Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should
​be put out of the synagogue: 
 For they loved the praise of men more than
the praise of God. Isa 12:42-43
+++++++++++++
Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me,
​but on him that sent me. 
 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. 
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me
should not abide in darkness. (Joh 12:44-46)
No welcome for Christ

In Isaiah 9:6-7, which was written between 701-681 BC about 700 years before the time of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a son who would be called "Mighty God" and "Eternal Father." Isaiah also indicated that this son would reign on the throne of King David and that this reign would be everlasting. Christians acknowledge that this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is a descendant of King David, and whose reign is everlasting.

​Isaiah had prophesied the birth of Christ, and the deliverer, and described the virgin birth, and proclaimed this glorious event to come. However as it was also written- He came to His own, and they received Him not.
Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 
Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

The example below describes it well:
"Perhaps there is no episode recorded in history more interesting than that of Charles V when he landed at Tunis. Ten thousand men and women who were slaves within the city, when they heard of the approach of their deliverer, rose and broke their chains, and rushed toward the gate as the emperor was entering the town; and this mighty procession knelt down, hailed him as their deliverer, and prayed God to bless him. But when Christ the world’s deliverer comes to His own His own, alas, receive Him not."

The reasons were obvious, and Jesus exposed it again in this verse:
​Joh 5:44  How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? 

A clear commentary helps break this down:
Which receive honor one of another - Who are studious of praise, and live for pride, ambition, and vainglory. This desire, Jesus says, was the great reason why they would not believe on him. They were unwilling to renounce their worldly honors, and become the followers of one so humble and unostentatious as he was. They expected a Messiah of pomp and splendor, and would not submit to one so despised and of so lowly a rank. Had the Messiah come, as they expected, with pomp and power, it would have been an honor, in their view, to follow him; as it was, they despised and rejected him. The great reason why multitudes do not believe is their attachment to human honors, or their pride, and vanity, and ambition. These are so strong, that while they continue they cannot and will not believe. They might, however, renounce these things, and then, the obstacles being removed, they would believe. Learn:
1. A man cannot believe the gospel while he is wholly under the influence of ambition. The two are not compatible. The religion of the gospel is humility, and a man who has not that “cannot” be a Christian.
2. Great numbers are deterred from being Christians by pride and ambition. Probably there is no single thing that prevents so really young men from becoming Christians as this passion. The proud and ambitious heart refuses to bow to the humiliating terms of the gospel.
3. Though while a man is under this governing principle he cannot believe the gospel, yet this proves nothing about his ability to lay that aside, and to yield to truth. that is another question. The true question is whether a man can or cannot lay aside his ambition and pride, and about that there ought not to be any dispute. No one doubts that it may be done; and if that can be done, he can become a Christian.

Seek not the honor - The praise, the glory, the approbation of God. The honor which comes from men is their praise, flattery, commendation; the honor that comes from God is his approbation for doing his will. God alone can confer the honors of heaven - the reward of having done our duty here. That we should seek, and if we seek that, we shall come to Christ, who is the way and the life.   (Albert Barnes)

The mission of Christ.--
1. Light was what the world was longing for, and life was what it above all needed. And Jesus came to earth to be the light and life of the world.
2. And the manner in which He brought light and life to men was by revealing, in Himself, the Father. It was this He was sent to accomplish—to speak what God had commanded, to do the Father’s will.
3. And this He could do because He Himself was the revelation of the Father, “the brightness of His glory”. So that those who see Jesus in reality see the Father, and those who believe on Him believe on the Father who sent Him.
4. And thus He is the light of those who follow Him, who believe on Him. His revelation of the Father was not in vain for all. He became obedient unto death. Had He not turned aside from Satan’s wiles, then the world had remained in darkness and the shadow of death. But now through Him the light of the divine love, mercy, and wisdom hath for those who believe for ever dispelled the darkness.
5. In this revelation of the Father’s will, and in the doing of it, Jesus brought life to men. His commandment is life. He wills not the death of sinners, but their salvation. “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom_1:16).

II. The result of rejecting Christ.--
1. Whilst millions rejoice for time and eternity in this divine life and light, there are those who will not listen to the Revealer. Who, in rejecting Him, treasure up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Rom_2:5).
2. In their case the Word designed to bring life rises up as an avenger. Opportunities neglected, entreaties slighted, commands despised, shall rise up in judgment against those who will not hear and believe “in the last day.” Jesus came to save; but the rejection of His salvation must of necessity issue in judgment.
3. Men who reject the gospel remain in their sins, and thus are unlike God. Clinging to sin, they must be shut out from God, for with Him sin cannot dwell. Rejecting Christ, they choose darkness, and cannot dwell with light. Rejecting Christ, they reject the Father.
4. This, then, is no matter to be lightly thought of or set aside. Christ comes with lofty claims for acceptance before men. The witnesses of His gospel testify to Him on every side. Thus a terrible responsibility rests on those who hear the gospel. It is the part of true wisdom to examine it earnestly and sincerely. Woe to those who refuse to listen or who scornfully reject.

III. Christ has obediently and fully performed His mission.--
1. If men reject Christ, it is not because He has failed in any way to proclaim the Father’s will. With that will the Son is in complete agreement, and what He speaks is His Father’s word, His Father’s commandment, which is life everlasting for men. He is “the Word,” the divine Logos, the very expression of the Father’s mind and will.
2. Thus His mission had been fully performed, in willing submission to the Father. Not His own glory, but the Father’s; not His own work, but the Father’s, given Him to do; not His own words, but the Father’s. “Although He was the Savior of the world, He will not seek to be looked on as the builder of that temple which is being raised in the world; but the Father had given Him, as it were, all the plans and designs; He is the Master-builder who carries out the Father’s designs. He speaks and interprets according as the Father desires, so entirely is His will merged in the will of His Father” (Lecher).
3. Christ, then, has done all things well. He can look back on that ministry now closing with the consciousness that the purpose of Him who sent Him has been carried out and His will obeyed.
​4. And the path of safety for men is to obey His word as He obeyed the Father. Openly confess Him, undeterred by the fear of men (Joh_12:43); bend the will to the obedience of faith; overcome yourselves; consent to count all things but loss for Him; and lay hold of the better and enduring inheritance. For the divine commandment is to life; and “He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”  

In the time when the prophet Isaiah wrote this prophecy, everything round him was exactly opposite to his words. The king of Judea, his country, was not reigning in righteousness. He was an unrighteous and wicked governor. The weak and poor and needy had no one to right them, no one to take their part.

​But Isaiah had God’s Spirit with him; the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of holiness, righteousness, justice. And that Holy Spirit convinced him of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, as he convinces every man who gives himself up humbly to God’s teaching. God’s Spirit in his heart made him feel sure that, in some way or other, some day or other, the Lord God would come to judgment, to judge the wicked princes and rulers of this world, and cast them out. It must be so. God was a righteous God. He was not lazy or careless about this poor sinful world, and about all the sinful, downtrodden, ignorant men and women and children in it. He would take the matter into His own hands. If kings would not reign in righteousness, He would come and reign in righteousness Himself.

Isaiah saw all this but dimly, afar off. He perhaps thought at times that the good young prince Hezekiah—the might of God, as his name means—who was growing up in his day to be a deliverer, and a righteous king over the Jews, was to set the world right. Hezekiah failed to save the nation of the Jews. But still Isaiah’s prophecy was true. "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;" even the Babe of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ the Lord. The government shall indeed be upon His shoulder; for it has been there always. His name is indeed Wonderful; for what more wondrous thing was ever seen in heaven or in earth than that great love with which He loved us? He is not merely the might of God, as Hezekiah was, for a sign and a prophecy; for He is the mighty God Himself. He is indeed the Counsellor; for He is the light that lighteth every man who comes into the world. He is the "Father of an everlasting age." He gives eternal peace to all who will accept it; peace which this world can neither give nor take away.
(C. Kingsley, Sermons on National Subjects, 2nd series, p. 140)

​The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that
dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
​upon them hath the light shined.  Isa 9:2

AS EVERY one is affected by the first man, Adam, so every one has a direct claim upon Jesus Christ, the second Man, whose Death and Resurrection and Ascension affect us all. He is the Light who has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Because Christ lay upon Mary's breast, and was cradled in her arms, we have been delivered from darkness, and it is possible for us to climb, by the staircase of His Cross, over angels, principalities, and powers, to be seated with Him on His Throne of Glory.

