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daily devotional
Evening...
Genesis 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
This morning our desires went forth for growth in our acquaintance with the
Lord Jesus; it may be well to-night to consider a kindred topic, namely, our
heavenly Joseph's knowledge of us. This was most blessedly perfect long before
we had the slightest knowledge of Him. "His eyes beheld our substance, yet
being imperfect, and in His book all our members were written, when as yet
there was none of them." Before we had a being in the world we had a being in
His heart. When we were enemies to Him, He knew us, our misery, our madness,
and our wickedness. When we wept bitterly in despairing repentance, and viewed
Him only as a judge and a ruler, He viewed us as His brethren well beloved, and
His bowels yearned towards us. He never mistook His chosen, but always beheld
them as objects of His infinite affection. "The Lord knoweth them that are
His," is as true of the prodigals who are feeding swine as of the children who
sit at the table. But, alas! we knew not our royal Brother, and out of this
ignorance grew a host of sins. We withheld our hearts from Him, and allowed Him
no entrance to our love. We mistrusted Him, and gave no credit to His words. We
rebelled against Him, and paid Him no loving homage. The Sun of Righteousness
shone forth, and we could not see Him. Heaven came down to earth, and earth
perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days are over with us; yet even now
it is but little that we know of Jesus compared with what He knows of us. We
have but begun to study Him, but He knoweth us altogether. It is a blessed
circumstance that the ignorance is not on His side, for then it would be a
hopeless case for us. He will not say to us, "I never knew you," but He will
confess our names in the day of His appearing, and meanwhile will manifest
Himself to us as He doth not unto the world.
Morning...
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light
from the darkness.
Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness, "Let
there be light." We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are,
and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is said by Solomon to be
sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal
things, and ministers to our immortal natures. When the Holy Spirit gives us
spiritual light, and opens our eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ, we behold sin in its true colours, and ourselves in our real
position; we see the Most Holy God as He reveals Himself, the plan of mercy as
He propounds it, and the world to come as the Word describes it. Spiritual
light has many beams and prismatic colours, but whether they be knowledge, joy,
holiness, or life, all are divinely good. If the light received be thus good,
what must the essential light be, and how glorious must be the place where He
reveals Himself. O Lord, since light is so good, give us more of it, and more
of Thyself, the true light. No sooner is there a good thing in the world, than
a division is necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided
them, let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with
deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be
sober, honest, and bold in their Lord's work, leaving the works of darkness to
those who shall dwell in it for ever. Our Churches should by discipline divide
the light from the darkness, and we should by our distinct separation from the
world do the same. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in
association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain
the great distinction which the Lord made upon the world's first day. O Lord
Jesus, be Thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for Thy light is the
light of men.
Isaiah 58:13
(New King James Version)
(13) “ If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
"Your words": Matthew 12:34 says that "out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks." The key is out of the abundance of the heart, that is,
"what is in the heart," what we want to talk about. Of the four broad areas in
Isaiah 58:13-14, this is probably the most difficult one for us. We wrestle
with it, wondering whether "what we are saying" should be said or not.
The emphasis is on the word "your." Our conversations on the
Sabbath should not be the same as they are on the other six days of the week,
when our conversations would tend to be on those things that are pleasurable to
us. What God wants us to do and say on the Sabbath are things that are His
pleasure, not ours. But if we are growing spiritually, then what is "His
pleasure" is also going to be in our heart.
The title of the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy on the
one ring of power is very interesting. It is called "The Fellowship of the
Ring." The story is a fantasy about a group of nine people who were chosen to
destroy the one ring of power. If we understand the symbolism, their enemy was
Satan.
He wanted to keep the one ring alive and working among the
nations. It was up to Frodo Baggins and the group of people who were with him
to destroy that one ring. The whole trilogy describes what happened to this
"fellowship." It contains all of the experiences they had in carrying out this
quest to destroy the ring: the good times and the bad, the good weather and the
bad, the fear and the courage, the discouragement, sickness, and injuries—all
of the things that happened along the way, all of the things that they fought
against and overcame, all of the difficulties, all of the trials—and all the
while carrying the burden of trying to make sure that this one ring of power
was kept out of the enemy's hand so it could be destroyed.
There are a lot of good lessons there, but this illustration
should help us to understand what should be the subjects of our Sabbath
conversations. It is our fellowship, first of all with God the Father and His
Son Jesus Christ, as well as all of us who are within this fellowship. The
things that we experience with the Father and Son, the things that we
experience with each other—our discouragements, our hopes, our dreams, our
failures, our successes, our courage, our fears, our worries, our crying, our
happy times. All of these things become a part of the way.
The fellowship that we have along the way to the Kingdom of God
is "fair game" to talk about on the Sabbath. Many things we might consider to
be mundane contain vital lessons for us and others. We should share our happy
times and sad times with our brothers and sisters in the faith.
But when we start throwing in things that we are planning to do
about entertainments, sports, etc.—we are beginning to drift away. Are these
part of the way? Is it part of the fellowship? Probably not, but it could be.
