Promises for Christians!

“JEHOVAH JIREH – the Lord Will Provide,” Genesis 22:14.

Under the title of JEHOVAH, we consider various aspects of God’s beautiful provision as we are dealing with temporal necessities. We can turn again to our “JEHOVAH-JIREH” and find in such a designation the guarantee of material supplies.

He cares for all that concerns our life here below.

If I trust Him, I will get enough for comfort, if not enough for luxury, enough to rid me from unworthy solicitude if not enough to free me from wholesome dependence and continuous faith.

Every modest and present want He is surely to satisfy.

Tuesday, September 4, 2001

Appetite Promises!

Closely allied to the enjoyment of food, God provides us Appetite without which the best of foods seems tasteless and wasteful. There are wealthy people who can afford the most costly foods. But have little appetite to appreciate them.

The Bible word for appetite covers “desire” and “lust,” good or bad.

A normal appetite supposes life and is regulated by nature. A carnal appetite is satisfied with carnal things. In the spiritual realm, the Christian can only be satisfied with spiritual things.

The appetite is fixed on its object, and it is only as it feeds upon the Lord that he enjoys satisfaction. Psa 107:9, “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”

Daniel and his three friends knew how to curb their appetites. They did not live to eat, but ate to live. ”Let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink,” Dan 1:12.

God Was the First Tailor!

“God clothed them,” Genesis 3:21

God, then, was man’s first Tailor. Adam and Eve, conscious of their nakedness, sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons or loin coverings. But such aprons afforded no efficient and permanent covering.

Thus, God made them coats, coats of skin, longer than aprons and more durable than leaves. Man’s first bodily covering was made of skins. And skins imply the death of animals.

God condemned the leaves – Adam provided by his own effort. Our self-righteousness is filthy rags in the Lord’s sight. Isa 64:6.

Apart from the sacrificial covering of Divine righteousness, we are “naked before God.”

”Naked we come to Thee for dress.”

God Was Man’s First Tailor

“God clothed them,” Genesis 3:21

“They have no covering in the cold,” Job 24:7.

“They cause the naked to lodge without clothing that they have no covering in the cold,” Job 24:7.

When old man winter comes around, are we pained as we think of the many who lack sufficient clothing to keep out the cold? Are there those living near us whose raiment is somewhat scanty? Who are poor and unable to provide what they sorely need as the cold, wintry days approach?

As you count your blessings, are you also sharing them with others?

”I was naked and ye clothed Me. When saw we Thee naked? Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these, ye did it unto Me,” Matt 24:35-40.

”Buy of me white raiment that thou mayest be clothed,” Rev 3:18.

”For in this we groan desiring to be clothed upon with our home which is from Heaven,” 2 Cor 5:2.

God is Not Only Man’s First Tailor, But God is in the Clothing Business

A study of raiment verses in the Bible reveals that God is in the clothing business in a large way.

He Himself is described as “being clothed with light, honor, and majesty, with garments of vengeance in a vesture, dipped in blood, in a cloak of zeal.”

As for ourselves, we are “to be clad in garments of salvation, humility, and righteousness.”

With fine linen, clean and white. The bride wore white. All promised and provided by God, should be our daily garb. 1 Pet 3:3-4, the girdle of humility.

If it is true that clothes make the man, we have the right kind of clothes to make us the “Christ-man.”

”Let your garments be always white,” Solomon’s practical advice.

White frequently denotes victory and the favor of God. If however we magnify ourselves against the Lord, He will clothe us with shame and dishonor.

We are urged to “buy” of Christ the spiritual raiment we need and such a purchase is not made with silver, but surrender. Abandonment to His claims is the only currency He will receive for the performance of any of His Promises.

The Lord Clothed Them!

Behold the lilies as they grow,
They neither toil nor spin.
Yet human never wore robes so fine
As God hath clothed them in.

Could He, who clothes the fragile flower
Forget to clothe His own?
In faith lay hold upon His power,
To Him thy cares make known.

All of God’s Children Have Shoes!

Does it surprise you to learn that God’s consideration for His own includes shoes they wear as well as clothes?

God promised and provided shoes for His pilgrim people.

Shoes are very needful for traveling along rough roads and for trampling upon deadly foes. We shall not go barefoot. This would be unsuitable for princes of royal blood.

Our shoes shall not be all the common sort, for they shall have soles of durable metal, which will not wear out even if the journey be long and difficult. We shall have protection proportionate to the necessities of the road and the battle.