"Unto us a Child is born!" He is Wonderful, because in Him the most marvelous extremes meet. He is the Babe just born, but He is the Ancient of Days who fills space. He grows in knowledge, but in Him are stored the riches of eternal wisdom. He hangs in mortal agony upon the Cross, but He gives life to uncounted myriads. He is laid in a borrowed tomb, but He lives for evermore, and death hath no power over Him.

He is Counsellor. Tell Him thy heart's problems. Ask His counsel, and He will not mislead thee. He is the Prince of Peace, and "of the increase of His government" over new regions of the inner life, over new departments of the soul, over new openings, out of your existence, the increase deepening, heightening, widening, of the increase of His government as the years pass, there shall be no end, because the soul of man is infinite, and it will take eternity to bring out all the meaning of the Empire of Christ over our nature.

What is your reply to the claim of Christ? I urge you to-day to humbly put the government of everything that concerns your life upon the shoulders of Christ, and then you will find the joy and peace will increase. Such joy as thou hast never known! Such peace as has never before uttered its benison upon thy heart (Isa_9:6).

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  (Our Daily Walk)

Conclusion: Isaiah's prophecy and devotional commentary was placed at the end, to make the point that God's word is truth-and He fulfills His word-in His time, not mans. And when Jesus came into the world, it did not welcome Him, once again rejecting not only Christ the Redeemer-but God the Father who sent Him. To this day-the controversy goes on, and the battle between the reign of Satan and the reign of Christ-which will come, just as John saw in the vision of Revelation. 
The question is-are you ready to meet Christ, whether you die first, or He comes in His glory?
​This is the most important question that could be asked of you. 
Lorna Couillard

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed
​into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin. Heb 4:14-15
The Great High Priest

​"Having then a great High-priest, Who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high-priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but One that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need. For every high-priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: who can bear gently with the ignorant and erring, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity; and by reason thereof is bound, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh the honour unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron. So Christ also glorified not Himself to be made a High-priest, but He that spake unto Him,

Thou art My Son, This day have I begotten Thee:
as He saith also in another place,
Thou art a Priest for ever After the order of Melchizedek.

Who in the days of His flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and having been heard for His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which He suffered; and having been made perfect, He became unto all them that obey Him the Author of eternal salvation; named of God a High-priest after the order of Melchizedek."-- Heb_4:14-16; Heb_5:1-10 (R.V.)

The results already gained are such as these: that the Son, through Whom God has spoken unto us, is a greater Person than the angels; that Jesus, Whom the Apostle and the Hebrew Christians acknowledge to be Son of God, is the representative Man, endowed, as such, with kingly authority; that the Son of God became man in order that He might be constituted High-priest to make reconciliation for sin; and, finally, that all the purposes of God revealed in the Old Testament, though they have hitherto been accomplished but partially, will not fall to the ground, and will remain in higher forms under the Gospel.

The writer gathers these threads to a head in Heb_4:14. The high-priest still remains. If we have the high-priest, we have all that is of lasting worth in the old covenant. For the idea of the covenant is reconciliation with God, and this is embodied and symbolised in the high-priest, inasmuch as he alone entered within the veil on the day of atonement. Having the high-priest in a greater Person, we have all the blessings of the covenant restored to us in a better form. The Epistle to the Hebrews is intended to encourage and comfort men who have lost their all. Judaism was in its death-throes. National independence had already ceased. When the Apostle was writing, the eagles were gathering around the carcase. But when all is lost, all is regained if we "have" the High-priest.

The secret of His abiding for ever is His own greatness. He is a great High-priest; for He has entered into the immediate presence of God, not through the Temple veil, but through the very heavens. In Heb_8:1 the Apostle declares this to be the head and front of all he has said: "We have such an High-priest" as He must be "Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." He is a great High-priest because He is a Priest on a throne. As the representative Man, Jesus is crowned. His glory is kingly. But the glory bestowed on the Man as King has brought Him into the audience-chamber of God as High-priest. The kingship of Jesus, to Whom all creation is subjected, and Who sits above all creation, has made His priestly service effectual. His exaltation is much more than a reward for His redemptive sufferings. He entered the heaven of God as the sanctuary of which He is Minister. For if He were on earth, He would not be a Priest at all, seeing that He is not of the order of Aaron, to which the earthly priesthood belongs according to the Law.

But Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands, but into the very heaven, now to be manifested before the face of God for us.

The Apostle has said that Christ is Son over the house of God. He is also High-priest over the house of God, having authority over it in virtue of His priesthood for it, and administering His priestly functions effectually through His kingship.

The entire structure of the Apostle’s inferences rests on the twofold argument of the first two chapters. Jesus Christ is a great High-priest; that is, King and High-priest in one, because He unites in His own person Son of God and Son of man.   (Expositor's Bible)

The Word of God judges the Christian below. We are familiar with the Word of God. Like Israel, we possess the treasure in our country, in our families. Do we know that in possessing, reading, and knowing the Scriptures we are under a mighty, solemn and decisive influence, and that this Word judges us now, and will judge us at the last day? The Word is:
(1) living. It is the seed which appears insignificant, but which, if received in good ground, shows its vitality. Hence it is that by this Word souls are born again into eternal life.
(2) The living Word is powerful and energetic. It springs up and grows while men are unconscious of its operation. It grows and energizes in our thoughts and motives; it brings forth fruit in our words and actions; it impels to exertion, it sustains in trial.
​(3) The Word cannot be living and energetic without being also a sword, dividing and separating, with piercing and often painful sharpness, that which in our natural state lies together mixed and confused. Without a solemn awe and trembling at the Word of God, there is no true rest in Christ.

The Word judges us on earth, and we are humbled; the Lord Jesus represents us in heaven. He intercedes for us, He sympathizes with us. We look from earth and self to the sanctuary above, and find there nothing but love, grace, sympathy, and fulness of blessings. He is our great High Priest. In the sanctuary of blessedness and glory Jesus, who was tempted in all things as we are, apart from sin, is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He remembers His earthly experience; He knows our frailty, the painfulness of the conflict, the weakness of the flesh. We are upheld according to His lovingkindness, according to the multitude of His tender mercies. Justified by His blood, we are now much more abundantly saved by His life. Our great High Priest in the highest glory is our righteousness and strength; He loves, He watches, He prays, He holds us fast, and we shall never perish.
(A. Saphir, Expository Lectures on the Hebrews, vol. i., p. 232)

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched - Our High Priest is not cold and unfeeling. That is, we have one who is abundantly qualified to sympathize with us in our afflictions, and to whom, therefore, we may look for aid and support in trials. Had we a high priest who was cold and heartless; who simply performed the external duties of his office without entering into the sympathies of those who came to seek for pardon; who had never experienced any trials, and who felt himself above those who sought his aid, we should necessarily feel disheartened in attempting to overcome our sins, and to live to God. His coldness would repel us; his stateliness would awe us; his distance and reserve would keep us away, and perhaps render us indifferent to all desire to be saved. But tenderness and sympathy attract those who are feeble, and kindness does more than anything else to encourage those who have to encounter difficulties and dangers. Such tenderness and sympathy has our Great High Priest.

But was in all points tempted like as we are - “Tried” as we are; see the notes at Heb_2:18. He was subjected to all the kinds of trial to which we can be, and he is, therefore, able to sympathize with us and to aid us. He was tempted - in the literal sense; he was persecuted; he was poor; he was despised; he suffered physical pain; he endured the sorrows of a lingering and most cruel death.

