From: [email protected] daily devotional
Evening...
Isaiah 40:5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together.
We anticipate the happy day when the whole world shall be converted to
Christ; when the gods of the heathen shall be cast to the moles and the bats;
when Romanism shall be exploded, and the crescent of Mohammed shall wane, never
again to cast its baleful rays upon the nations; when kings shall bow down
before the Prince of Peace, and all nations shall call their Redeemer blessed.
Some despair of this. They look upon the world as a vessel breaking up and
going to pieces, never to float again. We know that the world and all that is
therein is one day to be burnt up, and afterwards we look for new heavens and
for a new earth; but we cannot read our Bibles without the conviction that-
"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run."
We are not discouraged by the length of His delays; we are not disheartened
by the long period which He allots to the church in which to struggle with
little success and much defeat. We believe that God will never suffer this
world, which has once seen Christ's blood shed upon it, to be always the
devil's stronghold. Christ came hither to deliver this world from the detested
sway of the powers of darkness. What a shout shall that be when men and angels
shall unite to cry "Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent
reigneth!" What a satisfaction will it be in that day to have had a share in
the fight, to have helped to break the arrows of the bow, and to have aided in
winning the victory for our Lord! Happy are they who trust themselves with this
conquering Lord, and who fight side by side with Him, doing their little in His
name and by His strength! How unhappy are those on the side of evil! It is a
losing side, and it is a matter wherein to lose is to lose and to be lost for
ever. On whose side are you?
Morning...
Isaiah 7:14 Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel.
Let us to-day go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds
and adoring Magi, let us see Him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith
can claim an interest in Him, and can sing, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given." Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our
brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first
glance His miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and
unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son. The first
promise ran thus, "The seed of the woman," not the offspring of the man. Since
venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she,
and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly
man, was as to His human nature the Holy One of God. Let us reverently bow
before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory;
and let us pray that He may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to
note His humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as "a virgin,"
not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of
kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she could
sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how poor
the man to whom she stood affianced, and how miserable the accommodation
afforded to the new-born King! Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our
sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or
rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent
splendour
Malachi 3:16-17
(16) Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD
And who meditate on His name.
(17) " They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts,
" On the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him."
Exodus 19:5
(5) Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My
covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all
the earth is Mine.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
The English word translated as "jewels" in verse 17 is not
entirely wrong, but it is not a precise translation of what the Hebrew word,
segullah (Strong's #5459, transliterated in various ways), really means. The
simplest usage of segullah is to indicate personal possession. Vine's
Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words expounds its meaning (remember that we
are being described):
Cegullah signifies property in the special sense of a private
possession one personally acquired and carefully preserves. Six times this word
is used of Israel as God's personally acquired (elected, delivered from
Egyptian bondage, and formed into what He wanted them to be), carefully
preserved, and privately possessed people. . . .
This is not the first time this word appears in the Bible, which
distinction belongs to Exodus 19:5, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My
voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above
all people; for all the earth is Mine." Segullah is translated as "special
treasure."
The Keil and Delitzsch Commentary explains:
This manifestation of the love of God to Israel formed only the
prelude, however, to that gracious union which Jehovah was now about to
establish between the Israelites and Himself. If they would hear His voice, and
keep the covenant which was about to be established with them, they should be a
costly possession to Him out of all nations. . . . Cagulaah does not signify
property in general, but valuable property, that which is laid by, or put
aside, hence a treasure of silver and gold. . . .
It is helpful to note how God emphasizes segullah to impress its
importance on Israel—and now us—by saying, "For all the earth is Mine." This
establishes a reference point, indicating that He could have considered any
people on earth as His own personal and private treasure, but He did not. Just
as a person carefully and discriminately chooses his personal jewelry according
to his own criteria, so He chose Israel then and chooses us now.
In I Chronicles 29:3, segullah is again translated as "special
treasure," but the context provides a clear use of the term. It involves the
preparations David made for the building of the Temple so Solomon could
construct it. David explains that from his own personally obtained and
set-aside treasure, he gave so much gold and silver.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From A Priceless Gift
.
====================================================
daily devotional
Morning & Evening...
John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.
Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of
the feast He pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He
pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the
longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year,
notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of His Holy
Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy! Pity
expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the
loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us to be
reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, "as though God did beseech you by
us." What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which
makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo His children to His
bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come. Provision
is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his
soul's thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his
understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the
person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth
as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus
can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it.
Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other
distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice,
ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The
thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of
inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is
not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus
sends it freely, and without respect of persons. Personality is declared most
fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines,
but to a personal Redeemer, who His own self bare our sins in His own body on
the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a
sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's
last day! No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking
represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a
harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to
believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to
convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down
and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the
stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be
purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer's
loving voice as He cries to each of us, "If any man thirst, let him come unto
Me and drink."
Morning...
Joshua 5:12 They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Israel's weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained.
No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling
wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they
ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this
may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active
exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which
remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this
glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still
rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have
already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us
banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the
prospect that this year we shall begin to be "for ever with the Lord." A part
of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If
this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year's text should
not still be true. "We who have believed do enter into rest." The Holy Spirit
is the earnest of our inheritance; He gives us "glory begun below." In heaven
they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus; there they triumph
over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy
communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in His love,
and we have perfect peace in Him: they hymn His praise, and it is our privilege
to bless Him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground,
where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did
eat angels' food of old, and why not now ? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so
to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!
Romans 7:22-25
(New King James Version)
(22) For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
(23) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O
wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (25) I
thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve
the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Was Paul a novice in the faith when he wrote the book of Romans?
God would hardly allow a novice to write Scripture. The apostle Paul was one of
the most mature Christians who ever walked the face of the earth. But he saw
himself being torn—the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against
the flesh. Paul was in the middle, having to make the choice. If he had not
grown spiritually, he would never have seen the conflict; his mind would have
passed right over it. Thus, on the one hand, Paul delighted in his
understanding of the purpose and perfection of God's law, yet on the other,
that insight produced much dismay in him because he could see how far short he
fell, from time to time, of its perfection.
The existence of this inward conflict is not a sign that the
person is not sanctified. As long as we are in the flesh, we will never be
entirely free of this struggle. Human nature does not go down without a fight.
It must be overcome! In a way, this evil entity within us actually becomes part
of the means of our perfection.
Overcoming is a long process, and it requires diligent and
humbling effort to subdue our human nature. However, we must never allow
ourselves to fall into the attitude that all of our effort is somehow
justifying us before God—even though it pleases God and gratifies us. The
holiest of our actions, the holiest of the actions of the holiest saints, are
still full of imperfections and defects. Even some of these are done from the
wrong motive. They could even qualify as being nothing more than a splendid sin
in God's sight. Nevertheless, we are saved by grace through faith. Even with
that, God requires that we make an effort to do what we can on our part.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 9)
.
nc3=5579910
Description: Binary data