Wherefore let us march boldly on, fearing no harm even though we tread on serpents. Or set our feet on the dragon himself.

”He shall bruise Satan under your feet.”

Divine Promises for Money!

Among our material requirements, money occupies a most prominent place. Some of the Divine Promises are specially related to what may become filthy lucre, 1 Pet 5:2.

By Heaven money is a beautiful gift. But it is a beautiful gift only when it is received as a trust from Heaven. And used in ways pleasing to Him to whom the silver and the gold belong.

The world with all its mines of wealth
Is Thine, O Lord, alone.
We thank Thee for Thy riches here,
For they are not our own.

Divine Promises for Money

It is most profitable to go over some of the Bible Promises referring to money and gather from them God’s mind in the use of our material substance today.

”Thy silver and gold is Mine,” 1 Kings 20:3.

Haggai 2:8, “Thy...Mine.”

What we call our own is not our own, but His. Money is hoarded, saved, or spent without any reference to God’s will regarding its disposal. If the silver and the gold are His, and they are, because He created all metals, then He has the prior claim upon such.

There would never be any lack of support for God’s work at home or abroad if only all His children looked upon their substance as the Lord’s money to which He has every right of access.

Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.

A Thought for Today!

The Mercenary Spirit of Eliphaz – One of Job’s Miserable Comforters

“Lay up gold as dust ... thou shalt have plenty of silver,” Job 22:24-25.

While Eliphaz was a religious dogmatist who said many true things, much of his philosophy was his own. In his third discourse, he propounded the old theory that Job must have sinned, therefore he was allowed to suffer.

If only Job, poverty-stricken as he was, would return to God, material prosperity would come his way again. Plenty of silver would be his. Such advice, however, revealed the mercenary mind of Eliphaz.

But the Bible, history, and experience prove that some of the purest of men have been the poorest. The majority of God’s children are not able to lay up gold as dust.

What the Lord does promise is sufficient for our needs. When our money is used for God’s glory, it becomes treasure in Heaven. Eliphaz erred in urging Job to get right with God simply that he might have earthly riches.

The spiritual riches gained through being right with God are of greater value.

“I Have Made Gold My Hope,” Job 31:24

The patriarch confessed that gold, and not God, had been his confidence. His hope had been in the gift and not the Giver.

If it be true that money talks, then with a loud commanding voice it demands worship and gold-greedy souls bow in allegiance to that which makes them as hard as the metal they worship.

And worshipping the “golden calf,” they too perish in the wilderness. The Laodicians are described as being “rich and increased with goods,” but the Lord saw them as “being poor and miserable.” How to be miserable with money!

The Lord urged them to turn from gold to Grace.

The richest man is the poorest if his soul is destitute of Him whose price is above rubies. Heaven’s millionaires are those who revel in the riches of His Grace.

Money talks. He says, “Goodbye.” “Riches fly away.”

“I Will Make a Man More Precious Than Fine Gold,” Isaiah 13:12

Because gold is the most valuable of all metals, it is used to typify God’s Word, tried saints, sound Doctrine, and the New Jerusalem.

In this promise before us, Isaiah reminds us that a man is worth more than money. But wherein is a man more precious than gold, even than a golden wedge of Ophir?

1. Well, man has life. Gold is inanimate.
   
2. Man has personality, talents, feelings, whereas gold is merely metal and void of all the gracious powers of man.
   
3. Man is eternal, but gold is only temporary.
   
4. Man is indestructible. His body may perish, but he, himself, can never be destroyed, his soul. But gold can easily be reduced to nothingness.
   
5. Man has been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Gold can never experience His love and Grace.
   
6. When war breaks out, human life is of little value, yet the Word of the prophets stands that “a man is more precious than gold.”
   
7. Especially if he is a new man in the Lord Jesus Christ.

”What is man that Thou art mindful of him?”

Wednesday, September 5, 2001

“Wherefore Do Ye Spend Money for That Which is Not Bread,” Isaiah 55:1-2

What the prophet is here condemning is the expenditure of money on useless things. As a nation we spend more money on cosmetics than for spreading the Word of God. More on crime than on education. A great many Christians spend more money on amusements, sports, personal pleasure, and non-essentials than they do for the furtherance of the Gospel.

Money prayerfully and wisely spent produces bread which God, ourselves, and others can feed. Bread represents that which is sustaining and satisfying and is therefore a fitting type of the good our gold can accomplish when it is used as a trust from God.