This should begin to give us a framework within which we can see what is right
to speak about.
God does not intend that we spend our whole time on the Sabbath
turning to Scriptures. Certainly, to do so is right and good. But there is
nothing wrong with talking about our fellowship and all it entails. There is a
great deal that can be explored in these areas and that we can feel
comfortable—with good conscience—talking about and sharing with one another.
A great deal of what we say is just so much vanity, but a lot of
good lies in the experiences we have had, the lessons that we can pass on, the
encouragement that we can share. There are multitudes of experiences and
subjects that fit within positive purposes for which the Sabbath was created.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Fourth Commandment (Part 5)
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daily devotional
Evening...
Matthew 28:20 Lo, I am with you alway.
The Lord Jesus is in the midst of His church; He walketh among the golden
candlesticks; His promise is, "Lo, I am with you alway." He is as surely with
us now as He was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire,
and fish laid thereon and bread. Not carnally, but still in real truth, Jesus
is with us. And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love becomes
inflamed. Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there
is nothing like the presence of Jesus! A glimpse of Him so overcomes us, that
we are ready to say, "Turn away Thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me."
Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop from His
perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow strong. Let there be
but a moment's leaning of the head upon that gracious bosom, and a reception of
His divine love into our poor cold hearts, and we are cold no longer, but glow
like seraphs, equal to every labour, and capable of every suffering. If we know
that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be
strengthened, and we shall cast ourselves into the Lord's service with heart,
and soul, and strength; therefore is the presence of Christ to be desired above
all things. His presence will be most realized by those who are most like Him.
If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in conformity to Him. Bring
yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with Christ's desires, and
motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be favoured with His
company. Remember His presence may be had. His promise is as true as ever. He
delights to be with us. If He doth not come, it is because we hinder Him by our
indifference. He will reveal Himself to our earnest prayers, and graciously
suffer Himself to be detained by our entreaties, and by our tears, for these
are the golden chains which bind Jesus to His people.
Morning...
Job 8:11 Can the rush grow up without mire?
The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no
substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as
formalists yield to every influence; for this reason the rush is not broken by
the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not
willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for this day may help
me to try myself whether I be a hypocrite or no. The rush by nature lives in
water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture wherein it has
taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its
greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of
water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once. Is this my case? Do
I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and
respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from
His hands? If so I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall
perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that
when bodily comforts have been few, and my surroundings have been rather
adverse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have still held fast my
integrity? then have I hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me. The
rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord's right hand planting can
and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when
his worldly circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas;
they who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but they who
attend Him out of love to Himself are His own beloved ones. Lord, let me find
my life in Thee, and not in the mire of this world's favour or gain.
Romans 6:4
(4) Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Romans 6:4 restates the reason for our being admitted into God's
presence: Our altered standing before God enables us to walk in newness of life
so we can be conformed to the image of His Son.
Walking requires effort, the expending of energy, to arrive at a
desired destination. Are any works involved in the salvation process? "For we
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). These works most
assuredly do not earn salvation, but at the same time, God requires them. In
fact, this verse says we are being created for the very purpose of doing them!
Such works are covered within the general term "walk."
Besides requiring effort, walking implies a destination, a goal.
When a person walks, he is moving purposefully to accomplish something
regardless of whether it is to flip a light switch, shop at a store, get some
exercise, or go to work or school. God requires that we "walk in newness of
life." It is our God-appointed goal in life and the reason He invites us into
His presence. Our lives cannot consist of aimless drifting; we are headed
somewhere, even as Israel's goal was the Promised Land.
I Peter 1:13-19 highlights what we must do:
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your
hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of
Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former
lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy
in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." And if
you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's
work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear;
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold
from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Christianity is a way involving far more walking than talking. It
requires effort, and most scriptures imply that the walking is voluntary. It
must be this way because, most of the time when we walk, it is because we have
made a voluntary decision to move from one point to another. In God's purpose,
it is the only way to make the mind, nature, and character of Christ truly ours.
The last, brief phrase of Romans 6:4 contains a great deal about
life's overriding purpose. In a broad sense, it is what life after conversion
is all about. It is awakening to the reality of our spiritual slavery and
responsibilities through God's calling, followed by a change of mind toward Him
and a spiritual death, burial, and resurrection so we might walk in conformity
to Christ into God's Kingdom.
God allows the sacrifice of Christ to take the place of the claim
He has on us to restore us to fellowship with Him, which is absolutely
essential in providing us the strength, motivation, and gifts—whatever it
takes—to complete the walk successfully. Mankind has never enjoyed this; it has
not had contact with God since He cut humanity off by putting Adam and Eve out
of the Garden of Eden.
This walking in newness of life is how going on to perfection is
accomplished (Hebrews 6:1). God alters our standing with Him legally,
graciously, and with generosity and kindness so we can fellowship with Him
through prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation, and obedience. God's
spiritual creation requires our participation. It cannot be impressed upon us;
we must consciously make decisions to take that walk.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Eight): Conclusion (Part
One)
