Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

November 20, 2019

11/20/2019

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matt. 24:14).

    Modern methods of transportation and communication have made it possible for gospel messengers and the gospel message to go quickly to earth's remotest bounds. The everlasting gospel will be preached for a witness, a testimony, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people (Rev. 14:6). Then, just as certainly as the gospel preaching goes to the world, "shall the end come."

    The apostolic preaching of the gospel, as it went out from old Jerusalem to the civilized world of that time (Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:6, 23), was followed by the destruction of Jerusalem as a symbol of the world itself. When the gospel witness goes forth again, this time to all the world, the end of the world or age will come, and the kingdom of glory will be set up. The Lord shall reign "from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (Zech. 9:10).

    What preachers we should be in such an hour as this! Someone asked an old Scotch woman what she thought of Robert Murray McCheyne's preaching. She hesitated a moment, then replied, "He preaches as if he was a-dyin' to have you saved." And so should we preach, for "the Lord is at hand" (Phil. 4:5).

                                Long they've toiled within the harvest,
                                        Sown the precious seed with tears;
                                Soon they'll drop their heavy burdens
                                        In the glad millennial years;
                                They will share the bliss of heaven,
                                        Nevermore to sigh or moan;
                                Starry crowns will then be given,
                                        When the King shall claim His own.
                                                                                __L. D. Santee

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power" (Ps. 145:11).

November 19, 2019

11/19/2019

  For as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matt. 24:27).

    The return of Christ will be universally known, witnessed by the whole world. "They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:30). He is not to appear secretly in some desert place, or privately in the secret chambers. He comes with all the holy angels. Suddenly the heavens will be filled with glory, then "a shout,...the voce of the archangel, and...the trump of God" (1 Tim. 4:16).

    William M. Dyke, blinded by an accident when 10 years of age, won university honors, also a beautiful bride whom he had never seen. Just before his marriage he submitted to an eye operation, and the climax came on the day of his wedding. The bride entered the church, leaning on the arm of her aged father, Admiral Cave. There stood her future husband and his father and the great oculist, who was cutting away the last bandage. A beam of rose-colored light from the window fell across his face, but he didn't seem to see it, as with a cry of joy he sprang forward to meet his bride. "At last! At last!" he cried, as he gazed for the first time upon her face. What a meeting! But how much greater will be the joy of the redeemed as they are presented in the presence of His glory and see their blessed Redeemer for the first time face to face.

                                O soon I shall gaze upon the face of Him,
                                Pierced to redeem me from the curse of sin,
                                And praise Him forever with the glad new hymn;
                                I shall be satisfied then.
                                                                        __Horatius Bonar

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple" (Ps. 65:4).

November 18, 2019

11/18/2019

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me (Micah 7:8).

    The basis for this promise is found in the verse preceding: "I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." It is when we have faith in God, trustingly wait for the fulfillment of His promises, and seek Him earnestly in prayer that we can be sure of rising when we fall and finding light in dark places. "Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Savior. By prayer, by the study of His Word, by faith in His abiding presence, the weakest of human beings may live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold them by a hand that will never let go. These precious words every soul that abides in Christ may make his own" (The Ministry of Healing, p. 182).

    In Psalm 112:4 we read, "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness." We may find ourselves in some dark dungeon experience, but however dark it may be, the Lord will be our light.

    When one of the Reformers had acquitted himself in public disputation as a credit to his Master's cause, a friend asked to see the notes he had been observed to write, supposing that he had taken down the arguments of his opponent and sketched the substance of his own reply. The friend was surprised to find that the notes consisted of this petition: "More light, Lord! More light, Lord!"

                                The Lord is my light; then why should I fear?
                                By day and by night His presence is near;
                                He is my salvation from sorrow and sin;
                                This blessed persuasion the Spirit brings in.
                                                                                         __James Nicholson

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou are very great....Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment" (Ps. 104:1, 2).

November 17, 2019

11/17/2019

  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Ps. 126:5, 6).

    Some seed needs to be watered with tears, so weeping times are good sowing times. Through our tears we may not see the harvest, but it will come, and we shall reap in joy if we faint not.

    If we carry forth precious seed for sowing, there is no doubt that we shall return, bringing in our sheaves. Each of us is a sower going forth to sow. Some of our sowing is of good seed; some evil. Which shall it be today? It is the "precious seed," the good seed, that brings forth fruit for the kingdom of God and enables us to reap with joy and come with rejoicing, bearing our sheaves.

    Many a minister has been forced, for the profit of the flock, to sow the precious seed with tears. "Six weeks of painful, dangerous sickness did more for me than six months in a theological seminary," said a very successful minister.

    The model minister of Christ in Rome wrote to his son Timothy: "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:10).

                                He that goeth forth with weeping,
                                        Bearing precious seed in love,
                                Never tiring, never sleeping,
                                        Findeth mercy from above.

                                Sow thy seed, be never weary,
                                        Let no fears thy soul annoy;
                                Be the prospect ne'er so dreary,
                                        Thou shalt reap the fruits of joy.
                                                                            __Thomas Hastings

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works" (Ps. 26:7).

