2001-11-13 - Tidbits and Gems

Part 7

Psalm 18:30 As for God, His way is blameless; the Word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

Sometimes I like to share some short stories or pity comments I have come upon in my reading. Sometimes these short stories or insights can be really helpful, other times they probably miss, but so I try to select items that are general and yet might be enjoyed by all.

A lesson on God being everywhere: During the ravages of the great plague in London, Lord Craven, whose house was situated where Craven Street now stands. Alarmed at the progress of the disease, he determined to retire to the country. His carriage was at the door, and he was passing through the hall to enter it, when he heard a servant saying to another domestic, "I suppose, by my Lord's quitting London to avoid the plague, that his God lives in the country, and not in London." The servant said this in innocent simplicity of heart. He really believed in the plurality of gods. The words, however, struck Lord Craven most forcibly. "My God," he thought, "lives everywhere and can preserve me in London as well as in the country. I will stay where I am. That servant has preached a useful sermon to me. Lord pardon my unbelief, and that distrust of Providence, which made me think of running away from Thy hand." He canceled the orders for his journey, remained in London, and was very useful in administering to the necessities of the sick. He was also preserved from the infection of the plague.

On the necessity of looking to Christ, Edward Payson writes, "The reason why the men of the world think so little of Christ is, they do not look at him. Their backs being turned to the sun, they can see only their own shadows, and are, therefore, wholly taken up with themselves. While the true disciple, looking only upward, sees nothing but his Savior, and learns to forget himself. You might bind a bird with a soft silken cord, and while he remains still, he will not be sensible of his confinement; but as soon as he attempts to fly, he will feel the cord that confines him; and the greater his desire and his efforts to escape, the more sensible will he be of his bondage. So the sinner may long be a slave to his sins, and never be aware of it till he rise to go to Christ."

Roland Hill says on the satisfaction by Christ for the guilt of our sin, "Christ's blood satisfies the law of God and the justice of God; should it not then satisfy the sinner's guilty conscience?"

The following is found in the remains of Wolf's writings: "The grand difference between the Christian and the man of the world is that the burden of the one is gathering while he proceeds, while that of the other is becoming lighter and more easy. The man of carnal mind and worldly affections clings more and more to his beloved earth, and new cares thicken around his death-bed. His burden is collecting as he advances, and when he comes to the edge of the grave it bears him down to the bottom like a millstone. But the blessed Spirit, by gradually elevating the Christian's temper and desires, makes obedience become more easy and delightful, until he mounts into the presence of God, where he finds it a service of perfect freedom."

"A heathen philosopher once asked: 'Where is God?' The Christian answered: 'Let me first ask you, where is He not?'" John Arrowsmith

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

 tim@cfdevotionals.org
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