June, 2024 | THE BIBLE VIEW

The BIBLE VIEW #964— Hard Times

In This Issue:
Why Me?
In Moody’s Bible
God Knows the Way
The “Bad” Times

Volume: 964 July 1, 2024
Theme: Hard Times

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Why Me?
Bill Brinkworth

Paul was a man used greatly by God. With God’s helping hand, this evangelist survived shipwrecks, beatings, persecutions, imprisonments, and other ill-treatments. With God’s miraculous help, this man was used in healings, revivals, and many miracles. However, as used of God as he was, Paul still had a personal aliment (II Corinthians 12: 7)

Commentators have strained at attempting to identify Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” God has chosen not to make clear to us what it was. No matter what it was, Paul made it clear that it was an infirmity he faced. Three times, Paul pleaded with God to remove the malady from him (II Cor 12. 8). God’s answer was “… My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (II Cor. 12: 9).

Here was a man who had seen glorious things in the third Heaven (vs. 2-4) and had been delivered from many horrible things, yet God wanted Paul to experience this physical problem. God could have easily healed his body, but His answer was that His grace was enough for him to live with the problem and that Paul’s infirmity would be a vehicle to make him spiritually stronger.

If God would allow one of His great spiritual warriors to face such a battle, we, too, should not be surprised if we face health problems or other problems. As with most trials, we can do one of two things when going through testing. We can either shake our fists at God and be angry with Him, which is not the wise thing to do when we need Him the most, or get close to Him and rely on Him to get us through the struggle.

Paul chose not to be foolish and get angry at God. He decided that if God allowed him to go through the problem, he would have a good attitude about it (vs. 10) and give God the glory. In doing so, Paul was learning precisely what God wanted him to learn: that when he was weak, he was the strongest with God’s help (vs. 10)!

Some cry, “Why me?” when they go through a trial. My question to them is, “Why shouldn’t it be you?”

In Moody’s Bible
Dr. Harry Ironside

In the margin of Moody’s Bible, opposite Phillippians 4:19, I found his notes there:

“The Christian’s banknote: from the bank’s President — ‘My God’.
Promise to pay — ‘Shall supply’.
The amount — ‘all you need’.
The bank’s capital — ‘according to his riches in glory.’
The cashier’s name — ‘Christ Jesus’”.

Moody noted that the amount was left blank for each to write in the measure of his need. Fortunately, Heaven’s bank is always available. The Cashier is always present. The capital of the bank has never been impaired.

The Christian is to ask, according to his present need, and must use at once the riches provided. Christ’s promises are more than beautiful sentiments to be hung on the wall for decorative purposes. They are not intended as life savers for use only in time of shipwreck. There is no excuse for spiritual poverty in the presence of such divine provision.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:19

God Knows the Way
Author Unknown

God knows the way of the righteous,
Even though it be dark and drear,
He knows when we’re tired and weary,
Our burdens to heavy to bear;
We ask, as the shadows lengthen,
“Lord, lift Thou this burden of care!”
And often, His voice replieth,
“My child, I placed it for you there!
With grace that is all-sufficient,
That you might grow stronger in Me,
So trust, weary child, your Father,
He knoweth and careth for thee!”

“When life knocks you to your knees, pray there.”

The “Bad” Times
Bill Brinkworth

No one likes troubles, trials, and tribulations, but we all will or have had them. Since we will all encounter them in our lives, viewing them in the proper light only makes sense.

Those “bad” times many times are sent by God to make us into what He desires us to be. They will teach us lessons in life’s school that will never leave us the same. It can be for this reason God preserved the words in James 1:2-4:
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [trials] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

We are to take these challenging times as “joyful times.” How can anything as miserable as some have experienced be joyful? Usually, a lesson is learned, and thankfulness is realized after the fire of tribulation is passed through – when we’re out on the other side of the calamity. It is then we can have “joy.”

After one goes through so many “temptations” and remembers how they benefited from those experiences, one can develop the right attitude the next time unpleasantness comes into view. “Ah, I don’t like the class, but the lesson I will learn will be worth it.”

