a wonderful thing to have peace, yet today we live in a world that is anything but peaceful. Everywhere we look there is some kind of trouble — climate change, floods, drought, wildfires, hurricanes and tornadoes, as well as man-made problems such as world poverty, internal strife in countries, the threat of war between countries, oppression of minorities, and many other things. As I write this, all of the above problems are further complicated by the Covid-19 virus, which is now threatening us with variants of different kinds. If we look for peace from our surroundings, we will not find it.

However, our verse promises us peace, and in two different ways. The Lord Jesus first of all left us peace, and this is the peace we enjoy because of His work on the cross. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). That peace has been made “by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20), and nothing can shake it. The question of our sins has been settled once and for all.

But then the Lord Jesus gives us another kind of peace, and He gives it to us as a gift, just as someone might leave us something in his will when he dies. When Jesus spoke these words, He was about to go to the cross, die, be buried, and placed in a tomb. But then He knew He would rise again, ascend up to heaven, and wait for the moment when He would come back to take us to be with Him. In the meanwhile, He gives us His peace — the peace in which He walked before God the Father during His pathway through this world. He accepted all His circumstances from His Father, and as the perfect dependent Man, took all His difficulties to His Father in prayer. This is the secret of a happy Christian pathway, and the secret to having peace.

We must first of all come to Christ as our Savior and have our sins forgiven. Then we receive a new life in Christ, and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. After that, we can take the legacy the Lord has left to us, for He has given us His peace. There was no peace like His — a peace that was not disturbed by any circumstances, for He accepted them all as from His Father. We cannot change our circumstances, but we can react to them in the right way. Then we enjoy “His peace.”

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“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

As we have seen in our meditation on January 24, our natural hearts are never satisfied, and we always want more. If this way of thinking has a hold on us as Christians, it will make us covetous, and our conversation will show it. We must learn to be content with such things as we have, for as we have seen, nothing in this world will satisfy our hearts. Only the Lord can do that, and as we read in our verse, He will never leave us nor forsake us.

In today’s world it is easy to get into debt, and to borrow money by using credit cards, easy loans, etc. in order to buy things we think we need. But the Bible warns us about debt, telling us, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another” (Romans 13:8). While every kind of debt is not wrong, it is a bad practice to borrow money to buy things we cannot afford.

Like William Colgate’s family, the family of William Borden (who was born in 1887), had also emigrated from England to America, but much earlier. The Bordens had come over in the early 1600’s and settled in New England. They later moved to Indiana and started the Borden Milk Company. William Borden inherited a fortune when he was still in university and was a millionaire before he was twenty. Cars were just starting to become more common in the early 20th century and Borden loved cars. Once he saw a beautiful car go by and remarked to a friend, “My, would I ever like to have a car like that!” Knowing that William Borden had plenty of money, his friend replied, “Then why don’t you get one?” “I can’t afford it,” Borden said. William Borden was a Christian, and he knew that his money belonged to the Lord. While he could appreciate a nice car, he would not go out and spend the Lord’s money on something that would not help him in his service for the Lord.

A few years later, in 1913, William Borden went to Egypt as a missionary, and died that same year of meningitis (an infection in the brain). When they looked at his will, it was found that he had left all his fortune for Christian work, a sum that would be worth more than twenty-six million dollars in today’s money. He had plenty of money, and could have lived a life of luxury, ease, and pleasure. But he looked beyond it all, and gave not only his money, but his life for the Lord. Some felt that he had thrown his life away, and questioned whether it was worth it to have died so young. But his life inspired many others to give up ease and prosperity, and to use their talents, money, and lives for the Lord. Their contentment came from a sense of doing the will of God, not having more possessions.

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“Upon the first day of the week [the Lord’s day] let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him” (1 Corinthians 16:2).

Sometimes Christians ask the question, How much of my money should I use for the Lord? In the Old Testament the nation of Israel was commanded to give one-tenth of what they had been given. In their case it might not always have been money, but perhaps some of the produce from their farms. But in the New Testament we are not told how much to give; it simply says, “As God hath prospered him.”

