Month: November 2019

1 Chronicles 28:1-21; Ezekiel 24:1-25:17; John 9:1-17

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

We live in a world that has no hope. Yet the Christian has a glorious hope in soon seeing Him who died for us. We shall see Him, our Lord and Saviour. That will be wonderful! But more wonderful still will be to “be like him”. This is beyond me, a self centered carnal Christian—to be like Him? Amazing! Only by the grace of our God can this ever be. May we delight to worship Him today as we think of what He has done. —Harold G. Smith

When I shall reach the more excellent glory,
And my trials are passed,
I shall be like Him, O wondrous story!
I shall be like Him at last. —W. A. Spencer

1 Chronicles 26:1-27:34; Ezekiel 23; John 8:31-59

I do set my bow in the cloud. Genesis 9:13

The rainbow in the cloud was God’s personal pledge that the earth would no more perish by water (Gen. 9:13-15). However the day is coming when His Son will come in the clouds (Rev. 1:7) to receive His own for Himself. Will you be ready to go up in the clouds with Him then (1 Thess. 4:17)? —K. C. Ung

When He comes in the clouds descending, and they who loved Him here, From their graves shall awake and praise Him; with joy and not with fear; When the body and the soul are united, and clothed no more to die,
What a shouting there will be, when each other’s face we see,
Changed in the twinkling of an eye. —Fanny J. Crosby

1 Chronicles 24:1-25:31; Ezekiel 22:1-31; John 8:12-30

And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 2 Corinthians 8:5

The Macedonian saints’ generosity stemmed from their consecration: They “first gave their own selves to the Lord”. Indeed, all true discipleship flows out of gratitude for Christ’s work on our behalf. Since He died for us, spiritual logic dictates that we present ourselves as living sacrifices to Him (Rom. 12:1). After giving our lives to Him, sharing our substance flows as a matter of course. All we are and have belong to God who bought us with His own blood (Acts 20:28). —Keith Keyser

Perish every fond ambition,
All I’ve sought or hoped or known;
Yet how rich is my condition;
God and heaven are still my own! —Henry Francis Lyte

1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32; Ezekiel 20:45-21:32; John 7:31-8:11

And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve. Isaiah 14:3
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

The approaching day of Isaiah 14:3 bears God’s promise of rest from sorrow of heart, from fear of mind and from the hard bondage of body. While Israel waits, the Lord invites us now to cast our burdens and our cares on Him now—for He not only cares, but carries. What are your cares? Your burdens? What restrains you from obedience to the desire of His heart? Cast all upon Him today! —D. J. Reed

If the Father’s eye is on the sparrow,
Then surely He will care for you! —Arthur E. Smith

1 Chronicles 21:1-30; Ezekiel 20:1-44; John 7:12-30

When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Isaiah 1:15, NKJV

Isaiah told Israel that God hated their offerings, feasts, and prayers because their hearts were far from Him. Empty belief is still alive today. Many Christians have become dull to God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Scripture reveals why our prayers may be ignored: Not yielding to God’s Word (Prov. 28:9), or praying with unconfessed sin (Ps. 66:18), or with a doubting heart (James 1:6-7), or with an unforgiving heart (Mark 11:25), or with selfish motives (James 4:3). Are your prayers answered? If not, it is time to take action. Without Him we can do nothing. —W. A. H.

Pray on, pray on, O trusting heart, let not thy courage fail;
But take thy Saviour at His word, and know thou shalt prevail. —F. J. Crosby

1 Chronicles 19:1-20:8; Ezekiel 18:1-19:14; John 6:41-7:11

But after I am risen again, I will go before you…Peter followed him afar off…and sat with the servants, to see the end. Matthew 26:32, 58

“All is finished”, said the teacher from Russia when telling us that his father had died very suddenly. Just like Peter, who sat with the servants to see “the end,” he had no hope! But for Peter and all who will trust Christ as their Saviour, death—far from being the end, can be a glorious new beginning. Christ rose again on the third day. We could therefore tell the Russian teacher that “Jesus is alive! He is able to save you from your sin and give you eternal life”. This is the message we must carry to a world which is dying without hope and without God. —David Croudace

Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives. —K. Chenoweth

1 Chronicles 17:1-18:17; Ezekiel 17:1-24; John 6:22-40

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”…And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” John 2:3, 10, NKJV

At the wedding feast, when their wine had run out, the Lord graciously provided an abundant and better supply—He turned water into wine. This was His first miracle, which graced this wedding feast. Figuratively speaking, the wine represents joy and His joy should fill our hearts to overflow. Are we running out or running over? —Rex Trogdon

My table Thou hast furnished,
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows. —Francis Rous & Scottish Psalter

1 Chronicles 16:1-43; Ezekiel 16:35-63; John 6:1-21

The fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 1 Kings 18:38

This victory for Jehovah, led by Elijah, must have been a stunning sight. All was consumed. This is a marvellous picture of Calvary and the wonderful truth that when the Lord’s suffering for the sins of all mankind was complete, there was not one sin for which He had not died. So we can gather today without condemnation in the presence of a sin hating God. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us” (Gal. 1:4). —Vernon Markle

My sins, 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! O my soul! —Horatio G. Spafford

1 Chronicles 15:1-29; Ezekiel 16:1-34; John 5:24-47

Except the Lord build…they labour in vain that build. Ps. 127:1

Moses spoke of a sanctuary which the Lord’s hands had established (Ex. 15:17), yet God said to Moses “let them make me a sanctuary” (Ex. 25:8). Jesus said “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18), yet the epistles clearly teach us that we’re involved in that building project. Christ is the master architect and knows just how the local church should function. He’s given us all the resources of Scripture to enable us to have a part in that building project which will last for eternity. “Let every man take heed how he buildeth” (1 Cor. 3:16). —Wm. H. Gustafson

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
Who unto the Saviour for refuge have fled?—G. Keith

1 Chronicles 13:1-14:17; Ezekiel 14:1-15:8; John 5:1-23

Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. Numbers 9:8

God’s holiness is the foundation for our relationship with Him. Because He is holy, He wants fellowship with holy people. The journey of faith of a believer should be characterized by increasing holiness. As we learn more of Him in His Word, and practice what we know, our holiness will deepen. We will please Him and be like Him. May God help us to be a holy people as He is a holy God. —G. C. G.

Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye made blind by sin,
Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity. —R. Heber