Author: BTP

The Correct Password

Here is an interesting story that shows the fruit of Sunday School work.

In the American Civil War, the Honorable George Henry Stuart, passing through the camp, was challenged by the sentry, because he gave the wrong password. The sentry said: “Mr Stuart, it is my duty to shoot you dead, but I know you; go to the General and get the right word.” Mr Stuart did so, came again, gave the word, and was allowed to pass.

As he was leaving he turned to the soldier and said, “You were very properly anxious about my having the right password; may I ask, have you the right password for eternity?

The soldier answered: “Yes I have, sir.”

“What is it,” Mr. Stuart asked?

“1 John 1:7, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ You gave it to me in Sunday School twenty years ago.”

Many of our readers have no doubt had godly Sunday School teachers. Have they seen the fruit of the many hours they spent with you in class, and the hours they spent in prayer for you in private?

 

Question Page

Q. In Hebrews 9:4 we have the contents of the ark. “The golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.” But in 1 Kings 8:9, we read: “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone.” What do we learn from this?

A. The manna and rod were provided especially for the wilderness journey. The manna was the sustenance of the children of Israel, and is a type of Christ, as He explained in John 6:48-58. The rod was for their support and comfort, as we have in Psalm 23:4. These two items are eliminated in 1 Kings because they will no longer be needed in the millennial reign of Christ, which is the picture we have in the ark coming to rest in Solomon’s temple.

However, the tables of stone remain, because God’s standard remains unchanged, although He can act in grace just as He did in the wilderness because all His holy requirements are met in Christ, of which the ark is a type. The blood was on the mercy seat and as a result God could bless His people without compromise.

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Faith Tested

“He that believeth on Him shall not be confounded” (1 Peter 2:6).

Simply put, the above verse tells us that although God often tests our faith, He will never disappoint our faith.

Abraham had many tests in the path of faith from the time he left Ur of the Chaldees in Genesis 12, until his death in the 25th chapter. Many of them were hard tests, such as the test of taking his son Isaac and offering him on Mount Moriah. But while some of the tests seemed beyond what anyone could be expected to bear, yet God was faithful, and Abraham received wonderful promises and blessings as a result of his faith.

Sometimes our faith wavers and we are not always as faithful as we should be. When that happens, there is a verse that I find to be a great comfort and encouragement. It is the promise of God’s faithfulness, and declares, “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). As the tests come, remember the words of Jesus when He said to Peter, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

 

Monthly Scripture Reading

Luke 2

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

Missed Opportunity

“Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord” (Genesis 18:27).

An English businessman was returning from a European trip before World War I. He got into the Pullman car at Basle, and found that the only other occupant of the car was a pleasant-looking gentleman in the opposite corner. He thought it would be nice to get into conversation, but being reserved and shy by nature he did not do so. As the train drew up to the terminal in Brussels a roll of red carpet was brought to the carriage door and as the gentleman stepped out there were shouts of “Vive le Roi” (Long live the king). It was King Albert of Belgium!

The Englishman telling his friends, said, “I could have kicked myself. I had been for hours in the train with a king who would have been quite ready to talk with me, but I missed the opportunity.”

“Don’t miss the opportunities to speak with the King of Kings in prayer today. He has invited us to, “Come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). We can talk to Him anytime of the day and night.

 

Dear Young Christian:

Someone has wisely said,

“Make your plans with pencil so that
the Lord can rub them out and change them.”

This would be a good motto to keep in mind as you start another week. Often I have had my weekly plans disrupted and changed, and then looked back with thankfulness, realizing that His plans are really the very best.

King Solomon was a wise man, perhaps the wisest man who ever lived, apart from the Lord Jesus Himself. He wrote, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord” (Proverbs 16:33). This is a good lesson for us all to remember. It will help us not to be frustrated when things don’t go the way we had planned and hoped. It will also help us to accept whatever twists and turns and changes He allows this week.

Perhaps Solomon learned the lesson from his father David, who said, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5)?

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to [email protected]

My Whole Heart

“I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation” (Psalm 111:1).

As you meet with other believers today to worship and praise the Lord, remember that He wants us to give wholehearted praise. Not just mumbling some words, or singing without really putting our heart and soul into it. Often our thoughts can be a million miles away, while we merely mouth the words from a number in the hymnal. We can reverently close our eyes while someone else is speaking to the Lord and offering words of praise and thanksgiving, but we are thinking about something else.

If we have been occupied with Christ and walking with Him this past week, we will come together with a true response of praise. The Lord said about certain ones in His day, “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). That is not what He wants from us today. He wants a heart overflowing with an appreciation of Himself and His work.

 

Excuses

“A certain man made a great supper, and bade many…And they all with one consent began to make excuse” (Luke 14:16,18).

When a man prepares a feast, those who are invited rush in, and some who are uninvited may even try to “crash the party.” But when God prepares a feast they all begin to make excuses and don’t want to go.

When you read the whole parable (Luke 14:16-24) you see how foolish the excuses really were. The first man excused himself because he said he had bought a piece of land and had to go and see it. Foolish! He ought to have looked at it first. The second man bought a team of oxen and had to go and prove them. Foolish! He should have proved them before he bought them. The third said that he had married a wife and could not come. He was the most foolish of all! He should have brought his new wife with him.

We shake our heads, but people are just as foolish today. Many are giving lame excuses to God as to why they cannot come to the Saviour. If they don’t repent they will remember those excuses in a lost eternity.

 

Anticipation

How often we anticipate the visit of a loved friend, and count the days expectantly with hopeful joy.

Too often, though, we forget the blessed promise of the Lord Jesus, whom our eyes have never seen. That promise that he gave to the disciples before He went to the cross and then returned to heaven. The precious promise, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself” (John 14:3).

The days and nights come and go, yet still He tarries; but He will not always tarry. His promise is sure; “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). The world was dark and weary when He came the first time, and then, unexpected He suddenly came, “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel” (Luke 2:32). So, as the moral and spiritual darkness gathers over this world today, we can, and should, expect Him at any moment.

Are we among those who are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)? If so, we are greatly blessed! It may be today!

 

The Twelve Apostles – Part 12

Thomas

“Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus” (John 20:24). Thomas was his Hebrew name and Didymus was his Greek name. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us nothing about Thomas other than his name listed with the other disciples. However, in John’s Gospel we find him speaking up at the raising of Lazarus (11:16), in the Upper Room (14:5), and after the resurrection when he declares that he would not believe until he had seen the Lord, which opportunity the Lord graciously gave him (20:24-29). He was also among those who later went fishing with Peter (21:2).

We sometimes refer to him as Doubting Thomas, but it was really more than that…it was unbelief. He said, “Except I shall see…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas was a true disciple, but there came a time when His heart was full of unbelief. It is possible for a true believer to come to that point. If we are not careful we can become unbelieving believers. The Lord said to him, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

He is later listed with those who were in the Upper Room waiting for the descent of the Spirit of God (Acts 1:13).