-------------------------<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@...] [The Moderator would welcome your comments/feedback] [<SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> Archives/Read online: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> <27 October 2002> Contents: ----------- 1) <Devotional> "Treasury of David - Psalm 84:12"- C.H.Spurgeon 2) <Bible-Study> "Exposition of the Levitical offerings" (Pt-12)-C.E.Wigg 3) <Exhortational> "Be ye thankful" - Connie Giordano 4) <Hymn> "Glorious salvation" - C.M.I.Watts 5) <From-the-Gleaner> "Top-stories-of-the-week" - Ben 1) <DEVOTIONAL> TREASURY OF DAVID - PSALM 84:12 C. H. Spurgeon Verse 12: "O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." Here is the key of the Psalm. The worship is that of faith, and the blessedness is peculiar to believers. No formal worshipper can enter into this secret. A man must know the Lord by the life of real faith, or he can have no true rejoicing in the Lord's worship, his house, his Son, or his ways. Dear reader, how fares it with thy soul? I. The one thing that makes man blessed: Trust in God. (1) For all things;(2) at all times; (3) in all circumstances. II. The Blessing contained in that one thing. God Himself becomes ours: (1) His mercy for our pardon; (2) His power for our protection; (3) His wisdom for our guidance; (4) His faithfulness for our preservation; (5) His all sufficiency for our supply. III. The certainty of the blessing: (1) From David's own experience; (2) from the solemn appeal to God respecting it. The blessedness of the life of faith over that of carnal enjoyment, religious feeling, self confidence, living upon marks and evidences, trusting in man, etc. _______________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> THE OBLATION OR MEAL OFFERING - AN EXPOSITION OF SOME OF THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS - CHAPTER 2 (PART-12) Charles E. Wigg .... THE FINE FLOUR speaks to us of the fineness, evenness and purity of the perfect life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is repeatedly said to be FINE FLOUR, meaning that there were no lumps or anything coarse in the flour. We see this perfectly in the life of Christ; there was nothing coarse, uneven, or out of character in His life. He was ground in the mills of poverty, hardship, affliction and rejection, but all only brought out the perfect evenness of His character. The mill, as we have seen, operates with a constant circular motion, and the inner surfaces of the stones are very abrasive. The rotation first crushes the grain, and the abrasion grinds it finer and finer. Solomon in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes states that life too is a constant circuit. He saw it in the winds, he saw it in the water and the rain, and he saw it also in the history of man. Thus day follows day in seemingly endless succession. There are some things in life that are very crushing and abrasive. Perhaps there is nothing more so than poverty. Over the seventeen years of my ministry in India, I have constantly observed this. However in the lives of most people there, poverty utterly degrades them and brings out what is worst in them. . The poor people often make poverty an excuse for all kinds of sin and uncleanness. Of course this is not so of all the poor people in India, I have seen some notable and beautiful exceptions to what we have just stated. I have been to the homes of some of the poorest, & found everything clean, and their lives showing something of the dignity that is proper to those who are children of God.How different it was with the blessed Lord Jesus! As He passed through the grinding of the mills of poverty, it only brought out what was in Him, namely all that was clean, holy and pure. It seemed to enhance His dignity. In His case, the crushing and the grinding were not to remove from Him anything that was coarse or objectionable, but rather to bring into display His absolute inner perfection and holiness. The poverty that the Lord Jesus experienced was of an extreme kind. He was born in a stable, and a manger was His cradle. He grew up in the home of a peasant carpenter. From boyhood until the age of thirty years, He faced the daily grind of long hours of hard work, yet never once was He known to complain. It would seem from the Gospel accounts that somewhere during those thirty years Joseph died, leaving Him, as the eldest son of the family, the heavy burden of providing for the needs of His widowed mother, and the half dozen of His brothers and sisters. It would seem that after He left His home at the age of thirty years, to fulfill the commission given to Him by His Father, He never could regard the house at Nazereth as home again.