Choice Gleanings: Good News Edition

DAILY READINGS: Numbers 4:1-49; Proverbs 1:1-33; Mark 14:1-26

So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land… But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:7-8 

And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. Genesis 7:5

We first read that God purposed to destroy all mankind. But Noah became the exception, because he was the object of God’s grace. God offers that grace to all who will believe and trust Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Are you saved? —Ken Gross

O, the love that drew salvation’s plan, O, the grace that brought it
down to man, O the mighty gulf that God did span; At Calvary!
—William R. Newell

DAILY READINGS: Numbers 3:1-51; Psalms 148:1-150:6; Mark 13:1-37

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Wages or a gift. These are two opposite concepts. Wages are something I deserve. A gift is something I don’t deserve. Wages are something I have earned. A gift is something I freely receive at some one else’s expense. A Christian is someone who knows he deserves God’s judgment but instead escapes it by receiving God’s gift. Have you received the gift or are you still working for your wages? —Sid Halsband

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me! —T. O. Chisholm

DAILY READINGS: Numbers 2:1-34; Psalm 146:1-147:20; Mark 12:18-44

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. Isaiah 53:11

God is satisfied! The work of His soul is completed! The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross has completely and utterly fulfilled God’s righteous demands. Now our Saviour’s sufferings are over, and as a result the power of the Gospel is completely effective to those who put their trust in Him. “It is finished” (John 19:30, KJV). Christ “once offered” (Heb. 9:28, KJV) is the amazing heart of the Gospel. God is satisfied and we are too. —Mark Fenn

O Jesus, Lord! ‘Tis joy to know thy path is o’er of shame and woe,
For us so meekly trod: All finished is Thy work of toil, Thou reapest
now the fruit and spoil; Exalted by our God. —James G. Deck

DAILY READINGS: Numbers 1:1-54; Psalm 144:1-145:21; Mark 11:27-12:17

Prepare to meet your God. Amos 4:12

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:44

I talked to a friend some years ago. He said to me, “I have prepared for many things in this life. I have made provision for my wife should I die, but I have not prepared to meet God.” Not long after that conversation, he died. How tragic. Life is short. Are you ready to meet God if you should die today? Are you ready if Jesus returns tonight? Prepare to meet your God. —J. Fleming

We are walking on life’s pathway, trav’ling to eternity,
Where our loved ones went before us, to their final destiny.
I must choose the road that I will travel, if one day in glory I’ll be,
Then on that day when this life’s over, heaven will be home for me.
—J. Fleming

DAILY READINGS: Leviticus 27; Psalms 142:1-143:12; Mark 11:1-26

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them… Zephaniah 1:18, KJV

Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:18-19

Silver and gold cannot not save us. The Lord Jesus—the spotless, holy, sinless, impeccable Lamb of God—must give His life at
Calvary to deliver us from the judgment of God. Unsaved soul, come to Christ and accept the redemption He offers through
His blood, before it is too late. “After this [death] the Judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, KJV). —W. H. Burnett

The rich man was there but his money, had melted and vanished away,
—Author Unknown

DAILY READINGS: Leviticus 26:1-46; Psalm 140:1-141:10; Mark 10:32-52

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

If God were some austere and distant figure, unable or unwilling to reveal Himself to man in love and grace, man would be in a most dreadful position. But standing between us (in all our need), and God (in His unbending righteousness)
is one great mediator; God the Son. The Father is well pleased with Him. Yet He loves us to the extent that He died for us. He is the perfect and unfailing mediator between God and us. God the Father is reachable only through that mediator. But, thankfully, in this work He never fails. —Doug Kazen

Though many a fiery, flaming dart, the tempter levels at my heart,
With this I all his rage repel; my Jesus has done all things well.
—S. Medley

DAILY READINGS: Leviticus 25:1-55; Psalm 139:1-24; Mark 10:1-31

Abraham said, Son, remember. Luke 16:25, KJV

Visiting Brussels I was struck by a poster of a road sign bearing the word “Remember.” If one did not remember in time, the
road would take you to the wrong destination. It reminded me of the pitiful existence of the beggar compared to the luxury of
the rich man in the above passage, and of what Abraham said to the rich man in eternity and doomed—“Son, remember.” Many in a lost eternity will remember invitations to accept God’s way of salvation. But they left it too late and thus found themselves at a horrible destination. —Brian Powlesland

Memory like an adder stingeth, all the wasted past upbringeth;
Could I but that viper strangle, half my miseries would be o’er,
But around my heart it coileth, every frantic effort foileth,
Will it quit me nevermore? Echo answers, nevermore. —H. Bonar

DAILY READINGS: Leviticus 24:1-23; Psalms 137:1-138:8; Mark 9:33-50

In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10, KJV

If God were to close His hand on your breath today, where would your soul be? If you have trusted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, it will be well. “Absent from the body, and…present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, KJV). If not, it will be separation from God for all eternity. Put your trust in Him today. —E. MacLelland

Eternity! But Jesus died—Yes Jesus died on Calvary;
Behold Him thorn-crowned, crucified,
The spotless One made sin for thee.
O sinner haste! For refuge flee—He saves, and for eternity.
—Author Unknown

DAILY READINGS: Lev. 23:23-44; Psalms 135:1-136:26; Mark 9:14-32

For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:19

Every time we stand in a cemetery beside a coffin and hear the words “dust unto dust,” we are reminded of the entrance of sin into this world. These words were spoken to Adam after he and Eve had disobeyed God. Before that there was no death, no cemeteries, no graves and no separation from loved ones. But there is an answer. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23). Praise God there is hope in a gift of eternal life that God generously offers. Accept
that gift today and be saved. —M. Robins

Dust to dust, the mortal dies, Both the foolish and the wise;
God my waiting soul shall save, He will raise me from the grave.
—Author Unknown

DAILY READINGS: Lev. 23:1-22; Psalms 132:1-134:3; Mark 8:27-9:13

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14

The latest research establishes that the iceberg, which the Titanic struck had been spotted when it was 2,000 feet away, almost a minute before the impact. For around half of that time the ship had held its course. Had the officer in charge reacted even 15 seconds sooner, the ship may have missed the iceberg, and the lives of 1,476 persons might have been saved. We know that individuals can pass away very quickly, in much less than 30 seconds. At this moment, you have an opportunity to trust the Saviour. Don’t wait another moment. —Arnot P. McIntee

Life at best it is very brief, Like the falling of a leaf.
Like the binding of a sheaf, Be in time. —Author Unknown