Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

October 21, 2019

10/21/2019

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection (Luke 20:35, 36).

    The "children of this world," mentioned in verse 34 of this chapter, are men and women in their present state of mortality, procreation being necessary to restore the loos caused by death; but in the world to come there will be no more death.

    "Those who...are 'accounted worthy,' will have a part in the resurrection of the just. Jesus said...that 'they that have done good' shall come forth 'unto resurrection of life' (John 5:29)....All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven" (The Great Controversy, pp. 482, 483). They have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and so are accounted worthy.

    Michael Faraday, while showing a friend his laboratory, handed him a beautiful silver cup that he had received as a prize. Suddenly it slipped from the visitor's hand and dropped into a vat of acid, where, to his horror, it melted away like a snowflake. The scientist clamed his friend, and stepping to a shelf, picked up a small piece of mineral and dropped it into the acid. The silver immediately began to be precipitated at the bottom of the vat, where it was collected. "I will send it back to the manufacturers," he said, "and have it recast." And so he did, into a more beautiful vase than before.

    So our Creator, in the plenitude of His power, and wisdom, will bring forth the bodies of His redeemed--changed, new, immortalized, fashioned like unto His own glorious body--"the children of the resurrection."

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth" (Ps. 31:5).

October 20, 2019

10/20/2019

  Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken (Prov. 3:25, 26).

    It has been said that we should be far more shocked at the sin that deserves hell than at the hell that comes out of sin. Punishment that often follows sin in this world is really a preserving salt that saves society from destruction. We read in Isaiah 26:9 that when God's judgments are in the earth, "the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." God's people are not to be alarmed or to fear, whatever may come on the earth. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God" is a divine command (Isa. 41:10).

    Events for which we are unprepared may happen suddenly, but we are always to be prepared for God's care and protection. "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust" (Ps. 91:4). World events and threats that cause men's heart to fail them "for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth" should not frighten God's children, but only cause them to look up, knowing that their redemption draws nigh" (Luke 21:26, 28).

    The Baptist pioneer in Germany, Pastor Oncken, suffered much in fines and imprisonment for the truth's sake. He was once threatened by the burgomaster of Amberg, who held up his finger and said: "Do you see that finger? So long as that can move, I will put you down."

    Oncken replied: "I see your finger, but I see also an arm which you do not see. So long as that is stretched out, you cannot put me down."

    And that is the promise: "The Lord shall be thy confidence." May He be our confidence always.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion" (Ps. 71:1).

October 19, 2019

10/19/2019

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward hall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil (Luke 6:35).

    God is good to all, and if we are His children we are good to all. It is those who are not working for a reward who will receive a reward.

    When, at Worms, Luther was forsaken and dispirited, suddenly a servant entered his hotel room bearing a refreshing drink, the offering of Duke Erich of Brunswick, a powerful ruler belonging to the pope's party. As the Reformer, touched by this act of kindness, drank, he said, "As on this day Duke Erich has remembered me, may the Lord Jesus Christ remember him in the hour of his last struggle."

    The servant took the message to his master, and in the hour of his death the aged duke recalled Luther's words. Addressing the young man who stood at his bedside, he said, "Take the Bible and read to me." The dying man took comfort as the youth read the words of Christ: "Whosoever shall give to drink...a cup of cold water only..., verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matt. 10:42).

    Love is the one final, irresistible force in the world. God, who loved the unlovely in us, desires to love the unlovely through us as we reflect His love to others.

                                For the love of God is broader
                                        Than the measure of man's mind,
                                And the heart of the Eternal
                                        Is most wonderfully kind.
                                                                __Frederick W. Faber

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,...to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night" (Ps. 92:1, 2).

October 18, 2019

10/18/2019

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them (Heb. 7:25).

    What Christ is able to do for us, He will do for us. This is a promise not only for His power but of His willingness to save all who believe. Because He is a priest forever, He is able to save forever. But to be saved forever, we must "come unto God by him." Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). "There is none other mane under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). We must accept Him as our personal Savior from sin, as having died for us, as having paid the price of our redemption. He who offered one sacrifice for sins forever now appears in the presence of God for us (Heb. 9:24), our Interceder and High Priest.

