We who are the children of God
can well remember the first days of our being brought to know Him through that
blessed One whose very Name filled our hearts with rapturous delight. How
relieving and how sweet to the soul to confess that Name before men; how
marvelous to realize that His blood was shed for me, that His sacrifice for me
was a sweet smelling savor to God, and because of it nothing could separate me
from "the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:39).
With fond remembrance we recall the sparkling freshness and joy of heart that
issued forth in adoration for our Lord when, like the leaves of the trees
stirred gently by the wind, our very being seemed alive with praise to Him.

But in so reflecting, not a few
of us have sorrowed as we see that those affections have grown cold with time;
the ardor of delight that once was there seems lost forever, and we wonder why,
despite our efforts, it cannot be regained. Here many stumble and are led
astray.

A Wrong Thought

Some have claimed that to answer
the question, it requires a wonderful and mysterious experience that they call
"sanctification." By this they profess to attain a higher level than
Christians who are not (as they say) "sanctified." However, the
honest inquirer into Scripture will find that we are not sanctified by an experience,
but by the truth, the Word of God (John l7:17). Moreover, when we look for,
and find, some experience that stirs us to excitement, we may be stimulated for
a time, but always drop back again into a still deeper dissatisfaction, the
same effect that is left through drinking too much wine.  In Scripture, joy is
typified by wine; it may exhilarate, but I do not, could not, feed on it:that
would leave me a total wreck

True Joy Found Only in the
Lord

Is the Christian, then, denied
joy? Indeed he is not, for true spiritual joy is of God, and is both
exceedingly precious and important. But let me ask, What gave you the joy at
conversion? Was it through thinking of that joy? "Certainly not," you
will answer, "it resulted from the knowledge of the Lord Jesus as my own
Saviour, and of His very near presence always with me. I was feeding on real
substantial food, and rejoiced in doing so."

Yet think, have you so greatly
treasured that joy as to lose sight of the need of feeding? Depending largely
on the joy, have you forgotten how dependent you are on the Lord? Surely this
is the true answer to the coldness and lack of growth in more than a few cases.
The eye is on self, and on what is going on within, instead of being fixed
steadily on the One who only can give real gladness of heart.

Christ, not Joy, Feeds the
Soul and Satisfies

I believe the condition of soul
that many of us have experienced is aptly described in Psa. 107:4,5:"They
wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them." These were the children
of Israel, some time after singing the glorious song of deliverance from their
enemies by crossing over the Red Sea (Exodus 15). There was a longing not
satisfied, a desire not filled; the joy that had been theirs before could not
sustain them now. What then? "Then they cried unto the Lord in their
trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth
by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would
praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children
of men! For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with
goodness" (verses 6-9). Let this sink deeply, dear reader, into your heart
and mine; joy does not satisfy, does not feed the soul, but our Lord does. Nor
could it be otherwise, for has He not said, "I am the living bread which
came down from heaven" John 6:51)?

The Scripture the Only Source

Now, where did I first learn of
Christ? What gave me my first taste of the bread of sweetness? Only Scripture;
without that I would be in darkness still. How, then, can I neglect that
precious Book and expect my thoughts to be of Christ? Impossible! And yet how
many try to keep their joy while ignoring the only place from which true
spiritual joy can come.

“The Bible is difficult to
understand," someone is bound to say, "and I seem to get so little
from it." We well rejoice to know that the most profound students of
Scripture have marveled at its depths of wisdom and its beauty of perfection.
So, although our first impulse is to wish we knew it all, we are steadied by
the thought that there is food here for many years to come, and too much at
once will give indigestion. You would not think of refusing a meal simply
because you were denied a year’s supply of food at once! Take one meal at a
time from the Word of God and be sure you digest it well.

Little by Little … Steadily
Learning

Once a start has been made in
searching the Scriptures, Satan will employ many means of discouraging you.
Perhaps it will seem difficult and wearisome, and doubt arise as to whether
there will be any fruit from it at all. This is a "trial of faith,"
and faith is simply implicit trust in God. Then ask yourself this question:
"Is God not able to carry me through this test?" and go to God about
it. Then remember that faith acts! "The hand of the diligent maketh
rich." "He who gathereth by labor shall increase." ‘In all labor
there is profit." ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but honor of
kings is to search out a matter" (Prov. 10:4; 13:11; 14:23; 25:2).
"Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not" (Gal. 6:9). With time and diligence, you will learn little by
little, and each lesson will be truly learned in the heart. Moreover, when the
heart has learned something for itself, a joy will result much calmer and
deeper than was known before. But guard against relying on that joy. Go on
steadily, learning more of Christ:only thus is the soul kept fresh and alive.

