Author: Gospel Folio Press

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 21-22; Ezekiel 40; John 17

Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.  Ruth 1:3

Naomi was a single mother. The dream her husband had, in leaving famine-ridden Bethlehem, was gone and so was he. Tragedy struck again and her two sons were claimed by death. A host of unanswered questions must have swept over her like a great tidal wave. In the midst of her heartache, she learned that the Lord had blessed His people in Bethlehem with food. When the heart is broken, the believer finds sustenance only when fellowship with God is renewed. Naomi determined to return to Bethlehem and did so with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. When she went back to where they left fellowship with God, she found sustenance, a husband for Ruth, and eventually a grandson. God still blesses His people. —Arnot P. McIntee

No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you. —C. Martin

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 20; Ezekiel 39; John 16:16-33

Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.  John 20:27-28

It is significant that there is no record of any of the disciples calling Jesus, “Lord,” until after His resurrection, when His deity was fully conveyed to them. When Thomas saw the scars of mortal wounds in a resurrected man he immediately realized he was looking upon Deity! We, all too often and too easily, use the term Lord without taking a moment to contemplate as to who He really is and the conduct that title demands.  —Drew Craig

Our risen Lord again we greet, radiant from death, and sin laid low;
And, tho’ with scars on hands and feet, the victor’s wreath upon His brow.
—John H. McNaughton

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 18-19; Ezekiel 38; John 15:17 to 16:15

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself.  Philippians 2:8a

Imagine the coronation of a new king and all the splendour and glory associated with such a ceremony. David was anointed king three times. The Lord Jesus Christ was also anointed three times; by a woman who was a sinner (Luke 7:37), by a friend in her home (John 12:3) and by an unknown woman in the house of a former leper (Mark 14:3). He humbled Himself.  —Sam Thorpe

Lamb of God! Thou now art seated,
High upon Thy Father’s throne,
All Thy gracious work completed,
All Thy mighty victory won.
—J. D. Deck

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 16-17; Ezekiel 37; John 15:1-16

A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. Psalm 84:10

How shall we live this short life allowed us? One author refers to the race between birth and death as the snap of a finger. James describes it as a vapour. Job compares it to the rapidity of a weaver’s shuttle. David says it is as an hand breadth. Peter sums it up as “All flesh is as grass…the grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1 Pet. 1:24). The Westminster Catechism states, “The chief aim of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” In light of the brevity of time, we should be a living testimony of God’s saving grace and make each day count for eternity. —E. Dyck

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. —H. F. Lyte

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 14-15; Ezekiel 36:16-38; John 14:15-31

Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.  1 John 3:1

Jacob gave what he thought was best for the son he favoured to the envy of his siblings (Gen. 37:3-4); Eli gave his sons freedom to do as they wished (1 Sam. 2:12); and the prodigal’s father gave him the right to live his life his way (Luke 15:12). All these sons were later beset with problems because of their father’s pampered love. God the Father’s love is a pure and righteous love. He so loved the world that He gave His beloved Son to die and thus provide salvation to all who will come to Him. —K. C. Ung

Fill me, Lord, with Your Holy Spirit,
That I may know and do Your will;
Grant me the grace to trust You daily,
And love within my heart instill. —R. M. Cullinan

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chron. 12-13; Ezekiel 35-36:15; John 13:31-14:14

Unto you therefore which believe he is precious.  1 Peter 2:7

This verse doesn’t say what the Lord should be to us, but rather what He is! Love for Christ is a result of having believed and is one of the unmistakeable signs of regeneration. John says that “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Paul declares that anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, “Let him be anathema,” which means “accursed”. Friends, there is no middle ground. The saved love the Lord Jesus and the unsaved don’t. The Redeemer is precious to all the redeemed. What does He mean to you?  —Carl Knott

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. —William R. Featherston

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 10-11; Ezekiel 34; John 13:1-30

For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.   Acts 11:24

This reference is to Barnabas, one of the few described in Scripture as “good”. Like ourselves, he was, by nature, “not good” (Rom. 3:12). Our text, however, shows that the Holy Spirit had made a change. The result was that Christ-like features were now seen in him (Acts 10:38). Let us, like both our Lord and Barnabas, “do good” wherever we go. —George Hall

Lives of great men all remind us,
We may make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us,
Foot-prints on the sands of time.
—H. W. Longfellow

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 8-9; Ezekiel 33; John 12:20-50

The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.  Joshua 24:24
Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  Judges 21:25

The book of Joshua ends with a marvelous statement of purpose on the part of the Israelites. It should be the ambition of every believer. We’ve been bought at tremendous price, therefore it is only reasonable to serve and obey Him. But the human heart is fickle, for the book of Judges ends with a statement of reality from God’s perspective. How sad the decline! What a solemn note of warning to all of us.  —Wm. H. Gustafson

O how happy are they, who the Saviour obey,
And have laid up their treasure above!
Tongue cannot express the sweet comfort and peace,
Of a soul in its earliest love. —C. Wesley

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Chronicles 7; Ezekiel 32; John 11:55 to 12:19

And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. Mark 15:46

The shame and suffering of Calvary are finished. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ has been prepared for burial. At this point the Holy Spirit draws our attention to the perfections of Christ in the details of the linen burial cloth. Matthew records the condition of the cloth as “clean”. Mark speaks of the quality of the linen as “fine”. These words, used in a figurative sense, point to the sinless, righteous perfections of the Lord Jesus Christ.  —S. B.

Oh, what wondrous love and mercy;
Thou didst lay Thy glory by,
And for us didst come from heaven,
As the Lamb of God, to die! —J. G. Deck