GOD, PROVISIONS OF

Pyramid Of Provisions

 Many have gazed in wonder on the pyramids in Egypt. Some have admired displays of gymnastic pyramids. Here are samples of Scripture Pyramids that the believer can contemplate with wonder and admiration:

 Glory.

 Weight of glory

 Eternal weight of glory

 Exceeding and eternal weight of glory

More exceeding and eternal weight of glory

 A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

 (II Cor. 4:17)

 and

Ask

All that we ask

Above all that we ask or think

Abundantly above all that we ask or think

Exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think

Able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

(Eph. 3:20)

Native Chief Gives “Fine Mat”!

 Dr. D. I. Vanderpool, general superintendent of the Nazarene Church, was in Samoa on a mission for his denomination when he was made the recipient of what is known as a “Fine mat” and was told that it would get him anything he needed in that land.

 Manuma, a native chief and a grandson of the Samoan ruler who years ago turned over the land of Samoa to the United States, made the presentation. “This will get you anything you need here in our country,” Manuma, a retired Navy officer, said. “If you had a house and it was mortgaged for a thousand dollars, this mat would be accepted as a release from the debt. If you were in jail, it would set you free. If you were sentenced to die, this mat, which is 174 years old and is a companion to the one on which Princess Elizabeth stood when she visited us and spoke to our people, would set you free from the death sentence. It will meet any need you might have in this land.”

What We Have In Christ

A love that can never be fathomed;

A life that can never die;

A righteousness that can never be tarnished;

A peace that can never be understood;

A rest that can never be disturbed;

A joy that can never be diminished;

A hope that can never be disappointed;

A glory that can never be clouded;

A light that can never be darkened;

A happiness that can never be interrupted;

A strength that can never be enfeebled;

A purity that can never be defiled;

A beauty that can never be marred;

A wisdom that can never be baffled;

Resources that can never be exhausted.

—Selected

“According To” Not “Out To”

 The apostle Paul puts it: “According to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). Thank God, He did not say “out of His riches,” which would be like a millionaire giving $1.00 in the offering plate, as it would be “out of” his riches. “According to” means “in proportion to”—and God’s proportionate provisions come without measure.

God’s Superlatives

 Writers are supposed to avoid superlatives. The textbooks tell us that authors who use extreme adjectives like “fabulous,” “magnificent,” and “splendid” are usually overstating the case. These graphic superlatives are to be reserved only for occasions that actually merit their use, and then they are to appear very seldom.

 But when the writers of the Bible spoke of the blessings of God upon His children, they used the strongest of terms. So marvelous are the riches of Christ enjoyed by His own that the Holy Spirit, the author of God’s Word, used the most extravagant language to describe them. Here are a few examples:

—God’s pardon is “abundant”      —Isaiah 55:7

—His love “passeth knowledge”      —Ephesians 3:19

—His gift of salvation is “unspeakable”  —II Corinthians 9:15

—His life is “more abundant”      —John 10:10

 Paul, writing to the discouraged Corinthians, said that through God we are “enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God” (II Corinthians 9:11).

 Feeling poor of spirit?

 Wishing you had more of the riches of this world?

 Remember the superlatives of God!

—David C. Egne

Correct Balance

 In His providence, God knows how much joy and sorrow, how much pleasure and pain, how much prosperity and poverty is proper for His child.

 He knows the correct balance of sunshine and storm, the precise mixture of darkness and light it takes to perfect a son.

—Richard Halverson

The Matterhorn Fly

 Up on the lofty snow-clad mountains of the Matterhorn, we were awed by the wondrous works of God in the superb scenery, when a friend took out a pocket microscope, caught a tiny fly, and placed it under the glass. He then reminded us that the legs of the housefly in England were naked, whereas this little fly’s were thickly covered with hair.

 The same God who made those lofty mountains, remembered to make the tiniest of His creatures comfortable.

—Adapted from Newberry

Not Too Big For God To Give

 Once when Caesar Augustus had bestowed a princely gift upon one whom he wished especially to honor, the recipient was so overcome with the gift’s magnitude that he exclaimed, “This is too great a gift for me to receive.”

 “’But it is not too great a gift for me to give,” Caesar replied, pleased with his own bounty.

—Evangelistic Illustration

The Exceeding Riches

 During the invasion of Scotland after a long siege of one of the castles, the invaders, thinking their foes must be near the point of starvation, sent a message demanding surrender. In reply, a great string of fresh fish was hung over the wall. A subterranean passage to the sea enabled them to obtain a boundless supply. So are “the exceeding riches of His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7)

—Wilbur E. Nelson

More Than Conquerors

 When Lord Nelson reported to the British admiralty his great victory over the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile, he said that “victory” was not a large enough word to describe what had taken place.

 When Paul spoke of the victory which through Jesus Christ he had won over all the ills and adversaries and temptations and woes of life, that greatest of all words, “conqueror,” was not sufficient to describe it; and therefore he said “more than conquerors, through him that loved us.”

—C. E. Macartney

Enjoying Margin Of Power

 The first time we crossed the Rockies by automobile it was in a 1916-model car. The steep grade called for all that the old motor could offer. The water in the radiator boiled and several times we were stuck. Only by repeated efforts did we reach the top. There was no margin of power. We did not enjoy the mountain scenery under those circumstances.

 The second time we crossed the same mountains we had a 1922-model car. In comparison with the first experience, we did well. By employing all available power, we kept going, but the strain under which the climb was made took away much of the pleasure of the trip.

 More recently a third trip carried us over the same Rockies in a new car. That was different. The motor took the mountain climbs easily. We could stop by the roadside and enjoy the scenery. It required less time to travel the same distance and with that margin of power we enjoyed our travels. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

—Ezra G. Roth

Return to "Illustrations Plus" MENU