Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

January 27, 2019

1/27/2019

  I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him (Eccl. 3:14).

    Every confession of faith must begin, as does the famous Apostles' Creed, with the pronoun "I." Real faith is a personal experience. "Live by faith until you have faith," Peter Boehler admonished John Wesley.

                                Nothing before, nothing behind;
                                        The steps of Faith
                                Fall on the seeming void, and find
                                        The Rock beneath.
                                                        __John Greenleaf Whittier

    Millions of people today are spiritually adrift.. They have no sure haven for their souls. They have no solid anchor of truth, no clear conviction of right and wrong, of yes and no, of white and black--only a hopeless gray of indecision. It is not always popular to be positive.

    The unhappiness of modern people comes directly from their lack of faith. Every one of us needs a refuge from the storms of life, and that refuge is faith in God. For peace of soul we must be able to say, "I know." The writer of today's text knew something. He knew that what God does He does for eternity. The things that God is doing now will reach fulfillment despite opposing forces. When we see God at work in the world, we should take courage and "fear before him." We are too greatly influenced by the spirit of the age, by time. Humanity's ideas, ways, doings, are as changeable as the weather, but through daily study of God's Word and prayer we may keep in step with the Eternal on His march through the ages.

                                Changeless in a world of change,
                                        Thy Word reveals the way,
                                Shining all along the path
                                        From darkness unto day.

    MEDITATION PRAYER:  "In the Lord put I my trust" (Ps. 11:1).

January 26, 2019

1/26/2019

  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:16, 17).

    A little church in a mining town of Bolivia was being dedicated. It was constructed of such material as the people had on hand. The floor and some of the furniture were made of shipping boxes for explosives used in the mines. When the preacher stepped behind the pulpit, he saw the words explosivos peligrosos ("dangerous explosives").

    The gospel is "the power of God unto salvation." The apostle Paul here uses the word for "power," from which our word "dynamite" is derived. The true gospel is the mighty power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, and the apostle was not ashamed of it, because he experienced its power in his own life and saw its transforming action in others.

    The pagan world, with all its culture and degradation, could not resist the gospel. Hatred, persecution, ridicule, argument--nothing could destroy it. The gospel alone could meet the need of the sinful human heart. It was built on humanity's weakness and God's power. It was, and is, the answer to earth's great problem--how to find righteousness. "For herein is the righteousness of God revealed..., The just shall live by faith." To be just is to be righteous, and this is no human attainment. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us" (Titus 3:5).

    Righteousness is always and only and forever by faith (Rom. 10:10). It is imputed to us (Rom. 4:22). It is imparted to us (Phil. 3:9). It is the righteousness demanded by the law of God, but not given by it. It bears the fruit of obedience (Rom. 8:3, 4; cf. James 2:17, 18). You will never be ashamed of the gospel of Christ if you accept it as God's power for your life.

    MEDITATION PRAYER:  "For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield" (Ps. 5:12).

January 25, 2019

1/25/2019

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days (Eccl. 11:1).

    In 1855 a Bible colporteur went to Toulon, France, and sold copies of the New Testament to the soldiers embarking for the Crimean War. One soldier asked him what the book might be. "The Word of God," he said.

    "Let me have it" was the reply. Then he added with a laugh, "Now it will do very well to light my pipe."

    The colporteur was sorry and thought his efforts wasted. A year later he was working in central France and sought lodging at an inn. The family in charge were in great distress at the death of their son, who had been wounded in the Crimea and had come home to die. "But we have much consolation," said the mother, "because he was so peaceful and happy."

    "How was that?" asked the colporteur.

    "He said he found all his comfort in one little book that he always carried with him."

    The colporteur asked to see it, and was brought a copy of the New Testament. The last 20 pages had been torn out, but on the inside of the cover were these words" "Received at Toulon [with date]; despised, neglected, read, believed, and found salvation." The place and date were recognized by the colporteur.

    All your acts, words, and thoughts will return to you sometime, somewhere. The great river of time may seem to carry away all the precious fruit of your hard labor, but do not despair or cease to cast your bread upon the rolling waters. Somewhere it will feed the hungry.

    Put your heart into the Lord's service; give your energy, your enthusiasm, your time, your treasure, your love, to Him. "Cast your bread upon the waters." God will watch over it, and the day will come when you will find it again on some far shore or near at hand.

    MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord: give me understanding according to thy word" (Ps. 119:169).

January 24, 2019

1/24/2019

  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Prov. 3:5, 6).

    William T. Stead, who went down on the Titanic, was asked to become editor of the Pall Mall Gazette in London. He consulted his friend Dean Church about it, and after their interview Mr. Stead expressed his assurance that he would be divinely guided. The dean was astonished at his certainty. "I should feel swindled," said Mr. Stead, "if I were not so led."