The Bible gives us many reasons why hard times come into our lives. Those amidst trials learn many lessons:

Some did not learn their lesson when taking the “course”. Later, they faced more challenging training further down life’s path because they never learned it the first time.
Sometimes, those tempestuous times are meant to strengthen us. We can be made stronger when awed at His deliverance from the impossible. When we reach that point, we can look back and say, “Only God could have gotten me through that”.
“He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.” Deut. 10:21
Other times, our turbulent trials build our faith after seeing what God has done. After passing through enough tests and remembering how we were delivered in the past, we have faith that He will guide us through the next difficulty.
“Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.” I Samuel 12:24
Part of what happens when our faith is strengthened is that we are taught. We learn more about Him, what He can and will not do, and His other character traits when we see God work.

Many lessons can be taught from life’s trials. When they were led through the wilderness, Israel learned to fear and obey God. Jonah’s experience also taught him to follow – the first time. Paul’s blinding experience on the road to Damascus taught him there was only one way to please God, and it was His way, not the traditions or religions of man. After Jesus healed the blind man from a lifetime of darkness, the man learned of His power. All these events changed the lives of the ones going through what they had originally thought were unwanted times. What would they have been like if they didn’t go through them?

Certainly, tough times can change us. Jonah’s attitude changed after his stay in the whale’s belly. Saul had a new perspective on persecuted Christians after he was one. Joseph certainly appreciated all the hardships he went through when he saw how it prepared him for his future. We can lose all our self-righteousness in a hurry when we face trials and realize that only God can make a difference during those times.

Reading the Scriptures, one can quickly see how the hard times were used to teach God’s people how He could protect them. God used hornets, earthquakes, darkness, disease, fear, and water, to name a few, to guard and direct His own. What an unforgettable lesson must have been learned when they saw the mighty works of their protective Father.

Hard times can also direct us. The trials we go through many times change our direction and put us on the course He desires – much like the detour that no one likes. If the detour did not change our route, we would end up in the construction workers’ freshly dug trench, possibly damaging our vehicle and ourselves. The many extra miles were worth the aggravation we could have faced in the body shop or the hospital. When we look back on what could have happened, we can be joyful about what did not occur and thankful for God’s direction.

Not all trials are punishment from God, but some are. Our miseries can be an act of God to correct us when we do wrong. A suitable punishment will change wrong behavior – and quickly. When God’s people were doing wrong, God sent enemies, bondage, plagues, and a host of other deterrents to change their mindset. Parents sometimes have to punish their children for wrong behavior; our heavenly Father sometimes needs to do this, too.

Not too many people get excited when terrible things happen to them, but as you will learn if you have not already, there is much to be learned from the “bad times.” Not one spiritual and close-to-God Christian got that way without going through many heartaches. Sometimes, the most spiritual have gone through the most. There is a connection. Hard times can have a positive effect on us if we learn our lesson properly.

The BIBLE VIEW #963 — Obedience

In This Issue:
I Should’ve Done It Right the First Time
A Better Work
Standing on the Inside
Obey God
A Child’s Song

Volume: 963 June 24, 2024
Theme: Obedience

I Should’ve Done It Right the First Time
Bill Brinkworth

The strong winds of a rainstorm pushed over a large 10’ by 10’ entranceway to my garden. On it hung the foliage of two seedless grape plants. The growth was massive, totaling at least 300 pounds. There the plant support lay after the storm, a tangled mess of plant and split oak posts.

When I built it, I knew I was using the wrong materials. I figured termites would appear out of nowhere and gobble the structure, but I did not want to spend the money at the time to buy the right timber and build it right. The future of the plants was not important to me at the time. However, the little creatures did find a meal, and it took a wind to emphasize the damage they had done.

Looking at the jumbled mess, I thought, “I should have done it right the first time. I ended up spending the money anyway.”

People go through life making similar discoveries. They learn the biblical way to live when they are younger. They heard testimony after testimony of how people learned about life the hard by making bad decisions that made their life not come out the way they wanted.

When hearing the testimonies, the young listeners vowed not to mess up their lives the same way. They purposed to be a good Christian, follow God’s commandments as closely as possible, and stay far from sin.

Often, when going through their teenage years, they fell for similar distractions and soon found their lives also in a tangled mess. With multiple marriages in their past, a habit of smoking, broken relations with families, legal problems, wrong decisions after wrong decisions, or other damage done by involvement in sin, they one day realized that they should have done their lives right the first time. They should have lived as God commanded in His Word because any other way does not work!