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian assembly about Christian giving, he reminded them twice of how much the Lord Jesus had done for them. When we think of how much it cost the Lord Jesus to bear our sins on the cross, it is not hard to give our money to the Lord. We will want to be generous!

Most of you are familiar with Colgate products — things such as soap and toothpaste. The company was started by William Colgate, who emigrated from England to the United States in 1795, at the age of twelve, along with his family. By the age of twenty-three he had started the Colgate Company, which in those days made only soap. Later his younger brother joined the business, and they began to make other products.

William Colgate was an earnest Christian who lived to please the Lord. When his business got larger, he had to hire a bookkeeper. In looking through the company’s ledger books, the bookkeeper was surprised to find that right from the beginning, one-tenth of all the money the company took in had been transferred to a place in the books called “God’s column”. That money was to be used only for the Lord; never for company expenses, or for personal use. When the bookkeeper asked William Colgate about it, he explained it, and told the bookkeeper, “Make sure you always put one-tenth of all the company income in that column. See that God is never cheated!” Later, William Colgate increased this percentage, so that much more than one-tenth of his money was used for the Lord.

Even when we are young, it is good to get in the habit of using some of our money for the Lord. Sometimes giving one-tenth of our money is referred to as “tithing,” and while the New Testament does not specify this amount, yet someone has said, “Tithing is the ‘training wheels’ of giving.” We have all seen training wheels on bicycles for small children. They help them to learn to ride, yet prevent a nasty fall. Later, when they can maintain their balance, they do not need the training wheels. If we become accustomed to putting aside some of our money for the Lord, it becomes a good habit that we can carry into our adult lives. Then, when we get older, perhaps we may able to give more than one-tenth, for as we have already seen, everything we have belongs to the Lord, and we are only stewards of it.

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“They that WILL be rich fall into … many foolish and hurtful lusts” (1 Timothy 6:9).

“Charge them that ARE rich in this world, that they be not highminded (proud), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God … That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate” (1 Timothy 6:17-18).

The Word of God recognizes that there is a difference between those who desperately want to be rich, and those who happen to be rich because the Lord has given them a lot of money. Those who set out to be rich are usually people who somehow think that more money will make them happier, and because of this they devote their time, energy, and abilities toward making money. Sometimes they are very successful, but it is often like the verse in Psalm 106:15 — “He (God) gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” This happens even in a natural sense sometimes. We have already mentioned John D. Rockefeller, who was the wealthiest man in America in the early 1900’s. But by the time he was fifty years old, his health was poor, and he could not enjoy all his money. He could not eat properly, and most people expected him to die soon. But when he started to use his money for others, his health improved, and he lived to be a very old man. Why? He was not thinking of himself anymore. It is even more true of us who are Christians, for if we go after the things of this world, we will not enjoy our true riches.

However, the Bible recognizes that some Christians will be diligent in their business or other line of work and may well become rich. They have not set out to make money, but the Lord has allowed them to become wealthy. Then there is a much greater responsibility before God to use that money for Him.

First of all, we are not to trust in those riches, for wealth in this world is uncertain. Money can become much less through things like inflation, changes in government, and many other events. Rather, the Lord wants us to trust in Him, for He will never fail us.

Secondly, we are to use that money to help others, and not simply hoard it in a bank account or some kind of investment. If we look around, and especially in poorer countries in this world, it is not hard to find those who can use some help. Then we have the joy of giving in our hearts, for that is the character of God. God is a giving God, and when we give to others, we are being more like Him.

Perhaps you say, I am not rich. By this world’s standards, that may be true. But those of us who live in so-called western countries are all rich beyond the wildest dreams of most of this world’s population. We can well afford to use our money for the Lord.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:12).

In yesterday’s meditation, we mentioned “our money.” It does not really belong to us, it really all belongs to the Lord. This is true of everything we have, whether it is our money, our other possessions, or our bodies, our natural abilities, and our spiritual gifts. All belong to the Lord, and we are only stewards of those things.

