Category: Uncategorised

1 Chronicles 17:1-18:17; Ezekiel 17:1-24; John 6:22-40

Say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord…Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Ezekiel 13:2-3

False prophets abound and apparently they have no problem gaining a following. Someone has noted we should say to them, “Before you tell me what’s going to happen tomorrow, tell me what I did yesterday.” That might sift out the false prophets rather quickly. Accurate prophecy is only found in God’s Word, from the One who knows the end from the beginning. —Wm. H. Gustafson

Jesus shall reign wher-e’er the sun,
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom spread from shore to shore,
Til moons shall wax and wane no more. —Isaac Watts

1 Chronicles 16:1-43; Ezekiel 16:35-63; John 6:1-21

I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8
That I may know him. Philippians 3:10

These two words give us different thoughts. From verse eight, “knowledge” is the act of learning; from verse ten, “know” is the result of a personal experiential relationship. The learning of Christ promotes a hunger for deeper shared experiences of our life with Him. The more we learn about Christ, the more we will desire to experience Christ in us. —Sam Thorpe, Jr.

Then in fellowship sweet, we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey. —J. H. Sammis

1 Chronicles 15:1-29; Ezekiel 16:1-34; John 5:24-47

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:11

A quote said, “There is no testimony without the test.” Knowing there is hope in a trial’s outcome gives enablement for its endurance. If our test is going to benefit someone, it gives courage to keep on keeping on. He has brought others out of distress and we can have confidence that His faithfulness will also bring us through. And turn our test into a testimony. —E. Dyck

He restoreth my soul when I’m weary,
He giveth me strength day by day;
He leads me beside the still waters,
He guards me each step of the way. —John W. Peterson

1 Chronicles 13:1-14:17; Ezekiel 14:1-15:18; John 5:1-23

Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? Ruth 2:10

So spoke Ruth the Moabitess, to Boaz, her soon-to-be Redeemer and Bridegroom. Similarly, the apostle Paul reminds the Ephesians “Ye were without Christ…having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:12-13). Yes, we glory in the fact that poor worthless strangers such as ourselves have been embraced by the grace of God and brought into an intimate relationship with our heavenly Boaz—Christ—our Redeemer, and heavenly bridegroom. —W. H. Burnett

O I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved’s mine,
He brings a poor vile sinner, into His house of wine. —Ann R. Cousin

1 Chronicles 12:1-40; Ezekiel 13:1-23; John 4:31-54

But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39

No matter what you are going through, whatever your circumstances are, look to the Lord Jesus. And all that has clouded your vision will grow strangely dim in the light of His beautiful face. He is our refuge and strength, our help in times of trouble. He is always there! Our Lord God has promised He will never leave or forsake us. Believe His promises. —Vickie Gaynier

Oh soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free —Helen Howarth Lemmel

1 Chronicles 10:1-11:47; Ezekiel 12:1-28; John 4:1-30

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:8

“Who will go for us?” The “us” suggests the three Persons in the Godhead involved in the process of “sending.” The Father sent the Son because He loved us (1 John 4:9-10). The Son sent the Spirit to represent Him in His absence (John 16:7). Finally the Spirit empowered the witnesses sent out by the Son (Acts 1:7-8) to teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Today the Lord still asks, “Whom shall I send?” Will you answer, “Here am I; send me”? —K. C. Ung

Hast Thou, O Lord, a work to do? Here am I, send me!
The field is white, the lab’rers few, here am I, send me! —J. G. Lawson

1 Chronicles 8:1-9:44; Ezekiel 11:1-25; John 3:22-36

According to his own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:8, NKJV

When we think of the work of God, many focus on the results and successes. We need to be careful, as that may be the perspective of worldly wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:18-31). It’s understandable to want to see positive results. But God will reward on the basis of our hard work or “labor”—not necessarily earthly gains. There is always that temptation to seek the praise of men in whatever we do, when it is the praise of God that should be our goal. Serving in the work of God takes a lot of sweat and struggles, tears and trials. In other words, a lot of laboring! —N. C. Funston

Take my hands and let them move, at the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be, swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee. —Frances Ridley Havergal

1 Chronicles 7:1-40; Ezekiel 10:1-22; John 2:23-3:21

Make this valley full of ditches. 2 Kings 3:16

It has been said that God does not take us into the desert to abandon us, but to get us alone with Himself. The Israelite army was in a desert and had run out of water. The solution to their desperate need? Dig ditches in the valley. How can we apply this to ourselves? To dig one must get down low, must expend great effort with sweat, and must prepare for the answer. The more ditches they dug the more water they would have received. And the answer came from the most unexpected source—from Edom! In our valley, in our desert, let us also dig ditches of prayer in preparation for a land filled with water (v. 17). —M. MacMullen

Behold the throne of grace!
The promise calls us near;
There Jesus shows a smiling face,
And waits to answer prayer. —John Newton

1 Chronicles 6:1-81; Ezekiel 8:1-9:11; John 2:1-22

Put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:11, NKJV

We are in a war! Satan, our enemy, is relentless, unappeasable and strives to wear down the believer. He seeks to destroy our walk with God and our families. He is undermining the Church and the Word of God. His tactics have not changed since Eden, when he challenged Eve, “Has God indeed said…?” (Gen. 3:1, NKJV). His purpose is to divide our families and assemblies. His Word has not changed, cannot change and will not change in spite of societies changing and corrupt standards! —Jim Comte

The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands. —Haldor Lillenas

1 Chronicles 4:24-5:26; Ezekiel 7:1-27; John 1:19-51

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10

Being made ready for Heaven is entirely God’s work. Just like Adam and Eve failed to cover their own nakedness we also will find it impossible to cover our spiritual nakedness before a holy God. Today our souls can rejoice that the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness are provided by the Lord Himself. Give up trying to cover your own sin and surrender to Him and put on His robe of righteousness. —Sid Halsband

It is the Father’s joy to bless,
His love provides for me a dress,
A robe of spotless righteousness,
O Lamb of God in Thee. —Mary Jane Deck Walker