After purchasing pressure-treated lumber and rebuilding the arbor correctly, my next task was sorting out the mangled vines to salvage as much developing fruit as possible. Patiently, I went through each vine and, to my surprise, learned something else.

I realized that the plants were mostly vines and little fruit. I cut away much of the unproductive vines, disturbing one little toad, and one by one, cut away what did not have any fruit and put what was left on its new support. What now remained was at least one-third of what originally had been growing.

One may learn a similar lesson after getting to a point where one wants to start all over again and live the way God says to in His Word. It may be realized that a previous life-style was unproductive and even a waste of time before living God’s way.

Activities and things dumped for unscriptural living are often later seen as unimportant and hardly worth the priority given to them. That new car we had to have and the second job we needed to pay for it was not worth the time we missed seeing our children grow up and raising them properly. A fine house was a “must,” but it forced both parents to work, forcing the children to be raised by someone else with standards that were not the mother’s and father’s.

Church services that could have helped were missed because sports games were placed at a higher value. Now, we cannot even remember who played who or where the games were. All those things and other vain activities are now seen as a waste of our time and, in the long run, did not satisfy or help us.

Learn the lesson I learned from my collapsed grape arbor. We only have one life, and it needs to be lived the right way.

The world has no clue what the right way is. They try to fill their spiritual emptiness with activity and things. Those things are a temporary cover-up of real needs.

We are created to serve God, and His leadership is the only way we will ever have joy and fulfillment. Live your life according to the way His Word guides. God has raised billions of children, and when they do it His way, they will do it the right way the first time.

“Don’t pray to give God instructions — just report for duty!”
— Author Unknown

A Better Work
C. H. Spurgeon

“The ship is on fire!” was shouted. The bales of cotton were pouring black, horrible smoke. Safety was in question.

Passengers and crew were in extreme danger, but a capable captain was in command. He told those around him, “If you behave yourselves, I think I can get all to safety. All will be spared if you follow my instructions!”

If they trusted the captain, they would do as he ordered. No sailor or engineer would refuse to work the pumps or prepare the boats, neither would any passenger disobey any rule.

Because of confidence in their leader, they obeyed him at once. They believed his orders were wise, so they kept them. Neither their fear nor rashness would lead them to rush to and fro contrary to his bidding. When the boats were lowered and brought one by one to the ship’s side, those who were to fill them waited their turn in firm reliance upon the captain’s impartiality and prudence.

They got into the boats or waited on board, for they considered his orders were dictated by better judgment. Each man and woman firmly believed in the superior officer. Discipline was maintained.

Obedience to God’s commandments also proves genuine faith and trust in the Lord. There is no trust where there is no obedience.

Some say they trust Christ but do what they like. The faith which saves and is genuine is a faith that obeys.

“The acid test and proof of faith is obedience.” — Author Unknown

Standing on the Inside
Walter Knight

A mother repeatedly told her little boy to sit down. The boy continued to stand, disobeying his mother.

Finally, the mother went to him and plopped him down in a chair. Fuming, the boy said, “I may be sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside!”

How displeasing to God is our only outward obedience to His commandments, when inside we are very rebellious to Him.

“Obeying God may not be the easiest way, but it is the wisest.”
— Author Unknown

Obey God
Author Unknown

Implicit obedience is our first duty to God and one for which nothing else will compensate.

If a child at school is told to solve a math problem and copies an answer instead, the effort of cheating will not increase his mathematical ability. Likewise, we should obey God and do what he requires of us. Shortcuts cheat us from doing or learning what we should. God’s way is always the best.

A guide through an unknown country must be followed without question, or his followers will be lost. A captain commanding the direction of a vessel up a river must be obeyed by the pilot, or the ship will run aground. A soldier in battle must fight when and where he is ordered. When the conflict is over, he may see how following his commander’s orders got their side a victory. The farmer must also obey God’s natural laws of the seasons to have a bountiful harvest.

We must all obey God’s spiritual laws to reap happiness here and hereafter.

“Following God’s directions are the only way to get safely Home.”