    "Why so?" asked the dean.

    "Why? I read in the book of Proverbs: 'In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.' I have acknowledged Him, and I know that I shall be directed."

    One of the hardest lessons to learn in this life is to trust God fully. It is so easy, so natural, to lean on our own understanding. "Be not afraid, only believe" (Mark 5:36) is the medicine we need. The real test is the Lord's demand for "all thine heart." The same divine requirement is repeated in the last verse of our text: "Inall thy ways acknowledge him." If God is not in all our ways, He is not in our waysat all. In little things, as well as the large, we are privileged to acknowledge God. He is interested in us 24 hours a day, 60 minutes of the hour, 60 seconds of the minute.

    He watches over all our life's journey, from the first uncertain step of babyhood to the last uncertain step of old age. He knows all about us, gives us all blessings, and leads us all through life if we desire and permit Him to do so. Why then should we not acknowledge Him? "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). Then let us ask the Lord to direct them. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps" (Prov. 16:9).

    MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not" (Ps. 17:5).

January 23, 2019

1/23/2019

But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).

    At a large open-air meeting in Liverpool, England, a skeptic gave a strong address against Christianity. At the close he said, "If any person here can say a single word in favor of Jesus Christ, let them come out and say it." Not a soul spoke, and the silence became oppressive. Then two young girls arose and walked hand in hand up to the speaker and said, "We can't speak, but we can sing for Christ." Immediately they began: "Stand up! stand up for Jesus!" When that song ceased, the vast throng was deeply moved, many sobbing. The crowd melted and quietly went away. The promise of power for witnessing is one of the greatest promises ever made to God's servants.

    The Holy Spirit was promised by our Savior just before He returned to His Father after fulfilling His atoning sacrifice on earth. On the day of Pentecost, not long afterward, the promise was fulfilled; and the waiting, praying disciples were "endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49; see Acts 2.) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the divine signal that Christ's sacrifice was accepted of God.

    With this witness and this power these humble disciples went forth into a hostile and unbelieving world and shook it to its foundations. Notice, the power of Pentecost was power for witnessing. The gift of tongues enabled them to preach the gospel to thousands. "Ye shall receive power,...and ye shall be witnesses unto me." The power of the Holy Spirit is not for personal glory or selfish enjoyment; it is an enabling to witness for Christ. It is for witnessing and for witnesses only. If we have no certainty, no evidence, no witness of Christ, we shall receive no power. The promised power and presence of the Holy Spirit are for us a we go witnessing for Christ.

MEDITATION PRAYER: "My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long" (Ps. 71:24).

January 22, 2019

1/22/2019

  Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16:11).

    A father in Watford, England, was greatly troubled about his son who had gone wrong. The boy was far away, ill, and despondent. He wrote his father, fearfully asking whether there was any hope of a reconciliation. The father sent him a telegram of just one word, "Home," and it was signed "Father." The gospel of Jesus Christ is God's telegram to a sinful world. It is summed up in one word, "Home," and is signed by one word, "Father"--even our Father in heaven.

    God alone knows the path of life. Human beings have traced many paths, and millions have plodded their sad miles for thousands of years, finding at the end that all their "yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death." He who is the living God, and He alone, knows and shows the path of life. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). "As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" (John 5:26). The path of life is revealed in the words of Christ: "The words that I speak unto you,...they are life" (John 6:63).

    Are you acquainted with "fulness of joy?" God's path of life leads to joy here and now--joy in His service, joy even in suffering and disappointment. "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [or trials]" (James 1:2; see 1 Peter 1:6-8). "For the kingdom of God is...joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17). This joy of believers cannot be explained; it is a "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). And the path of life leads on to the very right hand of God above, where we enter into the joy of the Lord (Matt. 25:21) and find in His presence "pleasures for evermore."

    In His Word God has clearly shown us the path of life. Let us follow it today, for "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. 4:18).

    MEDITATION PRAYER:  "My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long" (Ps. 71:24).

January 21, 2019

1/21/2019

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands (Job 14:14, 15).

    Is there life after death? Our hearts find no sure answer in science or philosophy. This question regarding the nature of humanity must be answered by God, who made us. Only the Creator knows the future of the race. Our text voices the age-old question: "If a man die, shall he live again?" Then comes the answer by divine inspiration: "Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands."

    Jesus stood at the tomb of His friend and cried, "Lazarus, come forth," and he that had been dead came forth. He did not walk forth, for he was bound with graveclothes, which had to be loosened before he could move. He came forth by the power of God. Not one of God's children will be forgotten. They will all hear the call of the Life-giver.

