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Volume 1, No. 7
December 1989
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"There came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and
poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had
indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold
for much, and given to the poor." Matthew 26:7-10.
A waste! This was the description of the wonderful sacrifice Mary had given to the Lord
Jesus. It was uttered by the Lord's disciples.
As we walk through this old world, it seems at times that everything we do is a waste.
Much of it is, if we look at it in relationship to eternity. But one thing we know,
"Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last!"
Mary valued her Lord and she poured the equivalent of one year's salary on Him. Judas
valued the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Little did he know that he was placing that same
value on his own life. It is in the measure that we value the Lord Jesus that our own life
becomes worth something. Nothing done for Him is a waste!
Others will sometimes view our lives as a waste, even though we are seeking to live them
for the Lord Jesus. The world laughs, Christians often misunderstand, even as the
disciples did here. May the Lord help us to be faithful to Him, and to count all "as
loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Lord."
I wonder if any reader may still be lost and heading to a lost eternity in hell. If you
have not accepted the Lord Jesus then your life is worth nothing! It is a waste! But the
moment you invite the Lord Jesus into your heart, He will cleanse you from sin, give you
eternal life and make your life worth something here.
It is the end of 1989, beginning a new decade. As we look back and evaluate our lives
before the Lord Jesus, we can see our failures, learn from them and set our priorities for
the coming year. " Ye know, that your labor is not in vain in the Lord!"
Keith Van Ryn
Atlanta, Georgia
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Behold, God is my Salvation
Isaiah 12:2
Who do you trust for your salvation? Man, yourself? Isaiah could say, "Behold!"
"Everyone look at this tremendous sight! This is it! Consider this!"
"Behold, God..." Don't look at anyone else, but God. Genesis begins with;
"In the beginning God..." (no explanation needed). Deuteronomy 4:39 says,
"Know..., that the Lord, He is God...there is none else." Isaiah realized that
he was a sinner and in need of salvation. That salvation was found in God. We can only be
saved in God's prescribed way, and that is through receiving Christ as Saviour. "But
as many as received Him (the Lord Jesus), to them He gives the right to become the
children of God." (John 1:12) "For, neither is there salvation in any other, for
there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved."
(Acts 4:12). Oh the joy of knowing that He (the Lord Jesus, God) is my salvation.
Calvin Fritchey
Pembroke Pines, Florida
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Not withheld... More than they all...
I had read the story of Abraham's offering up of his beloved son Isaac to God many times.
But it was only a few years ago that the truth of Genesis 22:12 came home to my heart. For
there the record quotes the angel of the Lord saying, "Now I know that thou fearest
God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." I thought it was
strange that the angel spoke of "not withholding" rather than saying something
like, "Now I know thou fearest God because thou hast given thy son, thine only son to
me."
While pondering the angel's mysterious choice of words, I was led to the passages in Mark
12 and Luke 21 which record an event from the life of the Lord Jesus. Mark records the
Lord sat near the temple treasury and watched the gifts of money people offered to God. He
saw rich people casting in notable sums; but He drew his disciples' attention not to the
rich men, but to a poor widow who cast in a mere (seemingly to men) two mites. The Lord
said to His disciples, "Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in
more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of
God: but she of her penury (deep poverty and need) hath cast in all the living that she
had."
Not withheld...more than they all. Do you see? Man looks on the outward appearance: We are
easily impressed by vast sums of money and scoff at the widow's insignificant two mites.
But God looks on the heart, and He is not so much interested in what we give as He is in
what we withhold. For that is what we have not surrendered to Him and His authority over
our life - those secret bank accounts of our hearts. Which, I ask you, is more: Some of
our abundance, or all of our penury? More than they all...for the Lord looked into her
heart that day and saw she had not withheld one mite, no not one, of the only two she held
in her possession.
