Our Walk
To believe and do -
is the only evidence a man can give that he does not cast
Yahweh's words behind his back.
"...for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."
Ps 138:2
Brother John Thomas
Eureka vol. 1
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Next to the reception of the Truth,
the most important duty is the building up in it.
The Christadelphian 1867
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Let not our faith die.
The grimy and oppressive surroundings of the present dispensation,
though they seem so permanent,
are as transient as the disturbed dreams of the night.
The hour will come when they will have disappeared from our view,
and when nothing will be visible on earth but the blessedness in Abraham and his seed -
long promised and come at last -
Brother Roberts
~
Letting Christ dwell in our hearts by faith,
our darkness is dispelled,
our coldness ended,
our waywardness corrected,
our loves purified,
our whole lives cleansed and redeemed
from ultimate corrupting and abortiveness of mere natural power.
He becomes our light and our life
to whom we grow as the thriving plant before the sun,
seeking more and more,
"to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge,"
"counting all things but dung for the excellency of knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord,"
"in whom is filled up all the fullness of the God-head bodily."
Brother Robert Roberts
~
Character is greater and higher
than money, intellect, or love-
because it determines the use and direction of these three.
It is the character of the rich man which determines whether he shall be a
benefactor or a curse.
It is character which determines whether the learned man shall
use his knowledge as a destructive or a constructive force in society.
It is character which determines whether love shall be a passion-
working havoc in human life,
or a grace beautifying and ennobling life.
Character is the determining force behind
money, talent, love;
and so it is the greatest force in human life-
Brother Robert Roberts
~
The work of the truth will be done,
whatever frets or oppositions arise among men.
The very frets and oppositions are part of its machinery.
Its great and solid and excellent power will quietly work its work
among the good and honest-hearted,
not only in spite of, but partly by means of the troubles that arise.
“All that the Father hath given to me shall come to me.”
Here lies the strength of the righteous.
Let those who wish to be of their number use it.
Brother Robert Roberts
1890
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When bitterness and wrath and anger and evil-speaking arise like a storm
that threatens to carry every thing before it,
let us remember these are all on the surface of things,
and that the truth is the great rock on which we shall find rest
-the great power that will outstand all human failures
and prevail in the midst of all the experiences of men.
When men are overthrown by evil,
it is because they are not built here.
It is lamentable to see how small a thing the truth seems to some
in the hour of stress,
when in reality it is the only everlasting and omnipotent thing in he affairs of men.
It is encouraging, at the same time,
to see how successfully the real mission goes on among the right class everywhere,
whatever steamings and turmoils arise about human things.
It brings to mind what God has said.
“My word shall not return unto Me void:
it shall accomplish that whereunto I sent it.”
Brother Robert Roberts
1890
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There is a time for God to place the seal of his open reprobation upon wickedness,
so that men may have a basis of test in other times and matters.
But there is a time when the false is allowed to flourish with the absolute impunity and even with prosperity,
and when the true is allowed to be under a cloud,
in order that the minds of the faithful men may be exercised and proved-
Brother Robert Roberts
1887
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We know there is a tomorrow,
and it is inevitable that we take it to some extent into account.
But it is so uncertain whether it exists for us
that it is wise to concentrate the chief effort on today.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
…Belief ought to be of the easy character which Jesus attributes to his yoke.
Belief is the result of evidence, in every matter. It is an inevitable, an involuntary result.
You cannot help it, when sufficient evidence is before you,
if there is nothing to “blind your eyes” to its nature and its force.
If ever there was a case of sufficient evidence, it is the case of Christ and the Bible,
and all that is involved in them.
There is no ancient testimony half so self-evidently true on the face of it.
There is no matter, ancient or modern,
so powerfully confirmed by collateral supports of all kinds,
as the history and prophecy of the word of God with Israel, contained in the Bible.
But, of course, the evidence must be before the mind before this can be felt and seen.
And here is the principal source of weakness and difficulty with most men.
They do not familiarize their minds with the subject.
“The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things”
so engross their minds as to prevent them from giving that amount of attention to the facts of the case that is necessary.
The belief, which ought to be easy and gladdening,
is often difficult and sometimes impossible.
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian 1898
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“Beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.”
How are we to beware of unbelief?
By being on our guard against that which leads to it.
