March 10
“That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
made conformable unto His death.”
(Philippians 3:10)
No one could excel Saul of Tarsus.
He was a Jew, of pure pedigree, in orderly fellowship,
of blameless walk, of fervid zeal and unflinching devotedness.
He was, on principle, a persecutor of the Church.
As a Jew, he could not but see that the very foundations of
Judaism were assailed by the new economy of the Church of God.
It was utterly impossible that Judaism and Christianity
could subsist on the same platform, or hold sway over the same mind.
One special feature of the former system was the strict separation of Jew and Gentile;
a special feature of the latter was the intimate union of of both in one body.
Judaism erected and maintained the middle wall of partition;
Christianity abolished that wall altogether.
Hence Saul, as an earnest Jew, could not but be a zealous persecutor of the Church
of God. It was part of his religion—of that in which "he excelled many of his
equals in his own nation"—of that in which he was “exceedingly zealous.”
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”
(Philippians 3:7)
(C.H. Macintosh)
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March 11
Which?
“. . . In the sight of God . . .”
(2 Corinthians 2:17)
“ . . . in the sight of men . . .”
(Revelation 13:13)
When thou art following Christ, the lowly One,
All that thou dost as in God’s sight is done.
But when thy works are for the sight of men,
’Tis Antichrist’s proud spirit rules thee then.
(Bells & Pomegranates - James M. S. Tait)
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March 12
“Take heed, and beware of covetousness.”
(Luke 12:15)
If love of the world or covetousness . . . slips into the heart it
checks the power of Christ over the soul and conscience,
and eats out the practical life of the Christian, and
his soul is withered, withered, withered. . . .
This covetous care about earthly things is so subtle that while
there is nothing on which to lay the hand, the practical
power of christian life in the soul is gone.
Worldly religion, and religious worldliness, is the pest of this day,
and . . . will never stand in the day which shall try all things.
(J.N. Darby)
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March 13
“So the Lord alone did lead him, and there
was no strange god with him.”
(Deuteronomy 32:12)
When we seek the Lord’s guidance,
we must have nothing to do with other forms of guidance.
He will guide us by His Spirit if we ask Him to do so,
if we are submissive to Him and refuse to be led by out own wishes.
(This Day is the Lord’s - Corrie Ten Boom)
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March 14
“Moses . . . Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.”
(Hebrews 11:26)
A memorial stone stands in the grounds of a former Japanese prison
camp in China where a man died in 1945.
It reads,
"Eric Liddell was born in Tianjin of Scottish parents in 1902. His
career reached its peak with his gold medal victory in the 400 meters event at
the 1924 Olympic Games. He returned to China to work in Tianjin as a teacher.
. . . His whole life was spent encouraging young people to make their
best contributions to the betterment of mankind.”
In the eyes of many, Eric’s greatest achievement was on the sports
field. But he is also remembered for his contribution to the youth of Tianjin in
China, the country where he was born and that he loved. He lived and served by faith.
What will we be remembered for? Academic achievement,
job position, or financial success may get us recognized by others. But
it is the quiet work we do in the lives of people that will live long after we are gone.
Moses is remembered in the faith chapter of the Bible, Hebrews 11, as someone
who chose to align himself with the people of God instead of enjoying the
treasures of Egypt (v. 26). He led and served God’s people by faith.
Faithfulness to God is true success.
(C. P. Hia)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Copyright (2016), Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted permission)
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March 15
“For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living:
for all live unto Him.”
(Luke 20:38)
“Tentative” and “Terminal”
“This is a tentative appointment.” “This is only a tentative plan.”
We use the word when arrangements are temporary and uncertain.
But, come to think of it, don’t we operate most of the time on a
tentative basis? Life is so unpredictable, so little is sure.
The best-laid plans of all men are never for certain. No
wonder the Bible tells us to make our remarks low-key
when we talk about what we plan to do tomorrow.
Another uncertain word is “terminal.”
We call some cancer victim nearing death a terminal case.
Arent we all?
I don’t want you to lay down this piece feeling worse
than when you started reading it, but you are a terminal case.
We must all call it a day and depart unless Jesus returns
before long and changes our plans.
“Tentative” and “terminal,” that is the essence of temporality.
And yet we are eternal, for somewhere we shall continue.
Nobody is terminated in God’s sight- “all live unto Him.”
We never cease to exist.
Put eternality into your head and heart.
The real you, the tenant within your
tenement, will live on somewhere.
The choice of residence is yours.