Read with Reverence, Seek to
Learn of Christ in Both the Old and New Testaments

If you have real joy in reading,
always remember never to open that precious Book except in a spirit of
reverence and lowliness. And then in every word you read, listen to the voice
of "The High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity" as speaking
directly to your soul.

Further, do not go to the
Scriptures with a selfish motive—not merely to get something for yourself—but
with Christ as the Object of your heart. This is the only key that will open them
to you. When walking with the two on the way to Emmaus, the Lord Jesus
"expounded unto them in a all the Scriptures the things concerning
Himself’ (Luke 24:27).How sweet their consequent testimony:"Did not our
heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to
us the Scriptures?" Nothing can preserve the beauty and freshness of the
Word to the soul like a mind alert to find something of Christ everywhere.

In the New Testament we may read
directly of His walk, His ways, and His teachings in the Gospels. And we find
in the Epistles doctrine concerning His Person, His work, His glory, or His
interests on earth in the gospel going to the unsaved, and in His body, which
is the Church.

The Old Testament we shall find
abounding with types of Christ in His various characteristics:as Son of God,
Son of Man, Prophet, Priest, King, Servant, Shepherd, the Lamb of God, and
others. Also types of His birth, spotless life, suffering on earth, rejection
by men, substitution for the sinner, bearing God’s judgment, voluntary
"obedience unto death," resurrection, exaltation, coming for His
saints, coming in judgment, and reigning over the earth are to be found. In the
Psalms and the Prophets He is supremely preeminent. Everywhere it is so. Let us
then be the more earnest in finding this precious "hid treasure,"
ever keeping in remembrance that if Christ is really the Object, the heart will
lack nothing. Then truly we may say, "His joys our deepest joys
afford," and with the Prophet Jeremiah, ‘Thy words were found, and I did
eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart"
(Jer. 15:16).

(Used by permission of the
author.)

FRAGMENT  "Rejoice in the
Lord always" (Phil. 4:4). Christians should not be a glum lot. When we groan
and complain about the weather, our health, the inflation rate, the lack of
jobs, the present government, and world conditions, the world is not impressed.
Unbelievers are looking for hope, not doom. Does not Christ’s presence with
you, God’s people around you, and eternal glory ahead of you, give you joy? The
Apostle Paul says, "Rejoice!"                                                                                                             D.L.
Norbie

FRAGMENT

Rejoice, rejoice, O soul, be glad

And sing the Master’s praise;

Let not your countenance be sad,

For pleasant are His ways.                                                                                                C.
Buck

With such need and opportunity as
presents itself to us on every hand, the following account is given to stir up
and encourage our hands and feet in the gospel. We may not see results at any
given time, but let us be sure that it is life-giving seed (which is the Word
of God) that we sow and some of it will fall on good ground.

An aged woman had come quite a
distance to attend a gospel meeting, the subject of which was the Lord’s
coming. She was nearly blind, but God was pleased to open her spiritual
eyesight, and two things were made known to her in the power of the Holy
Spirit. God gave her the certainty of eternal salvation, and also made known to
her the blessed hope of the coming again of the Lord to take His saints to
heaven to be with Him where He is.

These two things were entirely
new to her; she had never heard them before. She returned home filled with
"the peace of God which passes all understanding." She told her
husband the blessed news that she had learned. The Lord opened his heart also
to receive the glad tidings, and much of their time was spent in thanksgiving
and worship.

They had an elderly neighbor
about the same age as themselves. One day when they had knelt down, giving
thanks together that they were both cleansed in the blood of the Lamb from all
their sins, and were waiting and longing for the coming of the Lord in the air
to take them to Himself, this neighbor came in to see them, as he was
accustomed to doing. As both of them were rather deaf, and so entirely absorbed
in thanksgiving, they did not hear him come in.

