<BrethrenVoice>
<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY>
<2 September 2002>
Contents:
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(1) <Devotional> "Avoid ambush" - Miles J. Stanford
(2) <Doctrinal> "In the beginning it was not so!" (Pt-7) - C.E.Wiggs
(3) <Prophetical> "The Redeemer's Return" (Pt-17)- A.W.Pink
(4) <Apologetics) "Christian Apologetics" (Pt-5) -M. Copland
(1) <DEVOTIONAL>
AVOID AMBUSH
Miles J. Stanford
"I find therefore the law of my nature to be that when I desire to do what
is right, evil is lying in ambush for me" (Romans 7.21, Wey.).
Struggle in yourself, and be trapped; rest in Him, and be free!
"Many Christians keep themselves in a perpetual foment through hoping they
will get into a situation where they can enjoy a better (and easier)
Christian life. They feel enclosed in a net of circumstances from which they
cannot escape. They are so wearied and baffled and beaten by the continuous
pressure about them that they wish and itch for things to be different,
quite sure that if they were only different Christ would be more real. It
has not dawned upon them that at the heart of these very circumstances they
are to find the Lord Jesus, find His grace sufficient, find the life more
abundant." -L.E.M.
"You might be secretly attempting to correct and improve yourself, and
suffering a good deal of private vexation and disappointment on account of
the futility of your struggles. It was at a moment when I was utterly
discouraged, and ready to give up the whole thing in complete despair, that
the Father showed me how I was attempting to work upon the old material
which He could only condemn, and had, and that my disgust and despair as to
myself were only a feeble echo of His.
"My Father was not looking for any good in me, and had the Lord Jesus Christ
before Him, the perfect and infinitely acceptable Object of His heart. And
I, in my nothingness, had ceased to look for good in myself, and began
tasting the deep joy of being in Christ, and free to have Him as my Object;
while as to life, I entered in some degree into the blessedness of knowing
that it was 'not I, but Christ liveth in me.'" -C.A.C.
"For to me to live is Christ " (Philippians 1:21).
---
Copyright ©1996-2002 TrueBranch Ministry.
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(2) <DOCTRINAL>
IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO! (PART-7)
MIRACLES
Charles E. Wigg
....
It is said in chapter 2:43 that, "many wonders and signs were done by the
Apostles". This was characteristic of the beginning of the Church. Such
wonders accompanied the preaching of the Gospel by those who actually heard
the Lord Jesus preach. Paul tells us this in Hebrews 2;4.-However we need to
notice that such things were done by the Apostles, not even by others who
were in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came from heaven. The Apostles,
were given special powers by the Lord Jesus and such powers were not given
to others. God bore witness to the truth of the message that they proclaimed
by granting these miracles. However the Gospel has now been preached for
nearly 2,000 years and in every age there has been abundant testimony to the
power of the Gospel in the transformed lives of men and women who have
received the Saviour. It is no longer necessary for physical miracles to
take place to testify to the truth and power of God in the Gospel.
There are so many who claim to work miracles today in order to attract
crowds and to collect large sums of money, but "in the beginning it was not
so". A proper examination of so many of the so-called "miracles", that are
claimed by these people; especially of healing, have proved the claims to be
completely false.
God's power is just the same today, the gifts of healing are still given by
Him. But they are not given to deceivers or "miracle workers" to make them
rich and famous. But in His mercy such gifts of healing are given to the
sufferers or sick people. Though Paul tells us in 1 Cor.13;8 that
"prophecies", would fail, "tongues" would cease and "knowledge"
(supernatural knowledge), would vanish away. This has happened, but God
still heals in His mercy. He still grants this gift to suffering men.
However it does not usually take place in mass gatherings as claimed by
some, but in hospitals and private homes. There are many practicing Doctors
all over the world, who are amazed when sometimes hopeless cases, are
healed. They can give no medical reason for this, but we know that it is the
gift of our merciful God.
---
[Reproduced with permission of Charles E. Wigg]
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(3) <PROPHETICAL>
"THE REDEEMER'S RETURN" (PART-16)
III. THE BLESSEDNESS OF OUR HOPE
Arthur W. Pink
....