November 16th, 2019

11/16/2019

November 16th, 2019

11/16/2019

November 16, 2019

11/16/2019

And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof (Zech. 8:5).

    What a sign of peace and prosperity is this--city streets filled with boys and girls at play! Nothing more wonderful can happen to a family than the birth of a child. A young minster, filled with joy and wonder at the birth of his first child, telegraphed the glad news to his parents. His father replied with Psalm 127:3-5: "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord....As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that that his quiver full of them."

    "Why do you bow to that newsboy?" President Garfield was asked by a friend.

    "Because," the president answered, "no one knows what's buttoned up in that boys' jacket."

    Whenever we look into the eyes of a child we are beholding the face of tomorrow, and possibly the face of greatness. Who knows but that it may be a young John Know, a John or Charles Wesley, a George Whitefield; or a Florence Nightingale, a Clara Barton, a Helen Keller? Jesus said, "Suffer little children to come unto me,...for of such is the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:16). On this basis, as Bishop William Taylor used to say, "there are no heathen children. They are not such until misled by the influences that surround them."

    The deacons of the church had asked the pastor to resign. "We love you," they said, "but there hasn't been a convert this year."

    "Oh, yes," said the pastor. "You forgot little Bobby. Of course, he's very young, and I don't suppose it's right to count him."

    Years later when Robert Moffat came back from his great missionary work in Africa, the king of England arose and bared his head in his presence. Let us take an interest in the boys and girls playing in our streets, that we may see them later in the streets of a brighter city.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength" (Ps. 8:2).

November 15, 2019

11/15/2019

  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matt. 21:22).

    True Christians will live so near the Lord that what they pray for will be the will of God. "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth" (Ps. 145:18). "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13). "Without fear it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6).

    When J. Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China in a sailing vessel, the ship was becalmed near some cannibal islands. Slowly it drifted toward the shore, where savages were eagerly anticipating a feast. The captain went to Mr. Taylor and begged him to pray to God for help. Mr. Taylor said, "I will, provided you set the sail to catch the breeze." But the captain did not want to become a laughingstock by unfurling his sail in a dead calm. However, Mr. Taylor would not pray until the sails were up. As they drifted nearer and nearer to the shore the captain was desperate, so up went the sails.

    While Mr. Taylor was engaged in prayer, there came a knock at his stateroom door. It was the captain. "Stop praying," he said, "stop praying. There is more wind than we can manage." They had drifted within a hundred yards of the shore when a strong wind had suddenly struck the sails. J. Hudson Taylor knew God in prayer. It was true of him that "faith sees the heavenly legions, where doubt sees nought but foes."

    "Men ought always to pray, and not faint" (Luke 18:1). "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24).

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication" (Ps. 30:8).

November 14, 2019

11/14/2019

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call (Joel 2:32).

    Whosoever" is a big word, a wide word. As the old-time evangelists used to say: " 'Whosoever' means me." With such a promise as this, why do we not call on the Lord? We have His royal "shall" to make it certain. From any situation, habit, sin, or condemnation there is deliverance in God. The crowd may not find it, but some will. It is "in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Those whom the Lord calls are to call upon Him.

    A Cashier in a New Your bank, a very faithful Christian, could not make his account balance by many thousands of dollars. He had never used a dollar of the bank's funds, nor could he find any error in his accounts. The next day the bank examiner was to look over his books, and he would be declared a defaulter. Early that morning he went to the director's office alone and, in great agony of spirit, pleaded with God for one hour. Suddenly calm came to his troubled heart. As though led by an invisible hand, he went from his knee to the safe. There he noticed a blotter marking a place in one of the account books. Opening its pages, he found items that had not been posted and that made his account balance exactly. That providential discovery vindicated his honesty and showed the faithfulness of God, who said, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee" (Ps. 50:15). God's deliverance from sin as well as from trouble is in this promise.

                                O Lord, because of our great need,
                                A vast and mighty sum,
                                We bow and for Thy mercy plead,
                                Come, great Deliverer, come!

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer" (Ps. 4:1).

November 13, 2019

11/13/2019

  I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him (Hosea 14:4).

    With this, we place Jerimiah 3:22: "Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." The response follows: "Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God." The third chapter of Jeremiah might be entitled "Hope for Backsliders." In the twelfth and thirteenth verses we read: "Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God." Then we come to the great climax in verse 14: "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion."

    Hope for backsliders? There is no doubt about it. Let all such, both outside church fellowship and in the church, return to God without delay.

    An officer in the Indian Army had raised a tiger cub as a pet, and it seemed perfectly docile. One day as the officer was sleeping in his chair the tiger began licking his hand. As he continued to lick, blood appeared from an abrasion. Immediately the tiger's wild nature was aroused and he attacked his master, who barely escaped death. Although the animal seemed tame and domesticated, the tiger nature was still in him.

    Some Christians who have been regenerated have backslidden. To all such, the Lord says, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works" (Rev. 2:5). The call to backsliders is the call to repentance and obedience. God will heal the sickness of backsliding. He will love us freely.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee" (Ps. 31:17).