“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 2:3)
What was the mind that was in Jesus?
It was always coming down. . . .
The more He humbled Himself, the more He was trampled on. . . .
He goes down. . . . till He can go no lower,
down to the dust of death. . . .
Are you content to do this?
Are you content to have the mind that was in Christ Jesus,
content to be always trampled on?
(Pilgrim Portions for the Day of Rest - JND)
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December 10
“And they said, thou has saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my Lord,
and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
(Genesis 47:25)
"Thou hast saved our lives.” But there is something higher than this. As I see these Egyptians crowding round Joseph with these words upon their lips, it makes me think of Him of whom Joseph was but a type. Joseph lay in the pit; and from the pit was raised to give bread to the brethren who had rejected him, and to a nation of Gentiles.
Jesus lay in the grave; and from its dark abyss He was raised to give salvation to His brethren the Jews, and to the millions of Gentile people. Already I hear the sound of countless myriads, as they fall before the sapphire throne, and cry, “Thou hast saved us!”
The Egyptian name of Joseph meant, “the Saviour of the world”; but the salvation wrought by him is hardly to be named in the same breath with that which Jesus has achieved. Joseph saved Egypt by sagacity; Jesus saved us by laying down His life. Joseph’s bread cost him nothing; but the bread which Jesus gives cost Him Calvary.
Joseph was well repaid by money, cattle, and land; but Jesus takes His wares to the market of the poor, and sells them to those who have no money or price. He can supply all our need. His only condition is that he should do it freely.
To offer Him anything in exchange is to close all dealings with Him. But if you are willing to go without gold in your hand, and with an empty sack, He will give without stint, with both hands, pressed down, and running over. "He will fill the hungry with good things; but the rich He will send empty away.” “Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.” (F.B. Meyer)
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December 11
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28)
Nearly twenty years ago I was told by my doctor that I was suffering from a a certain disease.
From what I knew of that disease, I believed that I could not live more than six months.
How did the doctor’s information affect me? I did not want to die. I was young.
Life was sweet to me. The physical process of death was not inviting.
But one thought filled my heart with an ecstasy of joy,
“In six months’ time I shall actually see my Saviour.”
God raised me up. For two years I had a strenuous fight for life.
Death contested stubbornly every inch of ground on the road to recovery.
During those two very grave years the knowledge that my eternal
future was assured was my stay and comfort and joy.
I can conceive of nothing more terrible than to be in sorrow, especially as
to one’s own physical condition, without the knowledge of a personal Saviour.
There came a moment in my history, over forty years ago,
when I learned that I was a guilty sinner before God, that I could not save myself,
nor help to save myself; that if I were to be saved, God must do it.
I learned that the Lord Jesus Christ had died on the cross for sinners—
for me, there to atone for sins, and enable God righteously to forgive the repentant sinner.
(A.J. Pollock)
"I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad,
I found in Him my resting place, and He has made me glad.”
(H. Bonar)
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December 12
"A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking (dimly burning) flax shall
He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment (justice) unto truth.”
(Isaiah 42:3)
What a gentle Servant our Saviour was.
The bruised reed He would not crush.
The dimly burning flax He would not extinguish.
How many are weakened with illness and age,
or bruised by grief and problems today?
The gentle Servant takes even the weakest into
His tender hands and seeks to encourage them.
Think of His gentleness with the children,
with the broken ones of society, and with you and me.
He truly is the gentle Servant!
(James Comte)
“Saviour, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care.
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare."
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December 13
“Behold I come quickly."
(Revelation 22:12)
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain:
for the former things are passed away. ”
(Revelation 21:4)
Blessed are they who love Him and they who keep His word:
They shall enter into the city and dwell in the house of the Lord;
And oh, the joy of knowing, as the Lord’s redeemed can know,
While often sad and lonely, through this earthly life they go,
There shall be no more sickness; there shall be no more pain;
There shall be no more parting, loved from the loved again;
There shall be no more weeping, kneeling beside earth’s biers;
There shall be no more dying through the eternal years!”
(Annie Johnson Flint)
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December 14
“God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”
(1 John 1:5)
You cannot have fellowship with God in darkness, for God is light.
Natural darkness, “having the understanding darkened” (Ephesians 4:18) —
this is true of all men by nature.
No man by nature understands God.
No man naturally loves holiness and purity.
Have you ever noticed that you do not have to teach little children to tell lies,
but you do have to teach them to tell the truth;
You never have to teach them to lose their temper,
but you have to teach them to control it;
You never have to teach them to be disobedient,
but you do have to teach them to be obedient?
Why is this?
Because men naturally are children of darkness.
As we look into the faces of babes we do not like to think that in their little hearts
there is the same sinful tenancy that we find in ourselves, but it is there nevertheless,
and therefore there is the necessity of regeneration:
“Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
(Selected)
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December 15
“The Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind . . . and the children of
Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground.”
(Exodus 14:21, 22)
The ancients feared the hot, dry east wind from the desert.
In the Bible it frequently spoke of impending disaster.
“Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come,
the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness,
and his spring shall become dry, and his fountains shall be dried up:
he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.”
(Hosea 13:15)
But in Exodus 14, it is the agent by which God’s people
were delivered from the power of their enemy.