Yet without sin - 1Pe_2:22. “Who did no sin;” Isa_53:9, “He had done no violence, neither was there any deceit in his mouth;” Heb_7:26, “Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” The importance of this fact - that the Great High Priest of the Christian profession was “without sin,” the apostle illustrates at length in Heb. 7–9. He here merely alludes to it, and says that one who was “without sin” was able to assist those who were sinners, and who put their trust in him.  (Albert Barnes)

 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a
​ comfort unto me. Col 4:11

Here we see Paul's recognition of the comforting, and sympathetic spirit of the fellow workers who assisted him in his mission and were faithful in their ministry. The Jesus spoken of here, is also called Justus. He seems to have been of no importance in the Church, for his name is the only one in this context which does not re-appear in Philemon, and we never hear of him again. However, he is made immortal because he sent a word of comfort to Colossae. 
​
In chapter 25 of Matthew we can see the relation to how Jesus the Christ recognizes even the most simple of acts of kindness, and sympathy, in His invitation into the Kingdom for the "least of these" of my brethren.
​
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

We can gain a great deal just from this verse from Paul, let's break down some wisdom to be learned here:

Others Can Be Our Paregoric

The word comfort in our text is a very interesting word. This is the only place where it occurs in the books of the New Testament. It is quite another word the Lord uses when He speaks of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. When He says, "I will not leave you comfortless," that, too, is an entirely different word. The term which is used here, and here alone in the whole range of the New Testament, is our English word paregoric. Now paregoric, in Greek just as in English, is one of accepted terms of medicine. Paregoric is a doctor's word. And one likes to think that the Apostle Paul in his employment of such a word as this betrays, it may be quite unconsciously, the influence of the beloved physician Luke. I suppose that every real friendship has an influence upon the words we use. When we admire anybody very much, we often find their words upon our lips. And Paul, who like so many other people had an intense admiration for his doctor, would naturally use the words of Luke.

Paregoric Mitigates Pain

And certainly he could not have used a more appropriate or delightful word. Are you aware what paregoric means? I consulted my English dictionary to see how paregoric was defined, and I found that paregoric was a medicine that mitigates or alleviates pain. And what could be more delightful than the thought that there are men and women who are just like that—they mitigate or alleviate our pain. Pain is one of the conditions of our being. Pain is something nobody escapes. All life is rich in pain, as the throat of the bird in the spring is rich in song—the pain of striving, the pain of being baffled, the pain of loneliness and incompleteness, the pain of being misunderstood. There are people who augment that pain, sometimes without meaning it. How often is the pain of life increased by those unfortunate people who mean well. But who has not numbered in his list of friends somebody whose Christlike ministry has been to alleviate the pain of life? Such were the apostle's paregoric. Such are the paregoric of us all; often humble people, not in the least distinguished and not at all conspicuous for intellect; yet somehow, in the wear and tear of life and amid its crosses and its sorrows, mitigating and alleviating pain.

Paregoric in Our Family and Friendly Circles

Often those who alleviate life's pain, who are paregoric in the apostle's sense, are the members of our family circle, the dear ones who dwell with us at home. There was a time in Principal Rainy's life when he was the most hated man in Scotland. Scarcely a week passed in which the newspapers had not some venomous attack upon him. And all the time, neither in face nor temper did Rainy show one trace of irritation, but carried himself with a beautiful serenity. One day Dr. Whyte met him and said, "Rainy, I cannot understand you. How do you manage to keep serene like this, exposed to all these venomous attacks?" And Rainy answered without an instant's pause: "Whyte, I'm very happy at home." The wounds were deep, but there were hands at home that were always pouring balm into the wounds; gentle, kindly ministries at home that mitigated and alleviated pain. And how many there are in every rank of life who find their courage to endure in secret sweet comforting like that. In the perfect trust of little children, in their innocence and blessed ignorance, in the love of someone who is dear, who understands yet is always bright and hopeful, how many men have plucked up heart again, found the bitter pain of life alleviated, been strengthened for their battle with the world.

Again, think of the comfort that we get from any friend who really understands us. Such appreciative and understanding souls—are these not the apostle's paregoric? Our Lord knew that. Never was man misunderstood as He. Misunderstood when He spoke or would not speak—misunderstood in every deed He wrought—misunderstood upon the cross. Think of the exquisite pain of it for that sensitive and sinless heart—fresh from the understanding of high heaven, that constant misunderstanding of mankind. And then there came an hour when Simon Peter inspired by the Holy Ghost cried, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." It thrilled our blessed Master to the depths. Life was different. He was understood. How instantly did it alleviate and mitigate the bitter pain He had to bear. And whenever in this difficult life of ours God sends us somebody who understands, is it not always paregoric to the soul? To have somebody whom we can trust—who, we are sure, will never misinterpret—who never judges us except in love—who appreciates and understands—what earthly comfort in all the range of comfort can for one moment be compared with that?

Comforting Others Without Realizing It

There is one thing more I want to say and that, too, was in the apostle's mind. Remember you can be a comfort to another though you never know anything about it. Just as the finest influence we exercise is often that of which we are unconscious, so the greatest comfort that we bring is often the comfort we know nothing of—not our preaching nor our words of cheer, but the way in which we bear ourselves in life when the burden is heavy and the sky is black. "No man liveth to himself." Let men or women behave gallantly and behave so because they trust in God when life is difficult, when things go wrong, when health is falling, when the grave is opened; and though they may never hear a whisper of it, there are others who are thanking God for them. Every sorrow borne in simple faith is helping other men to bear their sorrows. Every burden victoriously carried is helping men and women to be braver. Every cross, anxiety, foreboding, shining with the serenity of trust, comes like light to those who sit in darkness. People say sometimes, "I would give anything to comfort so and so." Dear friend, if you walk in light and love, you are a comfort when you never know it. And other people, writing their epistle (though it will never be equal to Colossians), will put your name in to your intense surprise and say," You were a comfort unto me." (Devotional Sermons)

The Final Judgment
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Mat 25:40

Some four days before these words were spoken, one of our Lord’s adherents had attempted to set up a rivalry betwixt the claims of his Master and those of the poor, when a warm-hearted woman, moved with gratitude, broke over the feet of Jesus costly spikenard. Judas thought that better use could have been found for the money had it been given in charity. It was then, and it is still, a very false sentiment which would attempt to make competing claims out of what is due to God’s worship on the one hand and to the service of suffering humanity on the other. Such an unseemly competition as this has no real existence. Edward Irving had it engraved on the silver plate of his congregation that when the offerings of the people no longer sufficed for the wants of God’s poor ones, the sacred vessels were to be melted down to supply the deficiency. And he was right; it is the mind of the Master. Christ has expressly transferred to the honest and suffering poor His own claims on the devotion of His people.

Why does Christ thus find His true representatives in men who suffer? It is not a question very easy to answer. If He meant these words to be strictly confined to the pious, then that would be enough—we should not need to inquire further; but I am not at all satisfied that we are entitled to limit His words so narrowly. Am I to ask, “Is this poor creature a Christian?” before I relieve him for Christ’s sake? Or does Jesus not care to reward your kindness if you show it to the unbeliever? We must try to understand on what ground it is that the great Lord of men, the Savior and Friend of all men, identifies Himself with every human being, and with those human beings most of all who are afflicted.

​He chose to be Himself a sufferer, poor, and “acquainted with grief”; and, I suppose, the recollection of His own straitened lot will teach Him to care most for those who are in like case.

Our Savior’s design in coming here at all was to be a healer, a rescuer, a comforter for mankind.—He is the ideal Man, the representative Sufferer for all mankind. “Do it to any of them, you do it unto Me.”
(excerpt from J. O. Dykes, D.D.)

These blessed of the Father, brethren of the Son, and heirs of the kingdom, stand amazed that the Son of Man should so overwhelm their trifling services with a glorious reward. Nay, they can hardly recollect any service at all. The ministries were so trifling, and were bestowed on objects so inconsiderable, often with such mixture of bad motives, and such deficiency of good, that it amazes them to find every transient item legible in the book of the Judge, now seated upon the throne of His glory. Mark how He receives them, how He gathers up the bruised, withered, scattered flowers which seemed dying in our hands, and makes of them a garland; binds them on His brow as a diadem; points to them before His angels as an honor. (J. W. Alexander.)