    When Dr. Philip Doddridge lived in Northampton, a poor man was condemned to death for sheep stealing. The laws were very cruel in those days. Dr. Doddridge thought there was little proof of the man's guilt, and he also believed in the Great Book, which teaches that a human being is better than a sheep. He tried every way he could to get the sentence reprieved, but was unsuccessful. On the road to his execution the convict asked to stop opposite Dr. Doddridge's house. Kneeling down, he said, "God bless you, Dr. Doddridge. Every vein on my heart loves you. Every drop of my blood loves you, for you tried to save every drop of it."

    There was a man! What love he had for the intercessor who had failed. But our Savior has succeeded, and what a price He has paid! Why should not every one of us who rejoices in their blood-bought salvation say: "Every vein in my heart loves Thee, O Christ. Every drop of my blood loves Thee, for Thou hast died to save me, and dost live to intercede for me"?

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise" (Ps. 106:47).

October 17, 2019

10/17/2019

  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee (Ps. 51:12, 13).

    This is really a promise of what God will do through all of us who have the joy of salvation and who are upheld by His Spirit. This psalm is David's cry for forgiveness and mercy after his great sin. Listen to his plea: "Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me" (verses 9-11). Then he prays that the joy of salvation shall be restored to him, that he may be upheld by God's free spirit. When this happens, he sys, "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."

    This is the only real preparation for soul winning. Soul winners must themselves be won to Christ. They must be forgiven. They must have the joy of salvation. They must have the witness of the Spirit in their own heart that they are children of God (Rom. 8:16).

    One night in Paris, Paganini played before a great audience. As he was tuning is violin one of the strings broke. Disappointment swept over the audience. As the artist played, a second string snapped. Although the audience was annoyed, he continued to play until a third string broke. The listeners were disgusted. Quietly Paganini said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you now hear one string and Paganini." Then he began to bring such music out of that one string that the audience leaned forward that they might not miss a note. He sat down to wild applause, because he had brought so much out of so little. One string and Paganini--one surrendered soul and God. The Holy Spirit will take our little and do tremendous exploits for God when we are surrendered to His touch.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us" (Ps. 68:28).

October 16, 2019

10/16/2019

  After these days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour,...saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:33, 34).

    This is God doing what we cannot do ourselves. This is righteousness by faith. What the law could not do, because it was weak through the flesh (Rom. 8:3), God does through the Holy Spirit, writing His law in the hearts of believers, so that Christ really lives in them by faith, and His will is their will. Then we know God as the God of grace, passing by our transgressions, separating our sins from us as far as the east is from the west, hiding them behind His back, and blotting them out as a thick cloud. He forgives our iniquities, for it is written, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

    Not only so, but the promise goes further still: "I will remember their sin no more." Can God forget? He says He will forget our sins, and He means what He says. So the Lord completely obliterates the iniquity of His people. This is God's act of oblivion. This is the forgiving Father receiving back into His home and into His heart the prodigal child. When God forgives, He forgets. Why? Because "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3).

                                Forgiven, forgiven, all cleansed in the blood,
                                        My sins are remembered no more;
                                Atoned for by Jesus in Calvary's flood,
                                        My sins are remembered no more.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities" (Ps. 51:9).

October 15, 2019

10/15/2019

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 (John 6:40).

    It is the will of God that all who see His Son as the Savior and believe on Him may have everlasting life. The promise of Jesus is clear: "I will raise him up at the last day."

    A minister passing the corner of Fourth Avenue and Jefferson Street in Louisville, Kentucky, one cold November morning saw a man who had been placed on the sidewalk in front of a building in order that he might receive alms from passerby. Both his arms were gone, and he had no legs. His face was marked with the miseries of many winters, but his eyes were very bright. His head was bare, for his hat was pinned to his ragged clothing to receive the proffered coins. The minister asked the poor man if he didn't wish to be moved inside the building to get out of the cold. But one standing by said, "He cannot hear." Then he wrote his question on a piece of paper: "May I move you to a warm place?" The onlooker said, "He cannot read; neither can he speak." But, looking into the man's eyes, the minister seemed to read there these words: "O man, please give me something with which to get bread and a warm place to stay." That look was rewarded, for help was extended immediately.

