God First

Put God First in Trust. "Jesus did not commit Himself unto them . . . for He knew what was in man." John 2:24-25

Our Lord trusted no man; yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, never in despair about any man, because He put God first in trust; He trusted absolutely in what God's grace could do for any man. If I put my trust in human beings first, I will end in despairing of everyone; I will become bitter, because I have insisted on man being what no man ever can be - absolutely right. Never trust anything but the grace of God in yourself or in anyone else.

Put God's Needs First. "Lo, I come to do Thy will, 0 God." Hebrews 10:9 A man's obedience is to what he sees to be a need; Our Lord's obedience was to the will of His Father. The cry today is - "We must get some work to do; the heathen are dying without God; we must go and tell them of Him." We have to see first of all that God's needs in us personally are being met. "Tarry ye until. . . ." The purpose of this College is to get us rightly related to the needs of God. When God's needs in us have been met, then He will open the way for us to realize His needs elsewhere.

Put God's Trust First. "And whoso receiveth one such little child in my name receiveth Me." Matthew 18:5

God's trust is that He gives me Himself as a babe. God expects my personal life to be a "Bethlehem." Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transfigured by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God's ultimate purpose is that His Son might be manifested in my mortal flesh.

The Staggering Question

Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel 37:3

Can that sinner be turned into a saint? Can that twisted life be put right? There's only one answer: "O Lord, Thou knowest, I don't." Never trample in with religious common sense and say - "Oh, yes, with a little more Bible reading and devotion and prayer, I see how it can be done."

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration. That's why there are so few fellow workers with God and so many workers for Him. We'd far rather work for God than believe in Him. Am I quite sure that God will do what I can't do? I despair of men in the degree in which I've never realized that God has done anything for me. Is my experience such a wonderful realization of God's power and might that I can never despair of anyone I see? Have I had any spiritual work done in me at all? The degree of panic is the degree of the lack of personal spiritual experience.

"Behold, O my people, I will open your graves." When God wants to show you what human nature is like apart from Himself, He has to show it you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He only does it when His Spirit is at work), you know there is no criminal who is half so bad in actuality as you know yourself to be in possibility. My "grave" has been opened by God and "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." God's Spirit continually reveals what human nature is like apart from His grace.

What Are You Haunted By?

What man is he that feareth the Lord?" (Psalm 25:12)

What are you haunted by? You will say - By nothing, but we are all haunted by something, generally by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our experience. The Psalmist says we are to be haunted by God. The abiding consciousness of the life is to be God, not thinking about Him. The whole of our life inside and out is to be absolutely haunted by the presence of God. A child's consciousness is so mother-haunted that although the child is not consciously thinking of its mother, yet when calamity arises, the relationship that abides is that of the mother. So we are to live and move and have our being in God, to look at everything in relation to God, because the abiding consciousness of God pushes itself to the front all the time.

If we are haunted by God, nothing else can get in, no cares, no tribulation, no anxieties. We see now why Our Lord so emphasized the sin of worry. How can we dare be so utterly unbelieving when God is round about us? To be haunted by God is to have an effective barricade against all the onslaughts of the enemy.

"His soul shall dwell at ease." In tribulation, misunderstanding, slander, in the midst of all these things, if our life is hid with Christ in God, He will keep us at ease. We rob ourselves of the marvellous revelation of this abiding companionship of God. "God is our Refuge" - nothing can come through that shelter.

The Never-Failing God

"For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5)

What line does our thought take? Does it turn to what God says or to what we fear? Are we learning to say...not what God says, but to say something after we've heard what He says? "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

"I will in no wise fail thee" - not for all my sin and selfishness and stubbornness and waywardness. Have we really let God say to us that He will never fail us? If we have listened to this say-so of God's, then let's listen again.

"Neither will I in any wise forsake thee." Sometimes it's not difficulty that makes us think God will forsake us, but drudgery. There's no "Hill Difficulty" to climb, no vision given, nothing wonderful or beautiful, just the commonplace day in and day out---can we hear God's say-so in these things?

