Author: Gospel Folio Press

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 26-27; Ezekiel 23; John 8:31-59

The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Spirit, soul and body; each part of us is important to God. He is at
work in us with a view to sett ing us apart unto Himself in holiness.
Because He is both our Creator and our Redeemer, His claim upon
us is total (Note the words “wholly” and “whole”.). In response to
such exalted divine purposes, let us yield ourselves each day unreservedly
to Him. —George Hall

Nought that I have mine own I’ll call: I’ll hold it for the Giver:
My heart, my strength, my life, my all, are His and His forever.
—James G. Small

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 24-25; Ezekiel 22; John 8:12-30

He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8

Looking for a defi nition of love (agape), I found none bett er than that
of W. E. Vine: “In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the
deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely
unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in
them towards the Giver, and a practical love towards those who are
partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.”
May we know and show this love today. —Duncan Maxwell

Like shoreless seas, Thy love can know no bound; Thou lovest me!
Deep, vast, immense, unfathomed, Lord, profound, Lord, I love Thee!
And when above, my crown is at Thy feet,
I’ll praise Thee still for Calvary’s mercy seat. —E. C. Quine

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chron. 22-23; Ezek. 20:45-21:32; John 7:31-8:11

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before
Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy name. Psalm 86:9

The redeemed are happy to bow the knee to their blessed Saviour
now, but one day there will be universal praise. Even the stubborn
knees will be compelled to bow to Him, because, “God has highly
exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name”
(Php. 2:9-10). It is our privilege to bow now. May we do so with joy.
—Milton Haack

Look, ye saints! the sight is glorious: see the Man of sorrows now;
From the fi ght returned victorious, every knee to Him shall bow;
Crown Him, crown Him, crown Him, crown Him,
Crowns become the Victor’s brow, crowns become the Victor’s brow.
—T. Kelley

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 21; Ezekiel 20:1-44; John 7:12-30

He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear,
and the dumb to speak. Mark 7:37

Aft er trials and challenge. Aft er lives of earnest faith conflict. After
years of maintaining a testimony. Aft er sickness and bereavement.
The pilgrim saint of God will at the end of it all, be able to say this
about our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, “He hath done all things well!”
Let us then be steadfast pilgrims, as we continue our service for the
Master during this “little while”! —Mark Fenn

And when to that bright world I rise,
And join the anthems in the skies,
Above the rest this note shall swell,
My Jesus hath done all things well!
—Samuel Medley

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 19-20; Ezekiel 18-19; John 6:41 to 7:11

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of Him. Psalm 33:8

Sometimes a word that expresses a sacred and profound thought
becomes commonplace and misused. Such is the case with the word
“awesome”. Checking the dictionary it means “deeply reverent, awful
and terrible”. So using it to describe some trivial earthly pleasure
or thing is hardly appropriate. If the word means to produce reverential
fear or dread inspired by Deity, we should give heed as to its
usage. The Lord God is holy, reverent and worthy to be honoured
and worshipped with awe. —Edna Dyck

Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above,
With wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God! —M. W. Smith

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 17-18; Ezekiel 17; John 6:22-40

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to
obey magistrates, to be ready to do every good work. Titus 3:1
Then Peter and the other apostles answered, and said, We ought to
obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

On the surface, these statements appear to be contradictory, but
they are not. For Christians, the only time Scripture gives us licence
to disobey occurs when the keeping of the civil law opposes the law
of God. In the apostles’ case it meant beating, prison and even death.
We forget that many Christians around the world are still enduring
the same today. Pray for our brothers and sisters who are being
punished for obeying the Lord. —Drew Craig

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb, with all my strength, with all I am;
I seek to honour His commands, I pledge allegiance to the Lamb.—Ray Boltz

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 16; Ezekiel 16:35-63; John 6:1-21

Think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness,
I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and
bring me out of this house. Genesis 40:14

Joseph is a wonderful type of the Lord. Notice the requests that he
made of the one whom He had helped. We should be fulfi lling these
same requests. Do we think upon Him daily and show kindness in
His name to those we meet? Do we mention Him to others? May we
never forget the One who died for us. —John M. Clegg

Lord, we are thine, we praise Thy love,
One with Thy saints, all one in Thee;
We would, until we meet above,
In all our ways remember Thee. —James G Deck

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 15; Ezekiel 16:1-34; John 5:24-47

But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his
tongue against man or beast. Exodus 11:7

The Lord, by His direct or permissive will, allows His children to
experience circumstances that are not easy to bear. When He decides,
however, that enough is enough, He oft en intervenes in a dramatic
way. The children of Israel had suff ered as never before under
the oppressive hand of the Egyptians. Finally God stepped in and
when He did, He saw to it that not even a dog barked to frighten or
interfere with their deliverance. —Brian Russell

The battle is the Lords,
His is the spoil and prey,
Shout! For His hand is lift ed up,
And we shall win the day.—Anon.

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 13-14; Ezekiel 14-15; John 5:1-23

And He went a litt le further, and fell on His face, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Matt hew 26:39

This verse reminds us of the complete submission of the Son to the
will of the Father. The highest priority in the life of the Lord Jesus,
was the Father’s will. Even faced with the terrible prospect of drinking
the cup that the Father had given him to drink, the Lord never
deviated from the will of the Father. There was never any resistance
in the perfect Servant to the Father’s will even when it meant “being
obedient unto [to the extent of] death, even the death of the cross”
(Phil. 2:8). He was there for us. Let us worship Him. —W. H. Burnett

Death and the curse were in our cup, O Christ, t’was full for thee,
But Thou hast drained the last dark drop, ‘tis empty now for me. —Cousins

DAILY READINGS: 1 Chronicles 12; Ezekiel 13; John 4:31-54

I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matt hew 16:18

Barcelona’s biggest tourist att raction is its cathedral. Begun in 1882,
work continues today, to ensure its completion by 2026, a date chosen
to coincide with the death of its architect in 1926. If it seems this
building of brick and mortar has been a long time in the making,
think about the wondrous Church of Christ, still in the making aft er
2,000 years. One day soon, its Architect and Builder, who is alive
forevermore, will see the last stone put in place and then He will
come to claim it as His own possession. What a glorious prospect!
—Brian Powlesland

View the vast building: see it rise, the work how great, the plan how wise!
O wondrous fabric! Power unknown, that rests upon the living Stone.—Anon.