(Matt. 13;57.) His natural brothers scorned and rejected Him, and sided with the world against Him, ( John, 7;3-8). To one who professed that he would follow Him, the Lord said that He had no-where to lay His head, ( Matt. 8;20.) I have been welcomed into some very poor homes in India, and often the host has apologized for the humbleness of the dwelling. It was always a comfort to tell him that his home was much better than the one the Lord had, because He had none. Yet never did He complain! [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced with permission] _______________________________________________________ 3) <EXHORTATIONAL> "BE YE THANKFUL" Connie Giordano "We should spend as much time in thanking God for His benefits as we do in asking God for them." - Vincent de Paul - Colossians 3:15 says - "...Be ye thankful." Someone once said - "God's giving deserves our thanksgiving." Other writers also gave some inspiring remarks about thanksgiving that are worth noting - John Boys said - "As the Lord loves a cheerful giver, so likewise a cheerful thanksgiver." Thomas Fuller said - "The thankfulness of the receiver ought to answer to the benefit of the bestower as the echo answers to the voice." William Seeker said - "He enjoys much who is thankful for little." William Gurnall said - "Thanksgiving is an act of self-denial." And Spiros Zodhiates said - "Thanking God for whatever He gives is one sure way of resisting the devil." The Scriptures instruct us that there is a proper way to approach God. Psalm 95:2 - We are to "come before His presence with thanksgiving." Psalm 100:4 - We are to "enter into His gates with thanksgiving." Psalm 92:1 - For "it is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD." We are not to approach God's throne empty handed. We must bring an offering for our sacrifice. Psalm 50:14 says - "Offer unto God thanksgiving..." Psalm 107:22 says - "And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving...." Again, Psalm 116:17 says - "I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving..." Jonah 2:9 - The Prophet Jonah said - "...I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving..." This coincides with Hebrews 13:15 which says - "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name." Our Thanksgiving must not be sporadic but continuous. Ephesians 5:20 says - "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Colossians 2:7 - We must be "abounding therein with thanksgiving," 1 Thessalonians 5:18 - and in everything giving thanks. Psalm 68:19 - The Lord God daily loads us with benefits. Day by day and constantly, He makes our journey prosperous and bears our burdens for us. Psalm 32:7 - He preserves us from trouble. Psalm 139:17 - How precious are all His thoughts unto us! "How great is the sum of them!" Psalm 103:3 - He forgives and pardons all our sins. Psalm 130:8 - He redeems us from all iniquities. Isaiah 43:25 - He blots out our transgressions and remembers our sin no more. Psalm 103:3 - He heals all our diseases. Psalm 30:2 - We cried unto Him, and He healed us. Psalm 41:4 - He healed our soul when we had sinned against Him. Psalm 147:3 - He healed our broken heart and bound up all our wounds. Psalm 103:4 - He redeems our life from destruction. How many times did He save us from death when we were exposed to great danger? Luke 22:31-32 - Satan desired to sift us as wheat, but He prayed that our faith would not fail. Psalm 103:4 - He crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies. Psalm 103:10 - He had not dealt with us after our sins. Lamentations 3:22 - We were not consumed because His compassions did not fail. Psalm 103:5 - He satisfies our mouth with good things. 1 Timothy 6:17 - He gives us richly all things to enjoy. Psalm 107:9 - He satisfies our longing soul Psalm 63:5 - with marrow and fatness. Psalm 65:11 - He crowns our years with goodness Psalm 21:3 - and goes before us with the blessings of goodness. Psalm 103:6 - Lastly, He executes righteousness and judgment for us when we are oppressed by our enemies. He is on our side and has our best interests at heart. Psalm 23:5 - He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We are commanded in the Scriptures to "be ye thankful" and to "give thanks to God," especially after we have eaten and are full of the blessings of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:11-14 - We are to beware that we do not forget Him and become lifted up in pride, attributing our blessings to the works of our own hands. Romans 1:21-32 tells us what happened to a people who knew God but failed to glorify Him and give Him thanks. They became "vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." They exchanged the Truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator. God gave them over to their lusts which eventually led to perversions and His wrath and judgment. What a moral digression! And all because of the sin of Ingratitude! Let us take heed to the warnings in God's Word today. May we always and evermore be a people who are abounding with thanksgiving toward the Lord. May God Bless His Word - Connie --- Copyright 2002 by Connie Giordano _______________________________________________________ 4) <HYMN> "GLORIOUS SALVATION" [Ps. 19. 