We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing, that He's preparing and fitting us for some extraordinary thing by and bye, but as we go on in grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, in the present minute. If we have God's say-so behind us, the most amazing strength comes, and we learn to sing in the ordinary "days and ways".

Progressive Growth

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
(Philippians 1:3-6)

The above Scripture was taken from Paul's and Timothy's salutation to the Philippians in Philippi. Paul is concerned that the work of grace that God began in the Philippians at conversion will be divinely continued "until the day of Jesus Christ." Now.......that brings us to today.

As dedicated Christians, we seek to grow in knowledge of God's Word. We want to know more about our great, wonderful God. We want to know His glorious qualities, and His infinite thoughts towards us.

We want to grow in faith. Where faith is weak and wavering, gloomy doubt and unbelief chill the soul. But confident faith brings to our possession and enjoyment all the priceless treasures for which Christ has purchased us. It lays its strong hand on the whole storehouse of God's promises. It makes for strong convictions, for bold and courageous Christian living.

The opportunities for personal growth and progress in the Christian faith are virtually unlimited. They are within easy reach ~
as close as your church for worship,
as close as your Bible for reading,
as close as your mind for meditation,
as close as your heart for prayer.

May always go into God's house being mindful of His love for you. May He help you grow in faith, in knowledge of His Word, and perform in you a Christian service which would honor and please Him.

Tune-In With God

In Exodus we read that Moses was a shepherd for his father-in-law, Jethro. He went in and out “day by day” with the sheep. One day God had a special message for Moses, and He caused a bush to burn without being consumed, so Moses turned toward the bush to find the cause of this marvel. When he did, God spoke to him.

You know, if we will give God our attention, we will hear Him speak. We’re living in a fast age. Our time is taken with a multiplicity of activities pressing us from every direction, and in many cases, we are so busy we fail to hear the voice of God. We can hear God’s voice if we will tune in and listen. God is speaking, and we can hear Him if we stop and listen.

Moses heard the voice of God, but only after turning aside from the routine things of life. There are so many voices in the world that a person has to choose what he will hear, as one would choose a radio program. There are many stations, but we can select our program and hear it and disregard all the other programs.

God has various ways of speaking to people. He can speak to us through our conscience, through His Spirit, through His ministers, or through His Word. Let’s be sure that we respond to the voice of God when He speaks.

When Moses heard the voice of God, his heart responded to the call of God. At first he tried to tell God that he was not capable of doing what God wanted him to do, but God won out because Moses was honest at heart. Moses had made his choice in the matter of living for God and had chosen to be with the people of God. Now God was calling him to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage. He decided that, by the help of God and his brother Aaron, he would attempt to do what God wanted him to do. He succeeded, because, he was led by the Lord.

Many people are in trouble today and are all out of sorts because they are out of tune with God. If we’re out of tune with God, we will never be satisfied until we tune in with Him. We will have trouble and more trouble, our life will have discords and flats, and we will have no lasting peace because we are out of tune with God.

Several years ago, Ted Malone had a program on the radio called, “Between the Book Ends.” One day he came to the microphone and said that he had received a letter from an old sheepherder in Idaho asking a favor. The sheepherder said, “I go out on the hills and stay for days at a time, and I have nothing for entertainment except an old violin, and it is out of tune. Will you please sound ‘A’ and help me to tune up?” Mr. Malone sounded “A” and then paused longer for a few seconds and the sounded “A” the second time. He paused longer this time and sounded “A” the third time. He then continued with his regular program.

A few days later Ted Malone stood before the microphone and reported that he had received another letter from the old sheepherder. It read: “Dear Ted: You did it just right. You sounded ‘A’ and then gave me a little time. You sounded ‘A the second time and then paused before sounding it the third time, and when you did sound it the third time, my old violin was in turn. Thank you very much. Now I can go to the hills, and while the sheep are in for the night, I will enjoy my music.”

