2015 – HARVEY Christian Publishers

Covetousness: The Soul—An Immortal Guest

Posted on March 24, 2015June 7, 2018 by admin

“Two things a master commits to his servant’s care,” said one, “the child and the child’s clothes.” It will be a poor excuse for the servant to say at His master’s return:
“Sir, here are all the child’s clothes, neat and clean, but the child is lost!”
Much so with the account that many will give to God of their souls and bodies at the great day: “Lord, here is my body; I was very grateful for it. I neglected nothing that belonged to its content and welfare; but for my soul, that is lost, and cast away forever. I took little care and thought about it.—Flavel.

Is this silly, laughing, trifling animal, born for eternity? Is this he that was made an incorruptible picture of the God of glory? He that was born to live with angels and arch-angels and all the company of Heaven? And is it thus that he is preparing to meet Him that is coming in the clouds of Heaven? What a fool, what a block-head, what a madman is he that forgets the very end of His creation!—John Wesley.

The soul on earth is an immortal guest,
Condemned to starve at an unreal feast:
A spark, which upwards tends by nature’s course;
A stream, diverted from its parent source;
A drop, dissevered from the boundless sea;
A moment, parted from eternity;
A pilgrim, panting for the rest to come;
An exile, anxious for his native home.
—Hannah More.

These quotations are taken from the book Covetousness, written and compiled by Lillian Harvey and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. It is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Covetousness: A Ministerial Sin

Posted on March 24, 2015June 7, 2018 by

In the book, Covetousness, written and compiled by Lillian Harvey, many aspects of the sin, Covetousness, are covered. In the following quotation, a former editor of the magazine, The Wesleyan Methodist, courageously states that this is a sin which is not uncommon among professed servants of God:

“It influences church legislation. It speaks out when the minister is considering a call to a new field. It gives direction as to the choice of sermon themes and throws a blanket of distrust over all benevolent deeds.

“If there is an inordinate desire for ease, for the smooth road, for the secluded spot where the pounding waves never reach, beware! Covetousness is lurking near.

“Covetousness needs to be recognized, confessed, and repudiated. The only sovereign remedy is to give Christ the preeminence in our hearts; for then shall we value all temporal things in comparison to Him. He has made adequate provision for cleansing the heart from the ‘dry rot’ of covetousness.
—Wesleyan Methodist.

Covetousness is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their online Christian bookstore.

Are Your Assets Frozen?

Posted on March 17, 2015February 3, 2020 by

We are not store-rooms, but channels,
We are not cisterns, but springs,
Passing our benefits onward,
Fitting our blessings with wings;
Letting the water flow outward
To spread o’er the desert forlorn;
Sharing our bread with our brothers,
Our comfort with those who mourn.
—Wesleyan Methodist

Are your assets frozen assets? A little boy once had a piggy bank, and he was found putting water into the bank. Upon being asked what he was doing he said, “I’m going to put it into the freezer, and then my money will be safe.”

Let me hold lightly things of this earth; Transient treasures, what are they worth? Moths can corrupt them, rust can decay,
All their bright beauty fades in a day.
Let me hold lightly temporal things—
I, who am deathless, I, who wear wings!
Let me hold fast, Lord, things of the skies; Quicken my vision, open my eyes!
Show me Thy riches, glory and grace, Boundless as time is, endless as space. . . .
Let me hold lightly things that are mine— Lord, Thou dost give me all that is Thine!
— Martha S. Nicholson

All of the above quotations are taken from the book Covetousness, written and compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. It is available in their online Christian Bookstore.

Covetousness: The Scandal of Christianity

Posted on March 17, 2015June 7, 2018 by

Exod. 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

Most Christians can quote this scripture off by heart, well aware that it is one of the Ten Commandments. Yet it is, perhaps, one of the commandments most frequently broken.

“There is a sin which a Catholic priest once declared that no one had ever confessed to him,” writes Samuel Logan Brengle, “a sin so deadly that the wrath of God comes upon men because of it; a sin so common that probably everybody has at some time been guilty of it; a sin so gross in the sight of God as to be classed with whoremongery, idolatry, murder, and such like; a sin so subtle that men most guilty of it seem to be most unconscious of it; a sin that has led to the ruin of homes, to the doom of cities, the downfall of kings, the overthrow of empires, the collapse of civilizations, the damnation of an apostle, of ministers of the Gospel and of millions of less conspicuous men. Men in the highest and most sacred positions of trust, and enjoying the most unlimited confidence of their fellow-men, have under the spell of this sin wrecked their good names, and have brought shame to their families, and misfortune, want, and woe to their fellows.”

