From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Evening...
Genesis 29:26
And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger
before the firstborn.
We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not to learn from
the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be
taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The
second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country
must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire
the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they
must first be wedded to the tender-eyed Leah of repentance. Every one falls in
love with happiness, and many would cheerfully serve twice seven years to enjoy
it, but according to the rule of the Lord's kingdom, the Leah of real holiness
must be beloved of our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be
attained. Heaven stands not first but second, and only by persevering to the
end can we win a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can
be worn. We must follow our Lord in His humiliation, or we shall never rest
with Him in glory. My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to
break through the heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward without labour, or
honour without toil? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content to take the
ill-favoured things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will
recompense thee for all. In such a spirit, labouring and suffering, thou wilt
find bitters grow sweet, and hard things easy. Like Jacob, thy years of service
will seem unto thee but a few days for the love thou hast to Jesus; and when
the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come, all thy toils shall be as though
they had never been-an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and
labour.
Jesus, to win Thyself so fair,
Thy cross I will with gladness bear:
Since so the rules of heaven ordain,
The first I'll wed the next to gain.
Proverbs 26:2
(2) As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the
curse causeless shall not come.
We can understand "curse" in several ways: as the invoking of evil
or misfortune upon another, or as the evil or scourge itself. The proverb
primarily deals with invoking a curse against another when no justification for
doing so exists. Such a curse is akin to the aimless flitting of birds,
suggesting that it will have no effect. It will not "hit" its intended target.
We can definitely consider the tragedies of September 11 as a
curse. However, God undoubtedly approved of it, or it never would have
happened. This curse hit, and it hit hard. Therefore, we must conclude that
there was more than ample justification for it falling upon this nation.
Currently, the death toll stands somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 people, a
horrendous figure to be sure, but it pales when compared to just one other
death-toll figure: Every day in the United States over 4,000 human lives are
snuffed out of existence by abortion. In the 30 days following September 11,
120,000 lives ceased to exist. Of those 120,000 abortions, 95% of
them-114,000-occurred solely for the mother's convenience!
Is it any wonder that God cries out in Ezekiel 7:23, "Make a
chain, for the land is filled with crimes of blood, and the city is full of
violence." George Mason, whose great influence can be seen in our Declaration
of Independence and Constitution, wrote that sin "brings the judgment of heaven
upon a country. . . . By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence
[God] punishes national sin by national calamities." George Washington declared
in his First Inaugural Address, "We ought to be no less persuaded that the
propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards
the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."
The apostle Paul states in Romans 9:14. "What shall we say then?
Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!" As a people, we are guilty
and fully deserve anything He in His loving wisdom decides to inflict upon us.
Most assuredly, we are not innocent victims. Individually, few of us have
sinned against any of the people, groups, or nations that may have done this,
but as citizens, we are part of this nation, and our well-being rises and falls
with it. We have eagerly accepted God's overflowing abundance of material
blessings with which He showered this nation. So when He judges that we need to
be brought down a peg-or many pegs- we would do well to consider deeply the
many ways we may have offended the great God who created us and gives us every
breath of air we breathe.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Is God to Blame?
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
Isaiah 33:17
Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty.
The more you know about Christ the less will you be satisfied with
superficial views of Him; and the more deeply you study His transactions in the
eternal covenant, His engagements on your behalf as the eternal Surety, and the
fulness of His grace which shines in all His offices, the more truly will you
see the King in His beauty. Be much in such outlooks. Long more and more to see
Jesus. Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of agate, and gates
of carbuncle, through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the
telescope to the eye, and enables us to see Jesus after a better sort than we
could have seen Him if we had lived in the days of His flesh. Would that our
conversation were more in heaven, and that we were more taken up with the
person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation, and the
beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence. Beloved, it is
very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never
had before, when we come to die. Many saints in dying have looked up from
amidst the stormy waters, and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea,
and heard Him say, "It is I, be not afraid." Ah, yes! when the tenement begins
to shake, and the clay falls away, we see Christ through the rifts, and between
the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in. But if we want to see
face to face the "King in His beauty" we must go to heaven for the sight, or
the King must come here in person. O that He would come on the wings of the
wind! He is our Husband, and we are widowed by His absence; He is our Brother
dear and fair, and we are lonely without Him. Thick veils and clouds hang
between our souls and their true life: when shall the day break and the shadows
flee away? Oh, long-expected day, begin!
Hebrews 2:10-11
(10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. (11) For both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to
call them brethren,
A key word in these verses is "author" from the Greek word archegos,
which is translated variously as "captain (KJV), author, pioneer, trail-blazer,
and founder." One basic concept threads its way through all of the uses of this
word: An archegos is one who begins something so that others may enter into it.
An archegos can found a school that others may follow him into learning.
An archegos can found a city that others may dwell in. An archegos can blaze a
trail that others may follow. An archegos can begin a family that others may be
born into it.
If a ship is foundering on the rocks, and the only way to save the crew
and passengers is for someone to swim ashore with a line and secure it on a
tree or a rock so that others may follow him to shore, the one who swims with
the line is the archegos. He did a deed so that others may follow.
Jesus is the archegos of our salvation! He blazed the trail! He set the
pattern! He entered into a Family that others may follow! And in the process of
blazing the trail, of setting the pattern, of entering into God's Kingdom-He
too was perfect! That is what the verse says.
The author of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. He was
made complete as our Savior and High Priest. He is fully able to be the pioneer
of our salvation, to ensure that we also will enter salvation and to be as He
is.
According to this verse, this was done to bring many sons to glory-the
same glory as the Trailblazer, the Pioneer, the Author, the Captain has.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From We Shall Be God!
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