Days of Heaven on Earth

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Sunday, November 13, 2011

Daniel's heart was filled with God's love for His work and kingdom, and his prayers were the mightiest forces of his time. Through them God gave to him the restoration of Israel to their own land, and the acknowledgment by the rulers of the world of the God of whom he testified and for whom he lived.

There is a beautiful promise in Psalm 37: Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart (v.4). It is, perhaps, legitimate to translate this as meaning not only the fulfillment of our desires, but even the inspiration of our desires, the inbreathing of His thoughts into us so that our prayers shall be in accord with His will and bring back to us the unfailing answer of His mighty providence.

Teach me Thy thoughts, 0 God!

Think Thou, Thyself, in me;

Then shall I only always think

Thine own thoughts after Thee.

Teach me Thy thoughts, 0 God!

Show me Thy plan divine;

Save me from all my plans and works,

And lead me into Thine.

Scripture
Delight thyself also in the Lord—Psalm 37:4

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Saturday, November 12, 2011

Life in earnest-what a rare, what a glorious spectacle! We see it in the Son of God; we see it in His apostle; we see it in every noble, consecrated and truly successful life. Without it there may be a thousand good things, but they lack the golden thread that binds them all into a chain of power and permanence. They are like costly and beautiful beads, that fall in confusion from a broken string, and are lost in the end for want of the bond that alone could bind them into a life of consistent and lasting power.

Oh, for the baptism of fire! oh, for the earnest, the Spirit! Oh, for lives that have but one thing to do or care for! Oh, for the depth and everlasting strength of the heart of Christ within us, to love, to sacrifice, to realize, to persevere, to live and die like Him!

We are going forth with a trust so sacred,

And a truth so divine and deep,

With a message clear and a work so glorious,

And a charge-such a charge-to keep.

Let it be your greatest joy, my brother,

That the Lord can count on you:

And if all besides should fail and falter,

To your trust be always true.

Scripture
The earnest of the Spirit in our hearts—2 Corinthians 1:22

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Friday, November 11, 2011

Our life from the dead is to be followed up by the habit and attitude which is the logical outcome of all this. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ . . . but yield yourselves unto God, not to die over again every day, but as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God (Romans 6:11, 13).

Further, Christ's resurrection life is given to fit us for the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Philippians 3:10).

It is intended to enable us to toil and suffer with rejoicing and victory. We mount up with wings as eagles that we may run, and not be weary; . . . walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

But let us not mistake the sufferings. They do not mean our sufferings, but His. They are not our struggles after holiness, our sicknesses and pains, but those higher sufferings which, with Him, we bear for others and for a suffering Church and a dying world. May God help us not to sorrow for ourselves, but put us at leisure, in the power of His resurrection, to bear His burdens and drink His cup.

Scripture
Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed—Romans 6:11

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Thursday, November 10, 2011

But prayer is the link that connects us with God. it is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears us over every abyss of danger or of need. How significant the picture of the apostolic church: Peter in prison, the Jews triumphant, Herod supreme, the arena of martyrdom awaiting the dawning of the morning to drink up the apostle's blood-everything against it. But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And what was the sequel? The prison open, the apostle free, the Jews baffled, the wicked king eaten of worms-a spectacle of hideous retribution- and the Word of God rolling on in greater victory.

Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? May God baptize us with holy audacity and divine confidence. He is not wanting great men and women, but He is wanting men and women who will dare to prove the greatness of their God.

But God! But prayer!

Scripture
But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him—Acts 12:5

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Wednesday, November 09, 2011

A fter having become adjusted to our Living Head and the source of our life, our business now is to abide, absorb and grow. We do this by leaning on Christ's strength, drinking in His life, feeding on Him as the Living Bread and drawing all of our resources from Him in continual dependence and communion.

The Holy Spirit will be the great Teacher and Minister in this blessed process. He will take of the things of Christ and show them to us, and He will impart them through all the channels and functions of our spiritual lives. As we yield ourselves to Him He will breathe His own prayer of communion, drawing out our hearts in longings and hungerings, which are the pledge of their own fulfillment, calling us apart in silent and wordless prayer, and opening every sense and sensibility of our spiritual beings to take in His life.

