NOVEMBER 12

MEN WONDERED AT

“Here now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth My servant the branch.” (Zech. 3:8)

First and foremost this is fulfilled in Christ. “But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!” (Matt. 8:27). The disciples saw a demonstration of the power and authority of Jesus over the very elements, as He stilled the storm, and they marveled. The outburst was inevitable, “What manner of Man is this!” It is more of an exclamation than a question. It is astonishment. How we do wonder at the workings of the power of God. Though we have seen Him do the unexpected and impossible again and again, every new demonstration of His power causes us to marvel some more. What a mighty God we serve!

There is also to be a fulfillment of this prophetic word given by Zechariah. For while THE BRANCH was brought forth, and they wondered at Him. “What manner of man is this!” Now He is conforming His elect to the very image of the Branch, as He becomes the Vine, and “We are the branches’. When God has finished bringing forth His new creation, they will be MEN WONDERED AT. They are the “Branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified”. (Isa. 60:21).

Betimes there have been preview glimpses of this. “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and took knowledge to them, that they had been with Jesus”. (Acts 4:13). There was the authoritative life in Jesus, and they wondered at Him. Now this same LIFE is found in His disciples, it is not natural, it is not common, it is beyond the ordinary, it is a quality that causes men to marvel. They had been with, and received from Jesus of His Spirit “Of love, power, and of a sound mind.” (II Tim. 1:7).

His ‘wonder men’ of Israel in whom His soul is
pleased,
Fulfill the promise He hath made, His true sons
Are these.
NOVEMBER 13 MARVELLOUS WORDS

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at Him.” (Mark 12:17)

The Pharisees would question Him, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” They would try to catch Him in His words, but He had answers that astonished them. He did not fight the world system, nor rail against it. Israel rebelled against the bondage Caesar had imposed upon them, and they fussed and fumed. Jesus did not share this emotion, for He was not in bondage to the system. He could pay Caesar’s tax, and go on His way in peace, for He came only to do His Father’s will, and this was His realm. When we know where we stand with God, we can move in confidence as to our contact with this world. Elijah could say, “As the Lord liveth, before Whom I stand…,” and being certain of that dimension, he could act, live, and move in a different attitude toward kings, and all men. That is but a prelude to the “manifestation of the sons of God,” and how they shall live and move among men.

“They could not take hold of His words before the people: and they marveled at His answer, and held their peace.” (Luke 20:26). He did not speak with the wisdom of this world, nor the reasoning of the carnal mind, and they could not gainsay His answers. His logic was irrefutable. Truth needed no defense, so decisive, so clear-cut, you could not read into them a false impression. No wonder they marveled at His answers.

“And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.” (Luke 4:22). Not only did He have the perfect answer, He also had GRACIOUS WORDS. Words which brought comfort, encouragement, hope and trust. So positive, so up lifting, so filled with GOOD NEWS was His message. This, in contra-distinction to the prophets of gloom and doom. So also, shall God’s elect “Bring good tidings, that publisheth peace…that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.” (Isa. 52:7). To have the answer given clear, to end the vision blurred, to silence all that would dispute the wonder of His Word.


NOVEMBER 14 FLEE THESE THINGS

“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36)

The Greek word for ‘escape’ is ‘ek-pheygo,’ meaning TO FLEE OUT OF. It is the same word that is used in I Timothy 6:11, “But thou, O man of God, flee (escape) these things…” Flee what things? The context gives quite a listing: strife of words, whereof cometh envy; strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men, supposing that gain is godliness, the love of money, etc. Then it says, “FLEE THESE THINGS,” escape out of the snare of these things.

II Tim. 2:22, “Flee also youthful lusts,” All of the over-desires of the flesh so prevalent in youth, for they must have this, and that, seeking to satify self. The driving passions of the flesh of youth which can seemingly only be subdued with the passing of time and many disciplines of life, until we realize how empty it all is, and our sense of values change. Is it possible to pass through the midst of all this, not touching that which would defile? YES! By the help of the grace of God, as our prayer rises to Him continually. He can keep us from lingering in the midst of temptation, and from being sidetracked into involvement with these things. Jesus, “In the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from (out of death, and was heard in that He feared (for His piety.)” (Heb. 5:7).

