Scripture: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.—2 CHRON. xvi. 9.
        In worldly matters we know how important it is that work should be done with the whole heart. In the spiritual region this rule still holds good inexorably. God has given the commandment: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy might" (Deut. vi. 5). And in Jer. xxix. 13, "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."
        It is amazing that earnest Christians, who attend to their daily work with all their hearts, are so content to take things easy in the service of God. They do not realize that if anywhere, they should give themselves to Gods service with all the power of their will.
        In the words of our text we get an insight into the absolute necessity of seeking God with a perfect heart. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
        What an encouragement this should be to us to humbly wait upon God with an upright heart; we may be assured that His eye will be upon us, and will show forth His mighty power in us and in our work.
        O Christian, have you learnt this lesson in your worship of God—to yield yourself each morning with your whole heart to do Gods will? Pray each prayer with a perfect heart, in true whole-hearted devotion to Him; and then in faith expect the power of God to work in you and through you.
        Remember that to come to this, you must begin by being silent before God, till you realize that He is indeed working m secret in your heart.
        "I wait for my God" (Ps. Ixix. 3).
        "In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me" (Ps. ii. 5).

Scripture: "The LORD will give grace and glory"(Psalm 84:11).
        Grace is what we need just now, and it is to be had freely. What can be freer than a gift? Today we shall receive sustaining, strengthening, sanctifying, satisfying grace. He has given daily grace until now, and as for the future, that grace is still sufficient. If we have but little grace the fault must lie in ourselves; for the LORD is not straitened, neither is He slow to bestow it in abundance. We may ask for as much as we will and never fear a refusal. He giveth liberally and upbraideth not.
        The LORD may not give gold, but He will give grace: He may not give gain, but He will give grace. He will certainly send us trial, but He will give grace in proportion thereto. We may be called to labor and to suffer, but with the call there will come all the grace required.
        What an "end" is that in the text -- "and glory!" We do not need glory yet, and we are not yet fit for it; but we shall have it in due order. After we have eaten the bread of grace, we shall drink the wine of glory. We must go through the holy, which is grace, to the holiest of all, which is glory. These words and glory are enough to make a man dance for joy. A little while -- a little while, and then glory forever!

Scripture: “Strong in faith.”(Romans 4:20)
        Christian, take good care of thy faith; for recollect faith is the only way whereby thou canst obtain blessings. If we want blessings from God, nothing can fetch them down but faith. Prayer cannot draw down answers from Gods throne except it be the earnest prayer of the man who believes. Faith is the angelic messenger between the soul and the Lord Jesus in glory. Let that angel be withdrawn, we can neither send up prayer, nor receive the answers. Faith is the telegraphic wire which links earth and heaven—on which Gods messages of love fly so fast, that before we call he answers, and while we are yet speaking he hears us. But if that telegraphic wire of faith be snapped, how can we receive the promise? Am I in trouble?—I can obtain help for trouble by faith. Am I beaten about by the enemy?—my soul on her dear Refuge leans by faith. But take faith away—in vain I call to God. There is no road betwixt my soul and heaven. In the deepest wintertime faith is a road on which the horses of prayer may travel—aye, and all the better for the biting frost; but blockade the road, and how can we communicate with the Great King? Faith links me with divinity. Faith clothes me with the power of God. Faith engages on my side the omnipotence of Jehovah. Faith ensures every attribute of God in my defence. It helps me to defy the hosts of hell. It makes me march triumphant over the necks of my enemies. But without faith how can I receive anything of the Lord? Let not him that wavereth—who is like a wave of the Sea—expect that he will receive anything of God! O, then, Christian, watch well thy faith; for with it thou canst win all things, however poor thou art, but without it thou canst obtain nothing. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

