“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.”
(Psalm 55:22)
If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him,
the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating.
But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us,
He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility,
replacing it with an awareness and understanding
of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives.
But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated.
They do not know what to do with their burden,
and it produces weariness in their lives.
(Oswald Chambers)
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May 1
TIDINGS OR TUMULT?
“Thou hast no tidings ready? . . . I saw a great tumult.”
(2 Samuel 18:22, 29)
AHIMAAZ WANTED TO RUN when he had nothing to report. Consequently, he could only say, “I saw a great tumult.” The messenger who runs too soon in the ministry
has only a tempest in his head and in his heart.
has only a tempest in his head and in his heart.
Smitten as we are today with the delusion that we are doing most business when we are busiest, we need to learn John Wesley’s maxim, “I do not have time to be in a hurry.”
God is saying to some of us, “Stand thou still awhile
that I may show thee the Word of God” (1 Samuel 9:27).
that I may show thee the Word of God” (1 Samuel 9:27).
We are not to wear out or to rust out, but to live out, and
God has as much to say about being still as about being busy.
In this age of aspirin and angina a preacher may have to offend somebody in order to eliminate enough nonessentials to make time to get his tidings ready. Otherwise, he will have seen only a tumult, and this poor world needs no more tumults.
(Day by Day - Vance Havner)
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May 2
“It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning:
great is Thy faithfulness.”
(Lamentations 3:22-23)
How thankful we should be for the freshness and beauty of each new day!
Even more impressive than the features of the planet on which
we live are the Father’s daily supply of “compassions”,
freshly provided for the needs of the unfolding day.
Let us guard against unnecessarily carrying
yesterday’s anxieties into
the new morning!
(G. Hall)
“Why should my heart then be distressed, by dread of future ill?
Or why should unbelieving fear my trembling spirit fill.”
(H. A. Caesar Malan)
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Pruning the branches of my vines.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished
in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:6-8)
On Friday I spend a good part of my day restructuring supports for my grapevines on the
West side of our homestead, once that was completed I began the task of pruning.
As I was cutting away or purging old, dead unproductive branches, I noticed something very peculiar.
Two rather large branches, supporting numerous smaller branches had come into contact with the ground, grasses had composted around them and these two rather large branches sent a new root system into the ground with which they had made contact. I trimmed off both sides of these branches, setting the new root system in drenched soil to preserve them for another planting.
"Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction."
(Proverbs 24:32)
The foods of Egypt were listed as root vegetables, Leeks, Garlic and Onions, being nourished in the soils of Egypt; The food of the Land of Canaan was that which was grown suspended above the earth, Grapes, Figs, Pomegranates.
Considering what I saw, I thought of this lesson for my soul; If I permit my soul to make contact with the soils of this world, my soul will send down roots and the soil of the world will be the source of my nourishment and I will take on the thoughts, habits and character of the soil in which I am rooted.
"According to their pasture, so were they filled" (Hosea 13:6).
(Dan Hopkins)
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May 4
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
(Proverbs 25:11)
- We’re much safer when we are “abhorring” ourselves.
- When Job had been brought to that, it made him speak,
instead of “laying his hand upon his mouth”.
(Job 40:4, 42:6)
- The Lord would not have Job dumb before Him.
The voice of worship and thanks is what He desires.
-The first claim is, to own God as God.
(Hunt’s saying)
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May 5
“Thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
It is the water allowed inside the ship which sinks it.
(Ivan Panin)
Never was a faithful prayer lost.
Some prayers have a longer voyage than others;
but then they return with their richer lading at last,
so that the praying soul is a gainer by waiting for an answer.
(William Gurnall --1617-1679)
Pain, Passion, Purity, Prayer and Power are companion P’s [Pea’s] in God’s pod.
Submission and obedience form the best translation of God’s Word,
the best exposition of it, and the best commentary on it.
(NUGGETS—FOOD FOR THOUGHT - JOHN KAISER)
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May 6
"Power Provided by the Lord"
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.“
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
Paul expresses his revelation that it was only when he gave up his will to the Lord, that the Lord's power was made perfect in his personal weakness. In other words, the Lord shows to us His great strength when we end our demands of Him and yield to Him. It's the way Christ's power is revealed and demonstrated in our lives.
Paul had a lot of reasons to trust in himself, much more so than his critics. He had a great lineage, educational background, and very successful pastoral record. Yet, Paul had learned the lesson of not relying upon his own experience and ability. In fact, he counted all his accomplishments as dung (Philippians 3:7-8). Paul was totally dependent upon Christ living in him.
He learned to accept weakness (becoming weak in himself) so Jesus could emerge as his strength.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”
(Galatians 2:20)
The Lord may not always intervene in any problem or persecution we may encounter; however, He will always provide us with the strength to endure.