As the lungs absorb the oxygen from the atmosphere, as the senses breathe in the sweet odors of the garden, so the heart instinctively receives and rejoices in the affection and fellowship of the beloved One by our sides. Thus each of us becomes like a tree planted by the rivers of water (Psalm 1:3).

Scripture
Because I live, ye shall live also—John 14:19

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Tuesday, November 08, 2011

There is a natural law of sin and sickness. If we just sink into the trend of circumstances we shall go down and sink under the power of the tempter. But there is another law of spiritual life and physical life in Christ Jesus to which we can rise and through which we can counterbalance and overcome the law that bears us down. But to do this requires real spiritual energy, fixed purpose and a settled posture and habit of faith.

in the factory that relies on a single source of mechanical power, it is necessary to engage the belt that turns the central shaft and keeps it engaged. The power is there, but only if the connection is maintained is it usable power to operate the machinery.

There is a spiritual law of choosing, believing, abiding and holding steady in our walk with God that is essential to the working of the Holy Spirit either in our sanctification or healing.

There is a word that saves the soul,

"I will trust;"

It makes the sick and suffering whole,

"I will trust."

Scripture
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free—Romans 8:2

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Monday, November 07, 2011

God has three ways of helping us. First, He says, I will strengthen thee. In other words, He is saying, "I will make you a little stronger yourself." Second, He adds, I will help thee. By that we understand Him to say, "I will add my strength to your strength, but you shall lead and I will help you." Third, He says, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness- or, "I will lift you up bodily and carry you altogether. It will be neither your strength nor My help, but My complete upholding.

When we come to the end of our strength, we come to the beginning of His. In Him the weakest are the strongest, and the most helpless the most helped. He giveth power to the faint, but to them that have no might at all He increaseth strength. His word forever is, My grace is sufficient for thee.

The answer is a paradox of contradictions, and yet the most practical of truths.

Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . . . For when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Scripture
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee—Isaiah 41:10

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Sunday, November 06, 2011

Bless the Lord, 0 my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfeth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's (vv.1-5).

Who so well can sing this thanksgiving song as we who rejoice in God's full salvation and praise God for the glorious health of a risen Lord and a continual youth?

This psalm and its opening verses is in the very center of the Scriptures by an exact count of letters and verses. So let it stand central in our lives, as we look backward and forward and upward in grateful thanksgiving. Let us sing in the words of its closing strains, Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, 0 my soul (Psalm 103:22). Lord, center my heart in Thee and in the spirit of love and praise.

Scripture
Bless the Lord, 0 my soul—Psalm 103:1

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Saturday, November 05, 2011

If we would be enlarged to the full measure of God's purpose, let us endeavor to realize something of our own capacities for His filling.

We little know the size of a human soul and spirit. Never, until He renews, cleanses and enters the heart, can we have any adequate conception of the possibilities of the being whom God made in His very image, and whom He now renews after the pattern of the Lord Jesus Himself.

We know, however, that God has made the human soul to be His temple and abode. God knows how to make the house that can hold His infinite fullness. We know something of this as all our nature quickens into springtime life at the coming of the Holy Spirit. We know it as from time to time new baptisms awaken the dormant powers and susceptibilities that we did not realize we possessed.

Let us give God the right to make the best of us. Filled with wonder, we shall some day behold the glorious temple that He has built and say, Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? (Psalm 8:4).

Scripture
I in them, and thou in me—John 17:23

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Friday, November 04, 2011

Many a person prays for sanctification but fails to enter into the blessing because he does not intelligently understand and faithfully accept God's appointed means-Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit. Many a prayer for the salvation of others is hindered because the very friend who has prayed takes the wrong course to bring about the answer and resorts to means which defeat his object.

There are wives pleading for the salvation of their husbands who hope to win them by avoiding anything that may offend them, yielding to all their worldly tastes in the hope of attracting them to Christ. Far more effective would be an attitude of fidelity to God and fearless testimony to their husbands, such as God could bless.

Many a congregation wonders why it is so poor and struggling. it may be because its financial methods are wholly unscriptural and unworthy of even ordinary self-respect.

When we ask God for any blessing, we must allow Him to direct the steps which are to bring the answer.