Trouble will come to the believer as well as the unbeliever,
but God tempers our trials and uses them for His glory and our blessing.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
(Romans 8:28).
(C.F. Anderson)
“Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break in blessing on your head.”
(Cowper - 1779)
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December 16
“The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call His name Jesus. . . . Son of the Highest.”
(Luke 1:30-32)
In Nazareth, that despised place, there was found a young virgin, unknown by the world, whose name was Mary.
She was espoused to Joseph, who was of the house of David; but so out of order was everything in Israel that this descendant of the king was a carpenter.
But what is this to God?
Mary was a chosen vessel; she had “found favour in the eyes of God.”
We must remark that the subject here is the birth of the child Jesus, as born of Mary.
It is not so much His divine nature as the Word which was God and which was made
flesh (though, of course, it is the same precious Saviour presented here as in John’s gospel);
But it is Jesus as really and truly man, born of a virgin. His name was to be Jesus, i.e., Jehovah the Saviour.
“He shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David,” still looking at Him as man born into the world.
But He was God as well as man.
Holy by His birth, conceived by the power of God, this blessed One,
who even, as born of Mary, is spoken of as “that Holy thing,”
was to be called “the Son of God.”
(The Man of Sorrows - JND)
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December 17
“The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”
(Galatians 2:20)
In our happy home above, not only shall we be known personally to the blessed Lord, but to each other.
Peter seems to have had no difficulty in recognizing, on the mount of transfiguration,
which was Moses and which was Elias.
So must it be in the resurrection state, where all is perfection.
A thorough distinction of persons will be manifest there.
Paul will never be taken for Peter, nor Peter for Paul;
and each will have his own crown and glory.
Blessed, yet solemn thought! each saint will have his own crown.
All will be known there for what they are in the estimation of the Lord.
Yet all will be perfect, all happy, all in the full joy of the Lord,
and all shining brightly in His glorious image,
which all shall then perfectly bear.
(Andrew Miller)
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December 18
“The meek will He guide in judgment: and
the meek will He teach His way.”
(Psalm 25:9)
It is commonly held that a strong will aids in the development of a strong character.
In reality, an unbroken will impedes growth.
An active will is not teachable.
If we do not hear, we can not believe.
If we do not believe, we can not understand,
and we remain in the dark.
(Nuggets of Truth - J.K.)
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December 19
"Negative Feedback from the Flesh"
"And he that died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again. " 2 Corinthians 5:15
One great temptation of the Christian life is to evaluate our faith
based on how we feel at any particular moment.
When we place too much importance on our physical or emotionally condition —
and then try to prove faith based solely on what we're experiencing —
it can be very deceptive.
The victory lies in looking away from self and fixing our eyes upon Christ.
Not on how we might be doing or feeling today, but on what
He has done to ensure our present success and eternal destination.
Therefore, the power for victorious living is in Him, the indwelling Spirit of Christ.
(2 Peter 1:3) "His divine power hath given unto all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3)
We might be no match for the ploys of Satan, but he is no match for the living Christ.
Our death to sin is receiving by faith what is true in Christ —
regardless of the deception and the negative feedback
our flesh may give us from one day to the next.
(Adapted)
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December 20
“The righteous considereth the cause of the poor.”
(Proverbs 29:7)
The year was 1780, and Robert Raikes had a burden for the poor, illiterate children in his London neighbourhood. He noticed that nothing was being done to help these children, so he set out to make a difference.
He hired some women to set up schools for them on Sunday. Using the Bible as their textbook, the teachers taught the poorest children of London to read and introduced them to the wisdom of the Bible. Soon about 100 children were attending these classes and enjoying lunch in a safe, clean environment.
These "Sunday schools,” as they were soon called, eventually touched the lives of thousands of boys and girls.
By 1831, Sunday schools in Great Britain reached more than a million children—all because one man understood this truth: “The righteous considers the cause of the poor.”
It’s no secret that Jesus cares greatly for those who struggle. In Matthew 25: 35-36, He suggests that followers of Christ show a readiness for the Lord’s return by helping the hungry to get food, helping the thirsty to get a drink, helping the homeless to find a home, helping the naked to get clothes, and helping the sick or imprisoned to receive comfort.
As we bear witness that Jesus Christ is in our hearts, we honour our compassionate Saviour by considering those on God’s heart. (Dave Brandon)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2015), Grand Rapids, MI, Reprinted permission."
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December 21
“Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
(John 3:7)
The Lord Jesus, here speaking to the well respected leader of Israel,
Nicodemus, brings before him his imperative need:
“Ye must be born again.”
On the outside Nicodemus was religious, devoted, a teacher of the law,
but something was missing.
He needed new life—on the inside—not physical but spiritual,
not earthly but heavenly, not material but eternal.
Where could he find it?
The Lord Jesus shows him the way!
The Lord Jesus Himself would be lifted up upon a cross to bear our sins.
You can have eternal life as a gift through Him who died for you.
By faith you can receive it today.
Trust Him and receive life—on the inside.
(Jim Paul)
"A ruler once came to Jesus by night to ask Him the way of salvation and light;
The Saviour made answer in words true and plain,
Ye must be born again.”
(William T. Sleeper 1819-1904)
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December 22
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