So, if we’re out of tune with God, let’s tune in with him while he is sounding “A,” and then we can have the music of God in our soul. We will never have peace and harmony while we’re out of tune, but if we will tune in with God, our life will be filled with “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

He Careth For You

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1Pet. 5:7)

God cares for us in the sense of having a personal interest in us. We are the work of his hands, and as such he is interested in our prosperity. He watches over the development of our lives; he notes every step of progress. The one who plants a flower, waters it, cares for it, and watches the development of each tiny shoot and bud, cares more for that flower and has a deeper interest in it than has the one who merely stops for a few minutes to admire its full blown beauty and to enjoy it fragrance. To the one it is only one plant out of many, but to the other it has a special meaning and attraction and worth, because its bloom and fragrance are the result of his labor, care, and patience. It is his plant. So it is with God. He gave us our being; he has nourished and protected us and watched us develop day by day; he is interested in us and desires our lives to bloom and send forth a fragrance of trueness and purity all around. Let us so live that he will not be disappointed in us.

He cares for us because he created us for his glory and to fill a place in his eternal kingdom. He created us, not merely that we might have an existence, but for a purpose for himself. He wants us to make a success of our lives, not simply for our own advantage, but to fill the place for which he created us, for his purpose and glory. And because of this he will use every endeavor to help us succeed in our lives.

He cares for us in the sense that he loves us. "The Father himself loveth you." "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." "God so loved the world." He has a deep and abiding affection for every soul, and even when we stray away from him into the depth of sin, his heart yearns over us as a mother over her erring boy, only his love is stronger than a mother's. He sends his servants out to seek the lost, and his Spirit to plead with them. Sinner, he loves you. Though you have grieved him and have repelled his Spirit over and over again, yet his eye beams with pity, his heart is tender with love, and his arms are outstretched toward you to welcome you to his embrace.

If he thus cares for the rebellious and neglectful sinner, how much does he care for his own obedient, loving children! How tender his love! Sometimes in a dark and troublesome hour when his face seems hidden, we may feel as did the disciples when they cried out in their distress, "Carest thou not that we perish?" Ah, he did care. At once he arose and rebuked the elements and brought the disciples safely to the land. Yea, he does care. "He careth for you." His help may sometimes seem delayed, but it will come and just at the time to be most effective. In your joys and victories and seasons of refreshing he cares for you and also in the time of trial, of persecution, of heaviness and longing, and of bitterness of soul. In it all he cares, and he will bring you through when he sees the soul refined and fitted for his purpose. "He careth for you." Believe it. Let your soul exult in it and shout it aloud. Or if you can in your sorrow only whisper it, let your heart still say: "He loves and he cares. I will trust him and be content."

Again, he cares for us in the sense of taking care of us. His care is proved in his making so beautiful a world to be our home. The flowers, the fruits, the grains, the grasses, the animals, the sunshine, the winds, the rains, and all were made to minister to man's need, comfort and happiness. For us these exist. That we may be fed: he causes the earth to bring forth bountifully. That we may be clothed: he makes the cotton and the flax to grow out of the soil, the wool upon the sheep, and causes the silkworm to spin its glossy house. That we might be warmed: he made the coal, the gas, and the forests. That we might be protected: he made the stone, the wood, the iron and the clay that we might have houses.

He cares also for our bodies, that we may have health. He gives us pure crystal water to quench our thirst and cool us in fever, balmy oxygen-laden air to build us up, and countless other blessings. Above all this, he is himself to us a Great Physician whose word heals our suffering bodies and takes us out of the grasp of death.

He cares for us spiritually, giving us his grace to help in every time of need--to shield in temptation, to strengthen in trial, to make strong in adversity, courageous in danger, and valiant in conflict.

Truly, he cares for us. Let us doubt and fear no more, but commit ourselves to him, knowing that he will "in no wise fail" us.