A Child’s Song
Author Unknown

A child’s Sunday school song teaches an important truth:

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it happily.
Action is the key — do it immediately, joy you will receive.
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
We want to live pure; we want to live clean.
We want to do our best.
Sweetly submitting to authority, leaving to God the rest.
Walking in the light, keep our attitudes right,
On the narrow way.
For if you believe the Word you receive, You always will obey!

The BIBLE VIEW #962 — Jesus

In This Issue:
Out of the Scary Dark
Don’t Just Display the Sword; Take It and Use It!
What Christ Is to the World
Christ’s Last Will and Testament
Seeking Jesus
Jesus, the Protector
Jesus Sees Our Sins
The Verdict

Volume: 962 June 17, 2024
Theme: Jesus

Out of the Scary Dark
Author Unknown

While crossing a glacier, an Alpine traveler and his guide were forced into a crevasse where no human power could rescue them. At last, a small river was found that pierced the mountain of ice, which they followed into a dark, cold, and ever-narrowing passage. It finally ended in the roaring gulf of a larger sub-glacial river. To plunge into its gloom and whirl seemed to be a leap into the jaws of death, but there was no other alternative.

The guide made the plunge, crying, “Follow me.” They were tossed about the icy waters and deafened by its roar, but they were swept out into Chaumont’s summer air and green vale in a few moments.

Jesus has passed through the sullen stream of death. Because of what He did for us, we need fear no evil but shall find ourselves safely conducted to the summer-land beyond.

“Turn your face toward the Son, and the shadows will all fall behind you.”

Don’t Just Display the Sword; Take It Out and Use It!
C. H. Spurgeon

When a man gets a sword, you cannot be sure how he will use it. If a gentleman has purchased a very expensive sword with a golden hilt and an elaborate scabbard, he may hang it on his wall and exhibit it to his friends. Occasionally, he may draw it from the sheath and say, “Feel how keen the edge is!”

The precious blood of Jesus is not meant for us merely to admire and exhibit. We must not be content to talk about, extol, and do nothing with it. We are to use it in the great crusade against unholiness and unrighteousness. The precious blood is to be used for overcoming our obstacles and holy warfare. We dishonor it if we do not use it to that end.

What Christ Is to the World
Author Unknown

The world’s Creator: John 1:1-3.
The world’s Example: Mat. 16:24.
The world’s Teacher: Mat. 7:28-29.
The world’s Master: John 13:13.
The world’s Saviour: Luke 19:10.
The world’s Lord: Rom. 10:12.
The world’s King: Rev. 11:15.
The world’s Light: John 8:12.
The world’s Life: John 14:6.
The world’s Love: John 3:16.

Leonardo da Vinci took a friend to examine his masterpiece, “The Last Supper.” The friend remarked, “The most striking thing in the picture is the cup!”

The artist quickly took his brush and wiped out the cup as he said, “Nothing in my painting shall attract more attention than the Master!”

Christ’s Last Will and Testament
Author Unknown

He left His purse to Judas;
His body to Joseph of Arimathea;
His mother to John;
His clothes to the soldiers;
His peace to His disciples;
His supper to His followers;
Himself as an example and as a servant;
His Gospel to the world;
His presence is always with God’s children.

Seeking Jesus
Mossell

I sought Thee when my heart was low,
I found Thee, and my hopes revived,
And all the world from me shall know
What comfort I from Thee derived;
All that I needed, all and more,
Thy presence did to me restore.

I laid my burden at Thy feet,
My head upon Thy tender breast,
Thy name of Love I did repeat,
And Thou didst understand the rest;
All that I needed, all and more,
Thy presence did to me restore.

I wept the sorrow of my heart,
And Thou mine eyes didst gently dry;
I sighed through fear that we must part,
But Thou didst whisper, “Ever nigh!”
It was enough, I asked no more,
Thy voice did all my life restore.

And now that life to Thee I’ll give,
With calmer trust and brighter joy;
In Thee, and for Thee, I will live,
To do Thy will my sole employ;
Thus, most secure to part no more
With that sweet joy Thou didst restore.

“Jesus used a borrowed tomb because He did not need it for long!”

Jesus, the Protector
John Bate

I doubt not many of the Israelites, when they found that Moses or Aaron were the means of staying the plague among them, rushed to hide themselves under Moses’ or Aaron’s protective care. They rushed to God.

