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Sunday,
November 3, 2002
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of thy lord.
Matt. 25:23.
With unutterable love, Jesus welcomes His faithful ones to the joy of their
Lord. The Saviour's joy is in seeing, in the kingdom of glory, the souls that
have been saved by His agony and humiliation. And the redeemed will be sharers
in His joy, as they behold, among the blessed, those who have been won to Christ
through their prayers, their labors, and their loving sacrifice. As they gather
about the great white throne, gladness unspeakable will fill their hearts, when
they behold those whom they have won for Christ, and see that one has gained
others, and these still others, all brought into the haven of rest, there to lay
their crowns at Jesus' feet and praise Him through the endless cycles of
eternity.
As the ransomed ones are welcomed to the City of God, there rings out upon the
air an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to meet. The Son of
God is standing with outstretched arms to receive the father of our race--the
being whom He created, who sinned against his Maker, and for whose sin the marks
of the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour's form. As Adam discerns the
prints of the cruel nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in
humiliation casts himself at His feet, crying: "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that
was slain!" Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up and bids him look once more upon
the Eden home from which he has so long been exiled.
After his expulsion from Eden, Adam's life on earth was filled with sorrow.
Every dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair face of
nature, every stain upon man's purity, was a fresh reminder of his sin. . . .
With patient humility he bore, for nearly a thousand years, the penalty of
transgression. Faithfully did he repent of his sin and trust in the merits of
the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a resurrection. The Son of God
redeemed man's failure and fall; and now, through the work of the atonement,
Adam is reinstated in his first dominion.
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
Monday,
November 4, 2002
Jesus . . . for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb. 12:2, RSV.
"These
things have I spoken unto you," said Christ, "that my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full."
John 15:11.
Ever before Him, Christ saw the result of His mission. His earthly life, so full
of toil and self-sacrifice, was cheered by the thought that He would not have
all this travail for nought. By giving His life for the life of men, He would
restore in humanity the image of God. He would lift us up from the dust, reshape
the character after the pattern of His own character, and make it beautiful with
His own glory.
Christ saw of the travail of His soul and was satisfied. He viewed the expanse
of eternity and saw the happiness of those who through His humiliation should
receive pardon and everlasting life. He was wounded for their transgressions,
bruised for their iniquities. The chastisement of their peace was upon Him, and
with His stripes they were healed. He heard the shout of the redeemed. He heard
the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. Although the baptism
of blood must first be received, although the sins of the world were to weigh
upon His innocent soul, although the shadow of an unspeakable woe was upon Him;
yet for the joy that was set before Him He chose to endure the cross and
despised the shame.
This joy all His followers are to share. However great and glorious hereafter,
our reward is not all to be reserved for the time of final deliverance. Even
here we are by faith to enter into the Saviour's joy.
To those who receive Him, He gives power to become the sons of God, that at last
God may receive them as His, to dwell with Him throughout eternity. If, during
this life, they are loyal to God, they will at last "see His face; and His name
shall be in their foreheads."
Revelation 22:4. And what is the happiness of
heaven but to see God? What greater joy could come to the sinner saved by the
grace of Christ than to look upon the face of God and know Him as Father?
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
Tuesday,
November 5, 2002
The King shall answer
and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matt. 25:40.
Every action of ours in befriending God's people will be rewarded as done unto
Himself.
What satisfaction will every reaper have, when the clear, musical voice of Jesus
shall be heard, saying, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." "Enter thou into the joy of
thy lord."
The Redeemer is glorified because He has not died in vain. With glad, rejoicing
hearts, those who have been colaborers with God see of the travail of their soul
for perishing, dying sinners, and are satisfied. The anxious hours they have
spent, the perplexing circumstances they have had to meet, the sorrow of heart
because some refused to see and receive the things which make for their peace,
are forgotten. The self-denial they have practiced in order to support the work,
is remembered no more. As they look upon the souls they sought to win to Jesus,
and see them saved, eternally saved--monuments of God's mercy and of a
Redeemer's love--there ring through the arches of heaven shouts of praise and
thanksgiving.
There is a heaven before us, and among its inhabitants there will be no strife.
. . .
We shall greet the holy family of the redeemed, and hear the words of Christ,
"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world." We shall touch our golden harps, and heaven will ring
with rich music. We shall cast our glittering crowns at His feet, and give glory
to Him who has overcome in our behalf.
There may be some things here that we do not understand. Some things in the
Bible may appear to us mysterious, because they are beyond our finite
comprehension. But as our Saviour leads us by the living waters, He will make
clear to our minds that which was not before clearly understood.
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
Wednesday,
November 6, 2002
He shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He
shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.
Isa. 53:10, 11.
The love of God is without measure, without comparison! It is infinite. . . .
When we contemplate the dignity and glory of Christ we see how great was that
love that prompted the sacrifice made upon the cross of Calvary for the
redemption of a lost world. This theme will fill the saints with wonder and
amazement through eternal ages, and why should we not meditate upon it here in
this world? . . .
O the mystery of godliness--God manifest in the flesh! This mystery increases as
we try to comprehend it. It is incomprehensible, and yet human beings will allow
worldly, earthly things to intercept the faint view it is possible for mortals
to have of Jesus and His matchless love. . . . How can we be enthusiastic over
earthly, common things and not be stirred with this picture --the cross of
Calvary, the love that is revealed in the death of God's dear Son...?