Still today, I believe, the Lord Jesus sits beside the treasury (heaven) observing men's
hearts, as well as their hands, while He sees what they cast in as offerings to God - and
what they withhold as well. "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...", He
cried to men while here on earth. I believe the ultimate fate of all things that we
withhold in this life is that we shall suffer the consequent loss of reward in eternity
that could have been ours had we yielded those things to God for His use and glory (see I
Corinthians 3:15).
Brent Van Ryn
Sterling, Virginia
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"No Hope" - "Blessed Hope"
Ephesians 2:12 - Titus 2:13
God is not the God of uncertainties! He speaks of Himself as "THE GOD OF HOPE",
for He is the God of certainty! There are no unsolved problems with Him. When men hope for
any thing it is usually with uncertainty, but hope that rests upon the promises of God
combines both desire and expectation, so the trusting soul desires earnestly what God has
promised.
1 - THE WORLD'S HOPE - The Gentile world out of Christ is declared as "having no
hope", in spite of the fact it has progressed in many directions of science and
inventions; but careful reflection on all human progress in civilization today can only
impress the clear thinking person that its direction is one dreaded climax - the
destruction of human life and property! Yet men still dare to hope!
What is wrong with it? It rests on one false foundation - ON MAN - and he is a hopeless
wreck but knows it not. Every time man's hope has been wrecked in past history, he has
immediately proceeded to build another hope, which in turn is also wrecked. This will
continue, as long as man is AWAY FROM GOD! The nations have NO HOPE! The creation and
creatures groan under the bondage of sin (Romans 8:19-22) and a dark pall of gloom hovers
over all the environment. The environment does not make the man, but man has made the
environment what it now is. Thus the Christless world has NO HOPE - and this is true of
all Gentile nations specifically. Yet the day is coming when the Devil will bring forward
his man - THE MAN OF SIN - and the world will follow him to its doom - 2 Thessalonians
2:1-12.
2 - HEAVEN'S HOPE - To one people and nation only is given hope, to Abraham and his seed,
Israel. The apostle Paul suffered for "the hope of Israel" - (Acts 28:20) - in
his Christ-centered ministry. What is their hope? It is the earthly dominion and supremacy
of the Messiah's authority and reign in the Millennial kingdom, the reign of our Lord
Jesus Christ! Is this a dream? Never! It is the God-given hope for Israel, when their
restoration and blessing will be realized on Zion's hill (Psalm 2:6). His scepter will
reach to earth's remotest boundaries and all nations and tongues shall render homage to
Him - (Psalm 2:8). The physical creation will be delivered and the lion and the lamb will
lie together; the curse will be removed and the desert will blossom as Eden's garden!
Why not dream about it? It is faith's vision for each believer! This is a divine
certainty, not an impossibility! It is no delusive day-dream, for the God of Hope has
promised this and ONE PERSON is the center of it all - "our Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ", for "HE IS OUR HOPE" - I Timothy 1:1. Our hope does not rest on
MAN or any earthly premise. Our hope turns the gaze away from earth to heaven! "We
wait for His Son from heaven, even Jesus, our Deliverer from the wrath to come" - I
Thessalonians 1:10. Are not the nations passing through throes of anguish and perplexity
which Satan has wrapped around them without hope! BUT, blessed be God, the MAN IN GLORY,
seated on the right hand of God above, is soon to descend to be enthroned on His holy hill
of Zion!
He is coming for the deliverance of His Church! He is coming for the deliverance of those
who look for Him in Israel! He is coming for the deliverance of the nations - Haggai 2:7.
He is coming for the deliverance of the brute creation - Isaiah 65:25. He is coming for
the deliverance of the groaning creation - Romans 8:21-23. Beloved, HE IS COMING FOR YOU,
AND FOR ME! - HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOUR!
"I watch and wait for His coming with eager anxious eyes;
Lord Jesus, come, come quickly, my longing spirit cries.
I see the morning breaking, He is not far away -
I listen for His footsteps,
FOR HE MAY COME TODAY!" V.R.
John Bramhall
Florence, South Carolina
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