Month: January 2016

Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Reuben

“The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn”
(Genesis 35:23).

“And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:32).

Reuben was the one who saved the life of Joseph when his brothers thought to kill him after Joseph was sent by his father to see how his brothers fared. “And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit” (Genesis 37:21-22).

Later on when they went to buy corn in Egypt, he offered to be responsible for Benjamin’s safety. Jacob, when blessing his sons, said, “Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch” (Genesis 49:3-4). This denotes the failure of the firstborn and implies the loss of his birthright.

 

Gentleness

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

How beautifully a pure, peace-loving and gentle person stands out in a crowd! We aren’t talking about strength and muscle here. We’re talking about the pure and gentle of tongue, the peaceable and gentle in personality, one who is gentle in their reaction to others. One who does not pretend to be something they are not.

Ask the Lord to help you to show these attributes in your daily interaction with your fellow man and to have a spirit that will not give or take offense. The Lord Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29). Remember, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).

 

Light

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

There is something enjoyable and awe-inspiring about looking into the dark sky on a cloudless night and seeing the stars brightly shining. Have you ever thought how it must please God in a similar way to look down into this world and see His own shining for Him? We may tend to count on Christian leaders to do the shining, but the real beauty of the night sky is the multitude of the stars. God intends for each one of us to give off our little light.

The Lord Jesus told His own, “Ye are the light of the world … Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). When the Lord was here on earth He said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). However, He is no longer here in this world, and the responsibility has been passed on to us.

 

Dear Young Christian:

This morning I am thinking about a statement of Scripture in connection with the awesomeness of our God. “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” (Psalm 77:13). You’ll never know how great and good God is unless you spend time in His presence. A quiet time with God, worshipping Him, thanking Him and listening to Him is the way to appreciate His greatness. How much do you go into the sanctuary — that place of quietness, away from everything, where you can commune with the Lord? He wants your fellowship and you need His. The Christian life is a two-way communion.

If you haven’t been walking in fellowship with the Lord like you should, why not start this new week by getting into His presence, confessing whatever it is that has hindered your communion and start enjoying His company as you go about your daily routine. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca

Nothing To You

“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me
in the day of His fierce anger” (Lamentations 1:12).

What does the work of Calvary really mean to you? There were those who passed by the cross to whom it meant nothing. Of them we read, “And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads” (Matthew 27:39). Of others we read, “And sitting down they watched Him there” (Matthew 27:36).

For those of us who know Christ as our Saviour the cross should mean everything. As we pass by the cross again today in our thoughts and hearts, considering what took place there, may it mean more to us than ever before. May we have a deepened sense of the depth of suffering, that we might have a deeper appreciation of the glorious results of that mighty work. Jeremiah asks a very serious question in the verse at the top of today’s page. How sad if we had to answer that it was nothing to us. Paul said, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).

 

The Biggest Fool

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God … So death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 3:23; 5:12).

A prize was once offered in a certain village for the biggest fool that could be found in it. A diligent and thorough search was made, and a sick man who refused to tell his doctor the truth as to the symptoms of his disease was discovered. The judges were unanimous in awarding him the prize. I’m sure that, had we been there on that occasion, we would have agreed wholeheartedly with their verdict.

Such a fool as this I have never met. As a rule people are ready enough to tell the whole truth to their doctor, if by so doing he can diagnose their sickness correctly and prescribe an effective remedy.

However, I have met people who have been guilty of foolishness of a far worse character. There are thousands of soul-sick sinners who refuse altogether to acknowledge the truth about themselves. I hope that nobody reading this calendar is like that! There is a cure … “It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

 

Stress

The other day I asked another believer how she was. Her reply was, “I’m too blessed to be stressed!”

We live in a world filled with stress, a world that is unstable in so many ways … socially, politically, economically, and so on. But the world is not where we are to look. As believers we need to refocus the eyes of our hearts on the only One that gives true and lasting stability.

David had a lot of stress in his life, both before and after he became king. Here are some of the statements he made regarding his dealings with daily stress:

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2).

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).

“Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock” (Psalm 28:1).

David had a trust and confidence in His God that carried him through those stressful times of life.

 

Godly Counsel

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:16).

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him” (2 Timothy 2:4).

A young Christian man had been nominated for a public office. Before accepting the nomination he wrote to a respected brother in the Lord seeking some godly counsel as to whether he should accept the nomination or not. The reply was simple and straightforward:

“A dead man does not vote, nor does he receive votes.”

Believers are pronounced dead:

To self…………………………. Galatians 5:24

To sin…………………………. Romans 6:2,11

To the Law………………………. Romans 7:4

To the world…………………. Galatians 6:14

To religion……………… Colossians 2:20-23

 

Bible Algebra

A/C+W/S=F

A biding in C hrist and W alking in the S pirit bearsF ruit in the life of a believer.

How much is this true in your life and mine? How close is our walk with the Lord? The Lord Himself said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me” (John 15:4).

Every believer down deep in their heart desires to produce fruit for God. But there is only one way to accomplish this. “Walk in the Spirit … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:16, 22-23).

Fruit is really the reproduction and expression of Christ in our lives. This can only be produced by nearness to Himself and by allowing the Spirit to have full control over us.

 

Complaining

“And when the people complained, it
displeased the Lord” (Numbers 11:1).

Yesterday we mentioned how we so often complain about the weather although we can do nothing about it. Another thing we often complain about is the government. This too comes directly from the hand of God, and like the weather, we can do nothing about it. “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17). “The powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1).

Isn’t it wonderful to realize that this same God is our Father, that He’s in full control of everything in our lives as well? Are we willing to let Him have His way with us and direct as He sees best? Can we think that we know better than He? May we, like the Lord Jesus at a difficult time in His pathway, say, “Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight” (Luke 10:21). This is true happiness and Christian living! The next time you start to complain remember this verse: “That there be no complaining in our streets” (Psalm 144:14).