You that know Jesus to be such an effectual Intercessor with God, should you not run to save yourselves from the punishment of sin by throwing yourselves beneath His gracious mercy and protection?

Jesus Sees Our Sins
Caird

Jesus sees sin not only in our outward acts but in the hidden source of evil, the hearts of man. No soft veil can disguise sin from Jesus’ penetrating eye. He has no illusions from our words as He is the Incarnate Truth and knows our hypocrisy and vice. Wherever we think we have hidden our sin, Jesus still sees it. Our sin was to Him as if a mask were torn off, and a skeleton face was revealed in all its hideousness. Knowing and seeing all He has, Jesus still suffered for all sinners. Oh, what wondrous love He has for the sinner!

The Verdict
Edited from an article by C. H. Spurgeon

I have seen a famous painting entitled “Waiting for the Verdict.” Such interest is displayed on every face in the courtroom! What fear and trembling are upon the prisoner’s countenance, in the face of his wife and the friends around him. What anxiety is seen!

If the jury and judge had given a favorable verdict, the picture would have been painted much differently. What joy would have been seen around the courtroom if the prisoner was acquitted.

It is impossible to bring a verdict of “Not Guilty” for you and me. We are undoubtedly guilty of sin and deserve the worst punishment handed down from the most honorable, righteous Judge. Because of the substitution of Jesus’ death for our sins and God’s divine grace, the Judge will give those who are saved the verdict, “There is now no condemnation.” What joy will be in the countenance of all that hear that from the declaration from God.

“It is a terrible mistake to understand Jesus as having been crucified by some especially bad people in the first century. Jesus was crucified by the highest reach of human religiosity, morality, and political justice.”
— Albert T. Mollegen

The BIBLE VIEW #961 — Getting Far from God

In This Issue:
Who Is Your Leader?
Degrees of Backsliding
Hymn Writer Loses Joy of Salvation
Don’t Go Back

Volume: 961 June 10, 2024
Theme: Getting Far from God

Who Is Your Leader?
Bill Brinkworth

Much of the opposition early Christians faced was from “religious” but unrighteous people. However, in Acts the early church started facing conflict from those who opposed biblical teachings of any kind.

One such enemy was Barjesus. The name meant “son of Jesus” or “son of Joshua”. However, he used the name Elymas, which meant “wizard”. Being that this sorcerer was a Jew (vs. 6), Barjesus probably had some biblical training in his past. If he did, he knew that sorcery was sinful (I Sam. 15:23, II Chron. 33:6), yet the man pursued that wickedness even though he knew God hated it. To make matters worse, this male witch tried diligently to keep someone from being saved (Acts 13:6-7).

Many have been exposed to what God says is right or wrong. They have learned His ways from good preaching, Christian education, Bible reading, or a godly upbringing. Yet, somewhere in their lives, they ignored everything they heard and lived the way they wanted. They chose to live contrary to God’s commandments, as did Barjesus.

I have repeatedly asked myself, “How can these people, who have learned God’s way, live the way they are living now?” In this account, the sorcerer was not a child of God, as he was called “… thou child of the devil, thou enemy of righteousness…” (Acts 13:10). For some that live ungodly lives, that may be the explanation, they were not saved to begin with.

For others, they may be saved, but sin has a powerful hold on them. Sin’s control can completely change how a person thinks and behaves. Romans Chapter 1 describes people like this. The people described in that chapter “knew God” (Romans 1:21), but they “… became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” The rest of the chapter details a sad list of sins they had gotten involved with.

Why do people act ungodly? Some live a lifestyle contrary to God’s commandments because they may not know His commands or even consider obeying anything other than their desires. For others who should know better, it may be because they have purposely ignored what they have learned and lived their way. Rebellion of this type is usually rooted in a controlling sin.

For whatever reason, one’s lifestyle usually revolves around one’s decisions. The decision God desires for each of us should be similar to the choice Joshua made, “… as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” Joshua 24:15. Whom have you chosen to obey?

“You cannot run away from a weakness. You must fight it out or perish, and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

Degrees of Backsliding
Dr. Haven

A Christian never falls suddenly from advanced Christian life to barrenness or open sin. The stages in the descent are slow and often almost imperceptible.

Little negligences of duty bring darkness to the soul and eat out its spiritual joy. Little temptations betray it to the power of the enemy. By gradual departures from God and little indulgences in sin, one at length falls into total backsliding and apostasy.

