-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [Please eMail your comments/feedback to the Moderator] [<SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> archives/read online: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> <20 October 2002> Contents: ----------- (1) <Devotional> "Treasury of David - Psalm 84:11"- C.H.Spurgeon (2) <Bible-Study> "Exposition of the Levitical offerings" (Pt-11)-C.E.Wigg (3) <Devotional> "The closet, the battlefield of faith" - Author unknown (4) <Exhortational> "How shall my tongue describe it? - Connie Giordano (5) <From-the-Gleaner> "Top-stories-of-the-week" (1) <DEVOTIONAL> TREASURY OF DAVID - PSALM 84:11 C. H. Spurgeon Verse 11: For the Lord God is a sun and shield. Pilgrims need both; as the weather may be, for the cold would smite them were it not for the sun, and foes are apt to waylay the sacred caravan, and would haply destroy it if it were without a shield. Heavenly pilgrims are not left uncomforted or unprotected. The pilgrim nation found both sun and shield in that fiery cloudy pillar which was the symbol of Jehovah's presence, and the Christian still finds both light and shelter in the Lord his God. A sun for happy days and a shield for dangerous ones. A sun above, a shield around. A light to show the way and a shield to ward off its perils. Blessed are they who journey with such a convoy; the sunny and shady side of life are alike happy to them. The Lord will give grace and glory. Both in due time, both as needed, both to the full, both with absolute certainty. The Lord has both grace and glory in infinite abundance; Jesus is the fullness of both, and, as his chosen people, we shall receive both as a free gift from the God of our salvation. What more can the Lord give, or we receive, or desire. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Grace makes us walk uprightly and this secures every covenant blessing to us. What a wide promise! Some apparent good may be withheld, but no real good, no, not one. "All things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." God has all good, there is no good apart from him, and there is no good which he either needs to keep back or will on any account refuse us, if we are but ready to receive it. We must be upright and neither lean to this or that form of evil: and this uprightness must be practical, -we must walk in truth and holiness, then shall we be heirs of all things, and as we come of age all things shall be in our actual possession; and meanwhile, according to our capacity for receiving shall be the measure of the divine bestowal. This is true, not of a favoured few, but of all the saints for evermore. _______________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> THE OBLATION OR MEAL OFFERING - AN EXPOSITION OF THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS - CHAPTER 2 (PART-11) Charles E. Wigg In our introduction to this exposition, we mentioned that the Oblation or Cereal or Meal Offering, corresponds to Luke's presentation of Christ in his gospel. The reason for this is; that the Oblation is a bloodless offering, and because of this it emphasizes the LIFE of CHRIST, rather than His death. Luke gives us more details of the life of Christ than any other of the Gospel writers. He takes us right back before the conception of Christ, in the womb of Mary, and tells of that conception. Afterwards he tells us more about the circumstances and events surrounding His birth and His presentation to God, than do the other writers. He tells of the circumstances of His home life, shows Him to us as a boy. Then after those hidden eighteen years had elapsed, follows Him all through the three and a half years of His public ministry right to the cross, through death, into Paradise, and finally shows us the same Jesus ascending as a man into heaven. The same writer, in the Acts of the Apostles tells us of the promise of the angel, that this same Jesus, unchanged will come again in the same manner as He was seen to go. John presents the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, but Luke presents Him as the Son of Man. Each oblation consisted of four main elements, FINE FLOUR, OIL, FRANKINCENSE, and SALT. We shall now look at these in detail, and seek to discover their meaning. THE FINE FLOUR: This was obtained by the patient, laborious grinding of the kernels, or grains of wheat. The Lord Jesus spoke of Himself as "The CORN OF WHEAT" in John 12;24. The wheat in those days was ground in a hand mill. It still is in some of the villages of India. The mill consisted of two heavy, circular stones, about a half metre in diameter and about 125 mm thick. The nether or lower stone is stationary, while the upper stone is rotated by the miller. It is so shaped and fitted to the nether stone that it rotates without the use of an axle. The upper stone had a hole right through it into which the grain was fed. It also had a smaller shallow hole near the upper outer edge, into which a stick was placed, that served as a handle and was used to rotate the upper stone. As mentioned earlier, the stones were shaped to each other in such a way