Author: Gospel Folio Press

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 23; Jeremiah 7; Ephesians 1:15 to 2:10

 

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.     John 5:39-40

 

How do we read the Scriptures? Do we approach the Bible with a preconceived bias? Have we made up our mind on subjects before we really let the light of God’s word shine upon them? The Jews searched the Scriptures but with hearts that were not willing to see its truth. They had already made up their minds and failed to see the One of whom the Scriptures speak. Let us approach our Bibles like it was the very first time. Let us allow its revelation to illuminate and teach us afresh.    —Sid Halsband

 

My Bible, precious treasure! Worth more than gems or gold;
Be it my choicest treasure, thy covers to unfold. —H. E. Brown

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 22; Jeremiah 6; Ephesians 1:1-14

 

The father to the children shall make known thy truth.    Isaiah 38:19
Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.    Ephesians 6:4

 

Parenting includes numerous challenges, particularly the spiritual training of our children. The home is the place where the spiritual foundation should be laid—then reinforced by the teaching of the local church fellowship. “Teach them diligently unto thy children” (Deut. 6:7). “Precept upon precept; line upon line … here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:10).    —William Gustafson

 

Cling to the Bible, though all else be taken;
Lose not its precepts, so precious and pure;
Souls that are sleeping its tidings awaken;
Life from the dead in its promises sure. —M. J. Smith

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 21; Jeremiah 5; Galatians 6

 

And He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren.    Matthew 12:49

 

Did this statement from the Lord mean that He had in any way lessened His affections for His dear mother and half-siblings? Of course not. It rather elevated His love and concern for His disciples. To insist that we are considered as precious to Him as His own earthly family, indicates our nearness to Him. The same one of whom they could say, “See how He loved him,” loves us, and will seek our good and blessing today, no matter how bleak our circumstances appear.
—Brian Russell

 

Near so very near to God, nearer we could not be,
For in the person of His Son, we are as near as He. —C. Paget

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 20; Jeremiah 4:3-31; Galatians 5:10-26

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.    Psalm 23:1

 

Perhaps the most precious word in the opening verse of this psalm is the little pronoun “my.” What a comfort and joy to know that He is not just “a” shepherd, and not only “the” shepherd, but “my” shepherd. The good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11), the great Shepherd raised from the dead (Heb. 13:20), the chief Shepherd who will one day come for His people (1 Pet. 5:4), is mine, my Shepherd. I therefore lack nothing.    —Jim Flanigan

 

Dear Saviour, Thou art mine,
How sweet the thought to me!
Let me repeat Thy name,
And lift my heart to Thee
—A. Hudson

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Sam. 19:9-43; Jeremiah 3:6 to 4:2; Gal. 4:21 to 5:9

 

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed …  because the ark of God was taken.    1 Samuel 4:21

 

The ark was captured and God’s glory had departed from Israel. This was the result of the elders making a decision without consulting the Lord (4:3). It was a decision that pleased the people (4:5) and brought great fear upon their enemies (4:7-8). But it was a decision that was contrary to the Word of God—a decision which caused God’s glory to depart from Israel. We need to uphold our elders in prayer so that they walk humbly before God and carefully check the Scriptures before they make any decisions. How sad if God would need to write the word “Ichabod” over a local fellowship!    —David Croudace

 

The Bible stands like a rock undaunted, ‘mid the raging storms of time,
Its pages burn with the truth eternal and they glow with a light sublime.
—Haldor Lillenas

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Sam. 18 to 19:8; Jeremiah 2 to 3:5; Gal. 4:1-20

 

Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the LORD.    Psalm 132:3-5

 

David was committed to making the Lord’s concerns his top priority. He was so absorbed with his desire to build a temple that he was determined to neither sleep or slumber until he found “a place for the Lord.” Devotion to Christ is not a casual matter—it is all encompassing and desires to put His work above our own. We will never regret making time for Him in our busy schedules, even if it means a little less time for us. He will give us strength for the day.
—Mark Kolchin

 

Press on! Press on! Ye sons of light, untiring in your holy fight,
Still treading each temptation down, and battling for a brighter crown.          —W. Gaskell

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 16-17; Jeremiah 1; Galatians 3:15-29

 

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.    Colossians 1:14

 

“How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure,” says a hymn. The value of the Lord’s redemption payment cannot be fully appreciated until one considers two things: the infinite worth of Christ’s blood and the depth of human sin. As another song puts it: “Oh how vile my low estate, since my ransom was so great.” Gratitude grips the hearts of the redeemed as they realize that they are liberated from Satan’s tyranny, sin’s bondage, and the grave’s terror. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20).    —Keith Keyser

 

From sin, the world, and Satan, we’re ransomed by Thy blood,
And here would walk as strangers, alive with Thee to God. —J.G. Deck

 

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 15; Zephaniah 3; Galatians 3:1-14

 

And it was so when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning … Thus Job did continually.    Job 1:5

 

Job took his parental responsibilities seriously. His children were adults, but he knew how easily temptation could lead to sin. He chose not to meddle or offer them unsolicited advice—instead he prayed. Before the day began, before work started—he brought his children before the Lord. Those we love may be out of our reach and influence, but they are not out of God’s. Wise is the parent who emulates Job’s example and continues to pray. Eternity will reveal the blessedness of a godly parent’s intercession!    —Deborah Manera

 

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, unuttered or expressed;
The motion of a hidden fire, that trembles in the breast. —J. Montgomery

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 14; Zephaniah 2; Galatians 2

 

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.    Jeremiah 17:7

 

The bumper sticker read: Know God – Know Hope. No God – No Hope. Exactly right! It is no accident that hope is closely linked to God. In Romans 15:13, He is called the God of hope, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope.” There is nothing vague in the Christian’s hope—it is an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. To know God is to know hope, but without God, there is no hope.    —Robert Gentile

 

My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame.
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. —Edward Mole

DAILY?READINGS: 2 Samuel 13; Zephaniah 1; Galatians 1

 

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 12:11

 

The devil was cast down to the earth and took up accusation against the children of God. But we can overcome the devil, first of all by claiming the blood of the Lamb shed on the cross. Secondly, we must vocalize the Gospel through our testimony. And lastly, we must give our lives daily to the cause of Christ. The devil suffered ultimate defeat when Christ died on the cross for sin. He suffers setback and loss as we take up our cross daily and follow our Lord.    —D. Pickup

 

Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Christians, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise!
—S. Baring-Gould