Month: September 2022

1 Kings 22:1-53; Jeremiah 33:1-26; Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway. Psalm 85:13, NKJV 

If you are walking in deep snow it is helpful to have someone ahead of you breaking a trail. According to this verse, righteousness goes before our God. He is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30, 1 Peter 2:24). He is “breaking a trail” for us with His completed work on the cross. Let Him go before you today and make His footsteps your pathway. —Annette Baal

All the way my Saviour leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His faithful mercies?
Who through life has been my Guide.  —Fanny J. Crosby

1 Kings 21:1-29; Jeremiah 32:26-44; Hebrews 4:1-13

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Psalm 46 speaks of natural crises, “Though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (v. 2) and national crises, “The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved” (v. 6). Today we face similar turmoil. The world is filled with fear, and distress and rightly so. Listen to David’s solution: “Be still, and know that I am God”. In the midst of this turmoil we can stop and find comfort that our God is in total control. Then He says “I will be exalted among the
heathen”. How thankful we should be that we know how it is all going to end. Our God will reign forever and ever. May we find comfort in this today. —Paul Robertson

My times are in Thy hand, my God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul, I leave, entirely to Thy care. —W. F. Lloyd

1 Kings 20:1-43; Jeremiah 32:1-25; Hebrews 3:1-19

From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  Psalm 61:2, NKJV

There are times in all our lives when the circumstances of life come over us like a dark cover! Actually that was the original meaning of the word “overwhelmed”. When David was deeply troubled he determined that from wherever his circumstances, he wanted to be led to the Rock that is higher than he—higher, stronger, well able and wanting to help him. David’s God is your Lord and Saviour too. Go to Him! —Ray Jones

Oh, safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly,
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine would I be,
Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee. —William O. Cushing

1 Kings 19:1-21; Jeremiah 31:1-40; Hebrews 2:1-18

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests. Jeremiah 1:1
I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5

Jeremiah grew up knowing that he was of the priestly family and destined to serve in the House of God. What he didn’t know, until God called him, was that he was also destined to be a prophet. He was a priest, familiar with the presence of God, before he was called to prophesy for God. The order is significant. Before we can adequately speak for God we need to be familiar with the sanctuary, enjoying His presence before going forth to represent Him to others. —Philip A. Kaye

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach,
The precious things Thou dost impart.  —Frances R. Havergal

1 Kings 18:1-46; Jeremiah 30:1-24; Hebrews 1:1-14

Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. Ezra 7:12

“Peace, and at such a time”—surely needful in these days of tumult and confusion. Once the individual has peace with God, he is able to enjoy the peace of God protecting both his heart (affections) and mind (thought life) in spite of the dramatic failures of the culture around him. —Wm. H. Gustafson

While I hear life’s rugged billows,
Peace, peace is mine!
Why suspend my harp on willows,
Peace, peace is mine!  —J. Denham Smith

1 Kings 17:1-24; Jeremiah 29:1-32; Philemon

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

These words of the Lord Jesus, emphasise that no human being is excluded from receiving God’s grace in salvation. Sir Robert Anderson has written “There is no shuffling of the cards; There is no deception in it; If forgiveness is preached to all, it is because all may share it.” And again he writes “He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”—and he adds, “not as a cold formula which the initiated know to be overshadowed by the doctrine of
election—and that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” —W. H. Burnett

Marvellous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe. —D. B. Towner

1 Kings 15:33-16:34; Jeremiah 27:1-28:17; Colossians 4:2-18

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  Mark 9:44, 46, 48

In the country that is now Turkmenistan, in 1971, geologists found a vast underground supply of gas. Suddenly the ground cratered and all work ceased as foul smelling methane gas poured out. The geologists left but before they did they set fire to the gas which they estimated would burn off in a matter of days or weeks. Over five decades later the crater still burns furiously and is known as the “Door to Hell”. What a picture of the awfulness of eternal punishment which can only be avoided through Jesus Christ our Lord. —Paul Young

But you, believers, may rejoice, Satan well knows your mighty Friend;
He trembles at your Saviour’s voice, and owns he cannot gain his end.  —John Newton

1 Kings 15:1-32; Jeremiah 26:1-24; Colossians 3:5-4:1

Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.  1 Peter 1:23, NKJV

Other books may impact our emotions, inform our intellect, and influence our thinking. But the Bible is alive. It has power to transform a hardened sinner into a worshipping saint. It actively calms worries. It fortifies crumbling spirits. It brightens dark days. It warms cold hearts and rebukes straying ones. It deconstructs the formidable barriers our fearful hearts create. We can rest assured that the living Word accomplishes God’s purposes. —P. Ramsay

The Bible stands tho’ the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands. —Haldor Lillenas

1 Kings 13:33-14:31; Jeremiah 24:1-25:38; Colossians 2:8-3:4

Having on the breastplate of righteousness…take the helmet of salvation. Ephesians 6:14, 17

It has been remarked that a breastplate has no back, which indicates we are not to run from Satan. However, historical records show that both Roman and Greek breastplates had full protection for the back and front, as does a helmet. Our enemy is a master of what’s termed the “sucker punch”, and it’s the blow we don’t see coming which is hardest to defend against. God’s armour is vital for both seen and unseen attacks. It’s time to get dressed! —Rick Morse

Soldiers of Christ arise,
And put your armour on;
Strong in the strength which God supplies,
Through His eternal Son. —Charles Wesley

1 Kings 13:1-32; Jeremiah 23:1-40; Colossians 1:21-2:7

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13

Two evils were committed: Forsaking the Lord and seeking satisfaction from this world. Many of us tried for years to make this fatal substitute. We tried to fill the void in our lives that only He can fill. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they find rest in You”. —Rex Trogdon

I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, but ah! The waters failed!
E’en as I stooped to drink they’d fled, and mocked me as I wailed.
Now none but Christ can satisfy, none other name for me;
There’s love, and life, and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, found in Thee.  —Emma Bevan