Scripture
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?—1 Samuel 15:22

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Thursday, November 03, 2011

God is our friend. Which of you shall have a friend, . . . at midnight? asked Jesus (Luke 11:5). This concept of God as our friend has deep significance for each one of us. Who has not had a friend, who in some respects was more of a friend than anyone in the family? Reflect upon that friendship. Recall each act of love. Think of all you could trust that friend to do for you and all the ways in which he or she stood by you. Then as you concentrate the whole weight of recollection and affection, put God in that place of confidence and realize He is all that friend has been and infinitely more.

Our Friend! The one who is personally interested in us, who has set His heart upon us, who has come near to us in the tender and delicate intimacy of unspeakable fellowship. He has given us invaluable pledges and promises, He has done very much for us, He is ever ready to go to any trouble or expense to aid us. To Him we come in prayer-our heavenly Friend.

Scripture
This is my beloved, and this is my friend—Song of Solomon 5:16

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Wednesday, November 02, 2011

If we would abide in Christ we must have no confidence in self. Self-repression must be ever the prime necessity of divine fullness and efficiency. How quickly we want to spring to the front when any emergency arises. When something in which we are interested comes up, we say what we think under some sudden impulse. Then perhaps there are weeks of taking back our thoughts and taking the Lord's instead.

It is only when we get out of the way of the Lord that He can use us. So, let us leave self behind us, always suspending our will about everything until we have looked at the issue and said: "Lord, what is Your will? What is Your thought about it?"

Those who thus abide in Christ have the habit of reserve and quiet; they are not rattling and reckless talkers, they will not always have an opinion about everything-and they will not always know what they are going to do. There will be a deferential holding back of judgment and walking softly with God. It is our headlong, impulsive spirit that keeps us so constantly from hearing and following the Lord.

Scripture
Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ—2 Corinthians 10:5

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Tuesday, November 01, 2011

The idea of trying to obtain a holiness of our own, and then having Christ reward us for it, is not His teaching. Oh, no. Christ is the holiness. He Himself, the Holy One, will come to dwell in the heart forever.

When a millionaire buys a piece of property with an old shanty on it, he does not fix up the old shanty. He contracts with someone to tear it down. in its place he then builds a mansion. We are not to try to fix up the old shanty; rather, we are to give Christ the property. He will excavate below our old life and build a suitable house where He will live forever.

That is what we mean when we say that Christ will be the preparation for the blessing of holiness and make way for His own approach. Picture a great Assyrian king setting out on a march. He did not command the people to make a road, but he sent his own men on ahead to cut down the trees, fill the ravines and level the mountains. So, if we will let Him, will Christ be the Coming King, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Scripture
We will come unto him, and make our abode with him—John 14:23

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Monday, October 31, 2011

God allowed the crisis that closed around Jacob, on the night when he bowed at Peniel in supplication, to bring him to the place where he could take hold of God as he never would have done. From that narrow pass of peril Jacob came, enlarged in his faith and knowledge of God and in the power of a new and victorious life.

God had to compel David, by a long and painful discipline of years, to learn the almighty power and faithfulness of his God, and to grow up into the established principles of faith and godliness which were indispensable for his subsequent and glorious career as the king of Israel.

Nothing but the extremities in which Paul was constantly placed could ever have taught him, and taught the Church through him, the full meaning of the great promise he so learned to claim, My grace is sufficient for thee. And nothing but our trials and perils would ever have led some of us to know Him as we do, to trust Him as we have and to draw from Him the measures of grace which our very extremities made indispensable.

Scripture
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness—2 Corinthians 12:9

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Sunday, October 30, 2011

God's presence blends with every other thought and consciousness, flowing sweetly and evenly through our business plans, our social interactions, our hearts' affections, our manual toll, our entire lives. Like the fragrance of a flower or the presence of a friend consciously near, and yet not hindering in the least the most intense and constant preoccupation of the hands and brain, so God consecrates all and is conscious through all. How beautiful the established habit of this unceasing communion and dependence amid and above all thoughts and occupations! How lovely to see a dear old saint folding away his books at night and humbly saying, "Lord Jesus, things are still just the same between us" and then falling asleep in His keeping.

So let us be stayed upon Him. Let us grow into Him with all the roots and fibers of our beings. He will not get tired of our friendship. He will not want to put us off sometimes. Beautiful words of the suffering saint: 44 He never says goodbye. He stays. So let us be stayed on Him.