The following may serve as an admonitory list of the steps taken in the downward path:

Neglect of secret prayer: Job 15:4.
Disregard for the Bible: Jeremiah 6:19, Hosea 4:6.
Worldly-mindedness: II Timothy 4:10.
A quarrelsome spirit: Isaiah 29:20-21, I Cor. 3:3.
Dwelling on the faults of others: Mat. 7:3-5.
Readiness to take offense: Prov. 14:17-19.
A murmuring spirit: I Cor. 10:10.
A critical hearing of the Word: I Cor. 3:1-4.
Covetousness: Luke 12:15, Col. 3:5.
Light thoughts of sin: Matt. 22:5.
Indulgence in secret sin: Num. 32:23, Eccl. 12:14.
Falling into outward sin: Hosea 4:16-17, Eph. 5:3-8.
Persecuting the righteous: Acts 7:52-53.

“Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare.” — John Dryden

Hymn Writer Loses Joy of Salvation
H. Bosch

Robert Robinson, author of the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” lost the happy communion with the Saviour he had once enjoyed, and in his declining years, he wandered into the byways of sin. As a result, he became deeply troubled in his spirit. Hoping to relieve his mind, he decided to travel.

In the course of his journeys, he became acquainted with a young woman on spiritual matters, and so she asked him what he thought of a hymn she had just been reading. To his astonishment, he found it to be none other than his composition. He tried to evade her questions, but she pressed him for a response.

Suddenly, he began to weep. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he said, “I am the man who wrote that hymn many years ago. I’d give anything to experience again the joy I knew then.”

Although greatly surprised, she reassured him that the “streams of mercy” mentioned in his song still flowed. Mr. Robinson was deeply touched. Turning his “wandering heart” to the Lord, he was restored to full fellowship.

Come, Thou Fount
Hymn writer — Robert Robinson

(1) Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above; Praise the mount — I’m fixed upon it — Mount of Thy redeeming love.

(3) O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above.

“Temptation provokes me to look upward to God.” — John Bunyan

Don’t Go Back!
Bill Brinkworth

For a Christian, there is no way out of a backslidden condition without first working to reconstruct what is broken in one’s life. After the sin is stopped and avoided, and all attempts are made to do what one used to do, the battle is not over. Certain steps must be taken so one does not go back to the condition in which one previously found oneself.

We can learn some preventative measures for not returning to a backslidden condition by following what Nehemiah had his people do after they rebuilt the city (Jerusalem) from the condition it used to be in. Those measures included:

He returned proper worship. His situation was different than ours is today, as during his time, the Jews were still under the law. The leader ensured all who served in the temple were qualified by their lineage to be in the priesthood. Nehemiah made sure the right spiritual leaders were in service.

To return from a backslidden condition, one must ensure worship is in a good, Bible-following church. So many get far from God, and when they want to return or get closer to Him, they pick the same worship (or lack thereof) that may have helped them get in a far-from-God position in the first place.

One has to make changes. Nehemiah’s charges to the people had them stop their sin and get back to obedience to God.
One of Nehemiah’s most important steps to protect his people from returning to where they spiritually were was to include Scripture in their lives. Today, reading the Word of God is one of the most important measures to prevent spiritual decline. How can one know the will of God if one does not read and obey His Word?
Most importantly, after the Israelites had read the Word of God, they obeyed it. There is no way to return to God today unless one obeys, by faith, what God speaks to one’s heart about and shows them in His Word.
Nehemiah also rehearsed some of the spiritual errors Israel had made in the past. He made it clear what they had done to get in the condition they found themselves in so they would not do the same things in the future.

Anyone can drift away from where they should be. Some find themselves where they never wanted to be when they were close to God. They recognized the errors of their ways.

When errors are seen, and conviction causes one to reminisce about their past “better” spiritual condition, that is the time to make changes so one cannot go spiritually backwards. There may not be another chance!

