Category: Uncategorised

Exodus 1:1-2:22; Psalm 31:1-24; Matthew 27:45-66

Their bull breeds without failure. Job 21:10 NKJV
You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. Deuteronomy 25:4 NKJV
Thus Aaron shall come…with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering. Leviticus 16:3 NKJV

The Chinese person born in the Year of the Ox/Bull is claimed to be diligent and hardworking. The ox in Scripture is a picture of service as it treads the mill. The bullock is strong and was offered as a burnt sacrifice to atone for Israel’s sins. Jesus was a faithful servant and a full sacrifice for our sin. Be yoked to Jesus this Chinese New Year (Matt. 11:28-30). —K. C. Ung

Help us, O Lord, Thy yoke to wear, delighting in Thy perfect will;
Each other’s burden learn to bear, and thus Thy law of love fulfill. —T. Cotterill

Genesis 50:1-26; Psalm 30:1-12; Matthew 27:27-44

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. Ecclesiastes 3:7

By rearranging the letters of the word silent we can get the word “listen” and that play on words carries real significance. We need to be silent with concentrated minds if we are to listen effectively. Yet in modern society silence is so often missing as people seem to need constant sound, such as television at home, radio in the car, headphones when on the move. Noise weakens our ability to listen and that is especially true when it comes to listening to God. Let us shut out the noise and through prayer and His Word, hear
the voice of God as He speaks to us today. —Paul Young

Speak, Lord, in the stillness, while I wait on Thee,
Hushed my heart to listen, in expectancy. —Emily May Grimes

Genesis 49:1-33; Psalms 28:1-29:11; Matthew 27:1-26

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2
The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

Are we daily adoring our wonderful God and giving to Him the honour and worship He is worthy of? Let us not hold back in giving Him the glory His name richly deserves! As we reflect upon all that He is in Himself, our souls will be given fresh strength and He will truly bless us with His peace. Are you enjoying His presence today and rejoicing that He is your God? —Pete Smith

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him;
All that hath life and breath come now with praises before Him.   —J. Neander

Genesis 47:28-48:22; Psalms 26:1-27:14; Matthew 26:57-75

Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him. 2 Chronicles 32:7

Hezekiah was being intimidated by the King of Assyria and his vast army. But seeing beyond the material he realized that the Assyrians were trusting their own strength (v. 8), whereas he and the Kingdom of Judah had the Lord on their side so they could not lose. In a world which is increasingly in revolt against all of
God’s standards and therefore often opposes true believers, we must look at everything from God’s viewpoint then dare to stand up for the truth, whatever it might cost. God is always in the majority and will win the battle. —David Croudace

Dare to be a Daniel; dare to stand alone;
Dare to have a purpose firm; dare to make it known. —Philip P. Bliss

Genesis 46:1-47:27; Psalm 25:1-22; Matthew 26:31-56

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Lamentations 3:22-24

Lamentations is like a funeral dirge with absolutely no hope in sight. Jeremiah’s beloved Jerusalem had been reduced to rubble. His heart was broken and overcome with grief; “I Am the man that hath seen affliction…My flesh and my skin hath he made old…” (Lam. 3:1, 4). Yet, in the midst of this bleak scene he cries, “Great is thy faithfulness.” No matter how dark the night may be, rest upon His faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion…therefore will I hope in him.” —Jim Comte

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see. —T. Chisholm

Genesis 45:1-28; Psalms 23:1-24:10; Matthew 26:1-30

I am Joseph…come near to me. Genesis 45:3-4

Joseph’s brothers couldn’t stand being near him, so they sold him. Fast forward to the end of the story. Powerful Joseph now has the opportunity to banish his begging brothers from his presence as they had done to him years before. What does Joseph say? “Come near to me.” What love! But listen on—he says it again: “And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me” (45:10). Such is the heart of God for us. He was not merely interested in pardoning us. He wants us who were once “far off” to be near to Him. How is such a thing possible? We are “made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). —Brian Cretney

So near, so very near to God, I cannot nearer be.
For in the person of His Son, I am as near as He. —Horatius Bonar

Genesis 44:1-34; Psalm 22:1-31; Matthew 25:31-46

But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore. Psalm 92:8

The preceding and following verses of this psalm contrast the wicked with God. They briefly flourish before going to destruction, but the Lord’s supremacy is eternally unassailable. His enemies will each fall, but his servants’ “horn” will be inexorably exalted (vv. 10-11), as their opponents—sin, death, hell, the world, the flesh, and the devil—succumb to the overwhelming power that raised Him from the dead (Eph. 1:19-23). The exalted Lord shall share His victory with His saints in glory. —K. R. Keyser

O Christ, Thou king of glory, I soon shall dwell with Thee!
I soon shall sing the story, of Thy great love to me.
Meanwhile my soul would enter, e’en now before Thy throne.
That all my love might center, on Thee, and Thee alone! —Charitie L. Bancroft

Genesis 43:1-34; Psalms 20:1-21:13; Matthew 25:1-30

What is this that thou hast done? Genesis 3:13

God asked Eve what she had done after she had eaten the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, but she blamed the serpent for her choice. Little did she realize that her disobedience to God would still affect humanity over 6,000 years later. Did David realize that his sin would still be talked and read about over 3,000 years later? Be careful dear one, our sin can have a sad ripple effect through many years and hurt many lives. —Mary Robins

Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
So be careful little eyes what you see.  —Author Unknown

Genesis 41:50-42:38; Psalm 19:1-14; Matthew 24:29-51

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. Hebrews 6:19

As I edit the 2021 Choice Gleanings, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. One remarkable outcome of this event is the way it has exposed the fragility of our modern world. Humanity likes to feel that it is in control, but as the coronavirus has swept across the world that illusion has been shattered. Markets crashing, medical resources stretched to the breaking point, political finger pointing, lives upended, and lives ended, all by an organism too small to be seen and that does not even know what it is doing. In all of this dark distress, the message of the gospel has shone ever brighter. Jesus Christ and His finished work offer the only hope for a world filled with so much uncertainty. —S. McEachern

And He once said, who hung on Calvary’s tree–
“Ye are the light of the world.” Go! Shine for Me. —Author Unknown

Genesis 41:1-49; Psalm 18:30-50; Matthew 24:1-28

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. Psalm 103:14
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

The link between these two verses is that “frame” and “mind” translate to the same Hebrew word. It is also translated as “imagination” in Genesis 6:5, so it conveys the thought of the perimeter of a person’s thinking. By nature, our outlook is selfish, worldly and small, and this is known by God in His fatherly concern for us: “he remembereth that we are dust.” For the person whose trust is in God, however, the “frame” through which they look reveals a wholly different scene—one that is tranquil, broad and fair. Trusting in God makes the difference. —Phil Coulson

Trust ye in the Lord forever, trust with all thine heart. —H. Warner