He listened with amazement; such
joy he had never witnessed; such words he had never heard. It was not prayer,
but thanksgiving to Him who had saved them with an everlasting salvation—who
had made them fit for His holy presence in holiness and love. They were in
heaven in spirit, and they were talking to One they knew well, and they never
seemed tired of talking to Him. They talked to him about His coming to take
them to Himself. Their friend was fairly lost in amazement. At last the dear
aged couple rose from their knees. Their visitor said, "Whatever does all
this mean? I have been going to church these 70 years and saying my prayers,
but I cannot say that I am even saved, let alone saved forever, and saved
perfectly. No, I surely cannot. And you are speaking to God as if you knew Him.
And what can you mean about the coming of Christ to take you?"

Then the woman told the gospel
she had heard:how God loved; how He had sent His Son; how the Lord Jesus had
offered Himself the perfect sacrifice for sins; how God declared that all who
believed were justified from all things, and their sins and iniquities God
would remember no more; yes, and how that by one offering all who believed were
perfected forever; and that Jesus assured all who heard His words and believed
God who sent Him that they had eternal life and would never come into judgment
but were passed from death unto life; and that Jesus told them not to be
afraid; He was gone to prepare a place for them, and would come again to
receive them to Himself.

She spoke from the deep enjoyment
of Christ in her own soul. God blessed her words to their neighbor friend.
Though over 80 years of age, he too was brought into the enjoyment of peace
with God. As a little child did he receive the truth from this couple. Heavenly
indeed was the communion of these three aged pilgrims. Much of their time was
spent together in worship and communion, waiting for the Lord Jesus from
heaven. When the neighbor saw the smoke going up from the chimney of their
home, he was soon over there with them in thanksgiving and praise.

It became necessary, after a
while, for the old couple to be taken care of. A son took them to his home, not
far away, so this happy little band was separated. The plan had not been told
them, but the parents were taken as on a visit first, and then told that they
would remain. Morning after morning their former neighbor looked for the smoke
from the chimney. It never rose again, and after a few mornings, the Lord said
to that man, "Come up here." And, sweet as is fellowship here below,
it was now with him "far better."

So, dear brothers and sisters,
let us be stirred up. Little enough time is left us. What are we doing with it?
Let us balance our concern to hold fast to the truth with diligence in the
gospel.

"In the morning sow your
seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand:for you know not whether shall
prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good"
(Eccl. 11:6).

(Reprinted from Words of Truth,
Vol. 11; original editing by Joseph S. Butler.)

It is often perceived and
sometimes taught outright that a "bubbly personality" is equivalent
to having the joy of the Lord. Such a view has made some of us who infrequently
experience "bubbly" to feel guilty about our lack of spirituality.
The result is a concentrated self-effort to produce "joy" within.
This is destined to end in failure. Whatever is produced by this means can
certainly not be called the joy of the Lord.

The simple fact is that
personality has nothing to do with spirituality. They stem from two entirely
different sources. Personality is natural to both saved and unsaved and ebbs
and flows with the emotions. To base one’s spirituality on such can only lead
to frustration.

Spirituality, on the other hand,
comes from the Divine. Even the most "bubbly" among the unsaved know
nothing of true joy.

What, then, is the joy of the
Lord, and what would characterize one in whom it has residence? The joy of the
Lord is simply the enjoyment of Christ and His Word day by day. It is nothing
mystical or self-produced. Without fanfare or applause, the Spirit of God in
the quietness of our meditations produces a joy in Christ which nothing but
neglect can take away. Joy grows in our lives to the proportion of our enjoyment
of the knowledge of Christ.

Those whose hearts are thus
filled with the joy of the Lord are strong. "The joy of the Lord is your
strength" (Neh. 8:10). They are able to meet trials without faltering for
they are in touch with One seated far above the trials. They delight in the
Word and seek the truths in it both at home and at the meetings. They share
with others and encourage others with the precious things of Christ.

Joy and peace are both numbered
among the "fruit of the Spirit" given in Gal. 5:22,23. What are the
distinguishing features of these characteristics of the Spirit-filled
Christian?

Joy, first of all, is related in
the original Greek text of the New Testament to the words "grace" and
"thanksgiving." Grace—God’s un-merited favor shown to sinners— is the
foundation. Oh, what riches of His grace abound to us who were rebels and
sinners, for God has not only delivered us from eternal separation from
Himself, but has drawn us dose to Himself as His own dear children! The
response in our souls to the realization of such grace shown to us is joy. When
this joy cannot be contained in our souls it flows out in praise and
thanksgiving to God for His wonderful grace.