Isaiah likewise had a paradox about buying without money. Faith and obedience form Heaven’s purchase price for all its spiritual commodities.

“Ye Are Not Redeemed With Corruptible Things as Silver and Gold, But With the Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:18-19

Whether rich or poor, God’s priceless salvation is offered to all in a gift. “The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less,” Exodus 30:15.

As my Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the atonement money, paid it in the currency of Heaven – the silver and gold of His true body and reasonable soul.

We do not even have to bring the temple a half-shekel in our hands. The Lord Jesus Christ paid the whole shekel. While it is true that money cannot buy us back from sin’s bondage, once we become the Lord’s, our substance must be dedicated to Him.

Although saved from sin and hell without money and without price, we cannot serve our Saviour without money or without price.

”We dare not offer Him that which cost us nothing.”

“He That Loveth Silver Shall Not be Satisfied,” Ecclesiastes 5:10

It seems as if the more the natural man has, the more he wants. Thus, the love of money, and not the money itself, becomes the root of evil.

It is always dissatisfying to love money for money’s sake. Whether we have much or little may the Grace of satisfaction be ours. “My Grace is sufficient for thee.” “Taste and see that the Lord is gracious.”

An ever-deepening love for the Lord will deal most effectively with any love in our hearts for the passing possessions of this world. 2 Tim 4:8, 10.

”Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. And not to me only but unto all them that love His appearing.”

“The Prophets Divine...for Money,” Micah 3:11

Paul speaks of those who, coveting money, “erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

There are times when the lure of money ruins the influence of God’s servants. Micah asks, “How can the Lord work among us if we judge for reward, teach for hire, preach for money?”

Those who are called to minister the Word are under the solemn obligation of ministering to all without undue concern of the cash value of opportunities, knowing, that since “the laborer is worthy of his hire,” the Lord will provide all necessary remuneration. Have we not the Promise that our every need will be supplied?

A nationally-known preacher confessed that as he faced an audience he found himself weighing it, and saying to himself. “I wonder what I can get out of this crowd?”

It should be the sincere desire of a prophet to give, not to get, all he can, and rest in the assurance that God is ever a good Paymaster.

”In the last days perilous times shall come. Men shall be lovers of money.”

“Givest Thou Not my Money Into the Bank,” Luke 19:23

We gather from this statement that there is a legitimate trading of money. A man is no less a saint because of a wise and safe investment of his money.

As a Christian, he will be careful how and where he invests and how he uses accruing interest. He must not be fascinated by quick and high returns offered by unreliable companies. Nor gamble with the markets and possibly loose precious money the Lord Jesus Christ could have used in spreading the Word.

Get all you can.
Save all you can.
Give all you can.

“They Brought the Money and Laid it at the Apostle’s Feet,” Acts 4:37

Is there not something fascinating about the Pentecostal Church and the “common-ism” of the early Church? ”Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed “was his own,” “but they had all things common.”

Lands and houses were sold and the money put in a common purse for distribution as each person had need.

Ananias and Sapphira were smitten with sudden death because of an acted lie on their “partial surrender.” Professing their all was on the altar, they kept back part of the price. Are we not guilty of the same dark sin when lustily we sing,

”All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I give”

but yet withhold many of our coveted treasures?

“The Thirty Pieces of Silver,” Matthew 27:3-10

Judas is a tragic illustration of the love of money being the root of all evil.

As the treasurer of the little band of disciples, Judas betrayed his trust, for he kept what was in the bag. Evidently he was chosen to handle the money matters of the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples because of his administrative ability. But his gift was his downfall.

Disgusted over Mary’s expensive expression of love, Judas thought of her love-gift in terms of money. He expressed pity for the poor and said that the 300 pence Mary spent on her alabaster box of ointment were wasted.

Something like $50 seemed too much to waste in such a way. Yet how inconsistent Judas was! He grumbled at Mary sacrificing $50 to anoint the Lord Jesus Christ for His burial, yet he sold His Lord for some $19.

It is the abuse, not the use of money which the Bible condemns.

“Doth Not Your Master Pay Tribute?” Matthew 17:24

In these days of heavy taxation, when various taxes claim a large part of our income, it is somewhat consoling to learn that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself willingly paid His annual tribute. He met every required demand.

Rather than evade the tax-collector, He performed a miracle to provide sufficient tribute money for Himself and for Peter. And how many times I wished that He would perform a miracle for me at income tax time! The apostle found the silver piece in the fish’s mouth.