Unbelief is the result of ignorance or partial knowledge in any matter.
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian
1883
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Wisdom is constructive - and construction is slow.
and her work is liable to be spoiled with haste.
The Christadelphian
1894
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Love always conforms to the will and wishes of its object.
See if it is not so.
If the love of Christ is a distinct enthusiasm of the mind,
the doing of his commandments is inevitable
by the laws that govern the mental operations of every human being.
Brother Robert Roberts
1883
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I have no anxieties.
The Truth will accomplish its destiny,
for this is God's decree.
Brother John Thomas
The Herald
1851
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The future is a brilliant inspiration to the believer;
but dark and ominous, and terrific
to those whose horizon is bounded by the empirical and unstable policy
of " the powers that be."
The destiny of our race is glorious,
but the probation of the nations in advancing to that consummation
calamitous and severe.
Brother John Thomas
The Herald
1851
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"Ye believe in God."
There is no greater balm to the mind than this.
Only those who really believe, know the power of it.
It is the feeling expressed in Ps. 16:
"I have set Yahweh always before me. Therefore I will not be moved."
A full sense of the fact that all creation subsists in Him-
that it has been contrived by His wisdom and upheld by His power
- and that His very presence fills the whole of it
- that He is not far away from every one of us
- will fully fortify the mental man in all the fluctuating condition of our vain life....
So take courage in all circumstances.
Life as it is presently constituted will not last for ever.
It is but a "vapor that appeareth for a little time and than vanishes away."
But the things in Christ Jesus to which we have been called,
are the eternal realities of existence.
And the signs indicate that the consummation is near at hand.
Therefore continue to believe in God,
and take courage:
"The Lord is at hand."
Logos 1974
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It is necessary for us to seek and to find our strength in God.
Those who trust in themselves, or mere human support, are sure to fail,
but they who truly seek God, are helped to ultimate success.
Sister Jane Roberts
The Christadelphian 1883
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"Faith and doubt can never coexist together in one.
The one will destroy the other.
Neglect God's word, and doubt will grow in strength;
study it properly and faith will drive out doubt.
Doubt has never been helped by study;
nor faith developed without it."
Brother H.P. Mansfield
~
"If faith is strong enough,
the things unseen can sanctify us and lift our affections above.
We need to be drawn upward,
and a contemplation of things unseen will elevate us in that way.
Their influence is all upward.
The unseen Christ, the unseen glory,
the unseen inheritance are all above or before us:
in seeing them as realities we are elevated thereby.
And as we are so uplifted we are sanctified.
'If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth'.
This requires strong mental effort motivated by faith.
Faith will strengthen us.
We will not be so distracted and distressed by the things we see or experience,
and which disturb us today,
for we will be enabled to see beyond that which is visible to natural eyes."
Brother H.P. Mansfield
~
We must always keep our minds upon the time.
Let us never fix them upon the present,
or we shall be continually faltering;
if you lean upon a broken staff, it will surely give way.
We are obliged occasionally to use a stick that will break,
but we do not put our whole weight upon it;
we lean just a little bit and with a sufficient muscular reserve
to hold ourselves against accident.
So in these things we must never put our whole weight upon anybody,
or any number of "bodies."
We must lean upon the Rock that David leaned upon -
the Rock that is higher than ourselves.
Then if all the broken sticks shall fail, it doesn't matter.
It makes no difference to our position,
because we are planted upon the Rock.
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian
1868
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Whether we are shaken away or whether we remain
depends upon the things to which we cling.
If we cling to the things that cannot be shaken, then we can say with David-
"God is my refuge and my strength, a very help in present trouble.
Yahweh of hosts is with us.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."
Psa. 46:1-2
~
Such is the promise
of God to every faithful brother and sister,
and how unspeakably precious it is!
To have the assurance of a mortal man's help and protection is gratifying,
but what shall we say of the promised care of the Almighty -
He who can turn a man's heart withersoever He will -
He who can make even our enemies to be at peace with us?
Let us strive to reach a fuller realization of the goodness of our God.
There is much to make us insensible to it.
God appears, at times, so far away, and our affairs seem so unworthy of His recognition.
Our experiences, too, are so ordinary - so like those of all other men.
Let us not be misled by such thoughts.
God's word is more reliable than mere appearances.
Let us cultivate the faith of Paul when he said:
"I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."
