“For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have know surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. . . . them which Thou hast given me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.” (John 17:8-10)
What a blessed thought put forth by the Lord,
that they should be made so one with Himself,
that the glory given to Him could be given to them;
that they should be manifested as the people of His love,
in whom His glory will be displayed.
The moment He lets them hear of the glory given to Him,
they hear also that He proposes to act in all the largeness
of His love, and share it all with them.
(G.V. Wigram)
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November 23
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:”
(2 Peter 1:2-3)
We are reminded of two basic facts.
The first is that we are the objects of a love which is infinite and unchangeable,
and which will never cause us to shed one needless tear;
and the second, that while in the Word of God we have revealed to us all that it is necessary
for us at the present stage to know (2 Peter1:3),
we should frankly recognize that there are some things for the solution
of which we shall have to wait until we reach the heavenly land.
(Heaven’s Cure for Earth’s Care)
“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
(Deuteronomy 29:29)
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November 24
The Aroma of Christ
"For we are unto God a sweet Savour (Aroma) of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.” (2 Corinthians 2:15)
When the Magi came with their offerings to Jesus, what did they bring?
They brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
This scene captured the imagination of English royalty. Every January 6, the date commemorating the coming of the Magi with their gifts, the King or Queen of England takes to the Royal Chapel an offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The monarch recognizes that the privilege, responsibility, and position as the ruler of England is by God's grace, and brings an offering of a "sweet-smelling savour" to the King of Kings!
What a wonderful gesture of love, adoration, and recognition of their place before Almighty God.
Have you ever wondered where myrrh came from? It comes from a tree in North Africa.
It is stripped and then stabbed with a knife until it bleeds large opaque tears that are dried and ground then dissolved in a solution until it becomes a fragrant perfume. How symbolic this is of what needs to take place in our lives before we can be a "sweet smelling aroma" to God.
(Adapted - B.L.)
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November 25
Presumptuous Sins
“Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over
me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable
in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
(Psalm 19:13-14)
Presumptuous sins are the thieves that break through and steal the saint’s comfort away.
When the Christian comes to look into his soul after such a bold act,
and thinks to entertain himself, as formerly,
with the comforts of his pardoned state, interest in Christ,
and hopes of heaven through Him, alas! he finds a sad change;
no promise that will give out its consolations to him.
The cellar door is locked, Christ withdrawn, and the keys carried away with Him.
Hast thou fallen into the hands of any such presumptuous sins;
that have stolen thy peace from thee?
Send speedily thy hue and cry after them.
I mean, make thy sad moan to God,
renew they repentance out of hand,
and raise heaven upon them by a spirit of prayer.
This is no time to delay; the further thou lettest these sins go without repentance,
the harder thou wilt find it to recover thy lost peace and joy out of their hands.
(The Christian in Complete Armour
William Gurnall 1617-1679)
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November 26
REST— GLORIOUS AND REAL
“We which have believed do enter into rest.”
(Hebrews 4:3)
He hath given us rest by His sorrow, and life by His death;
“Rest from thy sorrow and from thy fear, and from thy hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve” (Isaiah 14:3).
Come and take the gift! It is gloriously real. It is no mere slight and temporary sense of relief.
And He gives us rest on every side—complete rest, guarded and sheltered all around.
It is not only rest from all weariness and burdens, but rest in Himself.
Jesus is spoken of in type as “the Man of Rest,” (1 Chronicles 22:9).
“and His rest shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).
It is this, His own divine rest, that He will give.
“This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest” (Isaiah 28:12).
Is it worth having? Will you not come for it?
You cannot have it without coming to Jesus; but only come, and it shall be yours—
for there stands His word—and “in returning and rest shall ye be saved” (Isaiah 30:15).
Yes, “even until now!” And so we stand,
Forgiven, loved and blessed;
And covered in the shadow of God’s hand,
Believing, are at rest.
The one great load, is lifted from the soul!
That henceforth on the Lord all burdens we may roll.
(Frances Ridley Havergal)
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November 27
“Noah walked with God.”
(Genesis 6:9)
"Enoch walked with God.”
(Genesis 5:24)
“Thou my everlasting portion, more than friend or life to me;
All along my pilgrim journey, Saviour, let me walk with Thee.”
(Fanny J. Crosbie 1820-1915)
What better summation can there be of one’s life than this—that they walked with God?
To walk with God includes the whole round of activities in our individual lives.
Vance Havner describes it as “the journey of those who walk as He walked.”
Noah walked in touch with God in spite of mockings.
Enoch walked with God in spite of family pressures.
As we walk in newness of life, we need to
“press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:14).
and leave a straight path for others to follow.
Are we doing so?
(Edna M. Dyck)
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November 28
“Thy word is truth.”
(John 17:17)
“Jesus saith unto him (Thomas) I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
(John 14:6)
“Buy the truth, and sell it not.”
(Proverbs 23:23)
“The Truth” is not something that lies dormant in us,
that has to be developed;
but we must be led into it.
(Rochfort Hunt)
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November 29
“Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast.”
(1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
In this brief quotation, we have a sacrifice and a feast, two things quite distinct although intimately connected, and we have them in their proper order. The sacrifice has been completed in the past, but the feast is to be celebrated now. We must be careful not to confound these things.
Israel’s salvation rested on God’s estimate of the blood of the lamb. God had declared, “When I see the blood, I will pass over.” This is a most precious truth for the soul to dwell upon. Man’s salvation rests upon God’s satisfaction! Mark these words, “is sacrificed” and that, “for us.” This settles everything as to the great and all-important question of salvation from judgment and wrath. Thus the precious link of salvation, of eternal life, is formed—a link which can never be broken.
The Lord Jesus Christ—the living Saviour—will ever maintain this link in unbroken integrity as He says, “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). “Being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10).
Christ keeps us—we keep the feast! He was slain to spread a feast for us, and that feast is a life of personal holiness—practical separation from all evil. Israel’s feast was composed of three things: a roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. Precious ingredients! setting forth in typical language:
First, Christ as having endured the wrath of God for us;
Secondly, those deep, spiritual exercises of heart which flow from our contemplating the cross: and Thirdly, personal holiness, or practical separation from evil.
Such was the feast of God’s redeemed and such is our feast now. Oh! that we may have grace to celebrate it! (C.H. Mackintosh)
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November 30
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
(Philippians 2:13)
Once Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) came to see the great Freiburg organ.
The old custodian refused him permission to play upon the instrument, not knowing who he was.
At length however, he reluctantly granted him leave to play a few notes.
Mendelssohn took his seat, and soon the most wonderful music was breaking forth from the organ.
The custodian was spellbound.
He came up beside the great musician and asked his name.
Learning it, he stood humiliated, self-condemned, saying,
‘And I refused you permission to play upon my organ!’
There comes One to us, who desires to take our lives and play upon them.
But we withhold ourselves from Him, and refuse him permission, when,
if we would yield ourselves to Him, He would bring from our souls heavenly music.
(Streams in the Desert)
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