    But there is a more important look than that. God says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isa. 45:22). This is the look that God must see in the spiritual eye of every lost soul.

    With the eye of faith we must see the Son, and believing on Him, receive everlasting life. This is the definite promise of our Savior: "I will raise him up at the last day." Seeing is believing, and believing is receiving everlasting life.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "In his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Ps. 30:5).

October 14, 2019

10/14/2019

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee (Prov. 20:22).

    Yes, evils and injustices will come to us at the hands of others. And when they do, shall we say, "I will give him as good as he sends"? No. Let anger cool down. We should say nothing, do nothing, to avenge ourselves. Let us follow the example of Hezekiah, who spread Rabshakeh's letter before the Lord, and pray unto the Lord, as he did (2 Kings 19:14-19). This will greatly relieve the burdened mind.

    The apostolic command is: "Recompense to no man evil for evil" (Rom. 12:17). And the words of Jesus are: "I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also....Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:39-45).

    When we do not know what to do, let us follow the advice of today's promise, "Wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee."

    A small boy hailed his playmate next door and started to run out for the usual morning play together when an older member of the family said teasingly: "Are you going to play with him again? I thought that you quarreled yesterday and were never going to have anything more to do with each other. You have a funny memory!"

    Jimmy looked surprised for a moment. Then, with a satisfied smile, he said as he hurried away, "Oh, Roland and me is good forgetters."

    And so should we all be--and good forgivers, too, trusting in the Lord.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand" (Ps. 10:14).

October 13, 2019

10/13/2019

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine (Ps. 33:18, 19).

    At the battle of Prestonpans, the Highland chief of the noble house of M'Gregor fell wounded by two bullets. The clan wavered and gave the enemy an advantage. Seeing this, the old chieftain raised himself up and, with blood gushing from his wounds, cried: "I am not dead, my children. I am looking to see you do your duty." At these words his brave Highlanders rushed anew into the conflict.

    But our battle is against evil. It is unto life, not unto death. And our Chieftain is not dead or dying, but alive forevermore. Because He ever liveth, "he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him" (Heb. 7:25). It is plainly stated in Psalm 34:15, 16: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth."

    How often are we aware of God's watchcare over us! There are places in our wilderness of wandering where we might say, as did one of old, "Thou God seest me" (Gen. 16:13).

                                Why should I feel discouraged,
                                        Why should the shadows come,
                                Why should my heart be lonely
                                        And long for heaven and home,
                                When Jesus is my portion?
                                        My constant friend is He:
                                His eye is on the sparrow,
                                        And I know He watches me.
                                                                ___Mrs. C. D. Martin

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance" (Ps. 21:6).

October 12, 2019

10/12/2019

And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings (Rev. 10:11).

    A worldwide message, like fire, like a rainbow, like the sun, but "clothed with a cloud"; a message declaring that time should be no longer; a message from a little book that had been closed but that was now open--evidently the book of Daniel. "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter" (Rev. 10:10). What a picture of the Great Disappointment that followed the Advent movement of the early 1840s! Sweet anticipation, bitter reality. So it was with the first disciples. They expected our Savior to become king of Israel, but instead, the cross was His throne. After that first disappointment they had a worldwide work to do, scattering the gospel throughout the earth.

    And now there is another work to do. "Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." This is a worldwide work preparatory to the coming of the Lord in power and glory to bring an end to sin, pain, and death. "Go ye into all the world" is His command, "and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15. Our Savior also declared, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached is all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14).

    The need for Christian missions is greater than ever before. Millions have never heard the story of Jesus. We have the gospel, and it is our duty to take it to others until the work is done.

    Upon the tomb of David Livingstone in Westminster Abbey is this inscription, "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold" (John 10:16). It is for those other sheep that the call must still go out, that we must "prophesy again" to many nations, and tongues, and kings.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations" (Ps. 108:3).