Most of us do not have stewards in our homes today, but in times past, wealthy homes often had a steward, who was entrusted with managing the household. Sometimes this man was called a butler. The things for which he had responsibility were not his; they belonged to his master, but he was given the job of using them in the right way, and according to his master’s instructions. He was allowed to do this because his master trusted him and counted on him to use the goods properly.

In the story in Luke 16 from which today’s verse is taken, the steward was accused of being unfaithful, and of wasting his master’s goods. Because of this his master was not going to allow him to be his steward anymore. In modern language, we would say he was going to be fired.

In the same way, the Lord has given us things like money and other possessions and expects us to use them for Him. We cannot take them with us to heaven, but we can use our money to lay up treasure in heaven. But as our verse says, if we are unfaithful with our money, which really belongs to the Lord, how shall we expect to receive “the true riches” which really belong to us?

This refers to our spiritual blessings, which are really ours. According to Ephesians 1:3, we are “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” God has given them to us, and every believer is equally blessed, for God has no favorites in His family. But our enjoyment of those blessings depends on our walk as Christians, and if we are unfaithful in using our money and other possessions for the Lord, we will not enjoy those spiritual blessings that are really ours.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (Luke 12:33).

In several of these meditations we have mentioned laying up treasure in heaven. What do we mean by this? In years gone by, pirates sometimes hid treasures of silver and gold in “treasure chests” which they buried in carefully hidden places. At some later date they intended to go and get it and live as rich men. But many times they never did go back and claim their treasure, and it remained buried where they had left it. Worse still, someone else found out where it was, and stole it from them. Even if they did eventually go and get it, it lasted only for this life; they could not take it with them when they died.

However, you and I as Christians have the privilege of using what we have down here in this world — our money, our various possessions, our time, and our energy, for the Lord. We do not have long in this world — only a few years, yet God tells us that we are to use that time to prepare for eternity. It is an awesome thought that the few short years we have in this world will affect us for all eternity!

People who lay up treasure in this world often spend a great deal of their time collecting it and making sure that it is secure. A man who lived across the road from us for many years once told me that he and his family had gone through a lot of effort to make very sure that they would inherit the property that surrounded their home. Yet he died before he ever got that property; now someone else has it. But if we use what we have for the Lord, He tells us that we can lay up treasure in heaven. No one will ever steal it, nor can anything spoil it. That treasure will be the reward the Lord gives us for using our time, money, and energy for Him down here. Naturally we all want the things of this world, but a Christian man by the name of Jim Elliot expressed it well when he said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot gave his life for the Lord as a martyr back in 1956, as he and some other young men were bringing the gospel to the Auca Indians in Ecuador. He did not try to get rich down here, but he will have treasure in heaven.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Money does not motivate everyone in this world, but it certainly motivates many people. John D. Rockefeller, from the state of Ohio, U.S.A., started the Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller was at one point the world’s richest man and the first ever American billionaire. Considering he was a billionaire in the early 1900’s he is still considered as the richest person in modern history. A newspaper reporter once asked him, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.”

How much is enough money? If John Rockefeller always needed a little more, will you ever have enough? And how will you know when you have enough money to make you happy? The Word of God tells us that nothing in this world is enough to make us completely happy, for our hearts were made for eternity, not just for time. As we have already noticed several weeks ago, King Solomon, who lived about three thousand years ago, had everything he could possibly want. More than this, he was also a very wise man, for the Lord had given him a great deal of wisdom. People came from many different countries to hear his wisdom. Yet he had to admit that “all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). (Vanity means emptiness, and vexation means troublesome or irritating.) Even his wisdom was not always a welcome thing, for he said, “In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Ecclesiastes1:18). The more we know, the more we realize how sinful this world is, and how much trouble and heartache there is around us.

Also, as our verse tells us, money often causes people to do wrong things. This verse does not mean that all the evil in this world is because of money. No, there can be evil in this world that has nothing to do with money. Rather, it means that every kind of evil can be the result of difficulties over money. Things like lying, cheating, computer fraud, gambling, and even murder can be caused by the love of money. Even Christians can get caught up in all this, and bitter feelings can result from disputes over money. The world has a saying that you never really know someone until you have to share an inheritance with them. I have known more than one Christian family that fought over an inheritance, and in some cases the angry feelings never went away.