Money is found in other ways to meet Church obligations, schemes, many of which are unworthy of high and holy calling are undertaken to raise money.

A strong spiritual Church where Grace giving is taught and practiced should not need gimmick giving!

“But When Thou Doest Alms, Let Not Thy Left Hand Know What Thy Right Hand Doeth,” Matthew 6:3-4

There are times when our right hand would be ashamed if he did know what the left hand gave to the needy. There is no promise for those who give to the poor in order to be seen of men. Telethon…

Those who desire recognition have their reward at once and cannot be expected to be rewarded twice.

Alms lose their significance when the giver whispers to himself, “How generous I am.”

It is fatal to reward ourselves for giving, both here and hereafter. The Lord from Whom nothing is hid, will personally see to the rewarding of the secret giver of alms.

“He That Hath Pity Upon the Poor Lendeth Unto the Lord, and That Which He Hath Given Will He Give Again,” Proverbs 19:17

1. It is not Christian to give to the poor out of pity.
   
2. Nor to be seen and applauded.
   
3. Much less to get influence over them.
   
4. Sympathy and compassion should prompt our giving.
   
5. Neither shall the poor be helped with the expectation of return.
   
6. Whether in kind or gratitude.
   
7. What we give is a loan to the Lord.
   
8. And His Promise to repay is better than gold or silver.
   
9. And He promises to pay you back double, i.e., He will pay again.
   

“Simon Thought That the Gift of God May be Purchased With Money,” Acts 8, 18, 20

The sorcerer, being accustomed to receiving payment for his sorceries and enchantments, evidently thought that Peter was a dealer in a particular power of the Holy Spirit, and a gratuity was necessary for the transfer of such.

But whatever faults Peter may have had, making a quick buck in any way was not one of them. Neither Peter nor what he had could be bought.

Judas was tempted to sell the Lord Jesus Christ. But Peter had no temptation to dispose of spiritual power on a cash basis. The incident of the silver piece in the fish’s mouth had taught him that his Lord could supply all necessary money.

The lesson of the narrative is evident. Spiritual treasures cannot be bought with material means. Nothing is sold over Heaven’s counter. A pauper can enjoy as much sunshine as a prince.

God’s provision is of Grace, and can only be received by faith.

Thursday, September 6, 2001

Riches!

The above and many other passages dealing with material wealth, surely prove two things:

1. That God is the Source of it.
   
2. And that few can endure the doubtful privileges of being rich.

It is most difficult to have riches and not set your heart upon them. Affluence has the tendency to draw the soul away from God like a magnet draws iron.

How grateful we should be that not a penny is necessary to buy anything the soul requires.

The precious things we can buy without money! Salvation!

The Poor!

Many of God’s saints are poor in respect to this world’s goods, yet rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to them that love Him.

Those saints in Smyrna were plundered and persecuted, tried and tortured, but the Lord Jesus Christ said to them, “Thou art rich.”

So are all God’s people... rich... even if their pockets are empty. They are rich in the relation to the blessed Trinity.

Poor, But Making Many Rich

Earth has honor, wealth, and pride,
Earth has joy and fancies gay.

These are but bubbles on the tide.
Where wilt thou be on Judgment Day?

What shall it profit to gain the whole?
What wilt thou give in exchange for your soul?

”What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
”Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.”

Prosperity and Honor!

Prosperity and honor are among other passages associated with the material realm which the Bible takes cognizance of.

Israel was made “plenteous in goods” that as a nation, she might be able to lend to all nations and borrow from none.

“The Lord Shall Open Unto Thee His Good Treasure,” Deuteronomy 28:12

The work of Israel was blessed, not only because God delighted in her, but in order that she might become the medium of blessing to others. Prosperity was hers – not to retain, but to scatter.

We have struck a partnership with God and we promise to dispense whatever the Almighty provides.

It was thus that Israel functioned.

Have we learned the lesson of sharing what we receive?

“The Prosperity of Fools Shall Destroy Them,” Proverbs 1:32

Asaph was somewhat disturbed over the prosperity of the wicked. Profane, yet they were prosperous. Defiant, yet they were affluent. Godless, yet they escaped the trials and afflictions of life.

”I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” Psa 73:3, 37:7.

Asaph himself was pure in heart, yet poor. Righteousness had failed to bring him any of the riches fools enjoyed. Consistent, yet he was chastened every morning.