The Biblical thought of escape, or, to flee out of, does not hold within it the thought of ‘escapism’ in the sense of not having to face up to the test, but rather, to pass through it uncorrupted, and thus OVERCOMING IT. The Word of God does not teach ‘escapism’ whereby one avoids facing the testing, but that we pass through it without being corrupted by its negativity. We flee out of the corrupting influence, to follow after that which is pure and holy. God will enable His worthies to pass right through the midst of trouble and not be harmed.



NOVEMBER 15 PASSING THROUGH

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee” and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Isaiah 43:2)

We note that it does not say ‘IF’ but ‘WHEN’, for the path is destined to take us by this route. In the processing of His sons, He chastens, i.e., He child-trains every son whom He receiveth unto Himself. “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads: we went through water: but Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place,” (Ps. 66:12). That we shall face the floods and the fiery trials is certain, but the promise is that we will GO THROUGH; we will not stay in them, to forever flounder and come to nought. We can pass through victoriously in daily overcoming!

Daniel went through the lion’s den experience, but he was untouched by the lions. The three Hebrew young men went through the fiery furnace experience, but they came forth without the smell of smoke upon them. They escaped the negative consequences, and not a hair of their head was singed by the fire.

“We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,” (Acts 14:22). The word ‘tribulation’ from a Greek word meaning PRESSURE. God’s apprehended ones are not escaping the pressures of these days, in the sense that they do not have to face them, but we can escape the negative defilement of these pressures, and pass through their destructiveness to find that God has simply used these very pressures to press us into Himself. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me,” (Ps. 23:4).

Through all the process we must pass
Till we are cleansed within,
And in the afterwards we’ll find
The fruit of discipline,
To be His sons, and fully free
Of self, and every sin.

NOVEMBER 16 HOLD THY PEACE

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding,” (Prov. 17:28)

This certainly goes much farther than just keeping one’s mouth shut. One might sulk, be moody, repress talk, never say a word out loud, and still not have peace within, because they are as a seething pot, boiling with agitating passions, emotions, fears, and frustrations. Some would feign sleep, wear a placid smile, whatever to cover up that which is within, but the unrest spills out – a tapping finger, a shaking foot, etc. It is when there is PEACE WITHIN that you can hold it, and not be upset with the outward conditions. If you lay your peace aside, and take up with the problem, then turmoil ensues. But if we hold our peace, victory will be ours in due time.

“He (Jesus) held His peace, and answered nothing,” (Mark 14:61). Standing in Pilate’s Hall, all the accusations hurled against Him, but INSIDE WAS PEACE and He held it. His outward calm was due to this inner state of being that he retained, held fast. Had He let go of the peace, and joined in a verbal battle with his accusers, the victory would have been lost. He kept His peace in the judgment hall, trudging up Golgotha’s hill, and on the very cross itself, and because of this inner victory, the outer victory was sure.

“The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace,” (Ex. 14:14). With the Red Sea in front of them, mountains on both sides, and Pharaoh’s army rapidly approaching from behind, Israel was sorely tried. Yet the greatest battle was not outward, it was within. The message was clear, they were to hold their peace within, and God would do the fighting in the outward circumstances. If we abandon our stand within, and give up the peace, the enemy has already won the battle. As long as we hold fast to the peace within, the outward conditions may roar and rage, but they cannot destroy us, and God will fight the battle and give us the victory.

“Hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom,” (Job 33:33). Keep calm before the Lord, and He will impart that wisdom and understanding needed for these times – so shall we triumphantly overcome.
NOVEMBER 17 IN HIS OWN ORDER

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father,” (I Cor.15: 22-24).

“As in Adam…so in Christ.” It is to be noted that this little word ‘in’ comes from the Greek word ‘en,’ which has been translated quite equally by the words ‘in, with, by’. That it was BY the first Adam all were brought under the sentence of death, is acknowledged by all Christendom, and verified by Romans 5:12-17. In this same passage it is equally affirmed that it is BY JESUS CHRIST that life is to be ministered to all. Whatever the coverage of sin and death, MUCH MORE shall be the abundance of grace and righteousness and life. It is utter folly to magnify the sin of Adam and yet diminish the effect of Christ’s triumph. “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world,” (I John 2:2). It is the MUCH MORE of His super abounding grace.

