From: Suzianty Herawati
"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord."
--Micah 5:4
Christ's reign in His Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy,
but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and
loving flock; He commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing
obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved
Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the
energy of goodness.
His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and
feed." The great Head of the Church is actively ! engaged in providing for His
people. He does not sit
down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in
government. No, He stands and feeds. The expression "feed," in the original, is
like an analogous one inthe Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything
expected
of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as
to feed.
His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and
feed"; not "He shall feed now and then, and leave His position"; not, "He shall
one day grant a revival, and then next day leave His Church to barrenness." His
eyes never slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to beat
with love, and His shoulders are never weary of carrying His people's burdens.
His reign is effectually powerful in its action; "He shall feed in the
strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ
does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that He
who stands to-day representing the interests of His people is very God of very
God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd,
whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship
and bow down before Him as the people of His pasture.
CH Spurgeon
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From: Suzianty Herawati
"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name."
--Psalm 29:2
God's glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is glorious in His
character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and
lovely in God, that He
must be glorious. The actions which flow from His character are also glorious;
but while He intends that they should manifest to His creatures His goodness,
and mercy, and justice, He is equally concerned that the glory associated with
them should be given only to Himself. Nor is there aught in ourselves in which
we may glory; for who maketh us to differ from another? And whathave we that we
did not receive from the God of all grace? Then how careful ought we to be to
walk humbly before the Lord!
The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the
universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High. Shall the insect of
an hour glorify itself against the sun which warmed it into life? Shall the
potsherd exalt itself above the man who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the
dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of the ocean
struggle with the tempest? Give unto the Lord, all ye
righteous, give unto the Lord glory and strength; give unto Him the honour that
is due unto His name. Yet it is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the
Christian life to learn this sentence--"Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy
name be glory." It is a lesson which God is ever teaching us, and teaching us
sometimes by most painful discipline. Let a Christian begin to boast, "I can do
all things," without adding "through Christ which strengtheneth me," and before
long he will have to groan, "I can do nothing," and bemoan himself in the dust.
When we do anything for the Lord, and He is pleased to accept of our doings,
let us lay our crown at His feet, and exclaim, "Not I, but the grace of God
which was with me!"
CH Spurgeon
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I am the living bread that came down from heaven
Daily Devotion with Billy Graham
In John 6:48 we read that Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." Jesus had just
fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes. They were all excited and
thrilled over the great miracle that had occurred, [but] Jesus was talking
about something more important than social needs. Bread in the Scriptures is a
symbol of spiritual life.
Man has an inborn hunger for God. He cannot be satisfied with anything less
than God. God alone can supply the bread which satisfies the inner longing of
your soul and the hunger of your heart. . . . The Bible says that He is the
Bread of Life.
Pray for the day
Lord Jesus, thank You for satisfying the yearnings deep down in my heart. Your
presence fulfills the needs of my soul, and I rejoice.
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
. . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Daily Devotion with Billy Graham
Joshua 24:15
The basic unit of any society is the home. When the home begins to break, the
society is on the way to disintegration. Thousands of homes are almost on the
rocks. Many couples are fearful lest their home, too, will be broken some day.
There is one great insurance policy that you can take out, in order to
guarantee the unity and happiness of your home. It is simple: Make Christ the
center of your home.
A home is like a solar system. The center, the great sun, holds the solar
system together. If it were not for the sun, the solar system would fly to
pieces. Unless the Son of God is put at the center of your home, it, too, may
fly to pieces.
Prayer for the day
How easy it is to push You to one side, Lord, and superficially remember Your
blessings. May we always keep You at the center of all that we do in our homes.