Such seeming inequality was too painful for him. Then something happened. Asaph went into the sanctuary, and looking at the prosperity of the wicked from the Divine Viewpoint, he understood how transient their vaunted treasures were. Psa 73:17-19, “Until I went into the Sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.”

Does not experience teach us that the gains of the Godless often result in grief? Their wealth that is often secured in dishonorable ways produces misery. Opulence ends in a tragic overthrow.

“I Spake Unto Thee in Thy Prosperity, But Thou Saidst, I Will Not Hear,” Jeremiah 22:31

In so many ways, Israel had been honored of the Lord. As a nation, however, she was committed to the folly of glorying in her prosperity rather than in the Lord who sent it. Divine warnings passed unheeded.

The Grace of God should have begotten humility and confession. But the nation, puffed up with conceit over their Divinely-bestowed possessions, lived to see their treasures plundered by ruthless hands.

Is not Israel’s tragedy that of many a professed Christian? God was gracious in sending prosperity their way. But a more affluent position, instead of being used of God, gradually withered up their spirituality.

Gains were not dedicated to the Lord Who sent them, but used on the gratification of selfish desires. God lovingly warned them, but their ears were deliberately closed to the Divine appeal.

Prosperity became their God, and the God of their prosperity was forgotten.

Like Jeshurun, “They waxed fat and forsook the Rock of their salvation.”

“The Upright Shall Have Good Things in Possession,” Proverbs 28:10

The Book of Proverbs, like the Psalms, is saturated with Promises.

Faith learns how to turn the Promises into Psalms of praise and Proverbs of wisdom. If hidden in the hollow of the Divine hand, all the malice and cunning of our foes cannot rob us of what God gives.

”All are yours.”

Whether the possessions are material or spiritual, or both, we have them in possession. When God commanded His blessings upon the storehouses of His people, He made it clear that He always blesses what He bestows.

Prosperity is no curse when blessed of the Lord. It is when men have more than they require for their immediate and future needs, and pull down their barns and build greater out of greediness, that the dry rot of covetousness or the blight of hard-heartedness follows accumulation, and God’s blessing is lost.

But when prudence arranges the saving, liberality directs the spending; gratitude maintains the consecration, and praise sweetens the enjoyment; then His benediction rests upon our possessions.

Friday, September 7, 2001

“Blessed be Ye Poor for Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven,” Luke 6:20

There is a sense in which all the Lord’s people are poor. They see and feel that sin has stripped them of every excellence and has left them poor and naked.

It appears that God has deep solicitation for the poor. His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, rich as He was, for our sakes “He became poor.” And how poor! He had to borrow a penny to enforce a lesson on allegiance both to God and rulers. At the end, His friends had to bury Him in another man’s grave. And in going over these Promises, there are some you can point out for singular notice.

Those who give liberally to all men are endowed with riches and glory. But in dealing with those who are poor materially, how rich the believer is when he contemplates all the Lord has for us.

Poor at present, but fabulously rich by and by, for ours is the kingdom of Heaven – because the Lord Jesus Christ is our Saviour and Friend, whether spiritually or materially it is true.

What want shall not our God supply
From His redundant stores?
What streams of Grace from on high
An Arm Almighty pours?

“The Expectation of the Poor Shall Not Perish Forever,” Psalm 9:18

What a heartening Promise this is! All of God’s Promises raise our expectation!

What the Promise has engaged to give, providence seems loath to bestow, “But no good Word of His can possibly fail.”

If in straitened circumstances God knows our need, therefore we can expect Him to support us under all trials and supply us with all necessary good as we strive to make Him our Daily Portion.

Poverty is a hard heritage, but those who trust in the Lord are never forgotten of Him, even though it looks as if they have been overlooked in His providential distribution of good things.

“The Poor Committeth Himself to Thee,” Psalm 10:14

Those who appear to be the poorest are yet rich in faith and are blessedly contented even though frugality is theirs.

They also may appear to be the most friendless, yet theirs is the truest best Friend who has pronounced never to forsake them.

They have committed themselves to Him and have the assurance that He knows all about their struggles.

They have committed themselves…

To His Grace – to be saved by it;
To His power – to be kept by it;
To His providence – to be fed by it;
To His Word – to be ruled by it;
To His care – to be preserved by it;
To His arms – to be safely landed in glory.

“As Having Nothing But Possessing All Things,” 2 Corinthians 6:10

Paul knew what it was to suffer penury for Christ’s sake. At times he existed upon the gifts of fellow believers. If help was not forthcoming, he turned to his trade as a tentmaker to make ends meet.

