"O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared Thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come.
(Psalms 71:17-18)
The Psalmist was so well educated by God in his youth that he continued to declare
His wondrous works throughout his years.
Later when he realized that age was catching up with him and his strength fading,
he determined still to show forth God’s power
to everyone he came in contact with.
No matter what age we are, do we have such a determined goal in our life for God?
(K. C. Ung)
Until the race is run, until the journey’s done,
Until the crown is won, teach me Thy way!
(B. M. Ramsey)
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July 11
“Jesus answered and said unto (Nicodemus), Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when
he is old? can he enter the second time into
his mother’s womb, and be born?”
(John 3:3-4)
Surely not. There would be no more gained by a second natural birth than by a first.
If a natural man could enter, ten thousand times, into his mother’s womb and be born
again, he would be nought but a natural man after all;
for “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.”
Do what you will with flesh—with nature, and you cannot alter or improve it.
Nothing could change flesh into spirit.
You may exalt it to the rank of a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a master of Israel—and
you can hardly make it higher—but it will be flesh, notwithstanding.
If this were more generally and clearly apprehended,
it would prove the saving of fruitless labour to hundreds.
Flesh is of no value whatever.
In itself, it is but withered grass; and as to its most pious
endeavours, its religious advantages and attainments, its works of righteousness,
they have been pronounced by the pen of inspiration to be as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
(C. H. Mack1intosh)
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July 12
“Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God,
and doeth His will, him He heareth.”
(John 9:31)
Are you seeking happiness? Is that your only goal?
We set our minds on something we think will make us happy—a husband,
children, a particular job, or even a ministry—and refuse to open our eyes to God’s better way.
In fact, there are those who believe so strongly that only this one thing can bring
happiness that they reject the Lord Jesus Himself.
Happiness is not found in marriage, or work, or ministry, or children, in themselves.
Happiness is found in being secure in Jesus,
in obedience to Him, in doing His will.
Then we have fellowship with Him and we can speak to Him about everything that occupies our
thoughts, and all these other things find their proper places in His plan for our lives.
(Corrie Ten Boom)
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July 13
"A man’s pride shall bring him low:
but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”
(Proverbs 29:23)
A man may be very zealous in prayer and painstaking in preaching,
and all the while pride is the master whom he serves, though in God’s uniform.
It is hard starving this sin; there is nothing almost but it can live on;
nothing so base that a proud heart will not be lifted up with,
and nothing so sacred but it will profane. . . .
So far as pride prevails the man prays and preaches rather to be thought good by others,
rather to enthrone himself than Christ, in the opinion and hearts of his hearers.
Remember, Christian, when thou hast they best suit on, who made
it, who paid for it: thy grace, thy comfort, is neither the work of my own
hands, nor the price of thy own desert; be not for shame proud of another’s coat.
(The Christian in Complete Armour - William Gurnall 1617- 1679)
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July 14
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28)
Some years ago someone asked me which I thought was the most
precious promise of all those that Christ left.
I took some time to look over the promises, but I gave it up.
I found that I could not answer the question.
Like a man with a large family of children, he cannot tell which he likes best, he loves them all.
But if not the best, this is one of the sweetest promises of all:
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
(D.L. Moody)
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July 15
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
(Philippians 4:13)
It is very blessed to see littleness like that of an infant in saints like John and Paul,
to see them them upheld by Christ every step of the way.
To see Christ taking occasion of our littleness to show the exquisite
graciousness that is connected with His Divine glory.
We think of His glory, and not of His grace in that glory;
everything characterizing the Lord is grace.
All hangs on Himself, whether to sustain faith or to lead forth praise.
(G. V. Wigram)
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July 16
“The Lord is . . . not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance."
(2 Peter 3:9)
”That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised Him from the dead, thou
SHALT be saved.”
(Romans 10:9)
Then why do any perish?
Simply because they won’t come;
because they will not yield to the winning
love and the drawing power which is now being
put forth to save you, if, as you read this you want to be saved.
There is no sadder word in the Bible than
“Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.”
But if you are saying, ever so feebly and faintly,"I will,”
God meets it with His strong and gracious “Thou shalt.”
What will you do without Him, when He hath shut the door,
And you are left outside, because you would not come before?
When it is no use knocking, no use to stand and wait,
For the word of doom tolls thro’ your heart, that terrible
“Too late!”
(Francis Ridley Havergal)
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“Whatsoever ye do, DO IT heartily. as to the Lord, and not unto men.”
(Colossians 3:23)
“Well DONE, good and faithful servant . . .”
(Matthew 25:23)
“For the Son of Man is COME to seek and to save . . .”
(Luke 19:10)
Two Ways
One is God’s way, the other is man’s,
One is by faith, the other is by fancy,
One is of grace, the other is of merit,
One is of faith, the other is of works,
One is Christ, the other is "Religion."
The one rests on what God has said, the other rests on what man thinks.
The one rests on what Christ has done, the other rests on what man can do.
As to what man is to “do” there is no end to the variety.
These two words sum up and embody the two ways: “DONE” and “DO.”
(E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913)
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July 18
“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience
void of offence toward God, and toward men.”
(Acts 24:16)
"A bad habit is first a caller, and then a guest, and at last a master.”
"Trifles unnoticed by us may be links in the chain of sin.”
There are no little sins.
“Sir,” said Samuel Johnson, “the chains of habit are generally too small to be felt
until they are too strong to be broken.
Habits are at first cobwebs—at last cables.”
Someone asked to define conscience,
said, “It is a little three-cornered thing in here.
When I do wrong it turns around and hurts very much.
If I keep on doing wrong, it will turn until it wears the edges all off,
and then it will not hurt any more.”
(Mountain Trailways for Youth)
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July 19
“ . . . we should serve in newness of spirit . . .”
(Romans 7:6)
Go to the man who is carving a stone for a building;
ask him where is that stone going, to what part of the building,
and how is he going to get it into place, and what does he do?
He points you to the builder’s plans.
This is only one stone of many.
So, when men shall ask where and how is your
little achievement going into God’s plan, point them to your Master,
who keeps the plans, and then go on doing your little service as faithfully
as if the whole building were yours to build.
(Phillips Brooks)
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July 20
“By this shall all men know that that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.”
(John 13:35)
The moment a Christian recognizes divine life in another,
in spite of difference of education, rank, and many
other things, he will be drawn towards him.
It is characteristic; he cannot help it.
The moment a man discerns the Spirit of
Christ in another, there is a necessary attraction to him.
At once they are united together in love.
(J. N. Darby)
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July 21
“And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were
stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and
the waters returned from off the earth continually.”
(Genesis 8:1-3)
All this because God remembered Noah! The
forces of heaven and earth were enlisted, reversed, ordered
about, solely because God remembered Noah and had plans for him.
God has not forgotten you.
He will as readily order about the forces of
the universe on your account as He did on Noah’s.
His plans for Noah were also plans for
the whole world through Noah.
So they are for you.
He will use you for the good of the whole
world if you will let Him.
(Selected)
We may forget; God does not!
God’s time is never wrong, never too fast nor too slow;
The planets move to its steady pace as the centuries come and go.
Stars rise and set by that time, the punctual comets come back
With never a second’s variance, from the round of their viewless track.
Men space their years by the sun, and reckon their months by the moon,
Which never arrive too late and never depart too soon.
Let us set our clocks by God’s, and order our lives by His ways,
And nothing can come and nothing can go too soon or too late in our day.
(Annie Johnson Flint)
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