Scripture
Dwell deep—Jeremiah 49:8

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Saturday, October 29, 2011

Two men go to the bank cashier, both holding in their hands a piece of paper. One is dressed expensively and presents a gloved and jeweled hand. The other is a rough, unwashed workman. The first is rejected with a polite sentence; the second receives a thousand dollars over the counter.

What was the difference? The one presented a worthless name; the other handed in a note endorsed by the president of the bank. just so, the most virtuous moralist will be turned away from the gates of mercy and the vilest sinner, if he presents the name of Jesus, welcomed in.

What shall we give to infinite purity and righteousness? Jesus! No other gift is worthy for God to receive. And He has given Him to us for this very end, to give back as our substitute and satisfaction. And God has "testified" of this gift what He has of no other: in Him He is well pleased, and all who receive Him are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 2:6). Shall we accept the testimony that God is satisfied with His Son? Shall we be satisfied with Him?

Scripture
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you—John 16:23

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Friday, October 28, 2011

It is not our success in service that counts, but our fidelity. Caleb and Joshua were faithful and God remembered their faithfulness when the day of visitation came. For them it was a very difficult and unpopular position. For us, too. We are called in the crises of our lives to stand alone. In the very matter of trusting God for victory over sin and our full inheritance in Christ we all have to be tested as they.

Even in the Church of God our brethren, while admitting in the abstract the loveliness and advantages of life-in Christ, tell us that it is impracticable and impossible. Many of us have had to stand alone for years witnessing to the power of Christ to save His people to the uttermost. Like Joshua and Caleb, we have had to follow God alone as we followed Him wholly. But this is the real victory of faith and the proof of our uncompromising fidelity.

Let us not, therefore, complain when we suffer reproach for our testimony or stand alone for God. Let us, rather, thank Him that He so honors us and stand the test so that He can afterwards use us when the multitudes are glad to follow.

Scripture
Thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities—Luke 19:17

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Thursday, October 27, 2011

Cyrus the king was compelled to fulfill the vision of Jeremiah by making a decree declaring that Jehovah had bidden him rebuild Jerusalem and invite her captives to return to their native home. In this way Jeremiah's faith was vindicated and Jehovah's prophecy gloriously fulfilled, as faith ever will be honored. Oh, for the faith that in the dark present and the darkest future shall dare to subscribe the evidences and seal up the documents for the time of waiting and then begin to testify to its hope like the prophet of Anathoth!

The word Anathoth has a beautiful meaning: echoes. So faith is the echo of God, and He always gives the echo to faith as he answers it in glorious fulfillment. Let our faith echo also the brave claim of the ancient prophet and take our full inheritance with his glorious shout, "0 Lord, Thou art the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for [thee]?" Back like an echo will come the heavenly assurance to our hearts, "For the God of all flesh: nothing is too hard."

Scripture
Behold, I am the Lord, the god of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?—Jeremiah 32:27

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

In the parable in Luke 14 of the great supper an ancient lord prepared for his friends and neighbors, there is a significant picture and object lesson of the program of Christianity in this age.

In the first place, it is obvious to every thoughtful mind that the Master is hearing an increasing number of excuses from the gospel-hardened people of Christian countries. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to interest the unsaved of our own land, especially those who have been accustomed to hearing the gospel, in the things of Christ. They have asked to be excused from the feast, and the Lord is turning from them.

At the same time two remarkable alternatives indicated in the parable are becoming more and more manifest. One is the movement to take the gospel to the slums and the neglected classes at home; the other is the movement to take the gospel to the neglected classes abroad.

Scripture
Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in�Luke 14:2

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Let us wake out of sleep, let us be alert, let us be alive to the great necessities that really concern us.

Let us put off the garments of the night and the indulgences of the night, the loose robes of pleasure and the flowing garments of repose. The festal pleasures of the hours of darkness are not for the children of the day. Let us cast off the works of darkness.

Let us arm ourselves for the day. As we put on our clothes let us put on our weapons, for we are stepping out into a land of enemies and a world of dangers. Let us put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith. Let us stand armed and vigilant as the dangers of the last days gather around us.

Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our robe of day-not our own works or righteousness, but the person and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave us His very life and becomes to us our All-Sufficiency.

Scripture
Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; . . . let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light—Romans 13:11-12
Date: October 25, 2011 10:09 PM

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Monday, October 24, 2011

In order to be successful in Christian work, it is essential that a person be loyal not only to Go d but to the work with which he or she is associated. The more deeply a person knows the Lord, the easier it is for him to get along with others.

