“And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai,
and present thyself there to Me in the top of the mount."
(Exodus 34:2)
Having communed with the Heavenly Father in the garden of prayer when the dew of blessing
awaits at sunrise is a reminder of a certain valley in Romania
where they grow nothing but roses for the Vienna market.
The perfume of that valley in the time of the rose crop
is such that if you go into it for a few minutes,
wherever you go the rest of the day,
people know where you have been.
The fragrance goes with you.
Meeting Him in the morning causes the fragrance of
His presence to go with you throughout the entire day.
(Streams in the Desert)
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September 22
“My God shall supply all your need according to
His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:19)
Look at these words carefully.
It does not say He will supply our wants.
There are many things we want that God has not promised to give.
It is our need, and all our need.
My children often want many things they do not get;
but I supply all they need, if it is in my power to do it.
I do not supply all their wants by any means.
And so, though God may withold from us many things that we desire,
He will supply all our need.
There can come upon us no trouble or trial in this life, but
God has grace enough to carry us right through it,
if we will only go to Him and get it.
But we must ask for it day by day.
“As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25)
(D.L. Moody)
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September 23
“I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”
(Revelation 2:4)
Comparatively few, we believe, long retain,
in divine freshness their first love.
The lively sense of the Lord’s “great love” to us,
and how He has met all our necessities, is soon but feebly remembered!
This is falling from our first love.
And why is this?
In place of going on to know the Lord more fully,
and seeking only to please Him,
we choose our own way,
follow our own will, and thereby grieve the Holy Spirit:
hence, darkness creeps over the mind, the light is,
as it were, shut out, and we become feeble and uncertain about everything.
(Andrew Miller)
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September 24
“Be much in Prayer”
“I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace.”
(Acts 20:32)
Be much in prayer, in this dark hour, for great are Satan’s wiles;
Far worse than persecuting power are his seductive smiles.
And error comes in such disguise — smooth-tongued and circumspect—
That none but truth-enlightened eyes the monster can detect!
And Fair profession, hand-in-hand with evil, stalks abroad
But to deceive. Oh! who can stand, save those who trust in God?
Be much in prayer, ‘mid all thy joys, so shall thy depth increase;
For lack of watchfulness alloys the very sweetest peace.
What power to stand is gained by saints who love to “watch and pray”!
And who escapes the desert taints in this defiling day?
Be much in prayer for labouring ones, who in the Master’s name,
And with the Master’s message, run, His mercy to proclaim.
The harvest’s great, the workmen few, and naught of time to spare;
Iniquity increases, too — remember this in prayer.
(Author Unknown)
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September 25
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,
so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
(Romans 5:19)
“If the damage had been known, the crew might have been saved.”
So stated NASA, after the ill-fated Columbia disintegrated
upon its return to earth, on February 1, 2003.
Earlier in the flight, a rescue plan could have been implemented
and the crew might have been saved - but soon it was too late.
As travelers to eternity, we have been damaged by sin.
Mercifully a rescue plan was put into place when the Lord Jesus died for you and me.
By faith in Him, you may be assured of a safe arrival in Heaven.
(Arnot P. McIntee)
I am unworthy to take of His grace, wonderful grace so free,
Yet Jesus suffered and died in m place, e’en for a soul like me.
(E.M. Roth)
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September 26
Paul Walked Alone With God
“At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me . . . “ (2 Timothy 4:16).
"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:17).
Paul, after all of his years of loving devotion to others, said these words as he stood before his Roman judgment,
This was Paul's testimony.
What he lacked from others, while being “alone,” was more than made up for by his Lord.
The Lord was his constant friend and companion.
Paul would say in his last letter, while facing death,
"… All they who are in Asia are turned away from me … only Luke is with me …” (2 Timothy 1:15; 4:11).
Paul was willing to walk alone with God; to forgo earthly fellowship and friendship if need be, to honour and follow Him.
Jesus Christ said of the Pharisees,
"For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43).
By contrast we hear Paul,
"… Not as pleasing men, but God …" (I Thessalonians 2:4).
"… Do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).
Paul's loss of earthly support was offset and outweighed by the deep reality of Divine support.
(Clyde L.Pilkington, Jr. - R.L. - Daily Devotions)
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September 27
The Bible’s Inexhaustibility
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His
counsellor? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are
all things; to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
(Romans 11:33-34,36)
"This Book,” says an unknown writer,
contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation,
the reward of saints, and the doom of sinners.
Its histories are true, its doctrines holy, its precepts binding.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveller’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass,
the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter.
It is a river of pleasure, a mine of wealth,
a paradise of glory.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe,
and practise it to be holy.”
(The Wonderful Word)
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September 28
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
(Hebrews 8:12)
This is not repression of bad memories, or the workings of an absent-mind.
This is an intentional, just disposition of our sins and iniquities because of the work of
Jesus Christ on the cross.
When a person merely forgets an event or thing, it can surprisingly rise to
consciousness again or be recalled when certain reminders are given.
But our sins and iniquities shall not one day,
out of the blue, come to His mind.
No, He has put our sins as far as the east is from the west,
hast cast them into the depths of the sea,
and shall never remember them again.
(D. Lein)
"In holy contemplation, we sweetly now pursue
The theme of God’s salvation, and find it ever new.”
(William Cowper)
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September 29
“Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The Lord knoweth them that are His.
And, let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity.”
(2 Timothy 2:19)
The foundation no one could overturn; and the Lord knew in a day of confusion and ruin,
who were resting upon it; but it was incumbent upon all who professed His name,
owned His authority, to depart from iniquity.
If in Zechariah (3:9-10) it was God stepping in,
on His people's repentance,
to remove the iniquity of His land, in
Timothy it is the responsibility of all who acknowledge
Christ as Lord to walk in separation
from evil this being the evidence of the reality of their profession.
(Edward Dennett—D.H.— Adapted)
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September 30
"O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good:
For His mercy endureth forever.”
(Psalm 136:1)
The Lord is good!
The psalmist affirmed it repeatedly.
Never forget it. Never doubt it.
Because, even if you do, He will still be good;
but you will lose the enjoyment of His goodness.
(Nuggets of Truth- J.K.)
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