Yes, from first to last, from our cradle to our grave,
from the earliest pang of sin’s conviction to the last
thrill of sin’s forgiveness, from earth to heaven; this
will be our testimony in all the way the Lord our God has
led us in the wilderness: “He has done all things well.”

In providence and in grace,
in every truth of His Word,
in every lesson of His love,
in every stroke of His rod,
in every sunbeam that has shone,
in every cloud that has shaded,
in every element that has sweetened,
in every ingredient that has embittered,
in all that has been mysterious, inscrutable,
painful, and humiliating;
in all that He gave,
in all that He took away,
this testimony is His just due, and this our grateful
acknowledgment through time and through eternity:
“He has done all things well.”

Has He converted us through grace by a way we
had thought the most improbable? Has He torn
up all our earthly hopes by the roots? Has He
thwarted our schemes, frustrated our plans,
disappointed our expectations? Has He taught
us in schools most trying, by a discipline most
severe, and lessons most humbling to our nature?
Has He withered our strength by sickness, reduced
us to poverty by loss, crushed our heart by
bereavement?

And have we been tempted to exclaim, “All
these things are against me?” Ah! no! faith will
yet obtain the ascendancy, and sweetly sing:
“I know in all things that befell,
My Jesus has done all things well.”

Beloved, it must be so, for Jesus can do nothing
wrong. Study the way of His providence and grace
with the microscopic eye of faith, view them in
every light, examine them in their minutest detail,
as you would the petal of a flower, or the wing of
an insect; and, oh, what wonders, what beauty,
what marvellous adaptation would you observe in all
the varied dealings with you of your glorious Lord!

I’ll sing of Jesus crucified,
The Lamb of God who bled and died,
A healing balm, a crimson tide,
Flowed from His head, His feet, His side!
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

He sought me in the wilderness,
And found me there in deep distress;
He changed and washed this heart of mine,
And filled me with His love Divine!
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

For what the Lord has done for me,
For boundless grace so rich and free,
For all His mercies that are past,
I’ll praise Him while my life shall last!
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

When sorrow’s waves around me roll,
His promises my mind console;
When earth and hell my soul assail,
His grace and mercy never fail.
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

When death shall steal upon my frame,
To damp and quench the vital flame,
I’ll look into my Savior’s breast,
And there recline and sweetly rest.
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

And when we join the ransomed throng,
To chant the sweet immortal song,
With tuneful heart, and voice, and tongue,
We’ll roll the lofty note along!
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

To Him who washed us in His blood,
And made us kings and priests to God;
Hosanna we will ever sing,
And make the heavenly arches ring!
Above the rest this note shall swell,
‘My Jesus has done all things well.’

“He hath done all things well.” Mark 7:37

By Octavius Winslow

“I have begun to give;….begin to possess” (Deut. 2:31).

A great deal is said in the Bible about waiting for God. The lesson cannot be too strongly enforced. We easily grow impatient of God’s delays. Much of our trouble in life comes out of our restless, sometimes reckless, haste. We cannot wait for the fruit to ripen, but insist on plucking it while it is green. We cannot wait for the answers to our prayers, although the things we ask for may require long years in their preparation for us. We are exhorted to walk with God; but ofttimes God walks very slowly. But there is another phase of the lesson. God often waits for us.

We fail many times to receive the blessing He has ready for us, because we do not go forward with Him. While we miss much good through not waiting for God, we also miss much through over-waiting. There are times when our strength is to sit still, but there are also times when we are to go forward with a firm step.

There are many Divine promises which are conditioned upon the beginning of some action on our part. When we begin to obey, God will begin to bless us. Great things were promised to Abraham, but not one of them could have been obtained by waiting in Chaldea. He must leave home, friends, and country, and go out into unknown paths and press on in unfaltering obedience in order to receive the promises. The ten lepers were told to show themselves to the priest, and “as they went they were cleansed.” If they had waited to see the cleansing come in their flesh before they would start, they would never have seen it. God was waiting to cleanse them; and the moment their faith began to work, the blessing came.

