Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4
We should always have a spirit of gratefulness but often our thankfulness is helped and motivated by reasons. In the early chapters of Ephesians, Paul gives us many compelling reasons to be grateful to our God. We have been blessed “with all spiritual blessings” (1:3). We are “without blame before him in love” (1:4). We have “the forgiveness of sins” (1:7). He has given us “wisdom and prudence” (1:8) and an inheritance from God (1:11) We have been “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (1:13) and we are His masterpiece (2:10). —Ken Gross
Thank you Lord for saving my soul, thank you Lord for making me whole. Thank you Lord for giving to me, Thy great salvation, so rich and free. —S. Sykes
Suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground. Acts 22:6-7
And a certain woman named Lydia…which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened. Acts 16:14
The Apostle had a tremendous conversion experience. He would tell many of what he experienced on the road to Damascus. In contrast, the conversion of Lydia was very different. The record simply says that the Lord opened her heart. Yet to her that was just as precious. We may not have had an experience like Paul, but how thankful we are for the day when the Lord opened our heart. —John M. Clegg
O happy day, that fixed my choice, on Thee, my Saviour and my God! Well may this glowing heart rejoice and tell its raptures all abroad. —P. Doddridge
And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly. 2 Chronicles 29:36
The Bible records the long and patient (and not so patient) lives of people like: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elizabeth, who spent years waiting on God. And only after a very long time did a burning bush—a dream remembered—a famine’s crisis—turn into divine intervention! It seems waiting is part of God’s plan for us. He uses this time for spiritual growth and development. Are you tired of the dreariness of waiting? Turn it into a time of communion and fellowship with God, and you may be surprised at how suddenly His answer comes! —Deborah Manera
We cannot always trace God’s hand, But we can always trust God’s heart. —Charles Spurgeon
Is there an illustration of the burial of Christ in the Old Testament teaching concerning the offerings? “And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place” (Lev. 6:10-11).
The solemn care of the ashes of the burnt offering tells the story of how precious the object was which they represented. The burnt offering was wholly burnt. It was all for God, a sweet savor to the Lord. The garments the priest wore when he took the ashes from the altar and placed them beside it were not the garments he wore when he took them from beside the altar and carried them outside the camp. There is here a suggestion of the end of one priesthood when the ashes were taken from the altar, and the commencement of a new priesthood when they were carried to a clean place outside the camp.
When Nicodemus and Joseph took the body of our Lord from the cross, they broke every tie that bound them to the temple and its service. Were they of the priestly family of Aaron or of the consecrated tribe of Levi, they violated every link with the old order at Jerusalem when they deliberately handled a dead body on the eve of the Passover. They lost every claim to the privileges or service of the temple; they had completely broken with the old order.
But when they carried that body to a clean place outside the camp they were priests of a new order. They were members of that royal priesthood that is a “chosen generation, a holy nation, a peculiar people,” ordained to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). They were of that “spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).
Joseph and Nicodemus carried the ashes of the Burnt Offering to a clean place outside the camp. That Burnt Offering was Christ, who was in every word and deed, in every motive and desire, a sweet savor to the Lord. He came of His own voluntary will; He glorified God on earth and finished the work God gave Him to do.
Joseph and Nicodemus not only as new priests reverently carried and deposited the ashes of the Burnt Offering in that clean tomb, but when they came to the cross to do this honor for Christ, they went forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach (Heb. 13:13). None other of the Lord’s disciples had so much to lose as they, and they gladly sacrificed all they had. May devotion to Christ cause us also to go forth unto Him outside this world’s approval and honors, bearing His reproach.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man…thou hast killed Uriah…and hast taken his wife to be thy wife…thou hast despised me. 2 Samuel 12:7, 9-10
David was a God-fearing man but tried to ignore his adultery which led to murder and lying! Sin cannot be overlooked. God knows every detail of what I as a believer have done! As long as that sin remains unconfessed, it indicates I am despising God. Thankfully He has made provision for me to be cleansed and forgiven. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). Confess” means agreeing with God concerning what I have done and humbly acknowledging it before Him. —David Croudace
Out of my shameful failure and loss Jesus I come! Jesus I come! Into the glorious gain of Thy cross, Jesus I come to Thee!—W. T. Sleeper
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Heb. 10:17
One of the greatest blessings for the child of God is the assurance that his sins will never be raised against him. The forgiveness of God is complete and eternal. Child of God, if you doubt your salvation and wonder that perhaps one day your sins will be charged against you, meditate on the wonderful words of this verse. “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” The Lord has not merely forgotten them, forgetfulness is a weakness. What He has done is something far better, He has deliberately chosen never to remember them again. —Sid Halsband
An end of thy sin has been made for thee here by Him who its penalty bore; With blood it is blotted eternally out, and I will not remember it more. —Amelia Matilda Hull
All the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. Luke 13:17
As we consider the many wonderful things the Lord Jesus did, truly we too rejoice! Only God come in flesh could do such great things! Is it any wonder the people of His day were filled with joy? As we reflect today upon His greatest and most glorious work—the giving of Himself upon the cross for our sins—may we bow in true worship and rejoice in who He is and what He has done. —Pete Smith
Come, let us sing the matchless worth, And sweetly sound the glories forth Which in the Saviour shine: To God and Christ our praises bring; The song with which the heavens ring. —L. Mason
And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues. Luke 7:21
What if a doctor examined you and gave you the news that you were terminally ill? You are, spiritually! You were born with the congenital disease of sin, and it is fatal (Rom. 6:23). No doctor, medicine, diet,
philosophy, or religion can cure this plague. The Lord Jesus Christ is your only hope. If you repent and call on Him in faith, He will save you in that same hour. He alone has the power to cure you of sin and
its deadly effect. Come out of denial, recognize your condition and
need, and call upon the Lord. Time is running out. Do it now!
—Carl Knott
Time is gliding swiftly by, death and judgment draweth nigh, To the arms of Jesus fly, be in time. —Charles H. Mason
Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. 1 Kings 12:24
Chastising Solomon’s house, God divided the kingdom and instructed Rehoboam not to reverse it through war. Similarly believers can come under God’s discipline. When we do, we should not despise it, but value His correction. Submitting to a loving Father produces holiness, righteousness, and peace. Resisting discouragement, we should rejoice that our loving Father is teaching us. Do you sense that you are under God’s discipline? Value it. Repent. Submit. Learn. Rejoice. Keep going. —George Ferrier
With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove, And aye, the dews of sorrow were lustered with His love. —Anne R. Cousin
There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus… sat at the table with him. Then took Mary…spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus. John 12:2-3
How delightful to observe this united effort in honouring the Lord Jesus! “They made him a supper.” With singleness of heart, they planned and prepared, just to show their deep appreciation of Him. Each contributed his or her share gladly, knowing it was for Him. How utterly inappropriate was the harsh criticism voiced by Judas, “Why this waste?” (see Matt. 26:8). Let us be constantly careful lest our criticisms should disturb fellowship, hurt fellow-believers, or “spoil the supper” for others. —George Hall
May the love of Jesus fill me, as the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing—this is victory. —Kate B. Wilkinson