“By Adam all die, even so By Christ shall all be made alive.” There is no difference in the word ‘all’ used in both cases. To argue otherwise is to err from the truth, and leads into the delusion which has plagued Christendom for these many centuries. The final triumph does not belong to sin and evil, it belongs to the realm of righteousness, and thus THE SON must reign until all enemies have been subdued under His feet, including the last enemy, which is death. When all have been subdued, it is self-evident that none remain. The coverage of His triumph is glorious, total and complete.

But the process is wrought out “every man in his own order.” Jesus clearly taught that “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him,” giving indication that the initiative is God’s, as He causes us to come in His time, to be in that order, that rank that He determined for us. But He also made it clear, regardless of the timing of our call, “they shall all be taught of God,” (John 6:44-45).




NOVEMBER 18 A MAN BEFORE THEM

“He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came; the Word of the Lord tried him, (Ps. 105:17-19).

Those who are called to be a part of the first rank and order, find that they travel a lonely journey, to blaze out the trail for those who follow. The whole family of Jacob, all the sons, their wives, their children, were destined to make a sojourn in the land of Egypt, but “He sent a man before them.” One had to go first, and his journey was not the same as those who followed later. It was an adventurous trip when Jacob and all his family came down to Egypt. Pharaoh had sent wagons to carry him, and all his cattle and goods came with him. The destination was the same, Egypt, to fulfill the plan of God, and to be sustained through the time of famine, and all that the Divine Purpose included. But it was far different then the trip Joseph made, being the “man sent before them.”

Joseph’s brethren sold him as a servant. He was separated from his brethren. He knew the agony of rejection and aloneness. He knew the heartache of ‘holding a vision” that seemingly did not have the remotest chance of fulfillment. All the outward circumstances were in opposition to that which his heart yearned after. He became a servant to the mundane!

To the natural mind there is no continuity to the process. Sent by God, sold for a servant. Called to be a preserver of the people, his feet shackled with fetters, hemmed in, restricted, he was laid in iron. To use the vernacular of present times, these things just do not compute. The inner vision says one thing; the outward circumstances are seemingly saying something else. This is the perplexity that faces those who spearhead the way into the new. Only our Lord Jesus Christ has gone before us.

But the dreams and visions, which Joseph held, became a reality. After the Word of the Lord had fully tried him, his deliverance came, and he was made ruler in the land – and able to provide for his whole family in due time.
NOVEMBER 19 TRIED BY THE WORD

“Until the time that his word came: the Word of the Lord tried him,” (Psalm 105:19).

This is the experience of those who are to be firstfruits of the new creation. While we wait for the time of our own deliverance from this bondage of vanity and subjection to corruption, we are “tried by the Word.” There is no justifying of your vision in the eyes of those around you. There is no visible form of manifestation that what God has spoken into your heart concerning the ages to come shall ever be realized. The bondage of vanity is yours to experience just as much as for all the rest of groaning creation. The moments of glory when you see into the realms beyond, and your spirit knows the certainty of the things which the Holy Spirit reveals to you, these moments, I say, are interlaced with long periods of dryness and times when “THE WORD OF THE LORD TRIES YOU” deep into inmost core. Yet the Word of the Lord is sure, its fulfillment is secure, and as an anchor deep within, its “wisdom and knowledge become the stability of thy times, and the strength of thy salvation,” (Isa. 33:6).

Joseph was no different then us, when he received his dreams he had to tell somebody. There was still a distinction made between the messenger and his message. He told his brethren, and they hated him. He told his father, and his father rebuked him. Thus one learns to ‘limit’ the telling. Self-proclaimed visions are not the reality. When the vision becomes reality it needs no telling. Eventually the message and the messenger become one! When Joseph became the embodiment of his dreams, he ceased telling them, and simply LIVED THEM. Let others recall the message they have heard, let them acknowledge the truth, but he who has been thoroughly tried by the Word till he becomes the message, has no need for self-defense, nor self-proclamation, his state of being is the message. Reality is its own declaration.

Tried by the Word till all error is removed,
We stand in His presence, message approved,
Steadfast in the truth we cannot be moved.


