Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

August 27, 2019

8/27/2019

  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's heart failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:25-27).

    These signs in the sun, moon, and stars have taken place. The great Dark Day occurred on May 19, 1780; the falling stars, on November 13, 1833. "Distress of nations" has been revealed in two world wars, and great preparations are being made for wars yet to come. Perplexity is with us--the distractions of nature, but above all, "men's heart failing them for fear." There is a worldwide unease, a disease of heart and mind, an unutterable longing for eternal things, which can never be satisfied with any material pleasure or activity.

    By their terrible discoveries people themselves have shaken the earth about them. Soon the heavens will be shaken, not by people, but by God. These signs of the times are all precursors of the coming of the Son of man.  "Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds" (Mark 13:26). He comes with power and glory.

    A visitor to a certain home was told by the maid that the people she wished to see were gone, and it was not known when they would return. However, the caller noticed that the table was laid for dinner. Thinking that she had misunderstood, she queried, "So your mistress is coming home today?"

    "I have not heard so," said the maid, "but as the time is uncertain, I keep everything ready each day." And that's how Christians ought to live--with everything ready each day, everything ready for their Master's return.

    The signs of the times are in the skies and on the earth. Our Lord is coming, but we know not the hour.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee" (Ps. 40:16).

August 26, 2019

8/26/2019

The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: then wilt make all his bed in his sickness (Ps. 41:3).

    Remember, this promise is made to the person who considers the poor, as we read in the first verse of this psalm. Am I one of these? If so, then I may take home this text as my own promise.

    In the most ancient times it was the custom to exhibit the sick in public places so that benevolent persons, or those who had suffered from the same disease or had cared for such, might suggest a remedy. It was in this way, we are told, that the science of medicine had its beginning.

    The sick must be helped by others. Disease brings that equality that death completes. Distinctions then are set aside. One person is not above another in the sickroom. There is no place for gaiety, human glory, or wit. Even the reason is sometimes clouded. Here the highest and brightest mortals find nothing left but weakness and pain.

    How wonderful at such a time to have loving friends with their kind and tender ministrations, especially a Christian physician with a blessed ministry, than which there can be no greater comfort.

    But above and beyond all this is the wonderful promise that God will be our nurse and attendant. How relaxing and restful it is to poor patients to have the bed remade, smoothed, and properly prepared for their aching body! Notice the promise that the Lord will "make all his bed in sickness." Divine grace, divine love--these are the best stimulants and medicines. As someone has said: "There is no physician like the Lord, no tonic like His promise, no wine like His love."

    But have we done our duty to the poor? If not, let us hasten about it, for we need this promise of God in our treasury.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me" (Ps. 119:50).

August 25, 2019

8/25/2019

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord (Isa. 65:25).

    Conditions on earth are not like this today. In our world the wolf eats the lamb. The lion is a predator and feeds upon creatures less strong than itself--in fact, upon the bullock whenever it has the opportunity. The serpent acts with the nature of a serpent, and many die of snakebite every year. Hurt and destruction are worldwide, at times bursting out into desperate and terrible wars.

    The time is coming when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," and that is why the Lord declares, "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain" (Isa. 11:9).

    Hurt and destruction result from ignorance or an ignoring of the knowledge of God. The physical creation itself, and even the animal world, will be changed when human beings are immortalized and brought back to their Eden home.

    "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). But today "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together," waiting "for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:22, 19). In the earth made new there will be perfect harmony between humans and their environment.

    "To lick the dust," we are reminded by commentators, is figurative of the final, utter, and perpetual degradation of Satan and his emissaries (Isa. 49:23; Ps. 72:9). The reign of sin will then be over, and God will have a clean universe.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God" (Ps. 43:4).

August 24, 2019

8/24/2019

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5).

    By the universal voice of his army, Godfrey of Bouillon was saluted king of Jerusalem upon the capture of that city. A crown of gold was brought to him, but he set it aside, saying, "It is not fit for me, a mortal man and a sinner, to be crowned with gold in the city where Christ, the Son of God, was crowned with thorns."

    "Meekness does not assert itself, because it has something better to assert," writes a contemporary. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself" (Matt. 16:24). And He bids us, "Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29). Jesus, the brightness of His Father's glory, "counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:6, 7, ASV).

