Scripture: "Hereby know we love, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."—1 JOHN iii.16. R. V.
        Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." Here our Lord reveals to us the inconceivable love that moved Him to die for us. And now under the influence and in the power of that love dwelling in us, comes the message: "We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." Nothing less is expected of us than a Christ-like life, and a Christ-like love, proving itself in all our intercourse with our brethren.

        The cross of Christ is the measure by which we know how much Christ loves us. That cross is the measure too of the love which we owe to the brethren around us. It is only as the love of Christ on the cross possesses our hearts, and daily animates our whole being, that we shall be able to love the brethren. Our fellowship in the cross of Christ is to manifest itself in our sacrifice of love, not only to Christ Himself, but to all who belong to Him.

        The life to which John calls us here is something entirely supernatural and divine. It is only the faith of Christ Himself living in us that can enable us to accept this great command in the assurance that Christ Himself will work it out in us. It is He Himself Who calls us: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Nothing less than this, a dying to our own nature, a faith that our "old man," our flesh, has been crucified with Christ, so that we no longer need to sin—nothing less than this can enable us to say: We love His commandments; this commandment too is not grievous.

        But for such fellowship and conformity to the death of Christ, nothing will avail but the daily, unbroken abiding in Christ Jesus which He has promised us. By the Holy Spirit revealing and glorifying Christ in us, we may trust Christ Himself to live out His life in us. He who proved His love on the cross of Calvary, He Himself, He alone can enable us to say in truth: He laid down His life for vis; we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. It is only as the great truth of the indwelling Christ obtains a place in the faith of the Church which it has not now, that the Christ-like love to the brethren will become the mark of true Christianity, by which all men shall know that we are Christs disciples. This is what will bring the world to believe that God has loved us even as He loved Christ.

Scripture: "So He giveth His beloved sleep"(Psalm 127:2).
        Ours is not a life of anxious care but of happy faith. Our heavenly Father will supply the wants of His own children, and He knoweth what we have need of before we ask Him. We may therefore go to our beds at the proper hour and not wear ourselves out by sitting up late to plot, and plan, and contrive. If we have learned to rely upon our God, we shall not lie awake with fear gnawing at our hearts; but we shall leave our care with the LORD, our meditation of Him shall be sweet, and He will give us refreshing sleep.

        To be the LORDs beloved is the highest possible honor, and he who has it may feel that ambition itself could desire no more, and therefore every selfish wish may go to sleep. What more is there even in heaven than the love of God? Rest, then, O soul, for thou hast all things. Yet we toss to and fro unless the LORD Himself gives us not only the reasons for rest but rest itself. Yea, He doth this. Jesus Himself is our peace, our rest, our all, On His bosom we sleep in perfect security, both in life and in death.

        Sprinkled afresh with pardoning blood,
        I lay me down to rest
        As in the embraces of my God,
        Or on my Saviours breast.

Scripture: “Our heart shall rejoice in Him.”(Psalm 33:21)
        Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing; and, like many birds, they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of Gods countenance; they have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water, and helps them to sing amid the tempest, “God is with me still.” To whom shall the glory be given? Oh! to Jesus—it is all by Jesus. Trouble does not necessarily bring consolation with it to the believer, but the presence of the Son of God in the fiery furnace with him fills his heart with joy. He is sick and suffering, but Jesus visits him and makes his bed for him. He is dying, and the cold chilly waters of Jordan are gathering about him up to the neck, but Jesus puts His arms around him, and cries, “Fear not, beloved; to die is to be blessed; the waters of death have their fountain-head in heaven; they are not bitter, they are sweet as nectar, for they flow from the throne of God.” As the departing saint wades through the stream, and the billows gather around him, and heart and flesh fail him, the same voice sounds in his ears, “Fear not; I am with thee; be not dismayed; I am thy God.” As he nears the borders of the infinite unknown, and is almost affrighted to enter the realm of shades, Jesus says, “Fear not, it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Thus strengthened and consoled, the believer is not afraid to die; nay, he is even willing to depart, for since he has seen Jesus as the morning star, he longs to gaze upon Him as the sun in his strength. Truly, the presence of Jesus is all the heaven we desire. He is at once
        
“The glory of our brightest days;
        The comfort of our nights.”

