09/10
The LORD shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51: 3
Autumn of Thanks
Ripening and harvesting Autumn has come. Autumn is a thanksgiving time. A time for quiet repose of all creatures, surviving the grill and drill of the summer heat, clear water of the pond, sky-high clouds, colored leaves, and plenty of fruits, all exhibit peace and joy. When the universe fills stillness of autumn and all creatures lie in harmony; this is the time for us to offer our heartfelt thanks to Heaven, or to walk along the woods and ponder upon the eternal hope.
09/11
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He who fears has not been perfected in love. We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19
True Happiness
Happiness is being loved by God. Unhappiness is being forsaken by God. True happiness first comes when our inward eye witnesses God and call Him "Abba Father." True happiness is beyond the changes of life whether rich in knowledge of His love, or poor in spirit for His blessings. The love of God, indeed, is all about happiness of human life.
09/12
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20
No One is Righteous
Human cannot be made good by one's own efforts or accomplishments. This is true of all truth, paradoxical as it may appear. Human's effort to get out of sin is as fruitless as an attempt of a stream to rise above the water-source, or of the sailor to steer the boat disregarding the wind. Our salvation comes from God by the medium of Christ. Without Christ, there is no reconciliation of human with God. Christ's life on earth and His death on the cross are indispensable for the salvation of our souls. Without Christ, there is no way of redemption of our sins committed against God. This is the unchangeable ground faith of evangelical Christianity, whatsoever reasons there may be conceived of.
09/13
The Lord is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any of us should perish, but that all of us should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3: 9
Limitless Love
Once I sin, I will rise and go to my Father. Twice I sin, I will rise and go to my Father. Seven times I sin, I will rise and go to my Father. Seventy times seven I sin, I will rise and go to my Father (Matthew 18:22). His love is unlimited. He does not wish us to perish. He never despairs of us eternally. I, too, will not despair of myself, believing in His bottomless love, and will hasten today to Him unhesitatingly.
09/14
The crowds called Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercury, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Jupiter, being before their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, wishing to sacrifice with the crowds. But hearing this, the apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out and saying, Men, why do you do these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preaching the gospel to you to turn you from these vanities to the living God. Acts 14:12-15
Human is Nothing
The tomb of Moses, the servant of God, is hidden from human search (Deuteronomy 34: 5-6). Elijah the prophet was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Likewise God must have suffered Peter and Paul to die in an unknown place. Both were obedient servants to Christ. What they hated the most was to be worshipped by humans. God is all in all; human is nil and void. In contrast with God's fullness, human is "vanity of vanities." Human should not appear great, to the eyes that look up to God.
09/15
Without faith it is impossible to please God, for one who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11: 6
Faith and Love
Faith alone can know God. The only way to partake of His blessing is faith. God is wise and powerful, yes all-mighty. And above all, He is love. The way to know and approach God is to love. And faith is one aspect of love. This explains why one cannot be saved without faith, or why one cannot please God without love. When we know the reality of God, we can realize why He demands faith first of us. No wonder therefore the Bible, in introducing God of Love to human beings, places the greatest weight upon faith.
09/16
So shall My word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish what I will, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do. Isaiah 55:11
God of Fact
God's words realize their fact. God's argument shows a fact. God's testimony demonstrates a fact. God does not speak in vain. He speaks in silence with facts. To argue the evil of war, He speaks with the result of war. To point out the impropriety of churches, He speaks with status quo of the churches. Stop arguments, human. Only observe, comprehend, and correct. God's word presses you, through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, yes from above, from below, from all corners of the earth, ever with infallible fact.
09/17
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the sky shows His handiwork. Day to day utters speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. Psalms 19: 1-2
Great Literature
True literature is the outcome of a noble idea. Mere artistic arrangement of letters cannot make a literature. Like Japan's great Mt. Fuji, a great literature should not be the handiwork of a petty gardener. Heavenly inspiration lights moves, shakes, shapes, and forces our soul to yield a literature amid profundity and sensibility. A great literature grows nowhere else but in the heart, active with a lofty spirit within and an blue sky without. How can a great literature come forth where there is no guiding principle and no appreciating society?
09/18
There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the glory of the heavenly is truly different, and that of the earthly different; . . . The resurrection is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:40-44
Spiritual Body
"Spiritual body", as called by Paul, means the seed or the kernel of a Christian's body of resurrection. A Christian has already received the seed of his resurrected body, which is developed from the "spiritual body." A resurrected body is not something bestowed miraculously after death. He or she has already received one's seed at the time of entering into faith, and will be completed after one's death. Thus, for a Christian, resurrection stands as sure of future perfection as a half-accomplished fact. He or she already holds the kernel of resurrection, waiting for its perfection in glory with the Lord. In one's flesh, a Christian already joys to the seed of the resurrecting body at this very moment.
09/19
A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
History, Experience and Prophecy
The Bible is a threefold cord, composed of three threads of history (past), experience (present) and prophesy (future). The Bible must therefore be understood according to these three aspects: first, historically; second, experimentally as applied to the believer's daily spiritual life, and third, prophetically as perceiving the future. Failing one or two of these, our soul's quest might feel unsatisfied, or truth might be overlooked, or superstition might creep in. Indeed, the truth of the Bible should be discovered by the three dimensions of history, experience and prophecy.
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