January 11
“Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”
(John 6:37)
Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee.
“Take my life!” We have said it or sung it before the Lord, it may be many times; but if it were only once whispered in His ear with full purpose of heart, should we not believe that He heard it? And if we know that He heard it, should we not believe that He has answered it, and fulfilled this, our heart’s desire?
For with Him hearing means heeding.
Then why should we doubt that He did verily take our lives when we offered them—our bodies when we presented them?
Have we not been wronging His faithfulness all this time by practically, even if unconsciously,
doubting whether the prayer ever really reached Him?
And if so, is it any wonder that we have not realized all the power and joy of full consecration?
By some means or other He has to teach us to trust implicitly at every step of the way.
And so, if we did not really trust in this matter,
He has had to let us find out our want of trust by withholding the
sensible part of the blessing, and thus stirring us up to find out why it is withheld.
(Kept for the Master’s Use - Frances Ridley Havergal)
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The one indispensable book!
“Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail,
none shall want her mate: for My mouth it hath commanded,
and His Spirit it hath gathered them.”
(Isaiah 34:16)
The Bible is the oldest--and the newest of books.
The Bible surveys the whole field of time--and it looks farthest into the infinite depths of eternity.
The Bible lends the most vivid and absorbing interest to the scenes and events of the past—and
it keeps us in the most active sympathy with the time in which we live.
The Bible gives us the most reliable record of what has been—and it affords us our only
means of knowing what is yet to be.
The Bible is holy enough to denounce the very shadow and semblance of sin—and
it is merciful enough to save the chief of sinners.
The Bible is full of God--and must therefore be read with a pure heart,
or its true glory will not be seen.
The Bible is full of man--and must therefore always be interesting and
instructive to all who would know themselves.
The Bible is the plainest of books--and yet it has depths of wisdom
which no created mind can fathom.
The Bible is set up as a beacon to show all wanderers the safe way--and yet its light shines
forth from thick clouds of mystery, and from abysses of infinite darkness.
The Bible describes all conditions of life--and it gives utterance
to all desires and emotions of the soul.
The Bible has a song of triumph for the overcomer—and
a wail of defeat for the overcome.
(Daniel March - 1870)
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January 13
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness;
but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.”
(1 Corinthians 1:18)
There is no neutral ground when we face the cross: Either we accept its atoning work and become a new person, or we reject it and remain in our sinful self centred state.
When we take our stand with Christ and His redemption accomplished at Calvary, we are
compelled to make two profound confessions: "The wonders of His glorious love and my own worthlessness.”
This hymn (Beneath the cross of Jesus) was written by a frail woman, Elizabeth Clephane, who, despite her physical limitations, was known throughout her charming community of Melrose, Scotland, for her helpful, cheery nature. Among the sick and dying in her area she won the name of “Sunbeam.”
“Beneath the Cross of Jesus” was written in 1868, one year before her early death at the age of thirty-nine. She wrote eight hymns, only another has endured—“The Ninety and Nine,”
made popular by the tune composed for it by Ira D. Sankey.
(Kenneth W. Osbeck)
Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand, the shadow of a mighty Rock
within a weary land; a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noon-day heat and the burden of the day.
Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see the very dying form of One who suffered there for me; and from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess—the wonders of His glorious love
and my own worthlessness.
I take O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place—I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His
face; content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.
(Eliabeth Clephane)
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January 14
TRIUMPHANT SUFFERING
"Behold, my master . . . hath committed all that he hath to my hand . . . how
then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
(Genesis 39:8-9)
It is not, however, to be expected that the devil will leave unmolested a life that is beautiful in the sight of God and man. Devotion to the Lord exposes Joseph to the hatred of the devil. Having entirely failed to overcome Joseph by the frowns of the world and the trials of hard circumstances, the devil alters his tactics and seeks to overcome Joseph by the pleasures of sin.
In the person of Potiphar’s wife he had a ready instrument whereby to tempt Joseph,
combined with circumstances that favour her evil designs. In result the
temptation only serves to bring out the moral excellence of Joseph.
Here is the secret of Joseph’s consistent life before his master.
He served faithfully in the presence of man, because
he walked continually in the presence of God;
and walking in the fear of God he was kept
in the hour of temptation.
Well for each one of us, if the moment of fierce temptation finds us walking so near to God,
that at once we ask, “Can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"
To ask that question is to escape the snare.
The only thing we have really to be afraid of is fearing anything,
or anyone, more than God.
(Hamilton Smith)
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January 15
“He that spared not His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.”
(Romans 8:32)
Do you ask for some proof that God really loves you? How would you have Him prove it?
Would you ask Him to give you everything this world affords—friendship, fame,
riches, pleasure? That would be no proof that He cared for you.
It would cost Him nothing.
Do you ask that He would create a new world, and give it to you to be all your own?
Would you believe then that He really loved you? It might not be for your real
happiness, and—It would cost Him nothing!
By a word He could create a thousand worlds and present them to you. But what would they cost Him? Nothing! And until we find that which has cost Him something, we have no proof of whether He loves, or how much He loves.
Where shall we find this? Where shall we discover the final proof the heart craves for?
God Himself alone can disclose it. Blessed be His name, He has done so—
“He that spared not His own Son.”