It is both interesting and profitable to notice the several adjectives which
are used in connection with the believer's Hope. In 2 Thess. 2:16 it is
termed a "good hope." In Heb. 6:19 it is described as a hope "both sure and
steadfast." In 1 Pet. 1:3 it is denominated "a living hope." In Eph. 4:4 it
is styled the "one hope" of our calling. While in Titus 2:13 it is spoken of
as blessed hope." The blessedness of our Hope is that which is now
particularly to engage our attention. In what respects is our hope a
"blessed" one? We answer--
1. Because of its bearing upon Israel
-------------------------------------
Israel's future blessings wait for the Return of their Messiah. When He was
here before He was despised and rejected by His brethren according to the
flesh, but when He comes back again to this earth they shall welcome and
worship Him. That prophecy of Zechariah's which received a partial
fulfilment when He was here before, is yet to receive a further and complete
fulfilment, in the days of His Second Advent. This is clear from the words
which immediately follow these which had reference to His entry into
Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion--"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He
is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a
colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and
the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall
speak peace unto the heathen: and His dominion shall be from sea even to
sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (Zech. 9:9, 10). And
note further the closing verses of the same chapter--"And the Lord their God
shall save them in that day as the flock of His people; for they shall be as
the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land. For how great
is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! corn shall make the young men
cheerful, and new wine the maids" (vss. 16, 17). The real "Triumphal Entry
into Jerusalem" is yet future. Our Lord is to enter the royal city again and
at the time of His return He shall enter it as King in fact and in full
manifestation of that fact. Then it is that Zion's King shall come to her
"having salvation," and then it is that Israel shall marvel at His grace and
at His excellency; and then it will be that the daughter of Jerusalem shall
be exalted and be once more owned and blessed by Jehovah. It is on the
return of Christ to this earth that Israel shall enter into the enjoyment of
that inheritance which was given unto their fathers, and under the reign of
their Messiah shall become a blessing to all nations. Again; the Redeemer's
Return is a blessed Hope.
[To be concluded]
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(4) <APOLOGETICS>
"CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS, AN INTRODUCTION - (PART-5)"
M. Copland
....
II. THE EVIDENCE FOR A HISTORICAL JESUS
A. AMONG "PAGAN" SOURCES...
1. THALLUS (a Samaritan historian, ca. 52 A.D.)
a. Wrote attempting to give a natural explanation for the
darkness which occurred at the crucifixion of Jesus
b. Note carefully:
1) He did not deny the existence of Jesus
2) But only tried to explain away the strange circumstances
surrounding His death
2. LETTER OF MARA-SERAPION (written to his son, ca. 73 A.D.)
a. He tells of the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and of Jesus
b. "What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise
king?...Nor did the wise king die for good; he lived on in
the teaching which he had given."
3. CORNELIUS TACITUS (Roman historian, ca. 112 A.D.)
a. Writes of Jesus in his ANNALS
b. "Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by
Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of
Tiberias."
4. PLINY THE YOUNGER
a. Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, ca. 112 A.D.
b. Wrote to the emperor Trajan about Christians and their
devotion to Christ
5. SEUTONIUS (Court official and annalist under Hadrian, 120 A.D.)
a. "As the Jews were making constant disturbance at the
instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome."
b. Luke makes reference to this same expulsion in Ac 18:1-2
B. AMONG "JEWISH" SOURCES...
1. THE TALMUD
a. Consists of two separate books dealing with Jewish law,
written during the period from 100 A.D. to 500 A.D.
b. Speaks frequently of Jesus of Nazareth...
1) In unfriendly terms, of course
2) But never disputing his status as a historical figure
2. FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS
a. A Jewish general turned Roman historian, born 37 A.D.
b. Makes several references to Jesus in his History Of The Jews
c. E.g., "...and brought before it the brother of Jesus, the
so-called Christ, whose name was James."
[Such is the evidence which must be taken into account by any intelligent
and rational person. But what are the implications of such evidence?]
[To be concluded]
---
© M. Copland 2002
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