“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
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
(Hebrews 4:12)
THE BIBLE
The Bible contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation,
the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy,
its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrims’s staff, the pilot’s compass,
the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter.
Here, heaven is opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is the grand subject,
our good its design, and the glory of God its end.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully.
It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
It is given you in life, will be opened at the Judgment, and be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour,
and condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
“Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven.”
(Psalm 119:89)
(The Lord is near- 1995)
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May 13
“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:19)
Years ago when horse-cabs were the custom in Canada, it was usual to give the cabman a tip of 25 cents.
The story is told of of one of Canada’s richest men who drove home one night in a cab.
When he got out he handed the cabby the correct fare and a 25 cent tip.
The cabby turned it over in his hand, and said,
“You know, Sir, when I drive your son home,
he always gives me half a dollar tip.”
“Yes,” the wealthy man replied,
“But he has a rich father.”
The son was was giving in some measure “according to his wealth.”
I regret to say the father was not doing so: but our ‘rich Father’ will never treat us so;
He gives according to His wealth.”
And we might bear in mind that our ‘rich Father’ has said,
“Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
(G. Christopher Willis - Sacrifices of Joy)
“Love ever gives, forgives, outlives;
And ever stands with open hands,
And while it lives it gives.
For this is Love’s prerogative—
To give, and give, and give.”
(Straight Talks)
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May 14
GOD'S REVELATION
"...the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe.”
(1 Corinthians 1:21)
Salvation is something that comes altogether from God.
And when we put it like that, do we not see very clearly why it is that so many people reject it?
The natural man dislikes the whole idea of revelation. Why?
Because he thinks he is wise and prudent.
He fee;s so full of his own intellect and understanding.
1 Corinthians 1:21 (Quoted above)
Here is a great principle, and if we are wrong at this point, how can we be right anywhere else?
The gospel starts by proclaiming that it is the way of salvation.
Its message is not something that man has thought of or achieved,
but something that comes out of the mind of God.
It is something that God shows and gives, that He has revealed;
it is altogether from His side, and man contributes nothing to it.
Why is God’s way of salvation a matter of revelation?
One of the reasons why it must be revelation and not discovery is the greatness of God.
“I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast…revealed them unto babes….”
(Luke 10:21)
Oh, how easy it is to talk cleverly about God and to understand the philosophy of God,
to have our religious arguments and discussions.
But isn’t half our trouble that we forget altogether who God is and what He is?
From eternity to eternity, He is the Creator and sustainer of everything that is.
The gospel is altogether from God’s side, and man contributes nothing to it.
(Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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May 15
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.”
(John 14:27)
Peace and suffering are closely linked together in the New Testament.
The words quoted lead on to Gethsemane and Calvary.
A letter, which begins with persecution and tribulation,
and prays that those who read it might be counted worthy of the
Kingdom of God for which they suffer, ends with -
“Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means.” [peace at all times]
(2 Thessalonians 3:16)
We do not know what the Thessalonians had to endure;
we only know it was a thousand times more than anything we have ever experienced,
for the New Testament words always contain the most, not the least,
possible meaning, so a great scholar has said.
Beside these immense trials what are ours?
They mays seem large to us for the moment, and perhaps no one knows of them.
That does not matter, for He Who loves best of all knows all about that, and He says,
“My peace I give unto you.”
His peace is not the easy, natural peace of the level road.
It is the peace of the steep and difficult mountain climb.
Make us Thy mountaineers . . . that undefeated we may climb the hill
As seeing Him Who is invisible.
(Edges of His Ways - Amy Carmichael)
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May 16
“The Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
(Luke 12:40)
SOMETIMES I SEE the little sign, PERHAPS TODAY.
It means that today may be the time our Lord shall return.
It may be at dawn or at dark, midday, or midnight.
And we want to be not only waiting but watching.
Again, perhaps if He does not come for us, this may be the day when we go to Him.
It may be the day when great tragedy, sorrow, bereavement will befall us.
It may be the most glorious day we ever knew when heaven opens and
God pours out a blessing we have not room enough to receive.
The bible says, “Sanctify yourselves against to morrow”.