    On his seventieth birthday Victor Hugo wrote: "Winter is on my head, but eternal springs in my heart. The nearer I approach the end, the plainer I hear around me the immortal symphonies of the worlds which invite me." True Christians always have eternal spring in their hearts, because the nearer they get to the end of this life, the nearer they approach the beginning of another--an immortal life, which is the gift of God. Our Savior said: "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (John 11:25, 26).

    The Holy Scriptures answers the question Will human beings live again? Yes, they will live. But when? Our answer, as far as God's people are concerned, is found in John 6:40: "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."

    MEDITATION PRAYER: "I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness" (Ps. 17:15).

January 20, 2019

1/20/2019

JANUARY 20

        The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble (Ps. 9:9).

    A Christian worker from New York City, visiting the well-known Eliada Orphanage, told the children how in that great city there were signs reading "Safety First" put up everywhere to keep people from danger. One little fellow said, "But down here we have 'God First.' " How true it is that the greater includes the lesser. The individuals who put God first in their life are assured safety. The Most High becomes their habitation, and no evil will befall them (Ps. 91:9, 10). Whatever comes, God will care for them, and they will have a place of refuge.

    Every soul needs a refuge. Sooner or later we all must find a place of safety, an impregnable fortress. Sometimes the world is too much for us, and we must flee to that "place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God." Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His weary disciples, "Come ye...apart...and rest a while" (Mark 6:31).

    Our great enemy, the devil, is a merciless oppressor. His service is cruel bondage. But the Lord offers freedom to the oppressed. He has proclaimed "liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" (Lev. 25:10). He offers pardon, hope, and peace to sinners. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Cor. 5:19). But let us remember that our text promises a refuge to earnest Christians. In every time of trouble the Lord is their refuge. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). And He pleads, "Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope" (Zech. 9:12).

                        The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide,
                                A Shelter in the time of storm;
                        Secure whatever may betide,
                                A shelter in the time of storm.
                                                        __Vernon J. Charlesworth

    MEDITATION PRAYER: "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust" (Ps. 18:2).

January 19, 2019

1/19/2019

The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you (2 Chron. 15:2).

    These three pronouncements are really one. In other words, it is strictly up to us. The Lord is with us as long as we are with Him. If we seek Him, He will be found. If we forsake Him, He will forsake us. Our relationship to God depends upon us. We may enjoy His presence if we desire it.

    When discouraged, we sometimes complain, "The Lord has forsaken me!" Should we not look closely and honestly into our own hearts? Possibly we have forsaken the Lord. How? By failing to keep the candle of faith aflame. We stop feeding upon the Word of God. We neglect prayer. Soon the witness of the Spirit is gone, and we feel that God has forsaken us, whereas we have forsaken Him. This forsaking of God on our part is not often a defiant avowal of unbelief, but the easy drift of the tide, the current of the spirit of the age. We need not remain as spiritual orphans, however, for it is written, "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your hearts" (Jer. 29:13).

    This is not the time to forsake God. This is the day to seek Him, to find Him, and to walk with Him to the end.

                        I would be, dear Savior wholly Thine;
                                Teach me how, teach me how;
                        I would do Thy will, O Lord, not mine;
                                Help me, help me now.
                                                                __F.E. Belden

    Repentance, confession, faith--faith that comes by feeding on the Word (Rom. 10:17)--doing the first works, will bring us again the presence of the Lord, to accompany us day by day.

    MEDITATION PRAYER: "Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation" (Ps. 27:9).

January 18, 2019

1/18/2019

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Cor. 4:17).

    Edward L. Branham tells us that while he was in an airplane high over an island in the South Seas a fellow passenger told him to look down. There, following the plane, was a huge rainbow--a complete circle instead of the usual arc. Inside the gorgeous circle was a dark cross, the shadow of the plane. Wherever the cross went, the rainbow went. So each of our afflictions is a cross, but each cross is surrounded with the rainbow of God's promise.

    Afflictions are afflictions. They do afflict us, pain us, try us, test us. Call affliction by any other name, and it is still something hard to endure. But notice the contrast between the light affliction and the weight of glory. With the believer, all things are to be weighed in the scales of eternity, not in the short balances of time.

    The ancient king could look at the motto on his signet ring, "This, too, shall pass away," and know that every troubled hour would end at last. But we can know that our afflictions will end in glory--exceeding glory. In the school of adversity the child of faith is prepared for the day of glory. He or she learns to compare the light affliction with the weight of glory--the moment with eternal ages.

                        Life is not a cloudless journey,
                                Storms and darkness oft oppress,
                        But the Father's changeless mercy
                                Comes to cheer the heart's distress;
                        Heavy clouds may darkly hover,
                                Hiding all faith's view above,
                        But across the thickest darkness
                                Shines the rainbow of His love.
                                                                __Flora Kirkland

    MEDITATION PRAYER: "For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks" (Ps. 18:72).