Scripture: “And she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.”(Ruth 2:14)
        Whenever we are privileged to eat of the bread which Jesus gives, we are, like Ruth, satisfied with the full and sweet repast. When Jesus is the host no guest goes empty from the table. Our head is satisfied with the precious truth which Christ reveals; our heart is content with Jesus, as the altogether lovely object of affection; our hope is satisfied, for whom have we in heaven but Jesus? and our desire is satiated, for what can we wish for more than “to know Christ and to be found in him?” Jesus fills our conscience till it is at perfect peace; our judgment with persuasion of the certainty of his teachings; our memory with recollections of what he has done, and our imagination with the prospects of what he is yet to do. As Ruth was “sufficed, and left,” so is it with us. We have had deep draughts; we have thought that we could take in all of Christ; but when we have done our best we have had to leave a vast remainder. We have sat at the table of the Lords love, and said, “Nothing but the infinite can ever satisfy me; I am such a great sinner that I must have infinite merit to wash my sin away;” but we have had our sin removed, and found that there was merit to spare; we have had our hunger relieved at the feast of sacred love, and found that there was a redundance of spiritual meat remaining. There are certain sweet things in the Word of God which we have not enjoyed yet, and which we are obliged to leave for awhile; for we are like the disciples to whom Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” Yes, there are graces to which we have not attained; places of fellowship nearer to Christ which we have not reached; and heights of communion which our feet have not climbed. At every banquet of love there are many baskets of fragments left. Let us magnify the liberality of our glorious Boaz.

Scripture: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the ordeal that has come to test you…you are sharing what Christ suffered; so rejoice in it" (1 Peter 4:12).
        Many a waiting hour was needful to enrich the harp of David, and many a waiting hour in the wilderness will gather for us a psalm of "thanksgiving, and the voice of melody," to cheer the hearts of fainting ones here below, and to make glad our Fathers house on high.
        What was the preparation of the son of Jesse for the songs like unto which none other have ever sounded on this earth?
        The outrage of the wicked, which brought forth cries for Gods help. Then the faint hope in Gods goodness blossomed into a song of rejoicing for His mighty deliverances and manifold mercies. Every sorrow was another string to his harp; every deliverance another theme for praise.
        One thrill of anguish spared, one blessing unmarked or unprized, one difficulty or danger evaded, how great would have been our loss in that thrilling Psalmody in which Gods people today find the expression of their grief or praise!
        To wait for God, and to suffer His will, is to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings, and to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. So now, if the vessel is to be enlarged for spiritual understanding, be not affrighted at the wider sphere of suffering that awaits you. The Divine capacity of sympathy will have a more extended sphere, for the breathing of the Holy Ghost in the new creation never made a stoic, but left the hearts affection tender and true. --Anna Shipton
        "He tested me ere He entrusted me" (1 Tim. 1:12, Ways Trans.).

References: Further Study: Acts 2:42 Luke 10:5-9 Acts 12:5-17 Acts 10:23-33
Heads of houses have a mandate to receive the ‘church in the house’ in all four dimensions. Peter spoke of these as being apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. This lays an onus and a privilege upon the heads of houses to interface properly with the elders of the body, so that the headship of Christ is harmonised in the body and each individual house. In this way, the ‘eagle face’ of fellowship is maintained publicly and from house to house. The key element in this whole matter is that the word of messenger-craftsmen is directly proceeding to every worthy house in every local fellowship. There ought to be a public and a house to house expression of the church in each local area. But there is no ‘middle management’ with a delegated mandate to organise and supervise the fellowship of houses. Every house must feel that they connect directly to one lampstand, although this fellowship will have a weekly, public expression in each town. Our structure is one body, with one angelos group of messenger-craftsmen, with many individual houses receiving the word and able to host the church in the house. This structure is communicated in the apostles’ writings. They carried the word to various places, and recorded its effect on the various houses. They brought an impartation of grace, house to house. These houses were not seeking personal empowerment, but were being joined to the administration of the gospel message. The administration of the face of the eagle was from the one fellowship of the communion, to the fellowship in the houses. Hence, the angelos-messengers were received by the heads of worthy houses.