Scripture: “Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”(Psalm 28:1)
        A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear, and his ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain to call to the rocks in the day of judgment, but our Rock attends to our cries.
        “Be not silent to me.” Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers, but genuine suppliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will—they must go further, and obtain actual replies from heaven, or they cannot rest; and those replies they long to receive at once, they dread even a little of Gods silence. Gods voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wilderness; but his silence is equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. When God seems to close his ear, we must not therefore close our mouths, but rather cry with more earnestness; for when our note grows shrill with eagerness and grief, he will not long deny us a hearing. What a dreadful case should we be in if the Lord should become for ever silent to our prayers? “Lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” Deprived of the God who answers prayer, we should be in a more pitiable plight than the dead in the grave, and should soon sink to the same level as the lost in hell. We must have answers to prayer: ours is an urgent case of dire necessity; surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds, for he never can find it in his heart to permit his own elect to perish.

Scripture: "When thou goest, thy way shall be opened up before thee step by step" (Proverbs 4:12, free translation).
        The Lord never builds a bridge of faith except under the feet of the faith-filled traveler. If He builds the bridge a rod ahead, it would not be a bridge of faith. That which is of sight is not of faith.

        There is a self-opening gate which is sometimes used in country roads. It stands fast and firm across the road as a traveler approaches it. If he stops before he gets to it, it will not open. But if he will drive right at it, his wagon wheels press the springs below the roadway, and the gate swings back to let him through. He must push right on at the closed gate, or it will continue to be closed.

        This illustrates the way to pass every barrier on the road of duty. Whether it is a river, a gate, or a mountain, all the child of Jesus has to do is to go for it. If it is a river, it will dry up when you put your feet in its waters. If it is a gate, it will fly open when you are near enough to it, and are still pushing on. If it is a mountain, it will be lifted up and cast into a sea when you come squarely up, without flinching, to where you thought it was.

        Is there a great barrier across your path of duty just now? Just go for it, in the name of the Lord, and it wont be there. --Henry Clay Trumbull

        We sit and weep in vain. The voice of the Almighty said, "Up and onward forevermore." Let us move on and step out boldly, though it be into the night, and we can scarcely see the way. The path will open, as we progress, like the trail through the forest, or the Alpine pass, which discloses but a few rods of its length from any single point of view. Press on! If necessary, we will find even the pillar of cloud and fire to mark our journey through the wilderness. There are guides and wayside inns along the road. We will find food, clothes and friends at every stage of the journey, and as Rutherford so quaintly says: "However matters go, the worst will be a tired traveler and a joyful and sweet welcome home."

References: Heb 1:1-2 Luke 10:16 Further Study: John 14:23 Rom 10:6-13
When we speak about God ‘calling’ us, we generally think about a messenger bringing a word. However, it is not just the messenger who calls. The word itself comes ‘calling’. This is quite an amazing thought, but it certainly makes sense when we stop and think about it. When a preacher is proclaiming the word of God, every person will be hearing ‘more’ than what is actually being said. The word itself will be speaking individually to each person by the Holy Spirit. This will be true in every personal interaction as well. When a Christian is speaking with their neighbour, the word itself will be calling to them. We’ll recall the words of Paul, ‘In these last days [the Father] has spoken to us in His Son’. Christ is the Word, and the Father speaks to us in Christ. He is the Word of the Father. When the word comes, both the Father and the Son are speaking to us. They are both calling. And of course, this happens by the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained this principle to His disciples after sending them to look for worthy houses. ‘The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.’ On the positive side of the coin, when we listen to the word of a messenger, we receive the word of the Father and the Son. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Father and Son becomes active in our lives. We are birthed by the word.

