Saturday, September 3, 2011

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

I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Psalms 119:75

How can a faithful God permit affliction to come into our lives? It is because He loves us and in the end it will prove to be for our good and for His glory. Often it is a crisis that develops Christ-like character in us. Two secret disciples, who had been hiding in the shadows, needed the crisis of Calvary to test their allegiance to the Lord. While the other disciples were still hiding and trembling, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea boldly came out into the dangerous open and begged the body of their Lord to give Him a proper burial. God may be using a crisis in our lives to reveal a virtue that has been lying dormant for too long. —Milton Haack

A hope so great, and so divine, may trials well endure;
And purge the soul from sense and sin, as Christ Himself is pure. —Watts

Friday, September 2, 2011

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

Who can stand before the children of Anak! Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire He shall destroy them. Deut. 9:2b, 3a

Are you facing an unknown future, full of fear and trepidation? Do you see problems far greater than you have known before? Unassailable giants (descendants of Anakim) may appear on the horizon, but God’s promise to Israel is the same to every believer. “He goes before you.” Take heart child of God; put your trembling hand in His and simply trust Him, for He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is the LORD your God. —David Croudace

So I face an unknown future, full of faith and unafraid,
And the peace I have through trusting, for the world I would not trade.—John W. Peterson

 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

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

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:3

Hanging on the bedroom wall of an elderly woman in West Yorkshire, England are two tapestries made when she was a child. Each tapestry contains but two words. One says, “Perhaps today.” The other says, “Perhaps tomorrow.” As she rises in the morning she is reminded that this could be the day when our Lord will return. As she goes to bed at night she is reminded that He may come on the morrow. Do we live, night and day, in the light of this? Our Lord is coming again, perhaps sooner than we think! —John M. Clegg

Faithful and true would He find us here if He should come today?
Watching in gladness and not in fear, if He should come today?—L. N. Morris

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

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

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37

The Lord Jesus Himself has given the invitation. Come! His delights have always been with the sons of men. His love so great for us that He died for sinners. Down through the ages, many have come to the Saviour and found rest for the soul. Will you not come today?—E. MacLelland

If I ask Him to receive me,
Will He say me nay?
Not till earth and not till heaven
Pass away! —Stephen the Sabaite

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

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

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34

The tangible, the transient and the temporal have become so important to us, it seems. Far too readily do we pour out our life-energies for them. We build our dreams of gold and our temples of dust. We toil for self and invest our silver in a world that is bound for the flames. Sad day, if when all of this life is over and we are about to lie down in our narrow bed, we have to lament,” “If only…if only.” —J. B. N.

In the glare of earthly pleasure,
In the fight for earthly treasure,
‘Mid your blessings without measure,
Have you forgotten God?—Author Unknown

Monday, August 29, 2011

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

Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 30:12

“One heart” can also be rendered “singleness of heart.” Paul’s prayer for the Roman believers was “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 15:6). What an impact we could have on our communities if we were united in our affection for one another and showed it by our actions and speech. It would surely indicate our allegiance to the Saviour as our Lord promised, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another," (John 13:35). God's hand can do it. Will we submit to it? —W. H. Gustafson

While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey. —D. B. Towner

 

Lord’s Day, August 28, 2011

DAILY READINGS: 2 Samuel 12; Habakkuk 3; Romans 16

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? Luke 24:26

In the upper room, our Saviour announced that His anticipated sufferings at Calvary were before Him. He knew every pain He would experience. Three days later those unparalleled sufferings were history. As He joined those He loved on the road to Emmaus, He heard of their concern for His sufferings and said, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26) As Calvary’s Victor, He will eternally receive the glory (1 Pet. 1:11). May our hearts today give Him the glory that is His due. —Arnot P. McIntee

Glory, glory everlasting, be to Him, who bore the Cross!
Who redeemed our souls by tasting death, the death deserved by us:
Spread His glory, who redeemed His people thus. —Thomas Kelly

Saturday, August 27, 2011

DAILY READINGS: 2 Samuel 10-11; Habakkuk 2; Romans 15:14-33

All scripture is inspired by God…that the man of God may be… equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)

The ancient Greeks understood the meaning of “equip” in several ways. In surgery it described the setting of a broken limb. In the fishing industry it referred to the mending of nets. In politics it meant bringing together opposing groups. God longs to equip us so that there is no brokenness in our personality, no holes in our nets, and no opposing factions in our relationships. Are we receptive to God’s equipping ministry through His Spirit, His Word, and His people? —W. Ross Rainey

Oh, fill me with Thy fullness,
Lord, until my very heart o’erflow,
In kindling tho’t and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show. —F. R. Havergal

Friday, August 26, 2011

DAILY READINGS: 2 Samuel 8-9; Habakkuk 1; Romans 14:19 to 15:13

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:44

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 1 Peter 1:18, 19

The currency of heaven is not silver and gold, but willingness of heart. This poor widow cast into the treasury a tiny amount, but because of her willing heart, in heaven’s view she put in more than anyone else. Silver and gold would not redeem us, but with a willing heart the Lord Jesus shed His precious blood and gave Himself for us. Now in the same vein, we can be rich with heaven’s currency by being willing to do His will. —Tom Steere

O Thou great all-gracious Shepherd, shedding for us Thy life’s blood,
Unto shame and death delivered, all to bring us nigh to God!—C. A. Wellesley

Thursday, August 25, 2011

DAILY READINGS: 2 Samuel 7; Nahum 2-3; Romans 14:1-18

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Our Saviour went like a lamb to Calvary. When reviled, He reviled not again. His demeanor on the cross was that of quiet submission, and His loudest expression was the cry uttered when He surrendered His spirit to the Father. There was no shout at Calvary. But, when the moment comes for Him to descend from His heavenly throne and fetch to Himself His bride, He’ll shout. His ecstatic shout will call His completed bride to meet Him in the clouds. That shout will signify the fulfillment of His joy, and our salvation. —Doug Kazen

Soon shall we hear Him say, 'Ye blessed children, come.'
Soon will He call us hence away, and take His wanderers home.—William Hammond