    There was no bigotry in Him, no cold austerity. He who beholds Christ, "The Terrible Meek," as Charles Rann Kennedy calls Him, will yield self to the disposal of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul could say, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

    "It was through the desire for self-examination that sin entered into the world, and our first parents lost the dominion over this fair earth, their kingdom. It is through self-abnegation that Christ redeems what was lost. And He says we are to overcome as He did (Rev. 3:21). Through humility and self-surrender we may become heirs with Him, when the, 'meek shall inherit the earth' (Ps. 37:11)" (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 17).

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "For thou, O God,...hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name" (Ps. 61:5).

August 23, 2019

8/23/2019

Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me (Isa. 27:5).

    On the cross God has already made peace with sinners, but all sinners have not made their peace with Him. "By His spotless life, His obedience, His death on the cross of Calvary, Christ interceded for the lost race. And now, not as a mere petitioner does the Captain of our salvation intercede for us, but as a Conqueror claiming His victory. His offering is complete,...wholly acceptable, and pardon covers all transgression" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 156). Therefore we can come to God by Him without fear, for Christ pleads our cause, using the mighty arguments of Calvary.

    It is Satan's special device to lead people into sin and then leave them in despair, fearing to ask for pardon. But God invites us to take hold of His strength. Jacob did this and wrestled with the angel until the break of day. When he discovered that he was contending with a divine personality, he clung on in faith, declaring, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me" (Gen. 32:26). In his very weakness and surrender he found victory and peace, and his name was changed to Israel, or Overcomer.

    Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). If you are one of Christ's children, He has remembered you in His will. On the cross He willed His mother to John, His spirit back to His Father; but to His disciples, He willed His peace.

    It is said that no one can make a will that lawyers cannot break, but we can challenge any of them to break Christ's will. No court can ever set it aside, and by faith we can claim it today.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us" (Isa. 26:12).

August 22, 2019

8/22/2019

  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation (Ps. 24:4, 5).

    How a person lives is important. Notice--clean hands, pure heart, no foolish pride, no deceit, but truthfulness. The blessing of God will be on such a person.

    But from whence do all these virtues come? Certainly not from the person's own heart. The answer is in the last phrase, "righteousness from the God of his salvation."

    Righteousness by faith is the only righteousness a believer can have. It comes from God and is "by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all than that believe" (Rom. 3:22).

    "The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven" (Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, June 4, 1895).

    If one makes a profession of salvation but still lives the same old life of sin and defeat, their profession is worthless. "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matt. 7:20). This is the old orchard test and the only true test. Righteousness in the heart will be revealed as righteousness in the outward life--clean living, pure thinking, simplicity, humbleness of spirit, truthfulness. On those who have these graces, the blessing of God descends and dwells.

    It is for us to live out the life that God lives in us. When asked how long it took him to paint a certain picture, Joshua Reynolds replied, "All my life." We are all painters with the colors God gives us. May we always use them to His glory.

MEDITATION PRAYER: "Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord" (Ps. 118:19).

August 21, 2019

8/21/2019

  The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment (Prov. 12:19).

    The Hebrew word for "truth" signifies firmness; in Greek, that which cannot be hid, or which is unconcealed. Jesus reminds us, "He that doeth truth cometh to the light" (John 3:21). Truth may be suppressed for a time, but it cannot be buried forever. It is sure to have a resurrection. And the Hebrew derivation of the word "truth" reminds us of its indestructible firmness. "Heaven and earth shall pass away," Jesus said, "but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).

    Every motorist has had the experience of being attracted by the advertisements of hotels, motels, restaurants, etc., that are found to be entirely different from what they are represented to be.

    What about the words of a Christian? What about the very profession of being a Christian? Are the goods as specified? Remember, truth wears well. Falsehood may triumph temporarily, but it is like Jonah's gourd, which grew up in the night and withered in the light of day. Truth--all kinds of truth--has time on its side, and will at last be vindicated.

    Remember, the gospel is everlasting (Rev. 14:6) because it is the truth. It is based upon the unchanging will, word, and power of God. God is eternal, and so is truth. "His mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations" (Ps. 100:5).

    Let us always be careful, not primarily that we have truth on our side, but that we be on the side of truth.