Riches

As everybody wants to make a fortune, and riches is the common talk of the day, we might put in a little time very profitably studying the beautiful things that our heavenly Father tells us in His Word about riches. People refer to this country and speak of it as their estate. We hear much about the great estate of some people, and while others are talking about their estate, we also are classed among those who are extremely rich. We range among the "upper tens," for you will understand we are going up later on. We even outrank what is supposed to be the "400." Thank God, there are millions of us! Now we just want to notice that the Bible speaks of "riches," and again we are told that we are to have "exceeding riches." In the third place He tells us that we are to have "great riches" and in the fourth place He reaches the climax by speaking of "unsearchable riches." No doubt in my mind but what the expression of "unsearchable riches" is the "fullness of the blessing" to such a degree that it could scarcely be improved upon in this world.

While it would be a difficult matter to explain unsearchable riches, thank God, it is wonderful to enjoy. Evidently the man with unsearchable riches is the man that has been cleaned up and then cleaned out and then filled up and sent out and charged and surcharged and wound up and then this fellow will have God for his Father and Jesus Christ for his Savior and the Holy Ghost for his abiding Comforter, and the redeemed saints of all the ages for his brothers and sisters. He will have the angels for his companions. The Bible will be his way-bill from earth to glory, and heaven will be his eternal home. This fellow you see is evidently well off. We think that these four expressions of riches are all to be found in this bill of fare, and we believe that riches, exceeding riches and great riches and unsearchable riches are all wrapped up in the beautiful expression that we call "Full Salvation." Now we read in II Corinthians, 8th chapter and 9th verse, where Paul said, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." Again we read in Revelation 3rd chapter 18th verse Christ said again to the people, "I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire that ye may be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see." We believe that the reader will agree with us that all these beautiful things concerning riches are found wrapped up in that wonderful expression of "unsearchable riches." For a dying saint with the angels around him with his vision so enlarged and clarified that he can look clear through into heaven is evidently in possession of something that is wonderful, it is beyond the comprehension of the finite mind. So rich, so beautiful, so glorious so eternal that God just summed it up in that wonderful expression of "unsearchable riches." Bless His name! Amen!

"Abide In Me"

"Abide in me." John 15:4. This is the deepest and closest experience the soul can find with Jesus. There are no words to fully define it. We are told that it means sinlessness of life. (See 1 John 3:6.) There is no sin in the life of those abiding in Christ. We are told that to abide in Christ is to bring forth much fruit. This fruit glorifies God. What wonderful possibilities has a child of God. It comes by abiding in Jesus. Then we are told that we can do nothing except we abide in Him. How utterly helpless we are! Then we must give Him the glory for all He helps us do. When you are abiding in Him it is His life springing up in your life that enables you to do all you do. It is not your life, but His life. But you must be dead, so dead that you can do nothing, and cease trying to do anything and let Christ live in you.

If we abide in Him, and His words abide in us we shall have whatsoever we ask of Him. (See John 15:7.) If we are failing to get what we ask, there is something amiss somewhere. It is possible to think we are abiding in Him when we are not. It is possible to think His words are abiding in us when they are not. In this abiding there is no dependence on self or earthly things. To trust in man or in any way make flesh your arm hinders the work of Christ in your behalf. There must be utter abandonment of all to God; a perfect renunciation of self; a concentration of all your powers in Christ’s service, and every expectation from Him. Christ is real in such a life. He is real as life. We are conscious of His presence and of His power. We naturally, in our dependence, look to Him for help in all the details of life. We are conscious of arising to the duties of the day in His strength rather than our own. It is blessed. If you have lost an article, you ask His help to find it, and He does. If you need a penny, a dime, a dollar, you ask Him for it, and He gives it. This all comes about as natural as life when you are abiding according to John 15:7. You move and live and act in conscious dependence upon Him, and in full expectation of His help. Such an atmosphere surrounds you.