Because joy comes from a deep
sense of God’s infinite, continuous favor shown to us, it is what helps us to
pass calmly through trials, tribulations, and adverse circumstances. It is the
opposite of the unhappiness that many people experience when things don’t go
their way, when bad things happen to them. A believer in Christ who has a real
sense of God’s grace knows that bad things don’t and can’t happen to him or
her, but that "All things work together for good to those who love
God."

Peace has to do more with the
calmness we experience with respect to things in the future that may—or may
not—take place.  The soul that is justified by faith has peace with God, that
is, no fear whatever of the coming judgment of God, knowing that for the
believer, the judgment has already passed upon Christ.

Peace is the opposite of worry
and anxiety. "Be careful [or anxious] for nothing, but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6,7). Peace, too, is often
associated with, and flows from, God’s grace (Rom. l:7;2 Cor. l:2; Eph. l:2;
etc).

May our hearts be filled with joy
and peace as we grow in the knowledge and personal experience of God’s wonderful
grace.

Meditations on Christ, the
Believer’s Example (Part VIII)

Christ’s Responses to Man’s
Sinful Behavior (Continued)

In Part VII of this series, we
discussed three of Christ’s responses to the sinful behavior of those about
Him:He rebuked those with wrong thoughts about Himself, He patiently
instructed those who were self-centered, and He showed anger toward hypocrites
and those who dishonored His Father. We conclude this section with one
additional response to sin.

He did not protest injustice.
Herod "sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was

brought in a charger and given to
the damsel; and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took
up the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, He
departed thence by ship into a desert place apart" (Matt. 14:10-13).

"When Pilate saw that he
could prevail nothing,… he … washed his hands before the multitude, saying,
I am innocent of the blood of this just Person…. And when he had scourged
Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified" (Matt. 27:24-26).

In these two passages we find two
cases of gross injustice perpetrated by the leaders of Israel— one against John the Baptist and the other against Christ Himself. In neither case does
Christ raise a word of protest or threaten to appeal to higher authorities. The
day is yet to come when Christ shall return in all power and glory to establish
His kingdom over all the earth. Everything will be made right in that day. His
will be a reign of righteousness (Isa. 32:1), of unwavering justice.

It should not surprise us if we,
or our fellow believers, experience suffering because we do what is right in
God’s eyes (Matt. 5:10) or simply because we are Christians (Matt. 5:11,12; 1
Pet. 4:16). Even though we may be treated unjustly and unfairly, may our
response be to "Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is [our] reward
in heaven" (Matt. 5:12) and to "glorify God on this behalf’ (1 Pet.
4:16). May our response be like the prayer of the early Christians when
beginning to face persecution:"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings,
and grant unto Thy servants that with all boldness they may speak Thy
Word" (Acts 4:29). And may our response be like the martyr Stephen’s as he
was being stoned:"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts
7:60).

Christ has not left us an example
of fighting and protesting injustice but of patiently suffering it as we await
"the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour
Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:13).

Christ’s Work and Ministry

He labored unceasingly. Let us
take a look at one day in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus (Mark
1:21-34). It was the Sabbath day, and the first thing He did was to enter into
a synagogue in Capernaum and teach. While in the synagogue He cast an unclean
spirit out of a man. From the synagogue He went with James and John to the home
of Simon and Andrew, where He healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever. As the
sun was going down, people from the entire city began gathering at the door,
having heard of His healing powers. And "He healed many who were sick of
divers diseases, and cast out many devils" (verse 34).

Now after a day like that you
might think that He would have slept in the next morning. But no, "In the
morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a
solitary place, and there prayed" (verse 35). Then He went on to the next
town, and preached in synagogues throughout Galilee, healing and casting out
demons.

On another occasion the Lord took
His disciples to a desert place to rest a while, since they hardly had
opportunity to eat because of the crowds of people demanding attention. But the
people quickly caught up with them, and what did Jesus do? He "was moved
with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd,
and He began to teach them many things." He spent the entire day in this
way, and then miraculously provided food for the whole multitude that evening
(Mark 6:30-44).

We tend to pamper ourselves,
don’t we? We like to take days off. We like to sleep in. We look forward to
retirement so we don’t have to work anymore but can relax and play. But Christ
is our example, isn’t He? While it is true that we do need times of rest and
relaxation, let us look always to the Lord for wisdom as to the use of our
leisure time. May the Lord help every one of us to develop creative ways of
using our leisure hours, our holidays, our vacation weeks, and our retirement
years to draw closer to Himself, to strengthen our marriage and family
relationships, to reach out with the gospel, and to help and encourage our
fellow Christians both locally and afar off.