Because the Lord was his Inheritance, he was never downcast when he had nothing. His bare necessities were usually met. And having learned to “rejoice in the Lord always,” he was content.

He lived not only for the Lord, but upon Him. Why should he charge his soul with temporal cares when he knew that:

No wonder Paul could say, although destitute of these material possessions calculated to make other people happy, that he possessed all things.

“Poor Promises”

“He shall deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him that hath no helper,” Psa 72:12.

1. The needy cries. What else can he do?
   
2. He is heard of God. What else need He do?

Let the needy take to crying at once, for this will be his wisdom. Do not cry in the eye of friends for even if they can help you, it is only because the Lord enables them.

The nearest way is to go straight to God and let your cry come up before Him. Straightforward makes the best runner. Run to the Lord and not to secondary causes.

No saint, no matter how poor, can say he has no helper if, without material supplies and human friends, God can undertake in both capacities.

He is the Helper of the helpless and able to supply all temporal mercies.

“Poor Promises”

“Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right,” Prov 16:8

The advice of Solomon, who never knew what poverty was, is in this verse worthy of recognition.

Poor? No, of course not. Why, how could I be?
When Christ my King is taking care of me?

Worthy? Oh, no! The marvel of it is
That I should know such gracious love as His!

And so, I’m rich, with Christ I am joint-heir
Since He once stooped my poverty to share.

“The Liberal Soul Shall be Made Fat,” Proverbs 11:25

If we desire to flourish spiritually and materially, then we must not hoard up our possessions, but share them with the needy.

Does not the Bible say, “There is he that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is he that withholdeth more than is meet and it tendeth to poverty?”

The more we give, the more we receive. If we hoard up what we receive and do not have bowels of mercy, then too great riches might make me unwieldy as corpulent persons usually are, and cause me the dyspepsia of worldliness, and perhaps bring on a fatty generation of the heart.

“Fret Not Thyself Because of Him Who Prospereth in His Way,” Psalm 37:1, 7, Psalm 73:3

The psalmist confesses that he fell into hidden envy when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. Nothing vexes a man so sorely as his bitter sense of unfairness in the ordering of things. But the wealth of Heaven has no canker staining it and is far more precious than money.

The prosperity of the wicked is of a short duration. But the believer’s pleasure is eternal.
”Yet a little while and the wicked shall not be.”
”He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

If our trust in Him in Whom alone is sweet contentment, then may He save us from all discontentment, envy, and fret. The poorest of His saints is loftier in rank and riches and treasure than the world’s millionaires and princes.

Fret not, poor soul, while doubt and fear
Disturb thy breast,
The pitying angels who can see
How vain thy wild regrets must be
Say, “Trust and rest.”

Saturday, September 8, 2001

Work Promises!

“If any man would not work neither shall he eat,” 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

Work of some sort or other is essential for the majority of us if we are to eat, drink, and have sufficient necessary clothing and housing accommodation. Whether our labor is manual or mental, or both, we can find some practical advice in what the Bible has to say about the day’s labor.

”Blessed shalt thou be in the field... Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store,” Deut 28:35. The underlying principle is these Promises are the same whether work is in a field on in a factory.

Obedience to God brings a blessing on our industry and also upon all the provisions our industry earns for us. If our work provides just enough for our needs, with very little to put by for a rainy day, we have the Lord’s Promise that His blessing will be ours. Even if we do live from hand to mouth, getting each supply in the day.

As long as it is from His hand to our mouth, what else matters?

Work Promises!

“Be ye strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your work will be rewarded,” 2 Chronicles 15:7.

The God who accomplished great things for kings Asa and Judah when they were feeble, is able to strengthen us for life’s responsibilities.

Whether we think of our labor to live or serve the Lord, the promised reward is the same. Our labor, as His, is never in vain. Our present reward is to go through our work with determined diligence.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all thy strength unto the Lord.

“The Lord Thy God Shall Bless Thee in All Tthat Thou Doest,” Deuteronomy 15:18

The spirit of the Promise bound the Hebrew of old to treat working people well.

Bondslaves, in particular, had to be dealt with graciously. And when liberty was due, the masters had to start the freed slaves in a new life with a liberal portion.

Employers have much to learn from these Mosaic exhortations.

God cannot fulfill His Promise of blessing on their behalf if they fail to treat their employees in a just and honorable way.