In this abiding the Holy Spirit has brought the human life through the human spirit in contact with the life of God through Christ so that that life is constantly springing up in the human life, and begets an unceasing prayer. Prayer is suggested by the words of John 15:7. "Ye shall ask." There is a constant acting of the human life on the life of Christ; it is drinking it in; feeding upon it as the child feeding at its mother’s breast. The in-flowing of the life of Jesus is constant and makes life a constant prayer. As the little flower drinks in the dew and the rays of the sun, so the human life drinks in the life of Jesus and takes on all its beauty and strength.

But when we come to John 15:10 all we can do is to sit and marvel. We hesitate to begin to express our thoughts. When we keep Christ’s commandments even as He kept His Father’s commandments, then we shall abide in His love even as He abode in His Father’s love. In this experience the soul is weaned from every earthly thing. The words of Col. 3:2, 3 have become a glorious, conscious reality in all their beauty and power. Nothing is loved that is not loved in God. Nothing is done that is not done in God. Natural love is not destroyed, but it is purified. All things have become pure. The mother loves her child, and the husband loves his wife with more than a natural love. It is the sweetest and highest form of love. Such a one "walks in love AS Christ also hath loved us." Eph. 5 :2. Father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, houses, lands, foods, clothing, all are loved in God. We are unable to explain this love. It is far more intense than mere human or natural love. It does rob the natural love of its fleshliness so that it may appear to the flesh as having something of a coldness. However, it is not coldness, but only robbed of the fire of fleshliness. It looks on every thing with a something of unconcern -house, lands, relatives, friends, and says, "Lord, thy will be done with all these." It may seem cold and heartless, but it is heaven’s purest love. Jesus said, "Woman what have I to do with thee?" These words sound cold and almost heartless to a fond mother. They teach us something of the nature of heaven’s pure love. When dying on the cross He called His mother, "Woman." He spoke of her as John’s mother, but not one time does He ever call her "mother." He lived in consideration of a higher relationship. Things after the flesh were of small moment to Him. There is a certain emotional spooning fondness that partakes more of the flesh than of the spirit.

Abiding in Christ forbids trusting in anything but Christ. "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Psa. 20:7. "Chariots" and "horses" here stand for all earthly reliances. "Woe unto them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots." Isa. 31:1. It is a woe. It loosens from Christ. It is the god of this world that blinds the soul so that it cannot perceive what it means to be free from relying on any and every earthly thing.

The abiding soul is a praying soul. In all abiding in Jesus there is a constant action of the soul, and this action is prayer. He who abides prays, and he who prays abides, but we can not have the one without the other. The soul that prays, really prays, abides in a state of quietness, reposes on the bosom of God, and knows no fear, save the fear of God. The slightest reliance upon any earthly thing, or the fear of any earthly thing or circumstance clogs the flow of the life of Christ. Christian freedom is to be in bondage to nothing earthly. Prayer, to be prayer must be untinctured by self-love. Self-love clips the wings of prayer so that it cannot ascend to God.

Abiding in Christ deepens the soul’s union with Christ. It makes communion more intimate and joyful. It makes Jesus more real in life. It keeps the body, soul, and spirit in a higher state of sanctification and blamelessness. It clears the soul’s vision so it can look out upon the glorious realities of the spiritual world.

Abiding in Jesus loosens the hold of all earthly interests upon the affections and centers the heart upon God. It brings God very near. It strengthens the will to go out upon the battlefields of life in the full assurance of victory. It teaches the soul to walk softly before God, and to hold as a treasure every token of His love. It puts force and vigor in the inward life that enables us to walk with God through the shadows without a fear.

By abiding in Christ we are ever plodding on in the evenness of life. Whether our pathway leads through green pastures and is strewn by roses, or through the valleys and over stony places, we are ever tranquil and go singing on our way. Abiding in Christ warms the heart with love and sincere devotion. It saves the hearts from coldness.

Again, to abide in Jesus infuses into the soul a sense of holy fear, and makes all our acts in life acts of worship to God. It keeps self-love and creature-love out of the heart, and gives us visions of God, and enables us to cry, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." Come to Christ daily. Learn of Him daily. Follow Him daily. Abide in Him constantly.

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