When the Israelites were shut in by a pursuing army at the Red Sea, they were commanded to “Go forward.” Their duty was no longer one of waiting, but of rising up from bended knees and going forward in the way of heroic faith. They were commanded to show their faith at another time by beginning their march over the Jordan while the river ran to its widest banks. The key to unlock the gate into the Land of Promise they held in their own hands, and the gate would not turn on its hinges until they had approached it and unlocked it. That key was faith. We are set to fight certain battles. We say we can never be victorious; that we never can conquer these enemies; but, as we enter the conflict, One comes and fights by our side, and through Him we are more than conquerors. If we had waited, trembling and fearing, for our Helper to come before we would join the battle, we should have waited in vain. This would have been the over-waiting of unbelief. God is waiting to pour richest blessings upon you. Press forward with bold confidence and take what is yours. “I have begun to give, begin to possess.” –J. R. Miller

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Today, everyone is looking for peace. We want our desires fulfilled and we think that will bring us happiness.  We hear promises of fulfillment on radios, see promises on billboards, become a part of them through television and after hearing these promises enough times, we sing about them and make daily choices because of them.  What is the primary message that these slogans promote?  The answer, “We’ve got what you need.”  Promises, promises!  Promises of a fulfilled life, an improved life, a happier life and a more peaceful life suggest that this life is attainable through the things of this world. Commercials promise that you can “have it your way,” “we do it all for you,” “you asked for it, you got it,” and “you deserve it.” But can these promises really be true? And will these products bring us the peace we are all seeking?

Because of the inability to have these promises truly fulfilled from the world, it then seems hard to believe that all the promises from the Lord will come true. Unlike the promises of the world that are conditioned upon our spending money and time to benefit from their product, Jesus has given us the promises of God, which are free. The Lord does require something from us: our trust, belief and obedience. And in return He promises peace to His people. Our attitudes, goals and desires should not depend on the promises of the world, but on the promises of the Word. It’s that peace that makes us different and gives us something that others want. That peace will affect the way we live in our actions, behaviors and attitudes. Acts 10:36 says, “The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ:(he is Lord of all:).”  Jesus promises us peace, not from this world, but from Him. His promises are not empty slogans but a way of life: for He is the way, the truth and the life.

Do you need to experience His peace today? If so, begin by asking Jesus to fill you with His loving peace. His promises will never fail you.(From Daily Disciples Devotional, revised to KJV)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

The key to living a victorious Christian life is to discover who you are in Christ. Many Christians have never discovered this. They remind me of the man who had an identity problem and an energy crisis at the same time. He didn’t know who he was and he was too tired to find out.

God doesn’t work from the outside in. He works from the inside out. God doesn’t modify our behavior in order to change us. He changes us in order to modify our behavior.

You’re never going to purify the water by painting the pump. That’s legalism and that’s a dead end to discovering who you are in Christ.

Take God’s Word and find the phrase, “in Christ.” As you find phrases that apply to your life, write those down. Begin with phrases such as “no condemnation” now that you are “in Christ.” (By Adrian Rogers)

MORNING MANNA

Waiting on the Promises of God

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20

By nature, God is a promiser. He’s made a ton of them to His children. A promise is the assurance that God gives to His people so they can walk by faith while they wait for Him to work.

You don’t realize how much you need God’s promises until your smooth and easy life suddenly turns sideways. This is the time to dig into God’s Word and get something to wrap your faith around.

Now the Christian life would be easy if the space in time is small between when you claim God’s promises and when you receive what He promised. Read it one day and get it the next. Wow-wouldn’t that be great!?

But life’s not like that.

The hard part is in the waiting between the promise and the answer; and even harder, when the waiting comes with uncertainties.

Where’s this going? Where am I going to end up? What’s my future look like?

The reality is, we just don’t know and it’s this not-knowing that crushes us. We doubt because we don’t know. We worry and despair because we don’t know. We falter and sometimes fail-all because we don’t know. If only we knew how this trial was going to play out, we would be OK. But we don’t.

I can take a bad day. I can take a bad month. I can even take a bad year or bad decade, if I have to, as long as I know how it will end up. For some of you it’s a health crisis. For another, it’s a question about your marriage or an uncertainty with a child. For someone else, it’s a restlessness in your soul. We all have areas of uncertainty where we need to hold on to what God has said. His promises are what we cling to while we wait for Him to work. Our faith is in God. He knows what He has promised, He can’t lie, and He can’t forget. He will deliver on time, all the time. Who else can make promises like that?

Now I wish I could tell you that it always figures out perfectly in our lifetimes, but I would be lying to you. You cannot make sense of the promises of God with this life only. You must factor the reality of eternity into the equation. Eternity brings it all together. The promises of eternal life and the assurance of hope in heaven are what make God’s promises exceedingly great and precious. -James MacDonald

God, forgive us for thinking that everything must make sense today in the economy of our human satisfaction. Give us faith to believe that we’re here for a purpose that is greater than ourselves, greater than our personal enjoyment, even greater than our participation in building Your kingdom. Our lives are about a legacy-Your glory. Amen.———By James MacDonald