He instructed His disciples. The
four Gospels are filled with Christ’s instruction of His disciples. What a vast
array of topics He covered! He taught them concerning Himself, His relationship
with His Father, His imminent return to His Father, and the sending of the Holy
Spirit. He taught them the way of salvation, eternal security, and eternal
life. He taught them about the end times, heaven and hell, the need to be
preparing and watching for His return, and being on guard against false
prophets. He taught them dependence upon God and how to respond to trials and
persecution.

He taught them how to be a
testimony of salt and light to the world. He taught them about self-judgment
and how to deal with others who sin. He taught them to live in obedience to God
and to display the same attitudes and behaviors (such as humility, meekness,
mercy, and forgiveness) as He did. He taught them to be heavenly-minded, rather
than covetous and materialistic. And He taught them also to seek the approval
of God rather than that of man.

We are not all gifted as
teachers, but all who are concerned about the spiritual welfare of the
believers around them—whether in the home, at work, or in the assembly—ought to
become "apt to teach" (1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:24) through diligent,
prayerful study of God’s Word. The Israelites were instructed:’These words
which I command you this day shall be in your heart; and you shall teach them
diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your
house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise
up" (Deut. 6:6-9). Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois taught Him
the holy Scriptures when he was a child (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15). The Apostle Paul,
upon teaching Timothy, his son in the faith, urged him to pass along what he
had learned "to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also"
(2 Tim. 2:2). And the older women are exhorted to "teach the young women
to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children…"(Tit.
2:3-5).

He often spoke in parables. In
order to capture the attention of His audience and to get the people to think,
Jesus often spoke in parables, that is, used events from everyday life to
illustrate spiritual truths. He used illustrations from farming (sowing, harvesting,
and storing crops, planting vineyards, the leafing of fig trees), animal
husbandry (being a shepherd with a sheepfold, searching for a stray sheep),
fishing, domestic science (baking bread, fixing dinner, mending old clothes),
financial dealings (losing money, finding buried treasure, buying jewelry,
investing money, wasting one’s inheritance), and pleading a matter before a
judge.

Christ is our example. May the
Lord help us to develop and use appropriate parables, illustrations, and object
lessons as we minister God’s Word so as to enhance the hearers’ understanding
and memory of the Word.

He asked probing questions.
Besides parables, another approach Jesus used to get His listeners to think was
asking probing questions. Here are a few examples:"What was it that you
disputed among yourselves by the way?" (Mark 9:33). "Why do you call
Me good?" (Mark 10:18). "Who touched Me?" (Luke 8:45). "Is
it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to do evil? to save life or to destroy
it?" (Luke 6:9). "How can you believe, who receive honor one of
another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only?" John 5:44).
"Will you also go away?" (John 6:67).

In a similar vein, He got their
attention by making startling statements and challenging demands:"It is
not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs" (Matt.
15:26). "One of you who eats with Me shall betray Me" (Mark 14:18).
"Go, call your husband" (John 4:16).

In like manner, may the Lord help
us, when trying to instruct others in the truth of God’s Word, not just to
rattle on and on, but to punctuate our teaching with probing questions to help
our listeners to pay attention and to think about what we are saying.

For example, when explaining the
gospel to an unsaved person, it may be helpful to ask questions such as,
"How would you describe your relationship with God?" "If you
were to be taken to the gate of heaven and the Lord Jesus were to ask you,
should I let you in?’ what answer would you give?" "What do you think
it means to be born again?"

He used the Scriptures
frequently. Even the Lord Jesus didn’t stand up and demand that the people
listen to Him. He very frequently referred to the holy Scriptures, with which
His Jewish listeners were well acquainted, and either explained the passages or
used them to convict the consciences of the hearers.

In each of the three temptations
in the wilderness, Jesus rebuffed Satan by quoting an appropriate scripture
(Matt. 4:4,7,10). When the disciples or the Pharisees asked Him questions, He
often answered them from the Scriptures (Matt. 19:4-6,18,19; Mark 2:25,26;
12:24-26; Luke 6:3,4; John 10:34). He used the Scriptures to describe and
condemn the sins of the people (Matt. 21:13). And He quoted prophetic
Scriptures that were being fulfilled at the moment or about to be fulfilled
(Matt. 21:16; 26:31; Luke 4:18; 7:27; 24:44-46).