as to enable the upper stone to be rotated at quite a speed, yet without using an axle. The mill was usually operated by two women, sitting opposite sides of the mill facing each other. Each had one hand on the handle, and they would operate the mill hour after hour, and in India it is customary for the women to sing as they grind. The grains were fed into the central hole a little at a time and coming in between the heavy stones and repeatedly ground. It finally fell from the outer edges of the mill as fine flour.. Please forgive this detailed description of the mill and the milling process, but we will now see it's significance. [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced with permission] _______________________________________________________ (3) <DEVOTIONAL> THE CLOSET, THE BATTLEFIELD OF FAITH - 1 SAM 17 Author unknown David had been preparing for public service, in the secret school of God. God will always have to do in secret with the soul which he intends to serve Him in public. In the desert he had learnt the resources which faith has in God. He had slain the lion and the bear. Are not our failures invariably here, that we have not been in secret with the living God? This is the essential and primary matter. Do we esteem communion with God our highest privilege? Our strength is in walking in fellowship with the living God. David had already gone through the trial, and had therefore proved the God in whom he trusted. There had been dealing between his soul and God in the wilderness. O beloved, where is it that the saints really learn to get the victory? I believe where no eye sees us save God's. The heartily denying of self, the taking up the cross in secret, the knowing the way in the retirement of our closets to cast down imaginations, and everything that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God; these are our highest achievements. The closet is the great battlefield of faith. Let the foe be met and conquered there. He who has much to do with God in secret, cannot use carnal weapons; and this should show us the importance of coming forth from the presence of the living God into all our service, that we may be thus prepared to detect and mortify all the pretensions of the flesh. It is sad indeed to see a saint trying to fight in the Lord's name, but clothed in the world's armour. David said moreover, "God hath delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear; he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine" He knew that one was as easy to God as the other. When we are in communion with God we do not put difficulty by the side of difficulty, for what is difficulty to Him? Faith measures every difficulty by the power of God, and then the mountain becomes as the plain. Too often, we think, that in little things, less than Omnipotence will do, and then it is that we fail. Have we not seen zealous and devoted saints fail in some trifling thing? The cause is, that they have not thought of bringing God by faith into all their ways. Abraham could leave his family and his father's house, and go out at the command of God, not knowing whither he went, but the moment he meets a difficulty in his own wisdom, and gets down into Egypt, what does he do? He constantly fails in comparatively small things. Faith discerns our own weakness so clearly that it sees nothing less than the power of God can enable us to overcome in anything. So that faith never makes light of the danger, for it knows what we are, just as on the other hand, faith never faints at the danger, because it knows what God is. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:6 _______________________________________________________ (4) <EXHORTATIONAL> "HOW SHALL MY TONGUE DESCRIBE IT?" Connie Giordano "Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea; Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain, all sufficient grace for even me; Broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame; O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise His name!" What does the term "grace" mean to you? How would you define it? If given the opportunity to speak to the entire world about God's Wonderful Grace, what would you say? Many songwriters were inspired of the Holy Spirit to write about this matchless theme. Every Christian is familiar with John Newton's masterpiece - "Amazing Grace." What better way to describe God's Grace than by these words: "Amazing grace - how sweet the sound - that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed! Thru many dangers, toils and snares I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." Philip Doddridge and Augustus Toplady, two renowned 18th century English ministers, penned the beautiful hymn - "Grace! Tis A Charming Sound." What a meaningful concept of grace this hymn provides us - "Grace! tis a charming sound, harmonious to the ear; Heav'n with the echo shall resound and all the earth shall hear. 