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References Further Study Eph 2:10 John 12:40 Eph 1 Zech 5:5 John 7:24 Rom 8:29-30 Mark 8:18 John 6:42 Rom 11:8, 10 Luke 10:23 Acts 28:27 John 1:33
When the Scripture speaks of predestination, it is referring to those things that God Himself has determined for us. They are foreknown and predetermined. Our predestination is a blueprint and prescription of our potential. We might suggest it is a theory, in so far as it is not substantial until we fulfil it. In the same way, all of our personal attributes and abilities are only potential until we apply them in life. So it is that Paul spoke of ‘works’ ordained for us that we should walk in them. The impressions that we give to others regularly confuse these matters. Nevertheless, we are thankful that the Lord is never confused. He knows the hearts of all men. And He does not judge by what the eye sees. Accordingly, Jesus admonished us not to judge according to appearance, but to judge righteously. Of course, we know that the penalty for disobedience and unbelief is a spirit of stupor and eyes that do not see. Alternatively, Jesus spoke to the disciples and encouraged them saying, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see’. We are directed on more than one occasion to lift up our eyes and see. At times we all offend, in so far as we do not view one another correctly. And conversely, we are often seen and perceived in ways that are not commensurate with our predestination. Even Jesus Himself was forced to overcome the false judgements and opinions directed toward Him. They said, His ‘father and mother we know’. To those who did not recognise Him, He was the carpenter’s son. Even John the Baptist did not recognise Jesus for who He was, until he saw the dove descending and remaining upon Him.

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References Further Study Mal 3:10 Psa 76:11 Gen 28:12-22 Psa 56:12 Lev 7:16 Gen 28:22 Gen 31:13 Psa 132:2
It is important that we give proper consideration to vows. Those who have served the Lord for some decades will vividly remember the time when we committed our lives to Christ. We understood that this commitment carried obligations with it. In a similar way, a marriage vow is a binding commitment made before the Lord and others. These are the two vows that we are most familiar with. However, the making of a vow is also the highpoint of the peace offering. This type of vow is the energy for growth in the kingdom of God. The psalmist Asaph said, ‘Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfil them. Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.’ Through the course of the years, many have failed in faith because they did not continue in their commitments. A vow is an irrevocable commitment to make offering. It would be quite trivial to regard our commitment to the church programme as a vow. A vow is principally the means of generating the increase of the church as an eternal kingdom. This is not to minimise the regular commitments that we make. Nevertheless, not every commitment is a vow. A vow is a binding obligation we take upon ourselves to raise a heave offering and come under the burden of the work. The psalmist proclaimed, ‘Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You’. The fathers of faith committed themselves to the Lord’s work by making a vow. When the Lord met Jacob at Bethel, he set up a stone as the pillar of the Lord’s house and made a vow. This was a very practical step. The purpose of a vow is always the building of the Lord’s house.

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References Further Study Pro 16:2 2Pe 1 Php 3:9 2Th 2:11
The truth of who we are in Christ, the truth that we are discovering through fellowship, completely changes our motivation for life. We can meet and appreciate others by the Holy Spirit, and love as God loves, wherever we are. This is so different from our own pseudo-religious approach, where we see ourselves as ‘righteous’, ‘good’, and the ‘true seed’ of God’s life. When we live this way, we are actually behaving as religious ‘benefactors’. ‘All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.’ It is only in theory that the religious mind thinks it needs God. When we reason this way, we try desperately to hold on to our own concepts of truth. We may even avoid being honest in life so that we appear to be ‘good’ Christians. This self-sourced way of living is a lie. It’s what the apostle Paul called a ‘righteousness of my own’. This lie depends on the appearance of good, but in reality we are deceived and estranged from God and our brethren. Our motivation as Christians who live and walk in the Spirit, is to fellowship together at every opportunity. When we fellowship, we are being the person whom God has named, and doing the work God has given us to do. We are able to meet, grow and multiply His fellowship. Everything springs from the faith initiative that comes from our appreciation of the truth. We accountably go about our work, devotions, music practice, studies, service and relationships motivated by our appreciation of His fellowship and our participation in it.

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