Bits and Pieces – 113th Edition – May 8, 2022

     Natural man has long considered himself master of his own destiny.  He relies more on self and less on God.  He exalts himself and is self-satisfied and self-sufficient.

     The Christian rejoices, however, that he has been delivered from such self-worship.  He knows if left to himself disaster would strike, sooner or later.  He is glad to know that he is under new management.  The failing company of his sinful life has been taken over by One whose resources are infinite.

     He knows that his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 6:19, 20].  He is not left to muddle his way through life but has the blessed, indwelling Guide to direct his faltering footsteps from earth to heaven.

     When the spiritual creditors come, God Himself takes the witness stand with the unanswerable question, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” [Romans 8:33].  The believer has this great security, for he knows the bank of heaven stands behind him.  He will not – nay, cannot – fail!

     This new ownership brings new responsibilities to the Christian.  No longer must the egotistical mine dominate, but the submissive Thine.  “Thine be the glory” is the grateful song of the believer.  We serve our new Master, Jesus Christ, because we love Him.  We try not to have one foot in the world’s camp and the other in the Lord’s, but serve Him wholeheartedly.

     Service to Christ involves sacrifice, and at all times we are to give of our best to the Master.  The key to such service is love. For we will always give our best to the one we love the most.  What a thrill to know that we are no longer under Satan’s control, but are servants of the loving and merciful Christ.

     The Whitefield Christian school family has been hit by death a second time in the past few weeks.  First, Collegiate math teacher, Jennifer Browett, passed away after an eight week illness on March 22.  Then Danko Zwir died suddenly on April 30 from a heart attack. His wife Karen taught grade 2 at Whitefield for several years. Our sympathy goes out to her, son Stephen (Katie), and daughter Rachel.

     In a sermon with this title, the famous evangelist D.L. Moody used an illustration of the old wooden pump that had to be primed to cause the water to flow.  He likened it to a good many people. You have to get something in them before you can get anything out.  He reminded us that you couldn’t get water out of a dry well.  People wonder why it is that they have no power.  They get up and talk in meetings, but don’t really say anything.

     Now when the Spirit of God is on us for service, there will be nothing we cannot do.  God promises, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty”  [Isaiah 44:3].  What a blessed thought! (This was the verse that the two old ladies in the Isle of Lewis prayed on that led to a revival in 1949).  We need to pray very much on that promise today.

     Moody tells of a pastor in Chicago who said to his flock, “Now, how can we find out who is thirsty?”  He went on to say that if a boy went down the aisle with a bucket of clear water and a dipper the thirsty would reach out.  But if he had an empty bucket nobody would go to him for water, for he had nothing to give.  Then he said that this was the reason they were not more successful as a ministry – “we are carrying around empty buckets!”

     People will surmise that we haven’t any more than they have.  But when the Spirit of God rests upon us, then we have something that gives the victory and encourages others to seek the water of life from Christ.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts”  [Zechariah 4:6].

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

     It is sad when Christians who started well for Christ, taper off, and do not finish well. All of us know of sad cases where testimonies have been severely damaged at the end.  Let us, each one, as born-again believers, “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” [Philippians 3:14].

     Let us all pray that we will, like Paul, be able to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” [2 Timothy 4:7].  Our Christian testimony is precious.  May we ever guard it carefully. Let no thoughtless sinful action destroy it.