From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Evening...
Psalm 84:11 He will give grace and glory.
Bounteous is Jehovah in His nature; to give is His delight. His gifts are
beyond measure precious, and are as freely given as the light of the sun. He
gives grace to His elect because He wills it, to His redeemed because of His
covenant, to the called because of His promise, to believers because they seek
it, to sinners because they need it. He gives grace abundantly, seasonably,
constantly, readily, sovereignly; doubly enhancing the value of the boon by the
manner of its bestowal. Grace in all its forms He freely renders to His people:
comforting, preserving, sanctifying, directing, instructing, assisting grace,
He generously pours into their souls without ceasing, and He always will do so,
whatever may occur. Sickness may befall, but the Lord will give grace; poverty
may happen to us, but grace will surely be afforded; death must cone but grace
will light a candle at the darkest hour. Reader, how blessed it is as years
roll round, and the leaves begin again to fall, to enjoy such an unfading
promise as this, "The Lord will give grace." The little conjunction "and" in
this verse is a diamond rivet binding the present with the future: grace and
glory always go together. God has married them, and none can divorce them. The
Lord will never deny a soul glory to whom He has freely given to live upon His
grace; indeed, glory is nothing more than grace in its Sabbath dress, grace in
full bloom, grace like autumn fruit, mellow and perfected. How soon we may have
glory none can tell! It may be before this month of October has run out we
shall see the Holy City; but be the interval longer or shorter, we shall be
glorified ere long. Glory, the glory of heaven, the glory of eternity, the
glory of Jesus, the glory of the Father, the Lord will surely give to His
chosen. Oh, rare promise of a faithful God! Two golden links of one celestial
chain:
Who owneth grace shall surely glory gain.
Morning...
Colossians 1:5 The hope which is laid up for you in heaven.
Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our
joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we
can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the
land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker's brow,
and fatigue shall be for ever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the
word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so
tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no
peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved
aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our
Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We have suffered
bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal
where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there
we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom
anything which defile th. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial
fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment for ever, that
you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit
Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the
future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to
highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent
force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the
corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about
his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights
against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery
darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for
a reward in the world to come.
Romans 12:1-2
(1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Notice that the days of sacrifice are not over. We are to present
our bodies a living sacrifice. Sacrificing has been transferred from the
physical slaughtering of animals to the sacrifice of the self, from the slaying
of a dumb and uncomprehending beast to the intelligent and deliberate choice of
an understanding human, made in the image of God.
The principles of the sacrifices given in Leviticus 1-5 and so
forth still apply to us under the New Covenant in their spirit—the stretching
out of principles to their spiritual intent. It is these principles that Paul
is drawing on for this command. We are to present our lives as a sacrifice to
God.
Remember, our salvation rests on the human sacrifice of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth. First, He gave up His glory to become a man. Second, He
sacrificed His life; for 33 ½ years, He laid it down as an offering to God, and
as an example to us of perfect obedience. Finally, He gave up His human life as
a sacrifice on the stake.
Sacrifice is a New Testament doctrine! It is on such a higher plane
that there is no comparison with the sacrificing done in the Old Testament. Now
we have to be sacrificed and much in the same way, in principle, that Christ
was. Many individual verses or paragraphs in the Bible explain that such things
as prayer, thanksgiving, faith, and repentance are Christian sacrifices.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 19)
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
Numbers 12:1 He had married an Ethiopian woman.
Strange choice of Moses, but how much more strange the choice of Him who is a
prophet like unto Moses, and greater than he! Our Lord, who is fair as the
lily, has entered into marriage union with one who confesses herself to be
black, because the sun has looked upon her. It is the wonder of angels that the
love of Jesus should be set upon poor, lost, guilty men. Each believer must,
when filled with a sense of Jesus' love, be also overwhelmed with astonishment
that such love should be lavished on an object so utterly unworthy of it.
Knowing as we do our secret guiltiness, unfaithfulness, and black-heartedness,
we are dissolved in grateful admiration of the matchless freeness and
sovereignty of grace. Jesus must have found the cause of His love in His own
heart, He could not have found it in us, for it is not there. Even since our
conversion we have been black, though grace has made us comely. Holy Rutherford
said of himself what we must each subscribe to-"Hi s relation to me is, that I
am sick, and He is the Physician of whom I stand in need. Alas! how often I
play fast and loose with Christ! He bindeth, I loose; He buildeth, I cast down;
I quarrel with Christ, and He agreeth with me twenty times a day!" Most tender
and faithful Husband of our souls, pursue Thy gracious work of conforming us to
Thine image, till Thou shalt present even us poor Ethiops unto Thyself, without
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Moses met with opposition because of his
marriage, and both himself and his spouse were the subjects of an evil eye. Can
we wonder if this vain world opposes Jesus and His spouse, and especially when
great sinners are converted? for this is ever the Pharisee's ground of
objection, "This man receiveth sinners." Still is the old cause of quarrel
revived, "Because he had married an Ethiopian woman."
Morning...
Numbers 11:11 Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant?
Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith
be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is
not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel
fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are
true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true
faith which holds by the Lord's faithfulness when friends are gone, when the
body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father's
countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, "Though He
slay me, yet will I trust in Him," is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His
servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His
people, which are His own handiwork. When "tribulation worketh patience; and
patience, experience; and experience, hope," the Lord is honoured by these
growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were
left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the
winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed
and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed.
The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through
which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also
to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the
beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not
known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will not peace be sweeter after
conflict, and rest more welcome after toil? Will not the recollection of past
sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified? There are many other comfortable
answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse
upon it all day long.
1 John 5:1-3
(1) Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God:
and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of
him. (2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God,
and keep his commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
God intends the love of Him and the love of man to be inseparable
parts of the same experience. John explains this by saying that if we love the
Father, we also love the child. If we love the Father who begot the children,
we must love the children, otherwise we do not have God's love. In I John 4:20,
he amplifies this: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is
a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love
God whom he has not seen?"
I John 5:3 is the Bible's basic definition of love. The
commandments define, make clear, what the basic elements of love are and what
direction our actions should take if we would show love. This means that
obedience to God is the proof of love. Obedience is an action that submits to a
command of God, a principle revealed in His Word and/or an example of God or
the godly.
In a sense, this is where godly love begins in a human being.
Obeying God's commands is love because God is love. Because His very nature is
love, it is impossible for Him to sin. Thus He gives us commands in love, and
they will produce right and good results. Any command of God reflects what He
Himself would do were He in the same situation.
Jesus says in John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
Keeping the commandments is how one expresses love. He adds in John 15:10, "If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My
Father's commandments and abide in His love."
A person may have a thought to do good or to refrain from evil. He
may have a feeling of compassion, pity, or mercy. One may feel revulsion about
doing an evil action. But none of these become love until the thought or
feeling motivates one to act. In the biblical sense, love is an action.
Love has yet another aspect, however. We can show love coldly,
reluctantly, in "dutiful obedience." We can also show it in joyous,
wholehearted enthusiasm or warmhearted, thankful devotion. Which is more
attractive to God or man as a witness?
Regardless of the attitude, it is far better to obey than not at
all (Matthew 21:28-31). If we cannot get beyond doing what is right, the proper
feelings will never be formed. Experience is largely responsible for training
attitude and emotion (Psalm 111:10). We will never form proper emotions without
first performing the right actions with the right spirit, God's Holy Spirit.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
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