NOVEMBER 20 HIS BROODING PRESENCE

“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water,”
(Genesis 1:2)

The Hebrew word for ‘moved’ is ‘rachaph’ and literally means: to move, flutter, shake, and TO BROOD. The Spirit of God brooded upon the face of the waters to bring forth that which God had purposed. Since this word is only used in a couple other places, we’ll note them.

“As an eagle stirreth up her nest, FLUTTERETH over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him,” (Deut. 32:11).
There is no stagnation in the movings of the Spirit. He is continuously and wondrously and constantly working in our lives. Brooding over us, overshadowing us, mindful of our every need, care, longing and desire. God sovereignly and solely led Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into their promised land. No less sovereign is the work of God today. He alone doth lead His people. He is vitally a part of all our experience until He has brought us into His fullness, into His perfections. It is the brooding of His presence over us in every dimension and way - continuous, and victorious.

Interesting that the same word is used in Jer. 23:9, in the phrase, “All my bones shake.” How do these words, SHAKE and FLUTTER, blend? We see a tremendous application, for as the Spirit of God hovers over us, broods upon us, one thing is sure to happen – it will bring ‘self’ into a violent shaking, for He hath promised that everything that can be shaken will be, that only that which cannot be shaken might remain. This is not the result of some satanic influence; all of this shaking has nothing to do with the negative forces, except as God uses such for an instrument to work His purpose. If you find your earth being shaken, rejoice that it is evidence that His Spirit is fluttering over you to work in you a new dimension of His purpose for your life.

As an eagle flutters o’er her nestling, and beareth them upon her wings,
Tenderly the Lord doth overshadow until thy heart with rapture sings.
NOVEMBER 21 ASTONISHING DOCTRINE

“And they were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. – They were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this?” (Mark 1:22,27).

People still ask, “What new doctrine is this?” The doctrine is as old as The Book, and it is as new and fresh as the Spirit is revealing it to us in these days. The Hebrew word for doctrine means the receiving, what is to be received. The Greek word means: teaching, the substance of what is being taught. How we need to receive the teaching, the substance of what the Holy Spirit would impart for today. This, in contrast to the “cunningly devised fables” of man.
When He the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth,”
(John 16:13). To receive His substance will enable us to live victoriously through each day, and overcome, to His glory and praise.

Matt. 16:12, “Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. Beware of their teaching? Why? Because their teaching would work like a leaven, to influence your entire being, warp your thinking, and corrupt your spirit. Because they taught “for doctrines the commandments of men,” (Matt. 15:9). Reasonings of the carnal mind, based on the minding of the flesh, accusing or excusing according to the nature of the man doing the teaching. Enough of this! God deliver us from man’s dogma and tradition.

“My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew…because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God,”(Deut. 32:2-3(. How refreshing, how strengthening, how life-giving, let HIS doctrine gently fall upon our weary souls. He reveals the greatness of our God, of His love and grace to us-ward, of that “mercy enduring forever”. Truth will always astonish mankind, its simplicity, its positiveness.

The Spirit unfolding and making it plain,
Distil as the dew, gently fall as the rain,
A total commitment His will to become,
Astonishing doctrine for all Christendom.
NOVEMBER 22 A NEW SONG

“And they sung as it were a new song before the throne…and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth,” ( Revelations 14:3).

There is recorded an event in the book of Job, when “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” (Job 38:7). That harmony was muted by sin and the subjection of creation to the bondage of vanity, as the creature became filled with self-will and rebellion. But the deep purging and purifying process results in a new song arising, the song of the ages begins to sing within our hearts again.

“Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore,
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,
Chords that are broken will vibrate once more.”
(Crosby)

“They sing as it were a new song before the throne”. Thrilling to note that the word ‘song’ is the Greek word for ‘an ODE’. An ode isn’t the same as a hymn, which is a song written and sung over and over, but an ode is a spontaneous outflow of melody and praise that finds its expression in song by the Spirit’s inner prompting. Men can learn hymns, they are written out in notes and words. The unsanctified singer of ‘rock and roll music’ will also record his album of hymns, to gain money from that realm also. But there is a SONG that the unsanctified cannot sing, for it is not something produced by man, it is the RELEASING OF THE SPIRIT’S MELODY.