Christ is our example. May we get
in the habit of referring frequently to the Word of God in our discussions with
others. There is power in the Word (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12) that far excels any
thoughts, opinions, or reasonings that we may express.

He ministered personally by touch
and word to those whom He healed. Jesus was not an impersonal "miracle
machine." He entered personally into the lives of those whom He healed.
Jesus touched the leper (as risky and defiling as it may have been) and spoke
to him, ‘Be clean" (Matt. 8:3). He touched the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law
and "the fever left her" (Matt. 8:15). He spoke to several blind men
and touched their eyes (Matt. 9:27-30; 20:30-34; Mark 8:23; John 9:6,7). He put
His fingers into the ears and touched the tongue of the deaf man with a speech
impediment (Mark 7:32,33). He cast out an evil spirit from a man, then
"took him by the hand and lifted him up" (Mark 9:26,27). He laid His
hands on the woman who was bowed together, and spoke to her, "and
immediately she was made straight" (Luke 13:13).

A message of "I care for
you" is conveyed in a touch—be it a handshake, a hug, or a pat on the
shoulder—along with a personal greeting. As we minister to the sick, the
hurting, the prisoners, the social outcasts, let us make sure this message of
care and concern gets across.

He performed many of His miracles
in private without a stage. Unlike many so-called "faith healers"
today, Jesus did not announce healing services to be held in the local
synagogues or public gathering places. Often He healed people right where they
lived (Matt. 8:13,15; Luke 17:12-14; John 9:1-8), with no fanfare, sometimes
with little or no audience (Luke 5:14), and often urging the healed person not
to spread the word around (Matt. 9:30; Mark 7:36; 8:26; Luke 8:56).

Even though at times large crowds
of people came to Jesus for healing, the overall picture we have of Him is One
who shunned publicity and often sought to escape the crowds. Many of His
miracles seem to have been done simply as expressions of the deep compassion He
had for the people of Israel (Matt. 14:14; 15:32; 20:32; Mark 1:41; Luke 7:13).
No doubt He also performed miracles to support His claims to be the Son of God
come down from heaven, and to authenticate His teaching.

Christ is our example. When we
engage in Christian service, when we use our spiritual gift, do we seek thereby
to draw attention to ourselves, or to magnify and glorify God? Jesus instructed
His disciples not to perform their acts of charity, their prayers, and their
fasting so as to impress man. Those who do such things "that they may have
glory of men… have their reward." On the other hand, if we serve the
Lord in secret, our Father "who sees in, secret Himself shall reward [us]
openly" (Matt. 6:1-18).

His work was always the best.
Jesus never did anything by halfway measures. When He healed Peter’s
mother-in-law she didn’t have a long period of convalescence. Rather, "she
arose and ministered unto them" (Matt. 8:15). When He "rebuked the
winds and the sea…there was a great calm" (Matt. 8:26). When He
multiplied the five loaves and two fishes, all 5,000 men plus women and
children ate and were filled. And as evidence that everyone had their fill,
there were twelve baskets of food left over (Matt. 14:19-21).

And when He turned the water into
wine at the wedding feast, that wine was of higher quality than the wine that
had been provided originally (John 2:10).

Christ is our example. May we
always seek the Lord’s help to do the very best job possible in everything we
do. "Whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God…do it heartily, as to
the Lord" (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:23).

Conclusion

May every blood-bought child of
God be so challenged and motivated by the remembrance of all that the Lord
Jesus Christ has suffered on our behalf at the cross, and of the place He has
won for us in the glory for all eternity, that we may dairy grow in our desire
to be like Him, to follow His example, to walk as He walked. Nothing could
bring our blessed Saviour greater joy than to see the members of His body and
His bride expressing His mind (Phil. 2:5) and conformed to His blessed image
(Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18).

FRAGMENT  Oh, to be Christlike!
When you are the subject of unjust treatment, harsh criticism, or the Father’s
hand of discipline; when you stand to lose material gain or worldly applause
rightfully due to you—think of One who never clamored for His rights.
"When He was reviled, He reviled not again" (1 Pet. 2:23).                                                                                                                                          B.
Gunning