Superficial Christians are apt to be eccentric. Mature Christians are so near the Lord that they are not afraid of missing His guidance. They are not always trying to promote their loyalty to God by their independence from others.

The Corinthians, who had given themselves first to the Lord, had no difficulty in giving themselves to His apostle by the will of God. it is delightful to work with true hearts who can be utterly depended upon. May God give us the spirit of a sound mind and a heart to "help along."

You can help by holy prayer,

Helpful love and joyful song;

Oh, the burdens you may bear;

Oh, the sorrows you may share;

Oh, the crowns you may yet wear,

If you help along.

Scripture
First gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God—2 Corinthians 8:5

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Monday, October 24, 2011

In order to be successful in Christian work, it is essential that a person be loyal not only to Go d but to the work with which he or she is associated. The more deeply a person knows the Lord, the easier it is for him to get along with others.

Superficial Christians are apt to be eccentric. Mature Christians are so near the Lord that they are not afraid of missing His guidance. They are not always trying to promote their loyalty to God by their independence from others.

The Corinthians, who had given themselves first to the Lord, had no difficulty in giving themselves to His apostle by the will of God. it is delightful to work with true hearts who can be utterly depended upon. May God give us the spirit of a sound mind and a heart to "help along."

You can help by holy prayer,

Helpful love and joyful song;

Oh, the burdens you may bear;

Oh, the sorrows you may share;

Oh, the crowns you may yet wear,

If you help along.

Scripture
First gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God—2 Corinthians 8:5

Simpson Devotional

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth

Sunday, October 23, 2011

It is strange that people will not get over the idea that a consecrated life is a difficult one. A simple illustration will answer this foolish impression. Suppose a streetcar operator were to say, "It is much easier to run with one wheel on the track and the other off." His line would soon be dropped by the public, who would prefer to walk. Of course, it is ever so much easier to run with both wheels on the track-and always on the track-and it is much easier to follow Christ fully than to follow Him with a half heart and halting step. Elijah was right in his pungent question, How long halt ye between two opinions? The undecided man is a halting man. The halting man is a lame man and a miserable man, but the out-and-out Christian is the admiration of men and angels and a continual joy to himself.

Say, is it all for Jesus,

As you so often sing?

Is He your Royal Master,

Is He your heart's true King?

Scripture
How long halt ye between two opinions?—1 Kings 18:21

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Saturday, October 22, 2011

Some of us know a little what it is to be affected with a sense of the sufferings, and sometimes the sins, of others-sins, as they come into contact with us, that seem to saturate us and throw over us an awful sense of need.

Perhaps this is intended to give us some faint conception of the sympathy that Jesus felt when He had taken our sins, our sicknesses and our sorrows. Let us not hesitate to lay them on Him! it is far easier for Him to bear them than for us to bear them. He has already borne them for us, both in His life and in His death.

Let us roll the burden upon Jesus and let it roll away. Then, strong in His strength and rested in His life and love, let us go forth to minister to others the sympathy and help which He has so richly given us. The world is full of sorrow, and they that have known its bitterness and healing' are God's ministers of consolation to a weeping world.

Oh, the tears that flow around us.

Let us wipe them while we may;

Bring the broken hearts to Jesus,

He will wipe their tears away.

Scripture
Touched with the feeling of our infirmities—Hebrews 4:15

Inspirational Readings by A.B. Simpson
Days of Heaven on Earth
Thursday, October 20, 2011

If Paul could only know the consolation and hope that he has ministered to the countless generations who have marched along the pathway from the cross to the kingdom above! He would be willing to go through a thousand lives and a thousand deaths such as he endured for the blessing that has followed since his noble head rolled in the dust by the Ostian Gate of Rome.

And if the least of us could only anticipate the eternal issues that will probably spring from our humblest services of faith, we should only count our sacrifices and labors unspeakable heritages of honor and opportunity. We would cease to speak of trials and sacrifices made for God.

The smallest grain of faith is a deathless and incorruptible germ that will yet plant the heavens and cover the earth with harvest of imperishable glory. Let us lift up our heads, for the horizon is wider than the little circle we can see. We are living, we are suffering, we are laboring, we are trusting for the ages yet to come!

Scripture
Let us not be weary in well-doing—Galatians 6:9