The choicest and the best, the closest and the dearest, the object of His eternal love and pleasure, has been given. Had God said, “I would like to save; I am ready to do a great deal for my creatures, sinful as they are, but I must spare my Son all suffering, I cannot allow
Him to enter that dark, sin-stained world, and die," the final
proof of His love would have been wanting.
But "He that spared not His Own Son”—this reveals all we need to know.
God has given that which cost Him most to give.
If we think of all the ills of humanity,
let us think of this too— “He that
spared not His Own Son.”
(Russell Elliott)
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January 16
“They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. . . . For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
(Romans 8:8,9,13)
The instant I believe in Jesus, I am called on to reckon myself dead.
I am never told to die, but I am told to mortify my members that are upon the earth.
A man under the law will be trying to die with all his might, but he will never succeed.
A Christian is dead, and his life is hid with Christ in God, and therefore
he mortifies his members which are upon the earth, as living
in the power of the life he has in the Son of God.
(J.N. Darby)
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January 17
“And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him,
And a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter
on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly.
And his chains fell off from his hands.”
(Acts 12:7)
If we fear the Lord, we may look for timely interpositions when our case is at its worst.
Angels are not kept from us by storms, nor hindered by darkness.
Seraphs think it no humiliation to visit the poorest of the heavenly family.
If angels’ visits are few and far between at ordinary times, they
shall be frequent in our nights of tempest and tossing.
Is this an hour of distress with you?
Then ask for peculiar help.
Jesus is the Angel of the Covenant, and if His presence
be now earnestly sought it will not be denied.
What that presence brings is heart cheer.
(Spurgeon)
And a light shined in my cell, and there was not any wall,
And there was no dark at all, only THOU, Emmanuel.
Light of love shined in my cell, turned to gold the iron bars,
Opened windows to the stars, peace stood there as sentinel.
Dearest Lord, how can it be that Thou art so kind to me?
Love is shining in my cell, Jesus, my Emmanuel.
(Amy W. Carmichael)
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January 18
“I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me:
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God."
(Psalm 40:17)
He thinks upon me! What does He think about?
Verse 5 says that His thoughts are too many to number.
He knows me inside out.
Lonely? He knows. Afraid? He knows. In trouble? He knows.
Whatever our circumstances, let us rest assured that our Lord is quite aware of all the details.
He will save. He will help. He will deliver.
Isn’t He wonderful?
(M. Peters)
Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He cares for me.
(C. D. Martin)
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January 19
“But I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will,
but the will of Him that sent me."
(John 6:38)
When he was crossing the Irish Channel one dark starless night, says Dr. F. B. Meyer, he stood on the deck by the captain and asked him, “How do you know Holyhead Harbour on so dark a night as this?” He said, “You see those three lights? Those three must line up behind each other as one, and when we see them so united we know the exact position of the harbour’s mouth."
When we want to know God’s will there are three things which always concur: the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances! God in the heart, impelling you forward; God in the Book, corroborating whatever He says in the heart; and God in circumstances, which are always indicative of His will.
Never start until these three things agree.
Stand still at the cross-roads ready to walk or run, and you will not be kept waiting long.
When we’re not quite certain if we turn to left or right—Isn’t it a blessing when a signpost looms in sight! If there were no signposts we should wander miles astray—in the wrong direction if we didn’t know the way.
God has set His signposts on Life’s strange and winding road.
When we’re blindly stumbling with the burden of our load—
He will lead our footsteps though the pathway twist and bend—
In some form He guides us, through The Book, a song, a friend . . .
In the dark uncertain hours, we need not be afraid—
When we’re at the crossroads, and decisions must be made . . .
Though the track is unfamiliar, and the light is grey—
Rest assured, there’s bound to be a signpost on the way.
(Patience Strong)
Let us be silent unto Him, and believe that, even now, messengers are hastening along
the road with the summons, or direction, or help which we need.
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January 20
“It was the king’s commandment concerning them,
that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.”
(Nehemiah 11:23)
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
(Ephesians 5:19)
Well may we sing! With triumph sing
The great Redeemer’s praise!
The glories of the living God,
Revealed in Jesus' face.
Then gladly sing, and sound abroad
The great Redeemer’s praise;
The glories of the living God,
The riches of His grace!
(G. V. Wigram)
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January 21
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
if any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.”
(John 7:37)
Christ, therefore, is the key to all the Bible. He is its central Figure.
It all speaks of Him Who is at once our Prophet, our Priest, and our King.
We can hear His voice in the Old Testament if we read it in the light of the New.
The New Testament has a richer meaning when we read it as the completion and fulfilment of the Old. It is when we see Christ in this way in all the Scriptures that the Bible becomes
to us the living voice of the the living God.
In the Old Testament, the New lies hid; in the New Testament the Old lies open.
In the Old Testament the New lies concealed; in the New Testament, the old is revealed.
What is enfolded in the Old Testament is unfolded in the New.
The New is in the Old contained; the old is by the New explained.
These all indicate that the two principal parts of the Bible are like the two sides of the human
body, organically one—the two hands and feet both by their likeness
and unlikeness, contributing to mutual efficiency.
(The Wonderful World - George Henderson)
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