The Bible is the only book in the world that tells us to look beyond this world, and to lay up our treasure in heaven. We can do this whether we have a lot of money, or perhaps only a little. We can use our money for ourselves, or we can use it for the Lord. It really all belongs to Him, and we are told to use it for Him. Then He will give us a reward in heaven.

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“The god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Yesterday we spoke about the importance of being saved now, but how often people do not want to believe. In today’s verse we read how that Satan has blinded them so that they do not see the “gospel of the glory of Christ” (JND translation).

Satan is now the god of this world, and controls men’s minds by appealing to their lusts (their sinful desires). The world system of which Satan is the god began a long time ago with a man named Cain, who was the first son of Adam and Eve. You may remember how that when he and his brother Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord, Cain offered to God things that he had grown in his garden. God could not accept this sacrifice, but his brother Abel offered a sacrifice of a lamb that God could accept. No doubt Cain brought his very best things from his garden, but the Bible tells us, “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). God required a blood sacrifice, because it speaks of the Lord Jesus, whose blood is the only thing that can wash away our sins. Because God did not accept his sacrifice, Cain hated his brother and murdered him when they were out in the field together.

Later we read that when the Lord spoke to Cain about what he had done, Cain first of all lied about it, and then, when he realized that the Lord was going to punish him, tried to pretend that the Lord was being too hard on him. (God had pronounced a curse on him. From that time on, his garden would not produce as well as before, and he would be a “fugitive and a vagabond” (wanderer) in the earth. This means that he would always be afraid that someone would come after him, and that people would look upon him as a bad man.) There were four things that described Cain, and they are the same things that describe Satan’s world today. First of all, Cain never repented of his sin. Second, he complained about his punishment, instead of being sorry for what he had done. Third, “He went out from the presence of the Lord” (Genesis 4:16). He did not want anything to do with God. Fourth, he built a city, and surrounded himself with everything that might make him happy, but leaving God out. For these reasons, the Bible tells us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

We must live and work in the world as it is today, but the Lord Jesus says that those who are saved are IN the world, but not OF the world. You may read this in John 17:11, 14. This means that even though we live in the world, we do not belong here. Our real home is in heaven, and we are just passing through this world. But we are to use the opportunities given to us to tell others about the Lord Jesus, so that they may be saved too.

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“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

More than 75 years ago, a Christian man was preaching the gospel in a simple room with only a dirt floor, and quite a few had come to listen. In order to illustrate that salvation was a free gift, he held up a bag of money. In that bag were many coins, and each coin was worth as much as a man would earn for working a whole day. Then he said, “Anyone who comes up here in the next minute will get one of these coins free.” He looked at his watch, and the seconds ticked by — 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. But no one came up. The time went on — 40 seconds, then 50 seconds. Suddenly a boy came up from the back of the room, held out his hand, and with a smile the preacher gave him one of the coins.

He turned to go back to his seat, but an old man who was sitting at the front said to him, “Let me see it, boy.” So the boy handed it to him, and the old man took the coin and threw it against a rock that was sticking out of the floor right in front of his chair. Why did he do that? He wanted to see of the coin was real, for the old man thought it was probably just fake money. But when the coin struck the rock, it gave a metallic ring that told the old man that it was real money. He shouted out, “It’s good! It’s good!”

You can imagine what happened then. Immediately everybody in the room came to the front to get a coin too. But the preacher looked sadly at his watch, then at the crowd, and slowly said, “No, for I told you that you must come up within one minute, and now the minute is past. No one will get a coin tonight except this boy, for he believed me when I offered it.” When the preacher told me this story, he said that there were enough coins in the bag to give one to each person in the room, if they had believed him and come up to the front during that minute. Yet only one boy received one.

Most of these meditations have been written to Christian young people, but perhaps someone who has been reading them is not saved. It is important not to be like those people who did not believe that the preacher would give them real money. They did not get a coin that night because of their unbelief, but it is far more serious not to believe God, and to miss out on the salvation of your soul. God does not promise us that salvation be available tomorrow; He says, “Behold now is the accepted time.”

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