Category: Uncategorised

Judges 17:1-18:31; Isaiah 36:1-37:7; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40

Lord, if thou hadst been here. John 11:21
Lord, come and see. John 11:34

The Saviour’s depth of compassion and comfort in this narrative is stunning. In a few moments, He was going to raise Lazarus. Why weep? It reveals a precious truth about our Lord. He is and always will be the God of right now! His promise from Hebrews 13:5 stands firm: “I will never leave thee.” This promise is found multiple times in the Scripture: to different people; in different circumstances, good and bad. It does not matter. We can say, “thou art with me” (Ps. 23:4). —Vernon Markle

Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that’s well known.
You have no other such friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone. —E. S. Lorenz

Judges 16:1-31; Isaiah 35:1-10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! 2 Samuel 18:33

There is no gut-wrenching grief like that of parents who have lost a child. My dear wife and I sadly went through this in May 2019. Some may have said of Absalom that he had it coming to him, that he received his just deserts, or that it served him right. David may have even entertained those thoughts. In the moments of deepest pain, all we can do is collapse in the presence of our Lord, where He embraces us with loving empathy, because He watched His Son die on that dark day at Calvary. —Rick Morse

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?
In Jesus keeping we are safe—and they.   —Edward Bickersteth

Judges 14:1-15:20; Isaiah 34:1-17; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

My host asked if I liked the painting on his wall. I stammered something polite. Amused, he suggested I step back a few feet. To my amazement, what was once blurry and nondescript, suddenly became clear and beautiful! Perhaps there is something in your life that seems hard to decipher and difficult to understand. God sees the bigger picture. From His point of view, the seemingly mismatched colours and randomly drawn shapes are all at work to create a beautiful masterpiece. Allow the Lord to have His way, and trust the final product to Him. —Lynn Shatford

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. —Wm. Cowper

Judges 13:1-25; Isaiah 33:1-24; 1 Corinthians 11:2-34

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Psalm 112:1
Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. Psalm 128:1

C. H. Spurgeon suggests the word “blessed” is in the plural in the Psalms hence the joyfulnesses or happinesses that come to the man who reverences the Lord and the people who choose to walk in the ways of the Lord. “This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isa. 30:21). We all long for joy in our lives. Fear Him; walk in His ways and you will find multiplied joys today. —Wm. H. Gustafson

To Christ the Way, the Truth, the Life,
I come, no more to roam;
He’ll guide me to my Father’s house,
To my eternal home. —James McGranahan

Judges 11:29-12:15; Isaiah 32:1-20; 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1

Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. Genesis 22:6

Abraham laid the burden of the wood of the burnt offering upon his only son. The burden of the fuel set to consume Isaac was willingly carried by him to God’s determined place. Facing Calvary, on Christ a greater burden was laid. Our sins! His only Son took our place. I wonder, would Isaac bear that burden had he known its purpose? Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth! —D. J. Reed

From His bright throne eternal, He came to earth below;
From Godhead’s fullest glory, He came to bear our woe.  —A. Stevenson

Judges 10:6-11:28; Isaiah 31:1-9; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:13

Who is he that condemneth? Romans 8:34

Are we condemning a fellow believer for their sin, their speech, or their questionable lifestyle? May God give us a gentler heart. Christ died for them and is interceding for them. Let us also pray for them and seek their holiness and good by supplications and acts of kindness. —D. Pickup

I gave My life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou given for Me?   —Frances Ridley Havergal

Judges 9:1-10:5; Isaiah 30:1-33; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23

Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Exodus 4:10 NKJV

When first reading these words it appears Moses is displaying an appropriate sense of humility when called by the Lord to his ministry. Humility in the Lord’s work is absolutely essential but let us be honest, sometimes disobedience masquerades itself as humility. Moses’ behaviour in Pharaoh’s palace and in the land of Midian showed that he lacked neither courage, eloquence or ambition. May the Lord give us faith to trust Him and not our own resources. His commands are His enablements. —Sid Halsband

Jesus is the Name that charms us, He for conflict fits and arms us;
Nothing moves, and nothing harms us, when we trust in Him.  —Thomas Kelly

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

Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord do that which seemeth him good. 2 Samuel 10:12

Despite his checkered political and military career, Joab knew how to give a rousing pre-battle speech. He exhorted his brother and himself to “play the men”—a wonderful expression for exhibiting manly courage. Modern culture denigrates manhood, and seeks to subvert gender roles and attack divinely instituted authority structures like marriage and the family. Today believing males must assert their godly manhood in showing spiritual leadership in both the home and the church. —K. R. Keyser

Fight the good fight with all thy might!
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right.  —J. S. B. Monsell

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

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:6

This is the message Moses gave to Joshua and to Israel (Deut. 31:7). God gave the same message to Joshua three times (Josh. 1:6, 9, 18) and and in turn Joshua gave it to his captains of war (Josh. 10:25). Later, David gave it to Solomon (1 Chron. 22:13, 28:20). It is the same for us today (Ps. 27:14, 31:24). As you go forward this day, be strong and of good courage, the Lord is with you. It is this that makes all the difference. —Sam Thorpe, Jr.

O Lord, never suffer us to think,
That we can stand by ourselves,
And not need Thee.  —John Donne

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

Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him. Hosea 12:4

The prophet is recalling the memorable night when “Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him…” (Gen. 32:24). The excruciating pain of his hip out of joint likely led to his tears, but he cried out, as he clung on, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me” (Gen. 32:26). Self-willed Jacob contended with the Lord, until the hand of God touched him, leaving him helpless and solely dependent upon the Lord. What will God have “to touch” that we may be fully surrendered to His will? —Pete Smith

I bow me to Thy will,
O God and all Thy ways adore,
And every day I live,
I’d seek to please Thee more and more. —F. W. Faber