(Numbers 11:18)
It is also well to be sanctified against today.
Life is a string of surprises, good and bad.
God lives in the Everlasting Now and makes much of Today.
It is the only day we have.
Yesterday is gone and “tomorrow’s sun may never rise” for us.
Do not live as though He might return tomorrow.
Perhaps TODAY!
(Vance Havner - All the Days)
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May 17
"Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
By Him all that believe are justified from all things.”
(Acts 13:38-39)
Satan has whitewashed sin.
Human society smiles upon evil and readily indulges in it.
But God has not changed.
The sinner must be washed, not whitewashed,
by the fountain that was opened through the death of Christ at Calvary.
That washing justifies; so that the sinner is made clean;
and is seen by God as being in Christ.
If you are in Christ, you know it.
If not, you are in your sins, and far from God.
(Doug Kazen)
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin; not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, oh my soul!
(Horatio G. Spafford)
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May 18
“Dost Thou not care?”
(Luke 10:40)
“He careth for you.”
(1 Peter 5:7)
Care is the result of the present condition of the world;
and the present condition of the world is the result
of a wrong attitude towards its Maker.
The evil thing called CARE
flows from want of harmony
with the Author of our being.
Sin introduced the element of distrust;
man became alienated from his Maker, and as a
consequence has lost the sense of His goodness and protection;
and the baneful effect is CARE, with all its gloom, unhappiness, and unrest.
(Angels in White - Russell Elliott)
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May 19
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order, Christ the first-fruits;
afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” (1 Corinthian 15:20-23)
The subject of 1 Corinthians 15 is the resurrection of the body;
and yet not the resurrection of the bodies of all,
but only that of believers.
This may be seen at a glance.
After then showing the consequences of the false doctrine—that there
was no resurrection—the apostle states the truth.
(1 Corinthians 15:20-23 - noted above.)
Language could not be more exact or explicit.
So also in 1 Thessalonians 4 it is said
“The dead in Christ shall rise first”
(No others are within the apostle’s view):
“then we which are alive and remain . . .”
There is not a thought of unbelievers being included.
It is this fact which explains this same apostle’s expression in another epistle:
“If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” [from among the dead].
(Philippians 3:11)
(The blessed Hope - Edward Dennett)
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May 20
“And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and Thou shalt glorify me.”
(Psalm 50:15)
In Time of Trouble . . .
SAY -
FIRST: He brought me here; it is by His will I am in this strait place; in that I will rest.
NEXT: He will here keep me in His love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as HIs child.
THEN: He will make the trial a blessing—teaching me the lessons He means me to learn,
and working in me the grace He intends for me.
LAST: In His good time He can bring me out again — how and when, HE KNOWS.
SAY -
I AM HERE: (1) By God’s appointment.
(2) In HIs keeping.
(3) Under His training.
(4) For His time.
(Comforted of God - A.J. Pollock)
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May 21
“And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.”
(Genesis 44:14)
As they did so they unconsciously fulfilled Joseph's own prediction uttered when a boy.
How vividly that memorable dream of the harvest field must have occurred to Joseph’s mind!
Here were their sheaves making obeisance to his sheaf, standing erect in the midst.
But who was to be their spokesman?
Reuben had always had something to say in self-justification, and had been so sure that all would be right that he had pledged the lives of his children to his father for the safety of Benjamin; but he is dumb.
Simeon was probably the cruel one, the instigator of the crime against Joseph; but he dares not utter a word.
Benjamin, the blameless one, the prototype of the young man whom Jesus loved, is convicted of sin, and has nought to say. Who then is to speak? There is only one,
Judah, who at the pit’s mouth had diverted the brothers from their first thought of murder.
And notice how he speaks.
He does not attempt to hold up any extenuating circumstances,
or to explain the past, or to excuse Benjamin or themselves.
He throws himself helpless on Joseph’s mercy:
“What shall we say unto my lord? What shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves?
God hath found out the iniquity of they servants: behold, we are my lord(s)
servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.”
(Genesis 44:16)
(F.B. Meyer- Joseph (Beloved—Hated—Exalted)
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May 22
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