This is quotation is taken from the book Covetousness, written and compiled by Lillian Harvey. It is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Covetousness: The sin very few ever confess

Posted on February 24, 2015June 7, 2018 by

“In reading the Gospels recently, we were staggered by the words of Jesus regarding finance and faith, which took on new meaning in the light of the devastating effects of materialism on Christendom. We read and reread certain portions and as we did so, we were convinced that we should publish some- thing on this subject.”
This is the opening paragraph to the foreword of the book Covetousness, written and compiled by Lillian Harvey. The subject of the book is, of course, exactly what the title implies—covetousness. The following list of some of the chapter headings will doubtless whet your appetite to read further:

God Calls It Sin
Don’t Barter Your Treasure
The Soul-Destroying Grasp
The Scandal of Christianity
The Insanity of Greed
Don’t Barter Your Treasure
Wesley Denounced It
Chrysostom Denounced It
Converted Pockets
Covetousness is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Covetousness: Scriptural Examples

Posted on February 24, 2015June 7, 2018 by

“Covetousness ruled the stony, ashen heart of Judas,” writes Samuel Logan Brengle, “and for thirty pieces of silver he betrayed the Master!
“Covetousness,” he continues, “possessed the selfish hearts of Ananias and Sapphira; they wanted the praise and honor of utmost sacrifice and generosity while secretly holding on to their gold. And God smote them dead!

“As we study the history and Biblical examples of this sin of covetousness, we see the deep meaning and truth of Paul’s words to Timothy, ‘They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil.’
“This sin led to ingratitude toward his uncle, and neighborly association with vile sinners in Lot; to envy and jealousy and sacrilege in Nadab and Abihu; to disobedience in Saul; to sacrilege and licentiousness in Eli’s sons; to adultery and murder in David; to brazen robbery in Ahab; to greed and lying in Gehazi; to the betrayal of the innocent Christ with an impudent kiss in Judas; to bold lying to the Holy Ghost in Ananias and Sapphira.
“Truly, from its poisonous root has sprung up the deadly upas tree of all evil, and upon it in manifold ways has been outpoured the wrath of God, showing His holy hatred and abhorrence of it.”
The above quotation was taken from the book, Covetousness, written and compiled by Lillian Harvey and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. It is also available in their online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Prayer brings God out of His secret place

Posted on February 10, 2015June 7, 2018 by

“The great battles,” says Samuel L. Brengle, “the battles that decide our destiny and the destiny of generations yet unborn, are not fought on public platforms, but in the lonely hours of the night and in moments of agony.”

God sets more value on prayer and communion than labor. The heavenly bridegroom is wooing a wife, not hiring a servant. Prayer brings God out of His secret place to work wonders in the earth . . . to pour Himself through the believer into a world of lost souls.
—A. W. Roffe.

A burning Niagara of words does not mean that God is either impressed or moved. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, one of the most profound of intercessors, had no language. “Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.” There are groanings that cannot be uttered. In the mountain-moving place of travailing prayer, linguists are not needed.—L. Ravenhill.

“Groanings which cannot be uttered” are often prayers which cannot be refused.
—C. H. Spurgeon.

Mental prayer is not unheard—“Hannah spake in her heart.” When the heart is so full of grief that it can only groan in prayer, yet God writes that down: “My groaning is not hid from Thee.”—Watson.

Though smooth be the heartless prayer,
No ear in Heaven will mind it,
And the finest phrase falls dead,
If there is no feeling behind it.

So it is not the speech which tells,
But the impulse which goes with the saying,
And it is not the words of the prayer,
But the yearning back of the praying.
—E. W. Wilcox.

The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. This book and its companion, Kneeling We Triumph Volume Two, are available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Getting used to God’s Presence

Posted on February 10, 2015June 7, 2018 by

We must remember that it was not by interceding for the world in Glory that Jesus saved it. He gave Himself. Our prayers for the evangelization of the world are but a bitter irony so long as we give only of our superfluity, and draw back before the sacrifice of ourselves.
—M. Francois Collard.