We have carried within us a song that could not be released because of the bars of self-will and carnal rebellion. But the CROSS is canceling out the ‘self’, and the hour approaches when the last vestige of the threads of that veil shall be torn aside, there shall be an outflow of the Christ within, a new song. The world, long accustomed to the pipings and shriekings of their distorted music, negative beats that inflame the bestial passions of the flesh, shall awaken to hear the pure melodies of the harmony of God. Music that will soothe, comfort, and lift into realms of joy and peace.

NOVEMBER 23 SRINKLING THE NATIONS

“So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider,”(Isaiah 52:15).

God’s plan of the ages, the fullness and scope of His grace, the glory and the majesty of His kingdom, the ultimate triumph that surely must come, such truth shall be declared unto all mankind – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Then shall come the fulfillment of the prophecy, “So shall He sprinkle many nations”. This word ‘sprinkle’ is very interesting. One Bible scholar points out that the original idea of the Hebrew root seems to be, that of leaping, or causing to leap, either with surprise or joy; so one explains the cognate verb in Arabic, and from thence seems to be derived its secondary and more common meaning, ‘to spurt out’, as from a wound, from a brush or bunch of hyssop, by way of sprinkling. But taking the word in the former sense, we could translate it, “He shall cause many nations to leap with surprise and joy”. This agrees with the next sentence, “Kings shall shut their mouths at Him,” or, be silent with surprise and admiration of His presence, for “That which had not been told them shall they see, and that which had not been heard shall they consider”.

Metaphorically, He has sprinkled many nations with His blood, “Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven,” (Col. 1:20). “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” (I John 2:2). The more the pure Gospel of the ages is announced, the glory and power of His kingdom is proclaimed, and the world shall see “The knowledge of the glory of the Lord,” then indeed, the kings shall shut their mouths at Him. The wonder of it all, the surprise, the joy, to know that HIS LIFE SHALL BE THEIRS, His peace shall be theirs, His salvation is for them – it will leave them speechless. No more the gloom and despair, they shall leap with joy, and bow low to worship before Him. Praise God!


NOVEMBER 24 A CONFLICT UNTIL…

“Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called…keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (I Timothy 6:11-12,14)

The power of God resting upon a life always brings a conflict and a struggle, for the infusion of the power of the life of Christ is in contra-distinction to the self-will and ego of man. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,” (Gal. 5:16). Self resists and is subdued, dealt with by His cross, and then comes the greater flow of His life and peace within. But every progressive step into a deeper dimension has its corresponding battle – self crucified, His life to take dominion. Thus THE WORD becomes flesh in us, becomes a vital part of the very fiber of our being, and we come to “KNOW in Whom we have believed.”

Yet it is a paradox, that while we are in this continuous conflict, we are also in a continuous peace and rest in Christ. Furthermore, we are persuaded that these very pressures which are bringing such devastation to the world, are becoming the birth pangs for a new victory in our God. What has become the death-throes of the old order, becomes the birthing of the new.

Nor is our conflict limited to the conquering of our own self-life, and trying to get along with other men. There is a contest “With the spirit-forces of evil challenging us in the heavenly contest,” (Eph. 6:12, Williams). These pressures seem to be steadily increasing as the battle of the ages rages on in its fury, and the atmosphere seems to be charged with negative influences, endeavouring to “wear out the saints of the Most High,” (Dan. 7:25). However, evil shall not prevail, but HE shall appear, and His kingdom shall be established in the earth in righteousness.

When seems that all is brought to death, yet His life shall e’er abound, the conflict only lasts until your whole life in Him is found.
NOVEMBER 25 WE HAVE RECEIVED MERCY

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not,” (II Corinthians 4:1)

Note the words’faint not’, from the Greek, meaning: to turn out badly, or, cave in. True, there are days when one feels like they are going to cave in, and what keeps us from it? Because we have RECEIVED MERCY. We realize that “greater is He within us” than all of the outside pressure. We are “God’s husbandry, we are God’s building,” (I Cor. 3:9). He will maintain a proper balance of the exterior and the interior. He does not overload the circuits so that we explode and cannot contain the measures of His love and grace, nor does He short-circuit the power so that we do not have enough to face the need of the day. He is our sufficiency all the way!