Note: During the years I worked taking care of the elderly, and disabled, many times, I could see the weariness, and loneliness in both the fellow worker's, and the seniors we took care of. Many days and nights would go by for these people, with no visitors, and no contact with family members. They were often left alone, and forgotten by the world outside the walls of their residences.
On these nights, bringing music, some conversation, a gentle act of kindness, cooking something special in the night that they could enjoy at breakfast, like a coffee cake, or muffins, that they could enjoy warm with their coffee, was just a few things I'd do, to try to make their lives brighter, and let them know they mattered, and someone cared. I knew I was doing these things for myself, also, because I often felt helpless, knowing there was nothing else I could do for them, except pray. Those who were very ill, and facing death, were among those that I carried home with me in my heart and mind, many times.
My husband and I also had aging parents then, and we would make sure we called and visited as often as possible, to check on them, and see if there was a change in their health, if they needed anything and spend time with them. Lynn's parents were closer and we could stop in often, and check on them-they looked forward to the visits, and sometimes we'd bring a meal with us, and share it with them. It helped lift their spirits, and would encourage them to share things on their minds, and often stories and memories would be brought out, bringing joy into their lives.
I'd call my mother several times a week, and visit as often as I could, sometimes bringing her home with me, and we'd talk and share events as I drove the 3 hour trip back to my house. Those times meant a lot to her, and now, as I remember them, I know how precious they were to me, even though my days were stretched to the limit to do this. Now, I see the value of the time spent, and how it bonded us as a family, and made memories that can't be replaced. God uses every circumstance in our lives, to bring His love, compassion, and goodness into our lives, if we yield to His will, and allow Him to use us, even in those things we may think are unimportant at the time. 
These verses were some I read, and the Lord used to encourage me during those years, and helped me to carry on, knowing that though these simple things done seemed unimportant to the world-God saw it, and knew. That's all that mattered.
You may be reading this, and dealing with situations in your life, the same way. Whatever your facing, whatever simple thing your doing to help and improve someone else's life-it's not in vain. God sees it, and He's keeping the records. One day, you'll see the rewards of every simple act of love and kindness, and every deed done. God sees even a cup of cold water given.
​Lorna Couillard

And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then
the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD,
and journeyed not. Num 9:19

We propose to use these verses as illustrating the Pilgrimage of the People of God. So regarding them they present three main homiletical points for consideration:

I. The infallible Guide in the Pilgrimage of the Good.
In journeying through the desert the Israelites needed constant direction. There were no well-defined roads along which they could travel; there were no beaten tracks of travelers for their guidance; it was customary for “travelers to steer their course as mariners at sea do, by a mathematical chart. But the Israelites went by a better direction.” The Lord Himself led them by means of “the fiery, cloudy pillar.” “In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.” The movement of the cloud was to them “the commandment of the Lord;” its ascent from the tabernacle was the signal of departure; its descent upon the tabernacle was the signal for halting. Thus Infinite Wisdom was their Guide. In the pilgrimage of our life we also need guidance. There are perils to be avoided, misleading and evil ways to be shunned; and we have not the experience, the skill, or the wisdom to shun these ways and avoid these perils. “The way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” God is still the Guide of all who acknowledge Him.
Compare Psa_32:8; Psa_73:24; Pro_3:6.

In what way is this guidance now exercised?
1. By the indications of Providence. Circumstances sometimes become to us a guiding pillar, sometimes summoning us to arise and depart, or to pitch our tent and rest awhile. The good man in the combinations of circumstances frequently reads the directions of God.
​2. By the teachings of the Bible, and especially by the example of Jesus Christ as it is there set forth. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” “When thou goest it shall lead thee.… For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life”. “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you”. “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.” “I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
3. By the influences of the Holy Spirit. He enters into our being, and mysteriously and mightily influences our intellect and heart and will, and works within us deep convictions which lead to corresponding actions. Thus the Divine guidance, though no longer outward and visible, but inward and spiritual, is as real as when He led His people through the wilderness.

II. The perfect Protector in the Pilgrimage of the Good.
The pillar of cloud and of fire was not only a guide, but a protection also to the Israelites. In the passage of the Red Sea it was an impenetrable barrier between them and their Egyptian pursuers. During the scorching heat of the daytime in the desert, like a veil it sheltered them from the fierce rays of the sun. And during the night its brightness shielded them from the attacks of wild beasts. It is a beautiful symbol of the Divine protection of the people of God in their pilgrimage.
1. This protection was constant. Night and day, during all their life in the desert, it was never withdrawn. (Comp. Psa_91:1-13; Psalms 121; Joh_10:27-28; 1Pe_1:5.)
2. This protection was adapted to the varying circumstances of the people. By day it assumed the aspect of a cloud, and by night that of fire. God is perfectly acquainted with us and with our circumstances, and with infinite skill He adapts His defence to our danger. He renders His faithful servants, and their very garments, utterly insensible to the heat of the furnace, even when it is heated “seven times more than it is wont to be heated”. He shuts the mouths of the hungry lions; and to His servant, tried and true, makes their den a place not only of perfect safety, but of angelic fellowship also.
3. This protection was inviolable. When this cloud was their shield, not even the mightiest and most malignant force could penetrate it to their hurt. (Comp. Psa_27:1-3; Psa_118:6; Rom_8:31; 1Pe_3:13.

III. The true Spirit in the Pilgrimage of the Good.
The spirit of the Israelites in their wanderings in the desert had two characteristics which are worthy of imitation:
1. Dependence upon God. They were uncertain as to the duration of their sojourn in any place; when the cloud came down upon the tabernacle, they did not know whether it would continue there for a few hours, “or two days, or a month, or a year”. And with respect to the time of their departure, they did not know “whether by day or by night the cloud” would be taken up. They were entirely dependent upon the will of God in these matters; and, believing that the Divine Presence was in the cloud, they trusted God, and waited and watched for its movements as for His orders. We, too, are dependent upon God in our pilgrimage. Let us endeavor to realize our dependence; let us trust in Him; let us watch the movements of His providence.
2. Obedience to God. “The children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord”, as indicated by the rising and resting of the cloud. Disobedient and rebellious in many things, yet in this they obeyed the commandment of the Lord. In this let us imitate them; let us make God’s “statutes our songs in the house of our pilgrimage”; let our prayer be, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end”. When God commands let us promptly and cheerfully obey; so shall our pilgrimage end in the rest and refreshment, the sanctity and society, the gladness and glory of Home.
Conclusion.
Life here is a pilgrimage in the case of every one. Be it ours to realize the fact; to seek the infallible guidance and inviolable protection of the Shepherd of Israel in our pilgrimage; and to maintain and manifest the true spirit of pilgrims; so shall our pilgrimage be secure, and our rest glorious.
(Preacher's Homelitical)

​This was the supreme test of obedience. It was comparatively easy to strike tents, when the fleecy folds of the cloud were slowly gathering from off the Tabernacle, and it floated majestically before the host. Change is always delightful; and there was excitement and interest in the route, the scenery, and the locality of the next halting-place. But, ah, the tarrying.
Then, however uninviting and sultry the location, however trying to flesh and blood, however irksome to the impatient disposition, however perilously exposed to danger-- there was no option but to remain encamped.
The Psalmist says, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." And what He did for the Old Testament saints He will do for believers throughout all ages.
Still God often keeps us waiting. Face to face with threatening foes, in the midst of alarms, encircled by perils, beneath the impending rock. May we not go? Is it not time to strike our tents? Have we not suffered to the point of utter collapse? May we not exchange the glare and heat for green pastures and still waters?
There is no answer. The cloud tarries, and we must remain, though sure of manna, rock-water, shelter, and defense. God never keeps us at post without assuring us of His presence, and sending us daily supplies.
Wait, young man, do not be in a hurry to make a change! Minister, remain at your post! Until the cloud clearly moves, you must tarry. Wait, then, thy Lord’s good pleasure! He will be in plenty of time!
(Daily Devotional Commentary)

An hour of waiting!
Yet there seems such need
To reach that spot sublime!
I long to reach them-- but I long far more
To trust HIS time!

