Month: December 2019

Ezra 7:1-28; Daniel 8:1-27; Revelation 3:7-22

Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. John 11:24

For thousands in the world, today could be their last day on earth! Accidents, sicknesses, natural calamities, natural deaths (old and young), all contribute to this. The rich fool thought he had many more days to enjoy what he had accomplished. He was wrong (Luke 12:16-21)! On the other hand, Paul wrote: “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:68). What would you say? —K. C. Ung

Will you be ready to enter in?
Ready when the Bridegroom comes?
In the morning light, or at noon, or night,
Be ready when the Bridegroom comes. —James M. Black

Ezra 6:1-22; Daniel 7:1-28; Revelation 2:18-3:6

“Who are You, Lord?” Acts 9:5, NKJV
“Lord, what do You want me to do?” Acts 9:6, NKJV

Young person, are you struggling to establish a regular quiet time with the Lord? Perhaps one problem is that you’re not sure what to look for when you read the Bible. Try the “Who-Do” technique. Simply approach every passage you read with the same two questions Saul of Tarsus asked when he first met the Lord. “Who are You, Lord?” “What do You want me to do?” Ask the Spirit to reveal something of the Lord’s character to you, then ask Him how that truth should impact your life. Take those two ideas with you into the day and live them out. The joy that results will motivate you to do it again tomorrow morning! —Brian Cretney

O Book of wondrous depths and heights, of wisdom ever new,
Which in ten thousand various lights brings Jesus into view.—W. Blane

Ezra 5:1-17; Daniel 6:1-28; Revelation 2:1-17

I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord. Hosea 2:20, NKJV

Hosea was honourable, but his wife Gomer was not. In time, she abandoned Hosea to pursue her lovers. Gomer soon found herself in a desperate situation. She was deserted and sold into slavery. The redeeming love of God was illustrated when He commanded Hosea to buy back his own adulterous wife at a slave auction. After experiencing such love, Gomer would never depart from Hosea again. This story vividly conveys how Christ must feel when we, who have experienced His love, misdirect our devotion to other people or things. We are betrothed to Christ, and He deserves our full love and faithfulness now! —W. A. H.

O the rich depths of love divine,
Of bliss, a boundless store!
Dear Saviour, let me call Thee mine;
I cannot wish for more. —A. Steele

Ezra 3:1-4:24; Daniel 5:1-31; Revelation 1:1-20

My meditation of him shall be sweet. Psalm 104:34

Our initial thought on this phrase might be to applaud the psalmist’s determination to create a sweet meditation. But the meaning is deeper than that. The psalmist anticipates that the object of his meditation would yield only sweetness. No matter our meditation of the altogether lovely one, a fragrance like no other fills the heart and ascends to the very presence of God. We determine to meditate, He alone delivers the fragrance! —D. J. Reed

To all our prayers and praises,
Christ adds His sweet perfume,
And love the censor raises,
These odours to consume. —Mary B. Peters

Ezra 1:1-2:70; Daniel 4:1-37; 3 John 1:1-14

He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5, NKJV

I like to ask the Lord to wake me each day with a verse from His Word. This morning the verse was the one above. What a promise! As I meditated on it, I found myself putting the emphasis on the He, the I, and the never. If He says it—that should be enough for me. I—Christ is the one to whom all power has been given. He is everlasting and cannot change or fail. Never—if He says never, it cannot be changed. —C. T. Watson

Till then, ’tis the path Thou hast trod,
My delight and my comfort shall be,
I’m content with Thy staff and Thy rod,
Till with Thee all Thy glory I see. —J. N. Darby

2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Daniel 3:1-30; 2 John 1:1-13

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. Psalm 125:2

Elisha’s servant was fearful when he realized the city of Dothan was surrounded by the Syrian army. Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the servant’s eyes to see that they were compassed about by God’s hosts (2 Kgs. 6:8-23). We, too, are surrounded by the enemies’ forces, but we must remember “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Ps. 34:7). —Wm. H. Gustafson

Safe in Christ! Safe in Christ!
He’s their glory ever;
None can pluck them from His hand,
They shall perish never. —H. D’Arcy Champney

2 Chronicles 35:1-27; Daniel 2:24-49; 1 John 5:1-21

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

As sinners we cannot work for salvation, but once saved, our salvation works. Regarding our good works, they are meant to glorify the Lord, not you or me. Are you a servant or a celebrity? You and I must decide whether we will magnify the Lord or promote self. God is glorified when people see the Saviour and not the servant. —W. Ross Rainey

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him. —Kate B. Wilkinson

2 Chronicles 34:1-33; Daniel 2:1-23; 1 John 4:1-21

The cock shall not crow, til thou hast denied me thrice. John 13:38
Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer. Acts 3:14

Peter denied the Saviour as the Lord said he would. Not once but three times. These verses in Acts are part of Peter’s sermon in which he accused his listeners of denying the Christ. While Peter was probably thinking of his own sin, he could preach this message because he had been forgiven and restored to God. When we preach of sin, righteousness and judgment we surely realize it applies to us, but how glorious to say that what He did for me, He can do for you. —Ken Gross

Sinners Jesus will receive, sound the word of grace to all,
Who the heavenly pathway leave, all who linger, all who fall. —Edmund Neumeister

2 Chronicles 33:1-25; Daniel 1:1-21; 1 John 3:1-24

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently. Deuteronomy 4:9

There are certain necessities we have to face in life that cannot be learned except under the pressure of potential failure. We don’t know what to avoid if we don’t know the danger to the spiritual life we possess. That is why God allows things to cross our paths that He knows will be difficult for us. The reality of who we are in Christ is made evident under tension. By these lessons God prepares us for the service He wants us to perform. Often our most sincere devotion and worship comes after victory over temptation and potential defeat. —G. C. G.

It is good to go back and follow the path—
The way the Lord has led until now. —G. C. G.

2 Chronicles 32:1-33; Ezekiel 48:1-35; 1 John 2:12-29

But think on me when it shall be well with thee. Genesis 40:14

What Joseph did for the butler, the Lord Jesus has done for us. We, too, had offended our king and had been cast into prison for doing so (Gen. 40:1). He suffered the wrath of Pharaoh; we, the wrath of God. But just as the prophetic word of Joseph saved the butler and gave his life back to him, in a similar way, the word of the Lord Jesus, when believed, has the power to save and restore our lives back to us. In return, the Lord asks us to think on Him when it is well with us. What is your thought for Him today? —Shane Johnson

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. —Henry Lyte