Work Promises!

“He that gathereth by labour shall increase,” Proverbs 13:11.

The lazy, idle rich, who never worked for their money, often see it diminish. Having never labored for it, they do not fully value it.

Hard and earnest work, whether related to the brain or the body, brings with it a right estimation of the money it secures.

That which we inherit or receive as a gift does not seem as precious as that which mind or muscle produces. So as Solomon puts it, “in all labor there is profit.”

The Lord places no premium upon indolence, whether it be in our work or in His.

If he won’t work, he won’t eat.

Work Promises!

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings,” Proverbs 22:29.

Here is a declaration history confirms. In England when William Crooks was elected to Parliament, there was great excitement prevailing all over. He was born in a workhouse, and having a very hard life as a boy, yet he persevered until he achieved fame in national life. Thus through Bill Crooks, who came from obscurity, by his unceasing diligence, he had royalty as friends.

We may never have the honor of standing in the presence of an earthly potentate, even though we labor hard and long at the work of our hands. But of this we are confident, that if we labor for the Lord from the dawn to the setting sun, the blessed privilege will be ours of standing before the King of glory.

Salvation will bring us into His royal presence and service will determine our reward from His hand.

Work!

“My Father worketh... I work,” John 5:17.

How untiring the Father and the Son, and likewise God the Holy Spirit, work for the spiritual and eternal welfare of our souls!

While it may appear that Truth is on the scaffold and wrong is on the throne, the Father and the Son are tireless in Their united effort to take the prey from the mighty foe. Divine forces are silently operating and will one day emerge victorious over all the dark, satanic powers arrayed against the Lord and His own.

Often we hear the question, “Why does not God do something about war?”

Let us never forget that God is not a detached spectator of world travail and anguish. While it is true that Satan is still the god of this world, God overruled the machinations of our archenemy.

God is not inactive, indifferent, or ignorant. As the Omnipotent One, He reigns along with His Divine Son. He is working out the best for His own.

“Study to Shew Thyself Approved, a Workman That Needeth Not to be Ashamed,” 2 Timothy 2:15

“Study and work” were favorite words in Paul’s vocabulary. Here he is found using them to enforce our double relationship.

Continuous study must be ours if we would have lives approved of God. Then as diligent workman, we must rightly divide the Word of Truth.

All who handle the Word are spoken of as workmen. The Books of the Bible are our tools, and with them we have to work until we are able to rightly divide the Word of God. All preachers should be specialists in the Scriptures. Observation, however, compels us to admit that the Bible is the one Book a great many preachers know least about. One has only to listen to them to discover that they wrongly divide the Word of Truth.

They are peddlers in small wares, instead of skilful workmen, well able to handle the august themes of Holy Writ.

“Do Your Own Business and Work With Your Own Hands,” 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Paul was spiritually practical. He knew how to combine and harmonize work and worship, then sandwiched in between a solemn injunction regarding sanctity of life and the revelation of Christ’s return.

He has this matter-of-fact note about “studying to be quiet,” “doing our own business,” and “working with our own hands.”

Evidently Paul had met those who made plenty of noise and knew a great deal about other people’s business, but who did little with their own hands. They could talk a lot, but toil little.

Paul was likewise a man who practiced what he preached. A prince of preachers, an astute theologian, and a gifted writer, he yet worked with his own hands in tent making in order to live.

Declaring that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel, Paul saw to it that he was not dependent on others. There was a laborer who, worthy of his hire, yet made his trade support him.

Promises About the Cares of This Life

“The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word,” Matthew 13:22

“Be not overcharged with... the cares of this life,” Luke 8:34, 21:34.

”Casting all your cares upon Him for He careth for you,” 1 Pet 5:7.

A fixed and a constant attention to the Promises, a firm faith in them and the audacious claiming of them delivers us from all fear, doubt, and anxiety associated with the cares of this world.

The acceptance and the reality of the Promises quiets the mind and fosters composure amid the crises and changes of life, and prevents our souls from sinking when faced with the severe and several troubles the flesh is heir to.

Sunday, September 9, 2001

The Comfort of Claiming the Promises of God!

“In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul,” Psalm 94:19

When we fail to appropriate the Promises of God, we deprive ourselves of their solid comfort – the comfort of the Word. And we give way to unbelief or to forgetfulness of the “Promiser Himself.”

We must never forget that there is no extremity, no matter how great, but there is a Promise suitable to it, and, through it, sufficient relief.