Whatever the ministry, whatever the service He has called us to, He has also given us mercy which undergirds and is equal to the task, yes, and MUCH MORE. The Psalmist knew this well, and stated, “all my springs are in Thee,” (Ps. 87:7). Therefore, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations,” (Ps. 89:1).

We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us,” (II Cor. 6:7). No need to despise the earthiness of the vessel. He chose it to place His treasure therein. No need to try and exalt the earthen vessel, it has nothing of itself wherein to boast. But we can rejoice in the mercies of the Lord, the grace of God given to us through His kindness, and the power, which abides within to sustain us. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him,” (Lam. 3:22-24). “O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever,” (Psalms 136:1)

“Mercy there was great, and grace was free,
…there my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary.”

(Newell)
NOVEMBER 26 PROCESSED TO HIS GLORY

“That the excellency of the power may be of God, an not of us.”
(II Corinthians 4:7)

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.” Literally, I am squeezed but I am not confined. I am crowded on every side, but not crushed. Every natural situation might be pressing in from all sides, and yet the inner man is free, because of the liberty of the Spirit of the Christ-life within.

“We are perplexed, but not in despair.” Perplexed – from the Greek, it means to be without a passage, while the word ‘despair’ is to have no outlet whatever. Rotherham gives, “without a way, but not without a by-way”. Self would like the smooth going of the broad freeway, an easy way. God directs us along that by-way, hemmed in, pressured, bowed low, a path of humility, but He always makes a way where there seems to be no way.

“Persecuted, but not forsaken.” Rotherham – “pursued, but not abandoned.” There is that pursuit that is heavy on our heels, which keeps us looking unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith, but He has not abandoned us. He knows just how much persecution to allow for our development and processing, but He has not left us alone. He is there in the fire with us, and watching with tender care to bring us forth as pure gold, to His praise.

“Cast down, but not destroyed.” Williams uses a present day vernacular, “always getting a knock-down, but never a knock-out”. “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). There is no condemnation in getting knocked down. This is part of our travail given to exercise us. But because of Him who ABIDES WITHIN we are never knocked out. With each staggering blow He enables us to RISE AGAIN and press onward.

“Dying, yet living.” “Always being exposed to death as Jesus was, so that in my body the life of Jesus may be clearly shown,” (II Cor. 4:8-10). The life of Christ cannot be revealed in and through us, as long as our own self-interests remain enthroned – hence these processings. But all to His glory and ultimate praise.
NOVEMBER 27 DILIGENT SEARCH

“I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search,” (Psalm 77:6)

It was said that when Paul and Silas came to the Bereans, “these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scripture daily, whether those things were so,” (Acts 17:11). They did not search to prove it wrong, that would be a negative approach, but they desired to see if those things were so. We do not need to be gullible, swallowing everything we hear, but “prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” (I Thess. 5:21). He will guide us into all truth, and when we ask for bread, He will not give us a stone, when we ask for fish, He will not give us a serpent. (Matt. 7:9-11).

We find the Psalmist in quite a state, the Lord had brought him into an experience of questioning, reaching out for reality, answers to the perplexities of life about him, until his soul refused to be comforted. There we see no thought or reasoning, no mental attitude that would satisfy him. It must go deeper, into the realm of the Spirit. He did some intense soul-searching, and reaching out in his spirit for divine understanding.

We need not lean on the arm of flesh, nor just seek out men and women to get the answers for us. When we quiet down before the Lord, and realize that “CHRIST WITHIN YOU” abides, then He shall guide us into the truth we need, and His Word will commune with us. This has nothing to do with our carnal mind trying to reason out, think out the situation. This is that inner communion of the heart, listening to the whispers of God. “And ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him,” (I Jn. 2:27). “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart,” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Oh yes, there is an answer, the God of Israel reigns,
His love fulfills each promise, and present life sustains.


NOVEMBER 28 POSITIVE ANSWERS

“WILL THE LORD CAST OFF FOREVER?” (Ps. 77:7-9)

Questions that coursed through the heart of David have certainly been answered adversely by many in this day. But from the Word itself we find the Spirit speaking positive answers providing a solid foundation for faith. “Thus saith the Lord; if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, (Jer. 31:37). “God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew…for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead,” (Rom. 11:2,15).

