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. — Hebrews 4:15 Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is that mentioned by St. James – “Every man is…
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. — 1 Corinthians 10:13 The word “temptation” has come down in the world; we are apt to use it wrongly. Temptation is not sin, it is the thing we are bound to meet if we are men. Not to be tempted would…
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. — Matthew 6:6 The main idea in the region of religion is – Your eyes upon God, not on men. Do not have as your motive the desire to be known…
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. — 2 Corinthians 4:2 Have you “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty” – the things that your sense of honour will not allow to come to the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone which you would not like…
The simplicity that is in Christ. — 2 Corinthians 11:3 Simplicity is the secret of seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly for a long while, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think a spiritual muddle clear, you have to obey it clear. In intellectual matters you…
I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. — John 17:4 Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done. There are very few crises in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will. God never crushes a man’s…
Ye know not what ye ask. — Matthew 20:22 There are times in spiritual life when there is confusion, and it is no way out to say that there ought not to be confusion. It is not a question of right and wrong, but a question of God taking you by a way which in…
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. — John 13:14 Ministering as opportunity surrounds us. This does not mean selecting our surroundings, it means being very selectly God’s in any haphazard surroundings which He engineers for us. The characteristics we manifest in our…
When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. — John 1:48 Worshipping as Occasion Serves. We imagine we would be all right if a big crisis arose; but the big crisis will only reveal the stuff we are made of, it will not put anything into us. “If God gives the call, of…
Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Messiah. — 2 Corinthians 10:5 Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul says, “I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ.” (Moffatt.) How much Christian work there is to-day which has never been disciplined, but has…