The more we study the Scriptures,
the greater will become our confidence in God and His word.
~
We create our own unhappiness
by desiring what would not be good for us to have,
or what God in His love and wisdom does not see fit to give.
If we truly believed that
"ALL things work together for good to them that love God,"
we could not be unhappy.
Happiness is contentment with reality, and harmony with God.
1 Tim 6:6
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
The salvation of individuals is not predicated on the purity of their neighbor's faith,
though these may be members of the same ecclesiastical organization.
Brother John Thomas
Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come
1851
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"Modesty is good;
but if it reaches the point of utter lack of confidence
to do the biddings of God-
(no matter how difficult the task might appear)
it is to be overcome...."
"for God has not given us the spirit of fear;
but power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord."
2 Tim. 1:7-8
"Moses' expressed reluctance to return to Egypt as deliverer,
is the first of 10 complaints
uttered by him during the course of his ministry to the people.
They can be summarized thus:
1) I have not the ability to deliver the people - Ex. 3:11
2) The people will not believe me- Ex. 4:1
3) I am not sufficiently eloquent to move them - Ex. 4:10
4) Send by the promised seed - Ex. 4:13
5) Why do you permit the people to be afflicted? - Ex. 5:22
6) Pharaoh will not heed me - Ex. 6:12
7) I stammer - Ex. 6:30
8) I cannot satisfy this people - Ex. 6:30
9) The burden is too great for me- Num. 11:14
10) How can the people be fed?- Num. 11:21
When we are despondent,
or when we lack faith in our own ability to perform the work of God,
let us remember this great man,
and find renewed encouragement from the Source
in which he inevitably found it: from his God.
The Father knows our limitations, and recognizes our weaknesses.
He does not call upon us to accomplish more than we are able,
and is always ready to extend His help if we need it-"
Brother H.P. Mansfield
Exodus Expositor pg 65
~
Happy are the people that, in the rising storm,
have hope of refuge
"until the indignation be overpast".
The truth has called us to this.
It is time to watch and pray; to cease from wrath;
and in patient continuance in well-doing,
wait for the Lord from heaven,
that we may find mercy at his hands in that day.
Ps 103:11
For as the heaven is high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
"The fear of man will keep a man straight in many things; but in times of temptation - when the eye of man has no bearing;
when a man is left only to the power if his own heart -
if the fear of God is not there, he will go wrong and depart from wisdom to his destruction.
To "fear God and do His commandments" is Solomon's summary of the whole duty of man
Brother Robert Roberts
~
Growing Old
"Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God" (Lev. 19: 32).
"The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness" (Prov. 16" 31).
They call it "going down the hill" when we are growing old,
And speak with mournful accents when our tale is nearly told;
They sigh when talking of the past, the days that used to be,
As if the future was not bright with immortality.
But Oh! It is not going down! 'Tis climbing high and higher,
Until we almost see beyond, the Kingdom we desire;
For if the natural eye grow dim, it is but dim to earth;
The eye of faith grows keener to perceive the Saviour's worth.
Who would exchange for shooting blade the waving, golden grain?
Or, when the corn is fully ripe, would wish it green again ?
And, Who would wish the hoary head found in the way of truth
To be again encircled with the sunny locks of youth?
For though in truth the outward man may perish and decay,
The inward man shall be renewed by grace from day to day;
They who are planted by the Lord, unshaken by their root,
E'en in old age shall flourish still, and still bring forth much fruit.
Is it not years that make men old; the spirit may be young
Though "three score years and ten" the wheels of life have run;
God has Himself recorded in His glorious Word of Truth
That those who wait upon the Lord, "they shall renew their youth."
And when the eyes now dim and weak shall then behold the King,
And ears now dull with age shall hear the saints victorious sing,
And on the head now hoary shall be placed the crown of gold,
Then shall be known the lasting joy of never growing old. -
God and the world are sworn enemies. Hence to be “the friend of the world is to be the enemy of God.”
No one who is on God's side can be friends with the world;
he will entirely disrelish the world, and the world will heartily hate him.
This arises from mutual incompatibility.
Brother Robert Roberts
1864
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Faith, hope, self denial, patience, and perseverance
are the lines that fall to those who walk not by sight, but by faith in the promises of God.
The road is tedious and uninviting;
but the kingdom to which it leads, there are honor and glory,
riches and life forever more.