"Sit still, my daughter"--
Yet the heathen die,
They perish while I stay!
I long to reach them-- but I long far more
To trust HIS way!

’tis good to get,
’tis good indeed to give!
Yet is it better still--
O’’er breadth, thro’’ length, down length, up height,
To trust HIS will!
F. M. N.

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to
​the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of
the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why
the bush is not burnt. Exo 3:1-3
​GOD’S MESSAGE FROM THE BUSH

This narrative is a chain of glorious wonders. We see here:

An old man called to go out on the great errand of his life. The education of Moses for the great mission of his life lasted eighty years. God never sends forth fruit until the season is fitted for the fruit, and the fruit for the season; when the hour was ready for the man, and the man for the hour, then God sent forth Moses.

The burning bush from which that call was sounded. (1) This was a sign to indicate the peculiar presence of God. (2) It was also a symbol of His people, eminently adapted to encourage the prophet in undertaking their cause.

The angel who uttered this call. We see at the first glance that He is Divine; we next learn that He is an angel; we further find, from a chain of Scripture proofs, that He is Christ.

The covenant under which the Angel gave him his commission. It was the same covenant that had been given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Angel’s name. That name asserts (1) His real existence, (2) His underived existence, (3) His independent existence, (4) His eternity.

​The effect to be wrought by the remembrance of His name. (1) It was intended to inspire profoundest reverence for the Being to whom it belongs. (2) It reveals the infinite sufficiency of a Christian’s portion. (3) It gives encouragement to Evangelical enterprise.
(C. Stanford, Symbols of Christ, p. 61)

The learning of Egypt was not sufficient to equip Moses for his life-work. He is taken to the solitudes of the wilderness. That is God’s college. All who have done the greatest work in the world have graduated there-Elijah at Horeb, Ezekiel at Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John in Patmos. God’s workers may take their arts course in the universities, but must take their Divinity course alone with Him. Often in the middle of daily duty we come on the outshining of his Presence. Let us be on the outlook for it, and take off our shoes.
This burning bush has generally been taken as the emblem of the Church amid the fires of tribulation; but there is a deeper meaning. The fire was the token of God’s presence. The bush was unconsumed, because God’s love is its own fuel. Notice the successive steps: “I have seen;” “heard;” “know;” “am come down;” “will send.” The “cry” of the previous chapter is answered by the “coming down” of this. See Luk_18:7  (F.B. Meyer)
​Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 

The vision came in the midst of common toil, and that is where the Lord delights to give His revelations. He seeks a man who is on the ordinary road, and the Divine fire leaps out at his feet. The mystic ladder can rise from the market place to Heaven. It can connect the realm of drudgery with the realms of grace.
My Father God, help me to expect Thee on the ordinary road. I do not ask for sensational happenings. Commune with me through ordinary work and duty. Be my Companion when I take the common journey. Let the humble life be transfigured by Thy presence.
Some Christians think they must be always up to mounts of extraordinary joy and revelation; this is not after God’s method. Those spiritual visits to high places, and that wonderful intercourse with the unseen world, are not in the promises; the daily life of communion is. And it is enough. We shall have the exceptional revelation if it be right for us.
There were but three disciples allowed to see the transfiguration, and those three entered the gloom of Gethsemane. No one can stay on the mount of privilege. There are duties in the valley. Christ found His life-work, not in the glory, but in the valley and was there truly and fully the Messiah. The value of the vision and glory is but their gift of fitness for work and endurance.
​(Streams in the Desert)

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
​dream dreams: 
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those
days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: Act 2:16-18
​​The first Gospel Sermon

There are four links in St. Peter’s chain of evidence. The first two, lying within the knowledge of his hearers, are briefly handled; the last two, being facts lying outside their observation, are confirmed at length by Scripture and living testimony.

​God’s hand first appeared in the public ministry of Jesus by the miracles which He had wrought. On these proofs the preacher had no need to dwell. They were known to all.

But now came the stumbling block with the audience. This Man of Nazareth, the fame of whose words had filled Palestine, had been by the national rulers solemnly adjudged a cheat and a blasphemer; and the people in a fickle hour had turned upon their former favourite, and demanded His blood. Nakedly Peter recalls the harsh and horrid deeds of seven weeks before, and bluntly charges them on the crowd before him, so that each man’s share in that Friday’s work might rise up out of memory before his soul and tear his conscience with remorse and shame. Only his proof of the Messiahship of the Crucified is still far too incomplete to justify his dwelling on so irritating a theme, and therefore, without giving time for pause, or even breaking off his sentence, he goes on to announce--

That novel and astounding fact of resurrection, by which God had set His seal for ever beyond all cavil to the innocence and the claims and sonship of the Lord Jesus, "whom God raised up." What any devout and thoughtful Jew ought to have been looking for, as the chief mark of Messiah when He came, as God’s crowning attestation to David’s Son, could not be a thing incredible when at last affirmed of a Man who declared to the death that He was Messiah. If Jesus should be after all what He said He was, God must have raised Him up; but God had raised Him up, "whereof," adds the preacher, "we all are witnesses."

One more proof, and only one, remained. David had not ascended into heaven to sit there in the seat of supreme, celestial monarchy and thence subdue all earthly foes; but Peter was prepared to say that Jesus had. In the change which the anointing Holy Ghost had wrought, the disciples were living proofs that their Master, though refused, baffled, slain on earth, had been exalted and enthroned in heaven, and had received of the Father—what He had now sent down to them—the promise of the Holy Ghost. Pentecost itself is the supreme demonstration of Peter’s thesis that Jesus is the Christ; for on Jesus’ friends, and. on none else, has come what prophets promised and the just have waited for.
(J. Oswald Dykes, From Jerusalem to Antioch, p. 63)

IN HIS sermon, on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quoted the latter part of this prediction by the Prophet (Joe_2:28).

Joe 2:28  And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 
Joe 2:29  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 

Not much is known of this prophet, who probably lived in Judah during the reign of Uzziah. But evidently his anticipation of the outpouring of the Divine Spirit had its fulfilment in those memorable scenes in which the Christian Church was born.

Before the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had descended only upon the elect souls of the Hebrew race—upon Abraham and Moses, upon Samuel and Elijah, upon Isaiah and others of the prophets. This supreme gift of God was reserved in those days for the spiritual aristocracy of Israel, for the men who were called to eminent office and responsibility, as kings, prophets, or leaders. But Joel said that the time would come when the Holy Spirit who had been reserved for the few, was to be poured out upon the many—the young men and maidens would prophesy; even the slaves and the most despised classes of the community would partake of the Divine experience.

Whatever Pentecost means—it is open to the reception and enjoyment of us all, "Every one of you," said St. Peter, "shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." To you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Act_2:38-39). Let us take this to heart.