“If thou wouldst conquer thy weakness, thou must not gratify it.”
— William Penn

The BIBLE VIEW #960 — Working for the Lord

In This Issue:
Working with the Boss   A Better Work
You Did a Great Work for the Lord
Where Is God?    Keep On Keeping On
The Deer Hunter   The Faithful Teacher

Volume: 960 June 3, 2024
Theme: Working for the Lord

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Working with the Boss
Bill Brinkworth

During Pastor Renshaw’s preaching, my heart was stirred by the preacher’s charge, “What do you want from Jesus?” Some would quickly request that their marriage be fixed, that they get a better job, that they get the right mate, and countless other desires.

The more spiritual would choose to be closer to God, as they realize that having a closer relationship with God would provide both spiritual and physical needs. I thought about the preacher’s question, applied it to myself, and believed God gave me my answer to the preacher’s question in my life.

I love working in a ministry. One of the reasons I like to do things around the church and in the ministry is because I get to work alongside good Christians and fellowship with them. Most of the time, we have too many things to do to afford time to have one-to-one fellowship, but working in a ministry allows us to have fellowship together and do something for the Lord at the same time. Sometimes, as an added bonus when working in a ministry, I even have more fellowship with the preacher. I get to work more directly with the “boss,” who is usually way too busy to be able to spend time with all the church members.

My thoughts about what I want from Jesus continued. While I am most comfortable being around God’s people and enjoy working with them, the real reason for my enjoyment is that I get to see God working more closely while active in a ministry. While at “work” in a ministry, I get to have a closer relationship with the Lord, see how He is currently working in lives, how He answers people’s prayers and needs, and how He does the “impossible.” God’s workings are probably more real to me than one who only comes to church on Sunday because I see Him work more often.

Yes, I could be fishing on Saturday instead of inviting children to come to church on Sunday, but then I would miss being at their home at the right time to talk with a person who was waiting for someone to stop by so they could find out more about being saved. I could have watched a Saturday TV movie rather than study for my Sunday school lesson for several hours, but then I would have missed how the “worst” child in class got saved and was transformed to be the most interested and changed Bible student in the whole class. It would have been more relaxing and less stressful if I had not gone out visiting folks on Thursday night, but then I would have missed the hundreds that have gotten saved and gotten things right with God over all those years.

The greatest experience I have ever had in my life has been to do something for the Lord. I know I am not the smartest, best worker, or best teacher, but I get to work with the “Boss.” There are tremendous advantages and blessings when you work closely with God.

Imagine that the God who created the universe, put the stars in place, and breathed life into every person on Earth would let me work with Him. What an honor; what a privilege to see all the mighty things I have seen God perform while working alongside Him. There is nothing more exciting and fulfilling.

Saved person, is your life without a purpose and excitement? Do you have the deep down feeling that your life is missing something and that there is emptiness in your life? If so, I encourage you to work for the “Boss.”

You are robbing yourself of an exciting life when you only live for yourself and do not do anything for Him. When you serve God, you will see, hear, and experience wonderful things you would otherwise miss. There is no greater joy than to have a close working relationship with the Father! Get involved in a ministry for the Lord today.

Pray about what Godwould have you do, and even shock your pastor by asking him how you can get involved in a ministry today!

“When God needs something done near where you live, are you the first servant He thinks of using?” — Brinkworth

A Better Work
D. L. Moody

One day, I saw a steel engraving that I liked very much. I thought it was the finest thing I had ever seen at the time, and I bought it. It was a picture of a woman coming out of the water and clinging with both arms to the cross. She came out of the drowning waves with both arms around the cross perfectly safe.

Later, I saw another picture that was far more meaningful. It was a picture of a person coming out of dark waters, with one arm clinging to the cross and with the other, she was lifting someone else out of the waves. That is what I like. Keep a firm hold upon the Cross, but always try to rescue another from an eternal “drowning.”

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” — Holmer

You Did a Great Work for the Lord
Author Unknown

One time, Ian MacLaren went to a house and saw an old Scotch woman standing in her kitchen, weeping. She wiped her eyes with the corner of her apron. When the pastor asked her what was the matter, she confessed, “I have done so little.” She continued, “I am so miserable and unhappy.”

“Why?”

“Because I have done so little for Jesus. When I was just a wee girl, the Lord spoke to my heart, and I wanted to live for Him.”

“Well, haven’t you?” asked the minister.

“Yes, I have lived for Him, but I have done so little. I want to be of some use in His service.”

”What have you done?”