Brother John Thomas
The Herald
1851
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Someone once asked brother Henry Sulley:
`Are we as an ecclesia doing all in our power to be worthy of the favor of our Master?'
He replied:
"We were obliged to answer in the negative...
dear brother Roberts, there is one thing very certain,
the best way in which any brother or sister can promote the welfare of the truth,
is by becoming completely subject themselves to its precepts.
If all did this,
we should be perfectly sure that the absence of divine favor was due to the fact,
that `no more people were in the city,'
and not to want of purity or zeal on the part of those who are privileged
to be the standard bearers of Yahweh's testimony in the dark days of Gentile supremacy.”
Brother Henry Sulley
1880
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The present hour is always the solemn hour;
the past has ceased to exist,
the future is out of reach.
The present is within our control;
the past and future are not.
Responsibility is fastened to the moment.
To meet its demands is joy and peace,
and is laying up eternal treasure;
to disregard them is awful indeed.
The Christadelphian 1888
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The saints who understand the Word will keep aloof from politics.
None are more interested in them than they;
but they will mix themselves up neither with one party or another; for God regulates them all:
therefore to be found in any such strife would be to contend in some way or another against Him.
The servant of the Lord must not strive, except
"for the faith once delivered to the saints".
For this he is to commanded to "contend earnestly"
because such a contention is to "fight the good fight of faith", and to "lay hold on eternal life".
Brother John Thomas
Elpis Israel
~
Those who submit themselves much to the Bible's influence, will, gradually and insensibly,
approach nearer and nearer the end to which it leads.
Progress either upwards or downwards is for the time being, an unconscious process.
You do not feel which way you are going.
But after a lapse of time, if you stand and look back, you can see which way you have gone,
whether you have become more worldly-minded,
more selfish, more insensible to divine things,
or more and more awake to the higher relations of being disclosed
in the Bible.
It is a very pleasant experience to feel that you are making progress,
but you cannot make progress unless you submit yourself to that which will induce your progress,
and the only way to make certain of our progress in relation to the truth is to be continual readers of the Word
-to continually submit our minds to the action of those ideas that have been evolved by the spirit
through the prophets and apostles.
Brother Robert Roberts
1868
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It is on the open sea
that alertness and skill are brought into requisition;
the meetings are simply harbors into which the brethren and sisters
put from time to time for food, fuel and repairs.
Loving watchfulness, care for each other,
and self-denying zeal for the interests of the truth are,
for the most part,
merely matters of exhortation in the meetings.
It is away from the meetings that these things are put into practice;
and here again, brethren and sisters stand on common ground.
Were sisters only to realize the many duties
that ecclesial membership entails,
and the amount of influence, direct and indirect,
that each one must of necessity exercise, the most aspiring would find unlimited scope,
and the most industrious ceaseless employment.
Sister C. H. Jannaway
~
The Father's will is many a time and clearly expressed
in these holy oracles which it is our privilege to read from day to day.
“As obedient children, fashion not yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.
But as he that hath you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.
Because it is written, Be ye holy for I am holy.”
This is the spirit's own standard. To reach it we must continually strive,
for we are assured on the same authority of the spirit, that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”
Let there be no talk of the standard being too high; this is the language of the unwise.
We must rather accustom ourselves to the thought and the language of the spirit,
and labor to conform to that statute of the kingdom which requires us to
“deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, and live soberly and righteously, and godly in this present world.”
~
“Except a man love me, . . . he cannot be my disciple.”
Consider this feature, and you will find it has in it the greatest glory conceivable to the human mind. We never see a finer thing than love on earth.
We don't see it often in its perfect form,
because the conditions necessary for its full play are rarely met with.
There is plenty of the abundant scope for the love that takes the form of benevolence:
kindness to the afflicted, attention to the humble and poorly-gifted,
and almsgiving to the poor.
These are godly manifestations, and satisfying to the doer;
but the glowing attachment that is gendered by the mutual exhibition of excellence
-the luxury of requited noble love
-is a flower of heaven that grows not by the way-side.
It is to be met with in secret corners, now and then, blooming like the violet unseen,
and coming never to maturity then,
unless the good seed of the kingdom is the germ of the flower.
In the Captain of our Salvation, the conditions of love exist in their fulness.
Brother Robert Roberts
1871