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References Further Study 1 Cor 7:22 Rev 22:3, 6 Rev 22 Rev 19:2, 5 Psa 111:10 Prov 9:10
We do not know how long the apostle John was on the isle of Patmos, but he was certainly there because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. We know also that the word of God came to him as a bondslave. We might suggest that we are not bondslaves unless we are firstly the prisoners of the Lord. Perhaps there were other prisoners with John on the isle of Patmos, but they were certainly not bondslaves of Jesus Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ is the peculiar possession of bondslaves. And concerning this title and status, none of the apostles or the believers with them, were ashamed. The bondslave of Jesus Christ is ‘the Lord’s freeman’. The use of the term ‘bondservant’ or ‘bondslave’ is quite poetic. Nevertheless, it masks the true meaning. It is the Greek word doulos which simply means ‘slave’. Perhaps the translators sought to distinguish between the dishonour of a worldly slave and the glory of being a slave to Jesus Christ. The faithful and true word of God is the possession of bondslaves. It is the unique privilege of bondslaves to follow the Lamb and to serve Him. And in this way, we escape the curse and stand before the throne of God and the Lamb. With patient expectation, we are waiting for the voice from His throne which will command us in that day, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bondslaves, you who fear Him’. If you are to be a slave of Jesus Christ, then the fear of God must be before your eyes. Indeed, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Throughout the course of covenant history, bondslaves have shed their blood for the cause of the gospel and for Jesus Christ our Saviour.

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References Further Study Eph 5:9 Exo 25 Rev 1:20 Exo 25:31-37 Luk 10:1
When we think of the church, the picture of a lampstand is most meaningful. This is the symbolic picture which Jesus used in the book of Revelation. He referred to seven churches in the region of Asia as seven golden lampstands. Each lampstand consisted of seven branches. When we consider a local church, perhaps we could think of it as a branch on a lampstand. Each branch consists of nine pieces with an additional almond shaped cup or bowl. This bowl is the lamp, and by this we mean the receptacle which contains the oil of the word. The nine pieces in the branch of a lampstand are equal to the nine fruits of the Spirit. We might also refer to them, as Paul does, as the ‘fruit of light’. Coming from another perspective, the nine pieces of the branch are, in fact, three multiples of three. They are a cup, a bulb and a flower reproduced three times. It is also of interest to us that the total number of pieces that make up a lampstand is seventy in all. This teaches us that the lampstand represents the work of discipleship where Jesus sent forth the seventy ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. The lampstand, when it is fully resourced with the oil of the word, is ready to receive the fire of the Holy Spirit to ignite each lamp and shine forth. The lampstand symbolism in the Old Testament teaches us that it lights the space in front of it. The literal translation says that it is to give light on its ‘face’, so as to give light on the opposite side of it. In this very same way, Jesus sent the seventy disciples out ‘before His face’.

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References Further Study Joh 4:35 Psa 121:8 Heb 13 Rom 12:1 Mat 4:23 Luk 16:16 Heb 13:10, 13 Eph 5:2
Jesus said, ‘Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!’ The Lord is compelling us toward a culture of evangelism at this time. This is not a ‘season’ which will come and go. We need a culture of evangelism that permeates everything we do and continues for the duration of our lives. In the words of the psalmist, we need to consider the way we ‘come in’ and ‘go out’. David said, ‘The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in’. We have placed a great emphasis on the way we ‘come in’ to make offering for many years. This is the foremost activity of a Christian. We come in to the house of the Lord to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. With this sure foundation, let us now consider what it means to ‘go out’. We go out into the world, like Jesus, to sow seed and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. The fundamental meaning of evangelism is ‘to proclaim’. The apostle Paul declared to the Hebrews, ‘We have an altar’. The altar, the place of offering, is the centrepiece of our Christian life and community. It is our participation in the offering of Christ to God the Father. We are reminded that Jesus was firstly ‘an offering and a sacrifice to God’ on the altar of the true temple. Then, He was the Father’s offering for the world on the cross. Having established that ‘we have an altar’, Paul continued by saying, ‘Let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach’. This is the work of evangelism. We ‘go out’ bearing His reproach to proclaim His offering for the world.

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