(Vance Havner)
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:23)
(Vance Havner)
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March 16
“Joseph found grace in his sight . . . and [Potiphar] made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.”
(Genesis 39:4)
The Lord was not only with Joseph, but He was for Joseph, disposing the
heart of the master in favour of his servant.
It follows that Joseph became a source of blessing in the house of the Gentile;
“It came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had,
that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake, and the blessing of the
Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.” (Genesis 39:5)
The Christian is not only called to blessing but,
as he passes along his way,
to be a blessing.
(Joseph - Hamilton Smith)
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March 17
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived,
made this observation as he contemplated the affairs of life.
How important it is for us to realize this, and to plan our lives accordingly.
We see this in the life of the Lord Jesus. He knew not only what to do,
but the time, when it should be done.
At the wedding in Cana, He said to Mary,
who was anxious that He should act immediately,
“Mine hour is not yet come”.
But eventually nearing the cross, the Lord is heard to say,
“Father, the hour is come”.
May the Lord grant us that same sensitivity to His timing for our lives.
(W.H. Burnett)
Until the race is run, until the journey done,
Until the crown is won, teach me Thy way.
(B. Mansell Ramsay)
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March 18
PRIDE & WORLDLINESS
“A man’s pride shall bring him low.”
(Proverbs 29:23)
When men stand high their heads do not grow dizzy till they look down; when
men look down upon those that are worse than themselves,
or less holy than themselves, then their heads turn
round; looking up would cure this disease.
The most holy men, when once they have fixed their eyes awhile upon God’s holiness,
and then looked upon themselves, have been quite out of love with themselves.
After the vision the prophet had of God sitting upon the throne, and the seraphim about Him,
covering their faces, and crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,” how was this
gracious man smitten with the sense of his own vileness! they did no more cry
up God as holy than he did cry out upon himself as unclean (Isaiah 6:5).
So Job, “Now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself” (Job 42:5,6)
(William Gurnall - 1665)
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March 19
Divine Possibilities - Part 1
“To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:19)
O Lord! Thy rich, Thy boundless love no thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Oh give our hearts its depths to prove, and reign without a rival there.
From Thee, O Lord, we all receive,
Thine, wholly Thine, alone we’d live.
(Gerhardt)
“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
Fellowship with the Father is to be filled with His thoughts,
His desires, His objects and His affections.
It is also so with fellowship with the Son. . . .
It is our privilege to be taken out of ourselves altogether—
to be lost in the affections and aims of the Father and the Son! . . .
Self disappears before such a blessed possibility.
Shall I cling to my own thoughts and purposes when I may be occupied
with those of the Father and His Son?
Shall I have my own affections when I may be possessed with those that fill
the heart of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ? Far be the thought!
Rather let me be lost in this illimitable sea of bliss opened out
before me in the marvellous grace of God.
(E. Dennett)
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March 20
Divine Possibilities - Part 2
“To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:19)
It is written, “All things are possible to him that believeth”; we read the words, do not doubt
them, and yet we seldom think of the possibility of their being verified in our own experience.
Circumstances may be the form of the expression of God’s will for us, but the normal
thing for the Christian should be the inward apprehension of the Lord’s mind.
“I will counsel thee with Mine eye upon thee.” If this is true, we have to
wait until we hear His voice, and if that attitude be maintained,
I am sure that we never should be confounded.
It must ever be remembered that guidance is a matter of faith, not sight.
The Christian ought to be the most dignified person in the world. We
do not think half enough of ourselves as we are before God.
If the cross be applied to ourselves and then to the world, you have two crucified things, and
consequently there could not be the least attraction between the two (Galatians 6:14).
That, therefore, is the true way of overcoming the attractions of the world.
When the heart is at leisure from itself, through being satisfied with Christ,
the Holy Spirit is free to lead it out into all the circle of God’s interests,
whether as regards the church, His ancient people or the world.
An open door in service is from the Lord and not from man.
We may, therefore, be independent of man altogether, and we shall
be if we keep our eyes wholly upon the Lord, remembering He always sets
an open door before us if we keep His word and do not deny His name. (Revelation 3:8).
“As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).
The whole force of this scripture depends upon the connection.
The last words of verse 24 are, “Let him dip his foot in oil”; that is,
in its Christian interpretation, let him walk in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and then his shoes should be as iron and brass—a firm and consistent walk,
and his spiritual strength should never decay. As your days, your strength shall be.
(Edward Dennett - with thanks F.P.)
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March 21
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