                                So let our lips and lives express
                                The holy gospel we profess;
                                So let our works and virtues shine,
                                To prove the doctrine all divine.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reaches unto the clouds" (Ps. 108:4).

August 20, 2019

8/20/2019

Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us (2 Cor. 1:10).

    No wonder the great apostle had faith in his Savior--the One who had delivered, was delivering, and would deliver. That same trust may be ours. There are really three tenses to salvation. We have been saved, we are being saved, we shall be saved. Through our Savior's sacrificial atonement upon the cross we have been saved, justified from our sins. "By grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8).  Today we should be growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3:18). God works in us "both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). In this sense we are being saved from sin day by day. In the fullest sense, which includes glorification, we are yet to be saved at the appearing of our Lord. This is for those "who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). This is the end, or object, of our faith (verse 9). This is the salvation of which we are heirs (Heb. 1:14) and for which our Savior appears the second time (Heb. 9:28).

    See this picture: A house is burning. In it is a very valuable violin, a Stradivarius. A music lover, knowing that it is there, rushes in at the risk of his life and saves it. That is salvation. But the violin is seriously damaged. It is taken to an expert, who with infinite care repairs it, for he knows its value. That also is salvation. The violin is saved from the fire and saved from its wounds. Now a great violinist takes it, tunes it, draws the bow over its strings, and it speaks to our hearts. That is the complete salvation of the violin, for it is restored to its intended usefulness.

    Our threefold salvation is about to be accomplished in the second coming of Christ, the great Deliverer. Today and tomorrow and forever He is able to save us.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word" (Ps. 119:41).

August 19, 2019

8/19/2019

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left (Isa. 30:21).

    This is a promise of divine guidance. Every new day is a road to travel; a path to walk, to run, possibly to climb. The promise is that when we turn off the path we shall hear a voice saying, "This is the way. Come back and walk in it."

    A number of years ago a man was lost in the dense fog of the Welsh mountains and wandered about for two days and a night trying to find a way back to human habitation. He had never felt so lonely, so completely forsaken, so lost. Finally, he heard someone say, "I wonder if he might have come this way." Then he realized that others were looking for him. There are many who have turned from the right way and are wandering about in the fog of broken hopes and shattered plans. They think they are utterly alone and forsaken. Then they hear a voice. Someone is seeking them, calling them back to the right way.

    But there is something that we ourselves must do to find the right way. "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jer. 6:16). There are many ways, but only in the good way shall we find soul rest.

    The psalmist must have known something of this cry of the soul for light when the path is dark. "Deep calleth unto deep," he says (Ps. 42:7). Out of the depths of humanity's need comes the cry for help, and out of the depths of God's love comes His answer: "This is the way, walk ye in it." It is the old way, "the way of holiness" (Isa. 35:8), "a new and living way" (Heb. 10:20), and those who walk in it are referred to as "those of the way."

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart:...and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Ps. 139:23, 24).

August 18, 2019

8/18/2019

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it (Matt. 10:39).

    This statement by our Savior is paradoxical and depends on the double sense attached to the word "life"--the natural and the spiritual, the temporal and the eternal. People who make this natural life and the things of time first will lose this life as well as the eternal. Those who sacrifice this life for the higher will have both.

    It is difficult at times to give up things that we can see for things that we cannot see, but we must remember that "the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). Moses was able to see the invisible, and he esteemed "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward" (Heb. 11:26). He made today secondary to tomorrow, time subservient to eternity.

    Matthew left his counting table to follow Jesus. Peter and Andrew, James and John, left their fishing fleet to follow Christ. "He...that forsaketh not all that he hath...cannot be my disciple," said Jesus (Luke 14:33). Even life itself, with all its plans and hopes, must be given to Him to guide and to use.

    The Indian maharaja, Dhuleep Singh, was presented to Queen Victoria just after the English had captured the great Koh-i-noor diamond. The gem was placed in his hand, and he held it for some time. Realizing that now it belonged to another by right of conquest, he said, "Madam, it gives me pleasure to place in your hands, as my sovereign, this treasure of my ancestors."

    Have we made our great surrender to Christ? Have we placed in His hands that which we have inherited from our ancestors--the life that is His by right of the conquest of Calvary's cross?

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee" (Ps. 63:3).