“I will tell you. I have washed dishes, cooked three meals daily, cared for the children, mopped the floor, and mended the clothes. That is all I have done all my life, and I wanted to do something for Jesus,”

Sitting back in the armchair, the preacher looked at her and smiled. “Where are you boys?” he inquired.

She had four sons and had named them after Bible characters. “Oh, my boys? You know where Mark is. You ordained him yourself before he went to China. Why are you asking? He is preaching for the Lord.”

“Where is Luke?” questioned the minister.

“Luke? He went out from your church. Didn’t you send him out? I had a letter from him the other day.” She continued, “A revival has broken out on the mission station, and he said they were having a wonderful time in the service of the Lord!”

“Where is Matthew?”

“He is with his brother in China. And isn’t it fine that the two boys can be working together? I am so happy about that. John came to me the other night; he is my baby, only nineteen, but he is a great boy. He said, ‘Mother, I have been praying, and tonight in my room, the Lord spoke to my heart, and what do you suppose He told me? I have to go to my brother in Africa! But don’t you cry, Mother. The Lord told me I was to stay here and look after you until you go Home to Glory.’”

The pastor looked at her, “And you say your life has been wasted in mopping floors, darning socks, washing dishes, and doing trivial tasks. I’d like to have your mansion in Glory when we are called Home! It will be near the throne because of your great workings for the Master!”

“It is high time that the ideal of service should replace the ideal of success.”
— Einstein

Where Is God?
Author Unknown

“Our daily duties and trials”, someone said, “are the veils under which God hides Himself” as He draws near to us. The secret of satisfaction then, as well as the pledge of success, is doing whatever we do to the honor of God. In every humble or distasteful employment, see Him work. In every burden borne for another’s good, remember God’s Word, “… Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Mat. 25:40)

Keep On Keeping On
Author Unknown

A terrific storm occurred in 1666, at a time when the end of the world was expected. Sir Matthew Hale sat on the law bench at the time. The lightning dazzled the eye, and thunders crashed with appalling power. The assembly was panic-stricken and cried out that the Day of Judgment had begun. Some men betook themselves to prayers, and all were filled with horror.

The judge was quiet and unmoved. He calmly ordered the court business to proceed as usual. Even if the end of all things were at hand, of which there was no evidence, he wished to be found diligently attending his daily business.

If the thunders and lightings of trial and testing loudly proclaim havoc around you, keep doing what the Master requires of you!

The Deer Hunter
Spurgeon

The deer hunter gets out of bed long before the sun is up and climbs the mountains. He watches from the first gray light for the creature, which is the object of his pursuit. Ask him how it is when he returns late in the evening that he has had nothing to eat all day. He will answer, “I never thought of it. I saw a chamois on a distant crag and hastened after it. I leaped the ravines. I climbed the steep faces of the rocks. I was almost on my prey, but it was gone.

“I crept up to another range again, holding my breath lest the scent of me should alarm the watchful buck. I thought of nothing but my sport, and I never thought of hunger until my bullet found its mark in the heart of my prey, and I drew out my hunting knife. It was not until I began to lift the game to my shoulder that I remembered that I had neither eaten nor drunk that day.”

If only there were more workers for the Lord with less thought for themselves and more thought on the prey for the glory of God!

The Faithful Teacher
D. L. Moody

A 75-year-old woman had a Sunday school class two miles away in the mountains. One Sunday, there was a terrible rainstorm, and she considered not going that day, but she thought, “What if someone should go and not find me there?” She then put on her waterproof coat, umbrella, overshoes and went to her ministry.

She found only one young man when she got there and taught him the best she knew how. She never saw him again but perhaps thought her class had been a failure that day.

That week, the young man enlisted in the Army. A year or two later, the teacher got a letter from the soldier thanking her for going through the storm that Sunday. The young man thought that stormy day he would go and see if the teacher was in earnest, and if she cared enough about souls to go through the rain.

He found she came and taught him as carefully as if teaching a large class and won the young man to Christ. When he lay dying in a field hospital, he sent the message to the teacher that he would meet her in Heaven.

Was it not a glorious thing that she did not get discouraged because she had but one Sunday school student? Be willing to work with one. You will never know this side of eternity what God will do with your efforts.

“When generous acts bloom from unselfish thought, the Lord may be with us though we know it not.” — Larcom