1, 2; 1 Thess. 5. 9, 10] C.M.I.WATTS Father, how wide thy glory shines! How high thy wonders rise! Known through the earth by thousand signs, By thousands through the skies! Those mighty orbs proclaim thy power; Their motion speaks thy skill; And on the wings of every hour, We read thy patience still. But when we view thy strange design To save rebellious worms, Where vengeance and compassion join, In their divinest forms. Here the whole Deity is known, Nor dares a creature guess Which of the glories brightest shone - The justice or the grace. When sinners broke the Father's laws, The dying Son atones; O the dear mysteries of his cross, The triumph of his groans! Now the full glories of the Lamb Adorn the heavenly plains; Sweet cherubs learn Immanuel's name, And try their choicest strains. O may I bear some glorious part In that immortal song! Wonder and joy shall tune my heart, And love command my tongue. _______________________________________________________ 5) <FROM-THE-GLEANER> A-GLANCE-AT-THE-TOP-STORIES-OF-THE-WEEK Ben US WANTS UN COUNCIL VOTE ON IRAQ RESOLUTION BY NEXT WEEK: The United States told the UN Security Council on Friday it wants a vote by the end of next week on a draft resolution that warns Iraq of "serious consequences," despite opposition from Russia and France. US DELAYS WAR PLANS, DOWNSIZES QATAR EXERCISE: The United States has decided to delay and downsize a major military exercise in Qatar in what observers see as a slowdown in the war effort caused by the port strike and diplomatic efforts at the UN. US WAR EXPECTED OVER NEXT 6 MONTHS: US has revised its strategic doctrine and will probably launch a war against Iraq within the next six months, a leading strategic institute said. RUSSIA TO START COUP IN IRAQ? The specter of a U.S. attack on Iraq has Russian officials concerned about the nation's oil contracts with Saddam Hussein, causing talk that a Russian-led coup may be the only way to protect Moscow's interests, reports Pravda online. ISRAELI TANKS POUR INTO JENIN TO HUNT MILITANTS: Hundreds of Israeli soldiers backed by scores of tanks and other military vehicles took control of the Palestinian city of Jenin on Friday in retaliation for a suicide car bombing that killed 14 Israelis earlier this week. RUSSIANS STORM THEATRE, ENDING CHECHEN SIEGE: Russian forces stormed the Moscow theatre being held by Chechen guerrillas on Saturday in a bloody dawn raid that succeeded in taking control of the building but left many dead among both hostages and rebels. SADDAM URGES CHECHEN REBELS TO FREE HOSTAGES: President Saddam Hussein on Friday urged Chechen rebels to free their hostages in Moscow, saying the standoff will anger the Russian people when the real enemies of Islam are Americans and Israel. CHECHEN REBELS SEIZE 700 MOSCOW THEATER-GIERS: Chechen separatist guerrillas were holding up to 700 Moscow theatergoers hostage on Thursday, threatening to shoot their captives or blow up the building unless Russia pulled its troops out of their homeland. EGYPT CONDUCTS MAJOR EXERCISE IN SINAI: Egypt has concluded what officials termed a major military exercise in the Sinai Peninsula. LIBYA SERVES AS LABORATORY FOR IRAQI NUKES: Libya could be serving as a laboratory for Iraqi efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, a new report says. EU SET FOR CRUCIAL EXPANSION TALKS: European Union leaders are gathering for a crucial summit in Brussels on how to pay for the accession of 10 new members in 2004. The EU is divided over the financing of the enlargement and its effect on the Union's budget. ARCHBISHOP'S THEOLOGY 'WILL ENDANGER SOULS': In a scathing critique to be distributed to Anglican Church leaders, Garry Williams, an evangelical, warns that the next Archbishop of Canterbury will endanger the souls of millions of believers. ANCIENT LIMESTONE CASKET MAY BE OLDEST LINK TO JESUS: An ancient limestone box once used to hold bones in Jerusalem could contain the earliest known reference to Jesus outside of the Bible, according to newly published research. POWERFUL ATTACK CRIPPLES INTERNET: An unusually powerful electronic attack briefly crippled nine of the 13 computer servers that manage global Internet traffic this week, officials disclosed Tuesday. But most Internet users didn't notice because the attack only lasted one hour. ----------------------------------<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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------