“WILL THE LORD BE FAVOURABLE NO MORE?” For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation,” (Ps. 149:4). “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come,”(Ps. 102:13).

“IS HIS MERCY (LOVING KINDNESS) CLEAN GONE (CEASED) FOREVER??” “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting,”(Ps. 103:17). “O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever,” (I Chronicles 16:34).

“DOTH HIS PROMISE FAIL FOR EVER MORE? “GOD IS NOT A MAN THAT He should lie, neither son of man that he should repent. Hath He said, and shall He not do it? Hath He spoken shall He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19). “Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,” (Isa.14:24).

“HATH GOD FORGOTTEN TO BE GRACIOUS?” “O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee,” (Isa. 44:22).

“HATH HE IN ANGER SHUT UP HIS TENDER MERCIES?” “He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Ps. 103:9-10).

NOVEMBER 29 BY DIVINE ARRANGEMENT

“By faith we understand that the worlds (during successive ages) were framed – fashioned, put in order and equipped for their intended purpose- by the Word of God,” (Hebrews 11:3, Amp.)

The whole purpose of the ages is being wrought by Divine arrangement, in precise order and plan. The power and victory are “according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things to Himself,” (Phil. 3:21). Here the word ‘subdue’ means TO SET IN ARRAY UNDER, as also in Rom. 8:20, where “the creature was made subject (set in array) to vanity, not willingly, but be reason of Him who hath subjected (set in array under) in hope”.

From Genesis onward we see it all in progressive developments. The creature was set in array, was placed by Divine arrangement to vanity, to the emptiness to the futility, to the tyranny of change and decay. This was not a casual happenstance, it was all with wise design and purpose, and with a view to when all would be released from this subjection to vanity, and brought into a new order, into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

When God brought Israel, as a nation, out of Egypt, the first need was to take them to MT. Sinai where they received their instruction for an orderly camp. It was not to be an helter-skelter wandering through the wilderness. It was all to be done with order, how they were to travel, how to pitch their tents, with the tribes positioned around the place of worship. When God would move His people across the desert He did it with order.

God is not a God of disorder, instability, commotion, tumult; but He is God of unity, harmony, concord – that completeness wherein everything synchronizes to fulfill His plan in total victory. Thus He controls the interplay of good and evil, restraining that which will not work to His good, holding a balance that reveals rare wisdom and design.

Along with the personal blessedness that “my times are in Thy hand,” (Ps. 31:15), He hath arranged the times for every man, so that all shall know Him from the least to the greatest! Praise His name!
NOVEMBER 30 A TABLE FURNISHED

“Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19)

Led out of Egypt by His mighty hand, watching the destruction of those who had pursued them, rejoicing in a deliverance that was a miracle, and yet they soon murmured and complained. They had not yet learned to trust Him. Could their God really furnish a table in the wilderness? Could He set a spread in order before them? He surely did! Manna fresh every morning. And when they cried for flesh to eat, in came the quail.

The Psalmist spoke it with confidence, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies,” (Psalm 23:5).

The Spirit is calling many to leave the Babylonish system of religious institutionalism, “come out of her, My people,” (Rev. 18:4). Yet they are afraid, ‘what will we do for spiritual food?’ Ah, precious is the promise that “WISDOM hath also furnished her table,” (Prov. 9:2). God always will provide that table which will suffice for our spiritual needs. He is that Bread, He is that Living Water, and “They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled,” (Matthew 5:6).

There are many precious ways in which He causes the Word to come to us, inner inspiration, dreams of the night, a voice from the air waves of radio or television, a printed message, a visitor, they are so varied and precious we cannot begin to list them all, nor prescribe what is best – we joyfully receive from His hand, and know that “He maketh peace thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat,” (Ps. 147:14).

Even in regards to our natural needs, while there are those who fear a coming economic collapse, a famine, a shortage, or whatever, we are sure of His care – He can lead one to make preparation, as He did Joseph, for the time of famine in Egypt, or He can provide as He did for Elijah, when the “ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening,” (I Kings 17:6). He will furnish our table, He is our Supply.

Ray Prinzing

Sister Doris Prinzing
1130 Allumbaugh St. Apt 257
Boise, Id 83704-8700

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