From comfort of the Scriptures we have confidence.

“Carefulness”

“I would have you without carefulness,” 1 Corinthians 7:22.

Certainly we are to be careful, but the word “carefulness” here means, “undue anxiety,” which can be very injurious.

Such inordinate care divides and distracts the mind and chokes the Word and leads to distrust, and destroys our peace, which is inconsistent with our profession as Christians.

Because we are His, the entire responsibility of our life is upon His shoulders.

That means we should consider our homes, our property, our business as being His, and trusting Him to undertake and over-rule in all things.

Because of His veracity, fidelity, and immutability, no Promise of His can be broken or forfeited. He has each one of us upon His mind.

Therefore, to fret, worry, or yield to unbelieving anxiety injures our souls and is opposed to contentment and resignation, nourishes impatience and lack of faith, hinders our usefulness, hardens our hearts, cuts off supplies, and procures the Divine rod and frown.

How blessed we are when our souls are reliant upon our bountiful Lord.

I have no cares, O blessed Lord,
For all my cares are Thine.
I live in triumph, too, for Thou
Hast made Thy triumphs mine.

“Great Things, Unsearchable Marvelous Things Without Number”

Job 5:8-9, “I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause. Which doeth great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.”

With such an all-powerful Creator, Whose wonders are displayed in the universe and Who is also our loving heavenly Lord, we should be content to leave our cares and cause to Him.

The marvels in His created world will be matched by His gracious provision of His kindly providence for those who rest in His will.

Consider the little bee that organizes a city, that builds 10,000 cells for honey, 10,000 cells for larvae, and finally, a very special cell for the mother queen. A little bee that observes the increasing heat and when the wax may melt and the honey be lost, organizes the swarm into squads, puts sentinels at the entrance, glues the feet down and then with flying wings creates a system of ventilation to cool the honey that makes an electric fan look tawdry – a little honey bee that will include 20 square miles of the field over which flowers it has oversight. If a tiny brain in a bee performs such wonders, who are we that we should question the guidance of our Lord?

Lift up your eyes and behold the Hand that supports the stars without pillars, the Lord Who guides the planets without collision.

”It is He who cares for you.”

Our times are in Thy hand
Lord, we wish them there.
Our life, our souls, our all we leave
Entirely to Thy care.

“The Lord Has You on His Mind”

“The Lord hath been mindful of us, He will bless us,” Psalm 115:12.

All the Lord has been, He is, and will ever be.

All the saints can set their seal to the first part of this sweet Promise. “The Lord hath been mindful of us” because our part is strewn with numerous tokens of Divine Grace.

Praise ascends as we meditate upon the way the Lord has thought of us, provided for us, comforted us, delivered us, and guided us. His mind has been full of us. Without a single break, He has cared for us. And the Promise is that because He is unchangeable, He will continue to bless us.

O God, our Help in ages past
Our Hope for years to come;
Be Thou our Guide while life shall last
And our eternal home.

“Nothing!” “Everything!” “Anything!”

“In nothing.... Be anxious. Let your requests be known unto God,” Phil 4:6.

In this blessed invitation to approach the Mercy Seat with all our requests, there is the latent promise of relief. Paul actually gives us a three-fold cord, a trinity of Truth in unity.

1. We should be careful for nothing.
   While God expects us to use sanctified common sense in the ordering of our lives, and to exercise our minds calmly and judiciously whether in our temporal or spiritual affairs, whatever goes beyond our careful planning and prudence is sin. It is a sign of distrust when we allow ourselves to be shaken with vague uncertainties and ceaseless alarms. For today and tomorrow we must trust the Lord.
   
2. We should be prayerful for everything.
   Prayer safeguards us against and counteracts the manifold dangers surrounding us. Prayer corrects the feverish restlessness of our minds, and brings us into the atmosphere of calm. Prayer enables us to continue steadfastly in well-doing, giving us back old energy. Prayer endues us with marvelous influence over others, opening not only the door of the Celestial City, but the door of human souls, and our King comes in.
   
3. We should be thankful for anything.
   How lacking in gratitude we are. Note the scope of such thankfulness – anything. Not only thankful for the pleasant things of life, but the unpleasant experiences as well. For trials as well as triumphs. For losses as well as gains. The Lord could take the bitter cup and give thanks. While it may be hard to thank the Lord for sorrow, we can bless Him because He knows what is best for us and for the fact that He cannot make any mistake in what He may permit a child of His to bear.