'Twas grace that wrote my name in life's eternal book; 'twas grace that gave me to the Lamb; Who all my sorrows took. Grace taught my wand'ring feet to tread the heav'nly road; and new supplies each hour I meet, while pressing on to God. Grace taught my soul to pray, and made mine eye o'er-flow; 'twas grace which kept me to this day, and will not let me go. O let Thy grace inspire my soul with strength divine; may all my pow'rs to Thee aspire, and all my days be Thine." Julia Johnston, in her hymn - "Grace Greater Than Our Sin," captured for us a true picture of what happened on Calvary's Cross - Jesus' Blood was shed for our redemption and God's "marvelous, infinite, matchless grace" was poured out abundantly on all mankind. We now experience eternal life instead of death and have the means to provide for every problem and need we face in this life. Oh! The joy of knowing that there is infinite power promised us that is greater than all of our Sin. That power is the grace of God - "Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured - there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Sin and despair, like the seawaves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss; grace that is greater - yes, grace untold - points to the Refuge, the mighty Cross. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide; what can avail to wash it away? Look! there is flowing a crimson tide - whiter than snow you may be today. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe! You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive? Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin!" What a glorious message this song echoes out through the ages! What a needful message for our day and time! In this sin-sick society in which we live, people need to know that there is a power available that is Greater than all their Sin! They do not have to remain slaves to Sin and Satan's bondage and oppression. There is a way out! It is found in God's Amazing Grace! Many Christians need to realize that they do not have to live under the dominion of Sin any longer for God has provided the means of escape through His Matchless Grace! How can we not praise Him for providing for us such glorious Victory over Sin and Satan! What words could possibly do this marvelous provision of God justice! In 1918, Haldor Lillenas, a Norwegian songwriter, penned one of the most prolific of all writings touching God's Grace - "Wonderful Grace of Jesus." Using such picturesque depictions, he contributed a masterpiece to the Body of Christ on this beloved topic - "Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin; how shall my tongue describe it, where shall its praise begin? Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free, for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost, by it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost; Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty, for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled, by its transforming power making him God's dear child, Purchasing peace and heaven for all eternity - and the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea; Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain; All sufficient grace for even me; Broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame; O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise His name!" Think back for a moment on the days before your salvation. Remember those years of sorrow, pain, confusion, and misery because of your sin. Remember the heavy burden that you carried everywhere, the bondage due to sin, and the chains of darkness that encompassed your soul. Now reflect on that special miraculous moment when the wonderful grace of God reached you; your spirit was set free; the chains that bound you were torn asunder, giving you liberty that you never dreamed imaginable. Doesn't that just make you want to join in utmost praise and adoration with Haldor Lillenas in singing - "Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus...O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise His name!" Like our brother Haldor wrote - "...how shall my tongue describe it, where shall its praise begin?" In Ephesians 1:6, The Apostle Paul said it this way - "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." "To the praise of the glory of His grace" - This is a Hebraism meaning glorious grace. Such terminology was intended to stir up exuberant praise and thanksgiving before the Lord from the saints who were enjoying the great privilege and honor of being accepted into God's family. Glorious Grace! Can it be described any better than that? As God's children whom He has accepted into His family by His Glorious Grace, let's praise Him today. Let's join our praises with all the saints throughout the earth so that they will echo across this globe. May the world hear us and know that we are indeed a blessed people - and all because of God's Glorious Grace - "Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus...O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise His name!" May God Bless His Word - Connie --- Copyright 2002 by Connie Giordano _______________________________________________________ (5) <FROM-THE-GLEANER> A-GLANCE-AT-THE-TOP-STORIES-OF-THE-WEEK Ben UK AND US WOULD 'GO IT ALONE