Category: Uncategorised

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 36; Psalms 9-10; Matt. 20:17-34

 

And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.  Mark 6:31

The word “leisure” means resting, or in today’s society, taking a break, from the “coming and going”. Besides physical rest we desperately need spiritual rest. Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). On our salvation’s day we rested on His finished work. Now we should daily recharge our power, alone with Him. We rest and recuperate when we gather around His Word, or with Him in the midst, in worship. May we make time today for this essential pursuit. —Vernon Markle

Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art; 
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.
—Jean S. Pigott

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 35; Psalms 7-8; Matt. 19:16 to 20:16

 

Pray without ceasing.  1 Thessalonians 5:17

What is my prayer life like? Worldwide our fellow citizens of heaven labour on, with prayer their energy. Do we join with them? The Lord’s people are strengthened by trusting, prayerful dependence on Him. Dependent, daily prayer is the secret of a testimony’s power. “Let me show you the boiler room“, C.H. Spurgeon would often say, as he brought people into the prayer room. Are we calling daily on that abundant power? —Mark Fenn

As o’er each continent and island,
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.
—John Ellerton

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 33:18 to 34:31; Psalms 4-6; Matt. 19:1-15

 

God waited in the days of Noah…eight souls were saved by water.  1 Peter 3:20

God waited for others to repent at the preaching of Noah. But when the day of judgment came, only eight souls were saved. But eight is the number of a new beginning, and so, from those eight souls, all the people on earth today are descended. God is longsuffering still, not willing that any should perish, but that all should enter into eternal life through Jesus Christ. As in the days of Noah, so now, few repent and believe the Gospel message. Nevertheless, God is creating a people for His name to inhabit a new place. The world of the ungodly will be cast away forever. Are you going to be counted with the likes of faithful Noah or with the old world? —Tom Steere

Death to the world we here avow, death to each fleshly lust;
Newness of life our calling now, a risen Lord our trust.
—M. B. Peters

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 32 to 33:17; Psalms 1-3; Matt. 18:15-35

 

And such were some of you.  1 Corinthians 6:11

Some of these Corinthian Christians had been fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners. Yet God had washed away their sins and, though red as crimson, they became white as snow. He justified them as if they had never sinned and sanctified them making them holy saints in His sight. What a salvation! Such a person was also John Newton, a slave to sin and a slave trader himself. Later he was miraculously saved and became a slave for Christ preaching the good news of the Gospel. The words of his famous hymn resonate with our hearts too. —K. C. Ung

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.
—J. Newton

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 31; Job 42; Matt. 17:14 to 18:14

 

The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. Song of Solomon 2:8

Here we have a view of the intense longing of the bridegroom to meet his bride. He comes with a shout, and with haste, to meet her. It is true that we as the Bride of Christ have intense longings to see Him, but we often forget the intense longing of our Beloved to meet His Bride. The longing is not all ours, but also His. Our Beloved died to procure His Bride and He longs for that day when He will claim her to share His Love and His throne for all of eternity. We are, as the apostle describes it, “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). —W. H. Burnett

O the blessed joy of meeting, all the desert past,
Oh the wondrous words of greeting, He shall speak at last.
—P. Gerhardt

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 30; Job 40-41; Matt. 16:13 to 17:13

 

For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. Isaiah 38:17

This short statement by Isaiah offers us so much for which to be thankful. Notice first—God has dealt with all my sins. I’m so grateful for that and also for the fact that He cast them behind His back and not mine. If it were mine, my sins could still be in His view. Having cast my sins out of His sight and memory, I can now rejoice in God’s acceptance of me. Such is His unconditional love toward us “accepted in the Beloved.” —Sam Thorpe

In the Beloved, God’s marvelous grace,
Calls me to dwell in this wonderful place; 
God sees my Saviour and then He sees me,
In the Beloved, accepted and free.
—Mrs. C. D. Martin

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 29; Job 38-39; Matt. 15:29 to 16:12

 

Ye know the house of Stephanas…that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.  1 Corinthians 16:15

Life’s addictions—drugs, alcohol, nicotine, gambling, etc.—end up costing the addict everything. Material goods, employment, family and friends, physical and mental health, dignity—wasted to appease a craving that will never be satisfied. Addicting oneself to the service of other Christians is just the opposite. Everything an earthly addiction could possibly cost, an addiction to ministry exceeds, both in this life and the one to come. Wouldn’t the result be amazing if an epidemic of “service addiction” caught hold of God’s people? —Rick Morse

Let this my motto be; 
Help me to live for others, 
That I may live like Thee.
—C. D. Meigs

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 28; Job 36-37; Matt. 15:1-28

 

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.  Luke 1:6
That we…might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.  Luke 1:74-75
I have found David…a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Acts 13:22

Note the importance of the word “all” here. Zacharias and Elisabeth had a sincere regard for God’s Word. They sought to obey all of it! Is our goal like theirs, to serve the Lord all the days of our life? Does God delight in us, as He did in David, because He knows our desire is to fulfil all His will? May half-heartedness never mark us! —Pete Smith

Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart—it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne.
—Havergal

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 27; Job 34-35; Matt. 14:13-36

 

God called unto him (Moses) out of the burning bush. And said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.  Exodus 3:4
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?…Certainly I will be with thee. Exodus 3:11-12

When God called Moses to His service, Moses replied “Here am I” indicating his availability and willingness to please God. But when God outlined the size of the task, Moses asked, “Who am I?” Sometimes the work God sets before us seems daunting but, if we are willing, He will enable us to accomplish His purposes. As we head out into the opportunities of this day, may we be encouraged by the certainty of His declaration, “I will be with you.” —Ken Gross

The service of Jesus true pleasure affords;
‘Tis heaven to trust Him and rest on His words.
—Frank C. Huston

 

DAILY?READINGS: Gen. 26; Job 32-33; Matt. 13:44 to 14:12

 

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?  Mark 2:7

We must be ever careful that we do not become like the Pharisees. In this passage the Pharisees struggled with seeing God work in a way that was inconsistent with their version of truth (vv. 1-12). That was certainly not the spirit of the Apostle Paul (see Phil. 1:18). They were also scandalized as the Lord reached out to a class they considered below them (vv. 13-17). Christ reached out to all people, as should we. He also possessed a liberty towards fasting that they lacked (vv. 18-22). We too must watch that ritual does not take precedence over enjoying the living Christ. May He never say of us, they “honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6). —N. C. Funston

Lord, take my life and make it wholly Thine;
Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.
—J. E. Orr