Capturing the essence of this thought,
Phillip Brooks (1836-1893) once wrote: "Do not pray for easy lives.
Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for power equal to your tasks.”
The true power we need to persevere, overcome or endure can only come from the Lord.
(Daily Devotions - Robert Lucas)
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May 7
“And He [Jesus] said unto them, come ye yourselves apart [with Me]
into a desert place, and rest a while.”
(Mark 6:31)
There is one pause in music of which the untrained singer does not know the value—the pause:
it is not the cessation of the music; it is a part of it.
Before the tide ebbs or flows there is always a time of poise when it is neither ebbing nor flowing.
In a Christian life that is to be effective, there will always be the pause and the poise.
The desert has been God’s training-school for many of His prophets—Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Paul.
But not all who come from Arabia are prophets; and God has other schools.
Before the years of witness, there were the years of stillness.
Every witness with a great message has these years.
Let not the saints shrink from the discipline and training!
The sightless days will mean a grander vision; the silent years, the sweeter song.
If the Lord puts you in the dark, it is but to strengthen your eyes to bear the glory that
He is preparing for you; if He bids you be silent, it is but to tune your tongue to His praise.
Remember that the pause is part of the music.
The great Composer writes the theme and gives us each a part to play;
To some a sweet and flowing air, smooth and unbroken all the way;
They pour their full heart’s gladness out in notes of joy and service blent;
But some He gives long bars of “rests,” with idle voice and instrument.
He who directs the singing spheres, the music of the morning stars,
Needs, for His full creation’s hymn, the quiet of the soundless bars.
Be silent unto God, my soul, if this the score He writes for thee,
And “hold the rest,” play no false note to mar His perfect harmony.
Yet be thou watchful for thy turn, strike on the instant, true and clear,
Lest from the grand, melodious whole thy note be missing to His ear.
(Annie Johnson Flint)
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May 8
“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.”
(Psalms 34:15)
Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?
Oh yes I know He cares.
(Frank Graeff)
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May 9
“And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and hath come to Jerusalem to worship . . . heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? . . . Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”
(Acts 8:26:35)
Recently my 5-year old grandson, Dallas, asked, “Why did Jesus die on the cross? So we had a little talk. I explained
to him about sin and Jesus’ willingness to be our sacrifice. Then he ran off to play.
A few minutes later, I heard him talking to his 5-year old cousin, Katie, explaining to her why Jesus died.
Katie said to him, “But Jesus isn’t dead." - “Yes He’s dead.” - Grampy told me. He died on the cross.
I realized I hadn’t completed the story.
So we had another talk as I explained to Dallas that Jesus rose from the dead.
We went over the story again until he understood that Jesus is alive today, even though He did die for us.
What a reminder that people need to hear the whole gospel.
When a man from Ethiopia asked Philip about a portion of Scripture he did not
understand, Philip "opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35)
Tell others the good news about Jesus: that we are all sinners needing salvation; that the perfect
Son of God died to save us; and that He rose from the grave, showing His power over death.
Jesus, our Saviour, is alive and is offering now to live His life through us.
When someone wants to know about Jesus, let’s make sure to tell the whole story!
(Dave Brandon)
------------------------------
"Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2015), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission.”
______________________________
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May 10
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15)
I supposed I knew my Bible, reading piecemeal, hit or miss,
Now a bit of John or Matthew, now a snatch of Genesis,
Certain chapters of Isaiah, certain Psalms (the twenty-third!)
Twelfth of Romans, first of Proverbs—yes, I thought I knew the Word!
But I found that thorough reading was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar when I read the Bible through.
You who like to play at Bible, dip and dabble here and there,
Just before you kneel, aweary, and yawn through a hurried prayer,
You who treat the crown of writings as you treat no other book—
Just a paragraph, disjointed, just a crude, impatient look—
Try a worthier procedure, try a broad and steady view;
You will kneel in very rapture, when you read the Bible through!
(Selected)
Mark your Bible. It will emblazon glorious truths.
Well-springs of inspiration will stand out like electric signs in the night.
“Commit something to memory every day. Thus train the waters of
the great reservoir of wisdom to irrigate your life.”
(Dr. Frank Crane)
Today may I discover riches which have hitherto been hidden from me!
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.”
(2 Timothy 3:16,17)
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May 11
“For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
(Philippians 4:11)
SOMEWHERE or other in the worst flood of trouble, there is
always a dry spot for contentment to get its foot on;
and if there were not, it would learn to swim.
This is learning to be content, whatever
the circumstances may be.
Strong grows the oak in the sweeping storm,
Safely the flower sleeps under the snow,
And the farmer’s hearth is never warm
Till the cold wind starts to blow.
(Josiah Gilbert Holland)
It has been said that no man is safe unless he can stand anything that can happen to him.
The Christian is more than safe, for he can use
anything that can happen to him.
Everything is grist to his mill.
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May 12
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