ON IRAQ': Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, has made it clear that Britain and the United States are prepared to go it alone with military action against Iraq if they failed to secure a new United Nations mandate on weapons inspections. US QUIETLY SENDS FORCES TO GULF: The Pentagon is preparing and positioning U.S. forces in ways that suggest they soon will be able to move swiftly against the Iraqi regime, although President Bush says war is neither imminent nor inevitable. US-ARAB TROOPS TAKE PART IN WAR GAMES IN JORDAN: Troops from the United States, Britain and Arab countries took part in war games in southern Jordan on Monday, diplomats said, and the government stressed the exercise had nothing to do with preparations for a possible U.S. attack on Iraq. KUWAIT PREPARES FOR IRAQ FALLOUT: Civil Defense sirens wail, decontamination tents are inflated, evacuation plans for schools and other public buildings get a fresh look - all part of preparations for any Iraqi retaliation if the United States wages war to oust Saddam Hussein. TRAINING OF IRAQI EXILES AUTHORIZED: President Bush has authorized U.S. combat training for Iraqi opponents of Saddam Hussein, and the Pentagon has identified as many as 5,000 recruits for an initial training phase to begin next month, according to administration and military officials. SHARON AT OPENING SESSION: DON'T WORRY: Speaking yesterday at the opening of the Knesset's winter session, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tried to allay public anxieties about the possibility of an Iraqi missile attack. "I want to turn to each citizen of the state and say `do not be afraid,'" Sharon said from the Knesset rostrum. SHARON FACES RISING TENSION ON RETURN TO ISRAEL: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returned from talks with President Bush on Friday to face tensions which threaten Washington's efforts to instill calm as it seeks Arab support for possible war on Iraq. PALESTINIANS KILLED BY ISRAELI TANK FIRE: Eight Palestinians have been killed and 40 others injured when Israeli tanks opened fire in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical staff say. NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR NEWS EVOKES ALARM: From Beijing to Manila, the specter of a new nuclear threat seized Asia on Thursday as the region learned that it could be first in the firing line of North Korea's atomic weapons program. NORTH KOREAN-PAKISTANI NUCLEAR/MISSILE BARTER DEAL - "A PERFECT MATCHING OF INTERESTS": A senior US official disclosed in Washington that "North Korea had what the Pakistanis needed [missile technology[ and the Pakistanis had what the North Koreans needed [nuclear technology], a perfect matching of interests". FIVE KILLED, 140 HURT IN PHILIPPINE MALL BLASTS: Five people were reported killed and at least 140 were wounded when bombs ripped through the shopping center of the largely Christian city of Zamboanga in the southern Philippines on Thursday, officials said. WORLD LEADERS FEAR BALI IS ONLY THE BEGINNING: As the United States and other nations pressed Indonesia to crack down on Islamic militants blamed for Saturday's bombing in Bali, leaders in Asia and Europe warned Tuesday that the attack could be a prelude to similar strikes in their nations. SOLANA: EUROPE TO BECOME A SUPER POWER: EU member states must realise the importance of their role in the World, said the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana in an interview published by the German paper, Die Welt. LABOUR'S BLUEPRINT FOR EU CONSTITUTION: The document, a Constitutional Treaty of the European Union, is the clearest indication yet of Labour's negotiating position in the Convention on the Future of Europe, a 105-strong body of "founding fathers" drawing up a blueprint for Europe's new system of government. IRELAND HEADS FOR CRUCIAL EU VOTE: The shape of the European Union could be decided by Ireland's weather Saturday, when the nation votes on the EU's ambitious plans for eastward expansion. POPE UPDATING ROSARY AS PART OF HIS DEVOTION TO MARY: Pope John Paul II is updating a Roman Catholic Church tradition dear to millions of faithful, adding more prayers to the Rosary as part of his efforts to boost spirituality and devotion to Mary. VATICAN REJECTS BISHOPS' PLAN TO FIGHT SEX ABUSE: In a major setback for the U.S. Catholic Church, the Vatican rejected proposals by U.S. bishops on how to punish sexually abusive priests. ADOPTION FOR GAY COUPLES REJECTED BY PEERS: Conservative peers and bishops joined forces in the Lords last night to block Government plans to allow unmarried, homosexual and lesbian couples to adopt children. RELIGIOUS MINORITY BODIES STAGE DEMOS AGAINST TAMIL NADU ORDINANCE: Members of the minority communities on Saturday organised protest demonstration all over Tamil Nadu (India) demanding the immediate repeal of the state government ordinance banning religious conversions through inducements. _____________________<BrethrenVoice>_____________________ Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32 _______________________________________________________