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
Act 2:39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 
​
Some years ago, electricity was the perquisite of the few, but now the poorest girl or lad may utilize it and be carded along in the electric car; and it is the boast of our scientists and inventors that they are able to bring the benefits of their discoveries within the reach of the most needy amongst us. And Pentecost resembles this, in that the forces and gifts of the Eternal Spirit are now within the grasp of the feeblest hand which is stretched out to appropriate them. But there must be first the putting away of evil, the emptying of our hearts, the hunger and thirst of the soul for righteousness, before God can give us our share in the Gift which was made once for all to the Church, but must be claimed by each successive believer.
​(Our Daily Walk)

And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion
​of Augustus' band. 
And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica,
being with us. Act 27:1-2

Paul's Voyage and Shipwreck

Paul's Mediterranean Voyage
All of us love stories of voyages and shipwrecks, and our lesson of today deals with these themes. I do not know any chapter in the Bible that is more alive with thrilling interest. So far, we have seen Paul in many perils; we have followed him through many strange adventures; but just as the hero in the schoolboys' storybooks is never quite perfect till he has suffered shipwreck, so is it with this traveler and missionary. Can we briefly outline the fascinating story? Well, Paul embarked at Caesarea under the guard of a centurion, Julius. The vessel was only a coasting-vessel; they would have to change if they were to get to Rome. Fortunately, at Myra in Asia Minor, a corn-ship from Alexandria was in the harbor. It was bound for Rome to distribute its cargo there, and Julius and his prisoners got a passage. But the season was late, and the winds were getting stormy; it was with great difficulty that they made a port in Crete. Here they would have remained throughout the winter had they hearkened to the advice of Paul. But who was Paul that he should be attended to? Had not the captain made this voyage twenty times? The prospect of wintering in Crete was quite intolerable when the stir and gaiety of Rome were waiting them. So the harbor was left; the sails were trimmed again; a favoring breeze gave every one new heart when suddenly the ship was caught in a typhoon— one of the wild and dangerous storms of the Mediterranean. The boat was hoisted on board; the sails were furled; stout ropes were passed round the body of the ship; not a glimpse of the sun could be got and not a star was visible;— for fourteen days they drove on under bare masts. Then at midnight there arose the cry of "Land!" Soundings were taken; the water was getting shallower. Four anchors were cast out of the stern; they held, and the ship rode safely till the morning, Then as the light dawned and outlines became visible, a little bay among the cliffs was seen. The cables were cut, and a desperate effort was made to beach the vessel on the rock-engirdled sand. It partly failed, the currents were so strong. The ship was driven ashore and sorely battered. But though she soon went to pieces, and everything was lost, "it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land."

Circumstances Reveal the Man
Now among the many lessons of this chapter, note first that the hour reveals the man. When Paul stepped on board, he was one of a batch of prisoners. Neither captain or sailors would give two thoughts to him. They had carried all manner of desperadoes Romeward, and there was nothing striking about this little Jew. But gradually, as the voyage became more perilous, Paul moved out from the darkness to the light. It was he who advised and encouraged and commanded. It was he who put new heart and hope in everybody. He went on board an unregarded prisoner, but the hour of need struck, and he stood supreme. Do not such hours come to all of us when for weal or woe we stand in our true colors? "There is nothing hid, but shall be revealed." It was Paul's years of reliance upon God and of secret prayer and of steadfast loyalty that broke into the rich blossom of this hour. Will there be such secrets to reveal in us?

Faith in God Keeps a Man Calm in a Storm
Next note how faith in God keeps a man calm. Perhaps that is the most notable feature in this story. Amid a scene of excitement and of terror, we are arrested by the quietude of Paul. The sailors, panic-stricken, were for fleeing; the soldiers were crying out to kill the prisoners; but the apostle was cool, collected, confident, and he was so because of his faith in God. Men used to feel that, too, about General Gordon. There was something mysterious in his calmness in moments of peril. Those who had fought in many a desperate battle and witnessed many shining deeds of heroism would say there was something in the courage of Gordon that was unlike anything they had ever seen. We know now what that" something" was. It was living and glowing and conquering trust in God. It was the same faith as gave Paul the quiet mastery in the confusion and panic of the storm.

God Saves Many for the Sake of One
Again, we must not omit to notice here that many may be saved for one man's sake. When the ship was driving westward before the wind, an angel of God, we read, appeared to Paul. And the message which the angel brought was this: "Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar; and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee"— that means that for the apostle's sake every man on board the vessel would be saved. How little any of them ever dreamed of their obligation to this despised Jew! In after days when the sailors told the story of the wreck, they would say it was a miracle they were not lost. But the only miracle was the will of God in choosing their vessel for His servant's journey. And we are like these sailors in this one respect. We all owe debts where we little dream of it. A father's example and a mother's prayer, the presence of good men and women in our childhood, the spirit of Jesus breathing in the world and falling on us like the blowing of the wind, these influences mold us when we never know of it and may save us in our hours of gale and storm.

We Should Not Just Wait but Cast Some Anchors
Then, lastly, it is not enough to wish for the day (Act_27:29); there are some anchors that we all should cast. One of them is faith; another is a good conscience. Without these, says Paul, some have made shipwreck (1Ti_1:19). A third is hope: "which hope we have as an anchor of the soul" (Heb_6:19). We are all voyaging on a dark and boisterous sea. Our hearts and our eyes should ever be toward the morning. Meantime let us thank God that we have anchors by which the weakest may ride out the night.
(Devotional Sermons)

"And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into
​the patience of Christ." — 2Th_3:5 (R.V.)

Stepping Heavenward

THE BELOVED disciple greets his companions as sharing "in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" (Rev_1:9). It is a noble combination; as though the royalty of Christian character were in proportion to the share we have in the quiet waiting of our Lord. He waited patiently from all eternity, until the fullness of the times had come, and the hour of His Incarnation struck; He waited patiently for thirty years in Nazareth, whilst preparing for His life-work. When He returned in triumph to the Father, He sat down at His right hand until His enemies were made His footstool. Throughout the ages He quietly waits, in sure expectation of the destined end, when all rule and authority and power shall be put down. All the anguish of the world lies on His heart; every question as to the righteousness and equity of God is felt by Him. He bears all with unfaltering patience, because He sees the end, and knows that at the last God will be All in All. It is into this love and patience that we are to be led.
​
"Into the Love of God." Every time we dare to affirm that, notwithstanding appearances, God is Love; every time that we evince that love to others, even though our own heart is breaking; every time we say No to self and Yes to God, we make further progress into His Love. Dare to believe in the love of God, even when the darkness seems to veil it. Dare to believe that it is over all, and through all, and in all.

"'Into the patience of Christ." Let us exercise Christ's patience until the sorrows and trials of life have achieved their destined purpose. There is a sufficient explanation for the present condition of the world, if we knew it. Therefore, judge nothing before the time, but be of good cheer, and stablish your hearts, for your God will come and not keep silence. In the meanwhile let us keep the word of His patience, and manifest that patience and faith of the saints.  (Our Daily Walk)

Climb the High Mountain

Climb the high mountain
Up God's pathway,
Looking unto Jesus
Lest you go astray.

Climb the high mountain,
Hard it may seem,
With Jesus as your guide
You will find your dream...

A life that is filled
With His love and His peace,
A life now and beyond
That will never cease!
Perry Boardman

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth;
and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old
as doth a garment; 
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed:
but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Heb 1:10-12
Christ the Creator

We live in a world of change. The earth is not the same to-day as it was ages ago, and shall be ages on. The sun is radiating off its heat. The moon, no longer as of yore, burns and glows, and is but an immense opaque cinder, reflecting the sunlight from its disc. Stars have burnt out, and will. The universe is waxing old, as garments which from perpetual use become threadbare. But the dilapidation of the garment is no proof of the waning strength or slackening energy of the wearer. Nay, when garments wear out quickest, it is generally the time of robust youth or mankind. You wrap up and lay aside your clothes when they have served their purpose, but you are the same in the new suit as in the old. Creation is the vesture of Christ. He wraps Himself about in its ample folds. Its decay affects Him not. And, when He shall bare laid it all aside, and replaced it by the new heavens and the new earth, He will be the same for evermore. With what new interest may we not now turn to the archaic record, which tells how God created the heavens and the earth. Those sublime syllables, “Light be,” were spoken by the voice that trembled in dying anguish on the cross. Rolling rivers, swelling seas, waving woods, bursting flowers, caroling birds, innumerable beasts, stars sparkling like diamonds on the pavilion of night, all newly made; all throbbing with God’s own life; and all very good; but, mainly and gloriously all the work of those hands which were nailed helplessly to the cross, which itself, as well as the iron that pierced Him, was the result of His creative will. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

​Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 

The heavens and the earth—those who know them best have them most, for they know best their glory; but they shall all wax old as doth a garment, and when they shall have served their purpose God shall fold them up and lay them by, and as a vesture shall He change them, and they shall be changed, but He is the same for ever and His years shall not fail. Why should they? What are years to God? Time did not make Him. He made time, and can unmake it, and then it will be eternity, not time, and a thousand years will be as one day, and, what is more, one day will be as a thousand years. (C. Kingsley)

​Psa 90:4  For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 

​Even now agencies are at work in God’s material works tending towards the dissolution of certain of them. Water, frost, and fire are all eating away portions of the world. But to these will be added, at the last, some swift and sudden convulsion, telling that her end is nigh at hand. Probably no particle of matter will ever be annihilated; and out of the ruins of the world it seems, from 2Pe_3:13, as if “ new heavens and a new earth “ were to emerge. But still, the present world is to be utterly destroyed. The green earth and the azure heavens are to pass away. Both shall be consumed, and hurried into wreck and ruin, by the devastating fire that shall usher in “the great day of the Lord.” But even at this stage of the passage there is a direct testimony to the surpassing power and majesty of Christ. “Thou,” it is said of the Son—“Thou shall fold them up.” Christ, who, “in the beginning,” was the Maker, will, in the end, be the Destroyer, of the world. (A. S. Patterson.)

​If the angels worship Christ, shall not we men that be dust and ashes worship Him? If the lords of the privy council stand bare to the king, shall not we silly men of the country do it? The angels that dwell in the court of heaven with God worship Christ; and shall not we on earth do it? Let us worship Him, and Him alone; let us not worship our gold and silver as covetous men do, and come within compass of idolatry; let us not worship our pleasures as epicures do, but let us worship Christ as the angels do. We worship Christ with our lips, we have His name in our mouth, but we worship Him not with our hearts and lives. A great number of Christians are like the soldiers that set a crown of thorns on Christ’s head, put a reed instead of a sceptre into His hand, clothed Him with a purple garment, and in the end did nothing but mock Him. So we talk gloriously of Christ and of His kingdom; in words we profess Him to be our King; but we do not worship Him in truth and sincerity, and serve Him in holiness and righteousness as we ought to do. (W. Jones, D. D.)

There are always lone hearth-fires; so many! And those who sit beside them, with the empty chair, cannot restrain the tears that will come. One sits alone so much. There is some One unseen, just here within reach. But somehow we don’t realize His presence. Realizing is blessed, but-- rare. It belongs to the mood, to the feelings. It is dependent on weather conditions and bodily conditions. The rain, the heavy fog outside, the poor sleep, the twinging pain, these make one’s mood so much, they seem to blur out the realizing. But there is something a little higher up than realizing. It is yet more blessed. It is independent of these outer conditions, it is something that abides. It is this: recognizing that Presence unseen, so wondrous and quieting, so soothing and calming and warming. Recognize His presence-- the Master’s own. He is here, close by; His presence is real. Recognizing will help realizing, too, but it never depends on it. Aye, more, immensely more, the Truth is a Presence, not a thing, a fact, a statement. Some One is present, a warm-hearted Friend, an all-powerful Lord. And this is the joyful truth for weeping hearts everywhere, whatever be the hand that has drawn the tears; by whatever stream it be that your weeping willow is planted.
( S. D. Gordon) -- (Streams in the Desert)

​When from my life the old-time joys have vanished,
Treasures once mine, I may no longer claim,
This truth may feed my hungry heart, and famished:
Lord, THOU REMAINEST THOU art still the same!

When streams have dried, those streams of glad refreshing--
Friendships so blest, so rich, so free;
When sun-kissed skies give place to clouds depressing,
Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Still my heart hath THEE.

When strength hath failed, and feet, now worn and weary,
On gladsome errands may no longer go,
Why should I sigh, or let the days be dreary?
Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Could’st Thou more bestow?

Thus through life’s days-- whoe’’er or what may fail me,
Friends, friendships, joys, in small or great degree,
Songs may be mine, no sadness need assail me,
Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Still my heart hath THEE.
​J. D. Smith

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Joh 3:1-3

These verses begin a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus that describes the work of salvation, and the work of the Holy Spirit that is involved in this miracle of redemption. When we admit we are sinners, in need of forgiveness, and confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe he is the Son of God, and risen from the dead and coming again-and this confession is coming from our mouth with sincere faith in Him, the Holy Spirit comes into us and dwells within us. Our sins are washed away, Jesus redeems us from the curse of the Law, and His shed blood covers us, and we stand cleansed in His righteousness. We are now a new creature in Christ, sinless and in right standing with the Father in heaven. 

John chapter 3 is one Spurgeon advises the most, for the sinner in need of clear understanding on coming to salvation:
“If we were asked to read to a dying man who did not know the gospel, we should probably select this chapter as the most suitable one for such an occasion; and what is good for dying men is good for us all, for that is what we are; and how soon we may be actually at the gates of death, none of us can tell.” (Spurgeon)

When someone is born again, are there ways to be able to tell of it was a real new birth? Are there signs that can tell us that the Spirit of God has really entered into the person and now lives within them, and is working to transform them into the image of Christ, as Paul describes a believer in Jesus? Yes, as Jesus said: 
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 
Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

What was he saying in these verses? C.H. Spurgeon explains it well:
"The wind blows where it wishes: Jesus’ idea to Nicodemus was “You don’t understand everything about the wind, but you see its effects. That is just how it is with the birth of the Spirit.” Jesus wanted Nicodemus to know that he didn’t have to understand everything about the new birth before he experienced it.
Since we can’t control the Spirit, “It should lead us to be very tender and jealous in our conduct towards the Holy Ghost, so that we do not grieve him and cause him to depart from us.” (Spurgeon)

There are other changes we can observe:
Many of the things we once did and were bound to, we no longer want to do, our desires and tastes will change. 

1. Things we were a part of, and the people we associate with-we will begin to see things about them that have been a factor in our life of sin, and we'll not want to be around people who habitually live in darkness. We will not feel we fit in with them anymore.
2. A hunger to know God, and read His word will come from within, there will be a longing to understand who God is, and what His will is for us. Our love for God will grow, and the desire for His presence.
3. Our habits will change, the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to us of patterns in our lives, and things we allowed, that we need to be willing to stop, for our own well-being, and to keep in the abiding presence of God. Our manner of dress will change, and our purposes in life.
4. You won't want to intentionally do something you know is a sin-and there will be ongoing testing's and temptations that will come throughout life. Paul describes this struggle well in Romans ch. 7, and the victory in ch. 8
5. We will be drawn to associate, and fellowship with other's of like mind, the party spirit of the world will no longer attract you-it will repel you, and your relationships will begin to change.
6. God will work with the person to help them desire to stop activities or habits that are destructive to them- such as smoking, drinking, going to events that have drinking, drugs and sexual enticement, such as taverns/bars, and social events that have this activity going on. If the Spirit of God is in them, they will avoid being in any situations like this.
7. When the Spirit of God resides in a person, their manner of speech and behavior will change. They may experience times of deep oppression from weariness, from spiritual attacks from many directions-but, they will be honest in their struggles, and repentance will be evident. David, and Moses are examples of sincere people of God, who struggled and sometimes failed. God did not forsake them-He restored them.​

A solemn question is suggested by Joh_2:24-25.
Joh 2:24  But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 
Joh 2:25  And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

​Can Jesus trust Himself to us? We must show ourselves worthy of His trust. In Joh_3:1-36; Joh_4:1-54 we have two remarkable instances of the Lord’s intimate knowledge of the human heart.