Last night I had a unique experience. I awoke intensely oppressed and as I lay under the dead weight of it, it dawned on me that it meant I was to pray, so I got to work to pray for the men who have just gone off to the fighting line, and in a marvelous way the oppression left and peace ineffable came, and the words emerged, “A house of prayer for all nations.” It is a good thing to stake your confidence on the ground of the perfected Redemption and pray from that basis.
—Oswald Chambers.

Unwearied may I this pursue,
Dauntless to the high prize aspire,
Hourly within my soul renew
This holy flame, this heavenly fire,
And day and night be all my care
To guard the sacred treasure there.
—Paul Gerhardt.

Scientists often spend years, sometimes a whole lifetime, in making important scientific discovery. Then how can we expect to discover spiritual beauties by spending only five minutes every day in quiet and prayer? Some people become tired at the end of ten minutes or half an hour of prayer. What would they do when they have to spend Eternity in the presence of God? We must begin the habit here and become used to being with God.—Sadhu Sundar Singh.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: The Beauty of Delayed Answers

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

In the book, Kneeling We Triumph Volume One compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, there is a reading entitled “The beauty of delayed answers.” In this reading, the authors have included a moving prayer uttered by the blind poet and hymn-writer, George Matheson and author of that well-known hymn, “O love that will not let me go”:
“My Father, help me to learn that I am heir to possessions which exceed my present holding! They exceed my present power to hold—they are waiting for my summer. Do I ever thank Thee for the blessings which Thou postponest? I am afraid not. I am like the prodigal: I want to get all at once the portion that falleth to me; and, where it is not given, I deem it is refused. Teach me, O Lord, the beauty of Thy delayed answers.”

In the moment of its crying
Came no answer to my heart,
But, long-deferred, it came with blessing
In a quiet place apart.
Seldom in the midst of toiling
Do we reap our recompense.
It may come when hands are folded
In a sunset hour long hence.
Not in thunderous crash of earthquake,
Not in whirlwind or in fire,
Not in voice of sounding trumpet
Does God speak our deep desire.
But with strife and fretting over—
Waiting—all serene and still,
We may hear the whispered message
Teaching us His perfect will.
When we school our hearts to patience
God reveals His better way.
Proving oft that His tomorrow
Is far better than today.
—Kathryn Blackburn Peck.

The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, published by Harvey Christian Publishers and available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Bitterness hinders prayer

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

In the book Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, there is a reading entitled “Bitterness hinders prayer.” I think most of us are aware of this fact as it is reiterated in Scripture as A. B. Simpson points out:
“Job had to pray for his very enemies before God could turn his captivity, and had to banish from his heart every particle of bitter feeling towards the men who had tormented him through months of sickness, with their ignorance, misconstruction, and offensive interference. And when he did, God turned his captivity and restored him to more than his former blessings (Job. 42:10).

“One reason why the disciples could not claim the casting out of the demon from the suffering child was that they had disputed by the way which should be the greatest. The spirit of cherished animosity, lurking prejudice, sullen vindictiveness, or cold disdain, will as effectually obstruct our intercourse and intimacy with Heaven as a speck upon the crystalline lens of the eye will obstruct our vision, or the crossing of wires of the electric machinery will leave us in darkness.
“There are a great many crossed wires in the Church of Christ and the consequence is dark hearts and mournful cries: “Hath God forgotten to be gracious?” (Psalm 77:9). “How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?” (Psalm 80:4). Just this long, brother—“If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:23, 24).”

I heard a knock I knew. I said,
“Lord Jesus, do come in. Come in.”
He said, “The door is locked.”
It was. . . . I turned the key.
I heard Him touch the handle
and a crack of light appeared.
“Come in, Lord Jesus. Please come in.”
“Something is against the door,” He said,
“It will not move!”
I looked. I saw a dark, crude bundle
I had not known was there—an ugly bundle,
hateful to the touch.
I glanced inside and saw the rancid unforgiveness
of a wrong.
I pushed it back, flung wide the door, and light
poured in as
Jesus stepped inside my house and greeted me.
—Jane Emerson.

The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph, Volume One, which is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available on their Online Christian Bookstore.

Year: 2015