Days of Heaven Upon Earth Part 13

MARCH 23.

"He is a new creature" (II. Cor. v. 17).

Resurrected, not raised. There is so much in this distinction. The teaching of human philosophy is that we are to raise humanity to a higher plane. This is not the Gospel. On the contrary, the teaching of the cross is that humanity must die and sink out of sight and then be resurrected, not raised. Resurrection is not improvement. It is not elevation, but it is a new supernatural life lifting us from nothingness into G.o.d and making us partakers of the Divine nature. It is a new creation. It is an infinite elevation above the highest plane. Let us not take less than resurrection life.

I am crucified with Jesus, And the cross has set me free; I have ris'n again with Jesus, And He lives and reigns in me.

This the story of the Master, Through the cross He reached the throne, And like Him our path to glory, Ever leads through death alone.

Lord, teach me the death-born life. Lord, let me live in the power of Thy resurrection!

MARCH 24.

"And again I say, rejoice" (Phil. iv. 4).

It is a good thing to rejoice in the Lord. Perhaps you found the first dose ineffectual. Keep on with your medicine, and when you cannot feel any joy, when there is no spring, and no seeming comfort and encouragement, still rejoice, and count it all joy. Even when you fall into divers temptations, reckon it joy, and delight, and G.o.d will make your reckoning good. Do you suppose your Father will let you carry the banner of His victory and His gladness on to the front of the battle, and then coolly stand back and see you captured or beaten back by the enemy? Never! the Holy Spirit will sustain you in your bold advance, and fill your heart with gladness and praise, and you will find your heart all exhilarated and refreshed by the fulness of the heart within.

Lord, teach me to rejoice in Thee, and to rejoice evermore.

The joy of the Lord is the strength of His people.

The sunshine that scatters their sadness and gloom; The fountain that bursts in the desert of sorrow, And sheds o'er the wilderness, gladness and bloom.

MARCH 25.

"The beauty of holiness" (Ps. xxix. 2).

Some one remarked once that he did not know more disagreeable people than sanctified Christians. He probably meant people that only profess sanctification. There is an angular, hard, unlovely type of Christian character that is not true holiness; at least, not the highest type of it.

It is the skeleton without the flesh covering; it is the naked rock without the vines and foliage that cushion its rugged sides. Jesus was not only virtuous and pure, but He was also beautiful and full of the sweet attractiveness of love.

We read of two kinds of graces: First, "Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely and of good report." There are a thousand little graces in Christian life that we cannot afford to ignore. In fact, the last stages in any work of art are always the finishing touches; and so let us not wonder if G.o.d shall spend a great deal of time in teaching us the little things that many might consider trifles.

G.o.d would have His Bride without a spot or even a wrinkle.

MARCH 26.

"Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. xii. 2).

Add to your faith-do not add to yourself. This is where we make the mistake. We must not only enter by faith, but we must advance by faith each step of the way. At every new stage we shall find ourselves as incompetent and unequal for the pressure as before, and we must take the grace and the victory simply by faith. Is it courage? We shall find ourselves lacking in the needed courage; we must claim it by faith. Is it love? Our own love will be inadequate; but we must take His love, and we shall find it given. Is it faith itself? We must have the faith of G.o.d, and Christ in us will be the spirit of faith, as well as the blessing that faith claims. So our whole life from beginning to end, is but Christ in us-in the exceeding riches of His grace; and our everlasting song will be: Not I; but Christ who liveth in me.

'Tis so sweet to walk with Jesus, Step by step and day by day; Stepping in His very footprints, Walking with Him all the way.

MARCH 27.

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee" (Ps. lvi. 3).

We shall never forget a remark Mr. George Mueller once made in answer to a gentleman who asked him the best way to have strong faith. "The only way,"

replied the patriarch of faith, "to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings."

This is very true. The time to trust is when all else fails. Dear one, if you scarcely realize the value of your present opportunity, if you are pa.s.sing through great afflictions, you are in the very soul of the strongest faith, and if you will only let go, He will teach you in these hours the mightiest hold upon this throne which you can ever know. "Be not afraid, only believe"; and if you are afraid, just look up and say, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee," and you will yet thank G.o.d for the school of sorrow which was to you the school of faith.

O brother, give heed to the warning, And obey His voice to-day.

The Spirit to thee is calling, O do not grieve Him away.

MARCH 28.

"The fruit of the Spirit is all goodness" (Gal. v. 22).

Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit. Goodness is just "G.o.dness." It is to be like G.o.d. And G.o.d-like goodness has special reference to the active benevolence of G.o.d. The apostle gives us the difference between goodness and righteousness in this pa.s.sage in Romans, "Scarcely for a righteous man would one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die." The righteous man is the man of stiff, inflexible uprightness; but he may be as hard as a granite mountain side. The good man is that mountain side all covered with velvet moss and flowers, and flowing with cascades and springs. Goodness respects "whatsoever things are lovely." It is kindness, affectionateness, benevolence, sympathy, rejoicing with them that do rejoice, and weeping with them that weep. Lord, fill us with Thyself, and let us be G.o.d-men and good men, and so represent Thy goodness.

There are lonely hearts to cherish, While the days are going by; There are weary souls who perish, While the days are going by.

MARCH 29.

"He will keep the feet of His saints" (I. Sam. ii. 9).