Choice Gleanings

Judges 8:1-35; Isaiah 29:1-24; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour … Heb. 2:9

Our anxious eyes often dart here and there, causing worry and distress. Hebrews is an urgent plea for despairing Christians to refocus — “But we see Jesus.” We are enjoined to fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). If what I see, is all I see, how discouraging that will be! Paul fixed his gaze on the unseen, the eternal (2 Cor. 4:18), and his soul was renewed day by day. And so shall ours. —Peter Ramsay

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. —Helen Lemmel

Judges 7:1-25; Isaiah 28:1-29; 1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Mark 2:5
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. Luke 7:48
Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Acts 13:38

In Nazareth’s synagogue the Lord read of His own ministry (Isa. 61) and said it included, “deliverance to the captives” and “to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). The words ‘deliverance’ and ‘liberty’ both translate the Greek word rendered ‘forgiven’ and ‘forgiveness’ in the verses above. Thus, forgiveness means ‘righteous
release’ from our sins. That forgiveness is full (Ps. 103:3); it is free (Eph. 1:7), and it is final (Heb. 10:17). Hallelujah! —Phil Coulson

Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who, like me, His praise should sing? —Henry Lyte

Judges 6:1-40; Isaiah 27:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. Psalm 77:11

In this psalm, the author is consumed with his troubles and the silence of God. In the first ten verses, personal pronouns occur 20 times. From that point he changes his perspective and looks back to what God has done, and recognizes His greatness and faithfulness to him. Where is our focus? The psalmist looked at the past works, wonders and manifestations of God’s protection and provision. For us, the answer is to look into the Word and to the Lord and see that He has done the same for us. —Gary McBride

The King of love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never.
I nothing lack if I am His, and He is mine forever.  —H. W. Baker

Judges 5:1-31; Isaiah 26:1-21; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

They gape at me with their mouth, They strike me reproachfully on the cheek, They gather together against me. Job 16:10 NKJV
Behold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. Lamentations 1:12 NKJV

Jesus was rejected by those who should have recognized His Messiahship. They mocked and humiliated Him. They gathered against Him because “It was expedient that one man should die for the people” (John 18:14). His sorrow was unlike any other sorrow as He bore the sins of the whole world. Isaiah called Him “a Man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3). We call Him our blessed Saviour and rejoice in the salvation He accomplished for us. —Annette Baal

Man of sorrows what a name for the Son of God who came,
Ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Saviour! —P. P. Bliss

Judges 4:1-24; Isaiah 25:1-12; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

I alone am left; and they seek my life … so he departed from there. 1 Kings 19:10, 19 NKJV

Darkness can rapidly overtake us when our eyes are set on the circumstances we see and know. But we forget our God is in control of everything: the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. Nothing suggests Elijah was ever fortified by any of the 7,000 who never bowed to Baal. But his reluctance and discouragement faded when he re-established his dependence upon God. Only then could Elijah depart from both the darkness of the cave and
his unwarranted fear. The same is true of us. —David J. Reed

Why should I fear the darkest hour,
Or tremble at the tempter’s pow’r?
Jesus vouchsafes, to be my tow’r. —John Newton

Judges 3:5-31; Isaiah 24:1-23; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

This beautiful verse of Scripture is priceless. Casting means taking an object and throwing it as far as you can. We should take all our cares and throw them on the Lord. Because He cares, He will carry them for you! Are the circumstances of life weighing you down? Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you (Psalm 55:22). —Jim Paul

He is here, when cares beset us, when our spirits they bend low,
He it is who lifts those spirits, that His love we’d always know.
He is here in all life’s moments, be they sad or be they gay,
And He gives us leave to call Him, in each moment of each day.  —Audrey Morrow

Judges 2:6-3:4; Isaiah 22:15-23:18; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

God called the dry land Earth … and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:10
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Gen. 6:5

Passengers on a recent commercial space expedition expressed their observations of Earth. One said, “From here Earth sure looks like a perfect world.” The picture is far different morally! “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). By the mercy of God, we can become good — new creatures, “If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Come to Christ today! —Brian Powlesland

He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to Heaven, saved by His precious blood. —C. Alexander

Judges 1:1-2:5; Isaiah 21:1-22:14; 1 Corinthians 1:1-31

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV

Eccl. 4:12 reminds us that “a threefold cord is not quickly broken”, and indeed, all believers without exception, are linked together with the security of a common faith in our Lord Jesus as Saviour, that has secured our eternal salvation. We also share a common hope for time and eternity that is steadfast and sure. But best of all, we share the love of our blessed Lord both now and for all eternity, and one day we will be linked with Him as His holy bride at the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb. —Willie H. Burnett

Blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds, is like to that above. —John Fawcett

Joshua 24:1-33; Isaiah 19:1-20:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18

For the Lord your God … knows your trudging through this great wilderness. Deuteronomy 2:7 NKJV

The words of an old secular song read like this, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows my sorrow.” Words like these resonate with many. Is this how you feel today? Like no one knows or understands exactly what you’re going through? The Scriptures assure us that God knows “everything” about us (Ps. 139:1-4). He is aware of “all” our needs (Matt. 6:32). You can rest in His promise that “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isa. 43:2). May His loving presence comfort your heart today. —E. V.

I know my heav’nly Father knows, the balm I need to soothe my woes;
And with His touch of love divine, He heals this wounded soul of mine.  —S. M. I. Henry

Joshua 23:1-16; Isaiah 17:1-18:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ Acts 22:12-13 NKJV

As Paul shared his conversion story, he mentioned the part Ananias played. This dear brother was known to have a good testimony in Damascus. His life was marked by a reverence for God and a genuine love for others. His warm greeting would have meant much to Paul. Later Paul writes concerning elders, “Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside…” (1 Tim. 3:7). Let’s seek to emulate Ananias! —Pete Smith

O use me, Lord, use even me;
Until Your blessed face I see. —F. R. Havergal