All this humiliation and anguish were endured to bring back the wanderers,
guilty and thankless, to the Father's house. O the home of the blest--I cannot
afford to lose it! I shall, if saved in the kingdom of God, be constantly
discerning new depths in the plan of salvation. All the redeemed saints will see
and appreciate as never before the love of the Father and the Son, and songs of
praise will burst forth from immortal tongues. He loved us, He gave His life for
us. With glorified bodies, with enlarged capacities, with hearts made pure, with
lips undefiled, we shall sing the riches of redeeming love. There will be no
suffering ones in heaven, no skeptics whom we must labor to convince of the
reality of eternal things, no prejudices to uproot, but all will be susceptible
to that love which passeth knowledge. Rest, thank God, there is a rest for the
people of God, where Jesus will lead the redeemed into green pastures, by the
streams of living waters which make glad the city of our God. Then the prayer of
Jesus to His Father will be answered: "I will that they also, whom thou hast
given me, be with me where I am."
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
Thursday,
November 7, 2002
Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Matt. 25:21.
As your senses delight in the attractive loveliness of the earth, think of the
world that is to come, that shall never know the blight of sin and death; where
the face of nature will no more wear the shadow of the curse. Let your
imagination picture the home of the saved, and remember that it will be more
glorious than your brightest imagination can portray. In the varied gifts of God
in nature we see but the faintest gleaming of His glory. It is written, "Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
1 Corinthians 2:9.
By and by the gates of heaven will be thrown open to admit God's children, and
from the lips of the King of glory the benediction will fall on their ears like
richest music, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world."
Matthew 25:34.
Then the redeemed will be welcomed to the home that Jesus is preparing for them.
Then I saw Jesus lead the redeemed company to the gate of the city. He laid hold
of the gate and swung it back on its glittering hinges and bade the nations that
had kept the truth enter in. Within the city there was everything to feast the
eye. Rich glory they beheld everywhere. Then Jesus looked upon His redeemed
saints; their countenances were radiant with glory; and as He fixed His loving
eyes upon them. He said, with His rich, musical voice, "I behold the travail of
My soul, and am satisfied. This rich glory is yours to enjoy eternally. Your
sorrows are ended. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain." . . .
Language is altogether too feeble to attempt a description of heaven. As the
scene rises before me, I am lost in amazement. Carried away with the surpassing
splendor and excellent glory, I lay down the pen, and exclaim, "Oh, what love!
what wondrous love!" The most exalted language fails to describe the glory of
heaven or the matchless depths of a Saviour's love.
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
Friday,
November 8, 2002
The Lord seeth not as man seeth;
for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1 Sam. 16:7.
Often we regard as hopeless subjects the very ones whom Christ is drawing to
Himself. . . . Many will be in heaven who their neighbors supposed would never
enter there. Man judges from appearance, but God judges the heart.
Some among the redeemed will have laid hold of Christ in the last hours of life,
and in heaven instruction will be given to these, who, when they died, did not
understand perfectly the plan of salvation.
To Jesus in His agony on the cross there came one gleam of comfort. It was the
prayer of the penitent thief. . . . In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon
the cross, he sees the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. Hope
is mingled with anguish in his voice as the helpless, dying soul casts himself
upon a dying Saviour. "Lord, remember me," he cries, "when thou comest into thy
kingdom." Quickly the answer came. . . . Verily I say unto thee today, Thou
shalt be with Me in paradise.
Such faith may be represented by the eleventh hour laborers who receive as much
reward as do those who have labored for many hours. The thief asked in faith, in
penitence, in contrition. He asked in earnestness, as if he fully realized that
Jesus could save him if He would.
Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology,
but they have cherished His principles. . . . Among the heathen are those who
worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human
instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of
God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the
things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has
touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.
How surprised and gladdened will be the lowly among the nations, and among the
heathen, to hear from the lips of the Saviour, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"! How glad will
be the heart of Infinite Love as His followers look up with surprise and joy at
His words of approval!
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
Saturday,
November 9, 2002
As the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts.
Isa. 55:9.
Our plans are not always God's plans. . . .
In His loving care and interest for us, often He who understands us better than
we understand ourselves refuses to permit us selfishly to seek the gratification
of our own ambition. . . . Often our plans fail that God's plans for us may
succeed. . . .
In the future life the mysteries that here have annoyed and disappointed us will
be made plain. We shall see that our seemingly unanswered prayers and
disappointed hopes have been among our greatest blessings.
We are not now sufficiently advanced in spiritual attainments to comprehend the
mysteries of God. But when we shall compose the family of heaven, these
mysteries will be unfolded before us. . . .
Then much will be revealed in explanation of matters upon which God now keeps
silence because we have not gathered up and appreciated that which has been made
known of the eternal mysteries. The ways of Providence will be made clear; the
mysteries of grace through Christ will be unfolded. That which the mind cannot
now grasp, which is hard to be understood, will be explained. We shall see order
in that which has seemed unexplainable; wisdom in everything withheld; goodness
and gracious mercy in everything imparted. Truth will be unfolded to the mind,
free from obscurity, in a single line, and its brightness will be endurable. The
heart will be made to sing for joy. Controversies will be forever ended, and all
difficulties will be solved.
All that has perplexed us in the providences of God will in the world to come be
made plain. The things hard to be understood will then find explanation. The
mysteries of grace will unfold before us. Where our finite minds discovered only
confusion and broken promises, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful
harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed
most trying. As we realize the tender care of Him who makes all things work
together for our good, we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Maranatha - The Lord Is Coming!
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