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daily devotional
Evening ...
Matthew 28:1
As it began to dawn, came Magdalene, to see the sepulchre.
Let us learn from Mary Magdalene how to obtain fellowship with the Lord
Jesus. Notice how she sought. She sought the Saviour very early in the morning.
If thou canst wait for Christ, and be patient in the hope of having fellowship
with Him at some distant season, thou wilt never have fellowship at all; for
the heart that is fitted for communion is a hungering and a thirsting heart.
She sought Him also with very great boldness. Other disciples fled from the
sepulchre, for they trembled and were amazed; but Mary, it is said, "stood" at
the sepulchre. If you would have Christ with you, seek Him boldly. Let nothing
hold you back. Defy the world. Press on where others flee. She sought Christ
faithfully-she stood at the sepulchre. Some find it hard to stand by a living
Saviour, but she stood by a dead one. Let us seek Christ after this mode,
cleaving to the very least thing that has to do with Him, remaining faithful
though all others should forsake Him. Note further, she sought Jesus
earnestly-she stood "weeping." Those tear-droppings were as spells that led the
Saviour captive, and made Him come forth and show Himself to her. If you desire
Jesus' presence, weep after it! If you cannot be happy unless He come and say
to you, "Thou art My beloved," you will soon hear His voice. Lastly, she sought
the Saviour only. What cared she for angels, she turned herself back from them;
her search was only for her Lord. If Christ be your one and only love, if your
heart has cast out all rivals, you will not long lack the comfort of His
presence. Mary Magdalene sought thus because she loved much. Let us arouse
ourselves to the same intensity of affection; let our heart, like Mary's, be
full of Christ, and our love, like hers, will be satisfied with nothing short
of Himself. O Lord, reveal Thyself to us this evening!
Romans 4:15
If we take to its logical conclusion the statement that "justification by
grace through faith does away with law," then there is no such thing as sin any
longer, for the law defines what sin is (see also I John 3:4). If that is true,
Christ died in vain.
In addition, it violently flies in the face of two clear facts: 1) Two
thousand years after Christ shed His blood to pay the penalty for sin-providing
the means for justification-we still must repent of sin to be forgiven. That
has not changed, so sin must still exist and law still exists. Thus, the Ten
Commandments still exist, as sin is the transgression of that law. How can this
be if there is no law to transgress? 2) The New Testament record of Jesus
Christ's and the apostles' exhortations to Christians not to sin, especially
after one is forgiven.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 4)
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening ...
Psalm 56:9
When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God
is for me.
It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this
delightful phrase, "God is for me." He was "for us" before the worlds were
made; He was "for us," or He would not have given His well-beloved son; He was
"for us" when He smote the Only-begotten, and laid the full weight of His wrath
upon Him-He was "for us," though He was against Him; He was "for us," when we
were ruined in the fall-He loved us notwithstanding all; He was "for us," when
we were rebels against Him, and with a high hand were bidding Him defiance; He
was "for us," or He would not have brought us humbly to seek His face. He has
been "for us" in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of
dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within-how could
we have remained unharmed to this hour if He had not been "for us"? He is "for
us," with all the infinity of His being; with all the omnipotence of His love;
with all the infallibility of His wisdom; arrayed in all His divine attributes,
He is "for us,"-eternally and immutably "for us"; "for us" when yon blue skies
shall be rolled up like a worn out vesture; "for us" throughout eternity. And
because He is "for us," the voice of prayer will always ensure His help. "When
I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies be turned back." This is no uncertain
hope, but a well grounded assurance-"this I know." I will direct my prayer unto
Thee, and will look up for the answer, assured that it will come, and that mine
enemies shall be defeated, "for God is for me." O believer, how happy art thou
with the King of kings on thy side! How safe with such a Protector! How sure
thy cause pleaded by such an Advocate! If God be for thee, who can be against
thee?
Leviticus 1:9
(9) But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest
shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire,
of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
During the preparations for the burning, the entrails and
legs-representing our innermost being: the heart from which conduct springs;
the viscera, our emotions; and the legs, our walk-must be cleansed with water
before all is burned on the fire. The burnt offering is cleaned on the inside
and then completely consumed.
Here is pictured the standard of devotion to God; this is what God is
aiming His children toward due to our access to Him through Christ. We are to
be a cleansed, total sacrifice. We are to withhold nothing; we are to give our
all. This is the hardest of all the offerings God calls upon us to perform
because, like the rich young ruler, we want to reserve things for ourselves.
Whatever it is, it is like a child's security blanket, and we love it and do
not want to let it go.
David understood sacrificing, which II Samuel 24:24 reveals:
Then the king said to Araunah. "No, but I will surely buy it from you
for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that
which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for
fifty shekels of silver.
The burnt offering is painful because it is costly. It is so costly
because it costs us our life. This is what we give in exchange for the
forgiveness of our sins! Jesus Himself says this in Luke 14:26: "If anyone
comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."
Hebrews 5:7-8 informs us that Jesus Christ felt His sacrifices-not just
His sacrifice on the stake, but also the multitude of sacrifices He made after
emptying Himself of His godly prerogatives to live as a burnt offering for 33½
years.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Nine): Conclusion (Part Two)
