BibleWare/BibWare.bin/bibstudy/morneven.exe/ME11.AM

Text File | 1993-09-05 | 61KB | 1,131 lines

* 11/01/AM

"The Church in thy house."
                                                    --Philemon 2

   Is there a Church in this house? Are parents, children,
friends, servants, all members of it? or are some still
unconverted? Let us pause here and let the question go
round--_Am I a member of the Church in this house_? How would
father's heart leap for joy, and mother's eyes fill with holy
tears if from the eldest to the youngest all were saved! Let us
pray for this great mercy until the Lord shall grant it to us.
Probably it had been the dearest object of Philemon's desires to
have all his household saved; but it was not at first granted
him in its fulness. He had a wicked servant, Onesimus, who,
having wronged him, ran away from his service. His master's
prayers followed him, and at last, as God would have it,
Onesimus was led to hear Paul preach; his heart was touched, and
he returned to Philemon, not only to be a faithful servant, but
a brother beloved, adding another member to the Church in
Philemon's house. Is there an unconverted servant or child
absent this morning? Make special supplication that such may, on
their return to their home, gladden all hearts with good news of
what grace has done! Is there one present? Let him partake in
the same earnest entreaty.

   If there be such a Church in our house, let us order it well,
and let all act as in the sight of God. Let us move in the
common affairs of life with studied holiness, diligence,
kindness, and integrity. More is expected of a Church than of an
ordinary household; family worship must, in such a case, be more
devout and hearty; internal love must be more warm and unbroken,
and external conduct must be more sanctified and Christlike. We
need not fear that the smallness of our number will put us out
of the list of Churches, for the Holy Spirit has here enrolled a
family-church in the inspired book of remembrance. As a Church
let us now draw nigh to the great head of the one Church
universal, and let us beseech Him to give us grace to shine
before men to the glory of His name.

* 11/02/AM

"I am the Lord, I change not."
                                                   --Malachi 3:6

   It is well for us that, amidst all the variableness of
life, there is One whom change cannot affect; One whose heart
can never alter, and on whose brow mutability can make no
furrows. All things else have changed--all things are changing.
The sun itself grows dim with age; the world is waxing old; the
folding up of the worn-out vesture has commenced; the heavens
and earth must soon pass away; they shall perish, they shall wax
old as doth a garment; but there is One who only hath
immortality, of whose years there is no end, and in whose person
there is no change. The delight which the mariner feels, when,
after having been tossed about for many a day, he steps again
upon the solid shore, is the satisfaction of a Christian when,
amidst all the changes of this troublous life, he rests the foot
of his faith upon this truth--"_I am the Lord, I change not_."

   The stability which the anchor gives the ship when it has at
last obtained a hold-fast, is like that which the Christian's
hope affords him when it fixes itself upon this glorious truth.
With God "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." What
ever His attributes were of old, they are now; His power, His
wisdom, His justice, His truth, are alike unchanged. He has ever
been the refuge of His people, their stronghold in the day of
trouble, and He is their sure Helper still. He is unchanged in
His love. He has loved His people with "an everlasting love";
He loves them now as much as ever He did, and when all earthly
things shall have melted in the last conflagration, His love
will still wear the dew of its youth. Precious is the assurance
that He changes not! The wheel of providence revolves, but its
axle is eternal love.

                 "Death and change are busy ever,
                 Man decays, and ages move;
                 But His mercy waneth never;
                 God is wisdom, God is love."

* 11/03/AM

"Behold, he prayeth."
                                                     --Acts 9:11

   Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul
began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the
distressed but praying soul. Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted
one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the
language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the
harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by
God and treasured in the lachrymatory of heaven. "Thou puttest
my tears into thy bottle," implies that they are caught as they
flow. The suppliant, whose fears prevent his words, will be
well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty
eye; but "prayer is the falling of a tear." Tears are the
diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah's
court, and are numbered with "the sublimest strains that reach
the majesty on high." Think not that your prayer, however weak
or trembling, will be unregarded. Jacob's ladder is lofty, but
our prayers shall lean upon the Angel of the covenant and so
climb its starry rounds. Our God not only _hears_ prayer but
also _loves_ to hear it. "He forgetteth not the cry of the
humble." True, He regards not high looks and lofty words; He
cares not for the pomp and pageantry of kings; He listens not to
the swell of martial music; He regards not the triumph and pride
of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow, or a lip
quivering with agony, or a deep groan, or a penitential sigh,
the heart of Jehovah is open; He marks it down in the registry
of His memory; He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between
the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is
opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up
therefrom.

            "Faith asks no signal from the skies,
            To show that prayers accepted rise,
            Our Priest is in His holy place,
            And answers from the throne of grace."

* 11/04/AM

"For my strength is made perfect in weakness."
                                            --2 Corinthians 12:9

   A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of
success, and for doing God's work well and triumphantly, is a
sense of our own weakness. When God's warrior marches forth to
battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, "I know that I
shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall
get unto me the victory," defeat is not far distant. God will
not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength. He
who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for "it is
not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts." They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess,
shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and
their armour stained with disgrace. Those who serve God must
serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never
accept their service. That which man doth, unaided by divine
strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth He
casteth away; He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was
sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of
divine love. God will empty out all that thou hast before He
will put His own into thee; He will first clean out thy
granaries before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat.
The river of God is full of water; but not one drop of it flows
from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in His
battles but the strength which He Himself imparts. Are you
mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be
a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give thee
victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being
filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your
lifting up.

            "When I am weak then am I strong,
            Grace is my shield and Christ my song."

* 11/05/AM

"No weapon that is formed against