Apparently Nicodemus had shrunk from identifying himself with John’s baptism. He was one of the richest men in Jerusalem, and our Lord addressed him as the teacher, Joh_2:10, R.V. He was willing to talk about systems of truth and schemes of philosophy; but the Master knew that more, much more, was necessary; there must be the emergence of His soul into the experience of an enlarged and fuller life. The phrase, “the new birth,” the Jews always used for Gentiles, and it greatly startled Nicodemus to learn that there was needed for himself the same change as was required by Gentiles before entering the Jewish commonwealth. In speaking of water, our Lord probably refers to the baptism of John, in which men confessed their sins and expressed their desire to leave the past behind and to enter a fuller experience of the life of God. The new life begotten by the Spirit of God is as mysterious as the wind. That Spirit, bearing the germ of a new life, rejoices to enter each open casement and to fill each vacuum, wherever one will.  (F.B. Meyer)

​"It is always a point that calls for reflection: we have to consider not only whether we have faith in Christ, but whether He has faith in us-not only whether we have committed ourselves to Him, but whether that committal is so genuine that He can build upon and trust it. Can He count upon us for all service, for fidelity in times when much is needed? Thoroughgoing confidence must always be reciprocal. The person you believe in so utterly that you are entirely his, believes in you and trusts himself to you-his reputation, his interests are safe in your keeping. So is it with Christ. Faith cannot be one-sided here any more than elsewhere. He gives Himself to those who give themselves to Him. They who so trust Him that He is sure they will follow Him even when they cannot see where He is going; they who trust Him, not in one or two matters which they see He can manage, but absolutely and in all things,-to these He will give Himself freely, sharing with them His work, His Spirit, His reward." (Expositor's Bible)

Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 
Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 
Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say,
I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him,
and keep his saying. 
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old,
and hast thou seen Abraham? 
+++++++
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am. 
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself,
and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them,
and so passed by. Joh 8:53-59

The text is one of those rare passages in which Jesus Christ appears to stand upon His own dignity, in which the Lowly, the Humble, the Unresisting Son of man asserts His high origin, claiming to be God, for it amounts to no less: God from everlasting. "Before Abraham was, I am."

Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ. He had a glimpse of that day of the birth of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, as He had a glimpse also of the manner in which Jesus Christ should work out our redemption. He took his son Isaac and offered him up on Mount Moriah—that Isaac so exceedingly dear, of whom it was said, that "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." He offered him up, his one hope of becoming the father of many nations. And that act of Abraham—that act of faith, was counted unto him for righteousness; and he is held up for ever as the father of the faithful. To him, as St. Paul writes, "The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."

​Jesus Christ Himself lived before Abraham was born. Whenever God is spoken of as holding communion and as being visible to man, it is in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God, the Son, Jesus Christ. It is He who declares to us the Father. It is He who represents God to us, and is Himself God, even Jesus Christ. This was He who talked with and was called the friend of Abraham. It was He who was the Giver of the Law to Moses, it is He by whose agency the worlds were made, God the Supreme Deity dwelleth in the light which no man can approach: but Jesus Christ who is the image of the Invisible God, hath manifested, made known, declared to us, what God is; how good, how gracious, how ready to forgive, and how rich in mercy to those who call upon Him. It follows, then, that we should honor and worship Him as God, we should draw near with all reverence, with all holiness, with bowed heads and bowed hearts, to present our supplication before Him.
(R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 62)

​Absent from the body, we are present with the Lord. The moment of transition is so desirable that it is only comparable to the falling asleep of the tired laborer.
The Father glorified His Son by the attestation given at the Baptism and the Transfiguration, by the Resurrection from the grave, by the Exaltation to His right hand. Yet these are but stages in the glorification of our High Priest. The full outburst of His glory is yet future. We shall behold the glory with which the Father has rewarded His obedience unto death; nay, we are to share it with Him. See Joh_17:22; Joh_17:24. Notice the I AM of Joh_8:58. Compare Exo_3:13-14.  (F.B. Meyer)

Exo 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 
Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
​If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)  Joh 7:37-39
The Incident

While the morning sacrifice was being prepared, a priest, accompanied by a joyous procession with music, went down to the pool of Siloam, whence he drew water into a golden pitcher capable of holding three log (rather more than two pints). But on the Sabbath they fetched the water from a golden vessel in the Temple itself, into which it had been carried from Siloam on the preceding day. At the same time that the procession started for Siloam, another went to a place in the Kedron valley, close by, called Motza, whence they brought willow branches, which, amid the blasts of the priests’ trumpets, they stuck on either side of the altar of burnt offering, bending them over toward it so as to form a kind of leafy canopy. Then the ordinary sacrifice proceeded, the priest who had gone to Siloam so timing it that he returned just as his brethren carried up the pieces of the sacrifice to lay them on the altar. As he entered by the “water-gate,” which obtained its name from this ceremony, he was received by a threefold blast from the priests’ trumpets. The priests then went up the rise of the altar and turned to the left, where there were two silver basins with narrow holes—the eastern, a little wider, for the wine; and the western, a little narrower, for the water. Into these the wine of the drink offering was poured, and at the same time the water from Siloam, the people shouting to the priest, “Raise thy hand,” to show that he really poured the water into the basin which led to the base of the altar … As soon as the wine and water were poured out, the Temple music began, and the Hallel (Psa 113:1-9; Psa 114:1-8; Psa 115:1-18; Psa 116:1-19; Psa 117:1-2; Psa 118:1-29.) was sung … Salvation in connection with the Son of David was symbolized by the pouring out of water Thus the Talmud says distinctly, “Why is the name of it called the drawing out of water? Because of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, according to what is said: ‘ With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.’”… We can now in some measure realize the event. The festivities of the week of tabernacles were drawing to a close. “It was the last day, that great day of the feast.”… It was on that day after the priest had returned from Siloam with his golden pitcher, and for the last time poured its contents to the base of the altar; after the Hallel had been sung to the sound of the flute, the people shouting and worshipping as the priests three times drew the threefold blasts from their silver trumpets—just when the interest of the people had been raised to its highest pitch, that from the mass of the worshippers, who were waving towards the altar quite a forest of leafy branches as the last words of Psa_118:1-29, were chanted—a voice was raised which resounded through the Temple, startled the multitude, and carried fear and hatred to the hearts of their leaders. It was Jesus who “stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” Then by faith in Him should each one truly become like the pool of Siloam, and from his inmost being “rivers of water flow.” “This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.” Thus the significance of the rite, in which they had just taken part, was not only fully explained, but the mode of its fulfilment pointed out. (A. Edersheim, D. D.)

​In the latter days of Jerusalem, as we learn from the history of the period, a ceremony was added to those of the ordained feasts of booths, intended, evidently, to commemorate the thirst in the wilderness, and the supply that was provided from the rock in Horeb. On the last day of the feast, towards evening, the priests formed a procession, and, having drawn water from the pool of Siloam, bore it to the Temple, and poured it on the ground, so that it should flow down to the lower streets of the city. This symbol pointed, probably, to Ezekiel’s grand vision of waters issuing from the Temple, small at first, but rapidly increasing, until they became a river that could not be passed over—a river to swim in. The procession of priests has gone to Siloam and returned to the Temple. They have poured the water from the golden vessel, and a rivulet is making its way along the unwonted channel, forth from the hallowed courts towards the city. The assembled crowds are ranged on either side, watching the progress of the mimic stream. The beams of the setting sun strike the water, where in a hollow it spreads into a pool, and golden glory flashes for a moment from the spot that had been dull dry earth before. The multitude gaze in ignorant superstition; but some of the Lord’s hidden ones are there, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and spelling painfully out of these dead letters the name of their living Redeemer. Jesus looked on the crowd as they gazed wistfully on the symbolic water. His heart was yearning for them. He knew what was in man: He knew that the Jews made idols of these significant signs, as they made idols of the scriptures which were printed on their clothing. He saw them drinking that which cannot quench the thirst of a soul. He pitied them, and came to the rescue. (W. Arnot, D. D.)

​What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of “thirst,” and the eternal satisfaction of them by “drinking.” To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh_4:13, Joh_4:14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea - in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob’s well - here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (Mat_11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (Joh_6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as “the BREAD of Life,” and as both able and authorized to appease the “HUNGER,” and quench the “THIRST,” of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah’s ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, “HO, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, COME YE TO THE WATERS, AND HE THAT HATH NO MONEY!” etc. (Isa_55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, “He is guilty of death,” or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)