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Daily devotions for 03-02-2005:
Devotion: Morning and Evening
Morning Title: In Any Form
Evening Title: Without Jesus
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Morning: In Any Form
"Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out." --Song of Solomon 4:16
Anything is better than the dead calm of indifference. Our souls may wisely
desire the
north wind of trouble if that alone can be sanctified to the drawing forth of
the perfume of
our graces. So long as it cannot be said, "The Lord was not in the wind," we
will not shrink
from the most wintry blast that ever blew upon plants of grace. Did not the
spouse in this verse humbly submit herself to the reproofs of her Beloved; only
entreating Him to send forth His grace in some form, and making no stipulation
as to the peculiar manner in which it should come?
Did she not, like ourselves, become so utterly weary of deadness and unholy
calm that she sighed for any visitation which would brace her to action? Yet
she desires the warm south wind of comfort, too, the smiles of divine love, the
joy of the Redeemer's presence; these are often mightily effectual to
arouse our sluggish life.
She desires either one or the other, or both; so that she may but be able to
delight her Beloved with the spices of her garden. She cannot endure to be
unprofitable, nor can we. How cheering a thought that Jesus can find comfort in
our poor feeble graces. Can it be? It seems far too good to be true. Well may
we court trial or even death itself if we shall thereby be aided to make glad
Immanuel's heart. O that our heart were crushed to atoms if only by such
bruising our sweet Lord Jesus could be glorified. Graces unexercised are as
sweet perfumes slumbering in the cups of the flowers: the wisdom of the great
Husbandman overrules diverse and opposite causes to produce the one desired
result, and makes both affliction
and consolation draw forth the grateful odours of faith, love, patience, hope,
resignation, joy,
and the other fair flowers of the garden. May we know by sweet experience, what
this means.
Evening: Without Jesus
"He is precious." --1 Peter 2:7
As all the rivers run into the sea, so all delights centre in our Beloved. The
glances of
His eyes outshine the sun: the beauties of His face are fairer than the
choicest flowers: no
fragrance is like the breath of His mouth. Gems of the mine, and pearls from
the sea, are
worthless things when measured by His preciousness. Peter tells us that Jesus
is precious, but he did not and could not tell us how precious, nor could any
of us compute the value of God's unspeakable gift. Words cannot set forth the
preciousness of the Lord Jesus to His people, nor fully tell how essential He
is to their satisfaction and happiness. Believer, have you not found in the
midst of plenty a sore famine if your Lord has been absent? The sun was
shining, but Christ had hidden Himself, and all the world was black to you; or
it was night, and
since the bright and morning star was gone, no other star could yield you so
much as a ray of
light.
What a howling wilderness is this world without our Lord! If once He hideth
Himself from us,
withered are the flowers of our garden; our pleasant fruits decay; the birds
suspend their
songs, and a tempest overturns our hopes. All earth's candles cannot make
daylight if the Sun of Righteousness be eclipsed. He is the soul of our soul,
the light of our light, the life of our life. Dear reader, what wouldst thou do
in the world without Him, when thou wakest up and
lookest forward to the day's battle? What wouldst thou do at night, when thou
comest home jaded and weary, if there were no door of fellowship between thee
and Christ? Blessed be His name, He will not suffer us to try our lot without
Him, for Jesus never forsakes His own. Yet, let the thought of what life would
be without Him enhance His preciousness.
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Daily devotions for 03-03-2005:
Devotion: Morning and Evening
Morning Title: Weapons of War
Evening Title: The Humility of Service
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Morning: Weapons of War
"But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his
share, and
his coulter, and his ax, and his mattock." --1 Samuel 13:20
We are engaged in a great war with the Philistines of evil. Every weapon within
our reach must be used. Preaching, teaching, praying, giving, all must be
brought into action, and talents which have been thought too mean for service,
must now be employed. Coulter, and axe,
and mattock, may all be useful in slaying Philistines; rough tools may deal
hard blows, and
killing need not be elegantly done, so long as it is done effectually. Each
moment of time, in
season or out of season; each fragment of ability, educated or untutored; each
opportunity,
favourable or unfavourable, must be used, for our foes are many and our force
but slender.
Most of our tools want sharpening; we need quickness of perception, tact,
energy,
promptness, in a word, complete adaptation for the Lord's work. Practical
common sense is a very scarce thing among the conductors of Christian
enterprises. We might learn from our
enemies if we would, and so make the Philistines sharpen our weapons. This
morning let us note enough to sharpen our zeal during this day by the aid of
the Holy Spirit. See the energy of the Papists, how they compass sea and land
to make one proselyte, are they to monopolize all the earnestness? Mark the
heathen devotees, what tortures they endure in the service of their idols! are
they alone to exhibit patience and self-sacrifice? Observe the prince of
darkness, how persevering in his endeavours, how unabashed in his attempts, how
daring in his plans, how thoughtful in his plots, how energetic in all!
The devils are united as one man in their infamous rebellion, while we
believers in Jesus
are divided in our service of God, and scarcely ever work with unanimity. O
that from Satan's
infernal industry we may learn to go about like good Samaritans, seeking whom
we may bless!
Evening: The Humility of Service
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I
should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." --Ephesians 3:8
The apostle Paul felt it a great privilege to be allowed to preach the gospel.
He did not look
upon his calling as a drudgery, but he entered upon it with intense delight.
Yet while Paul was thus thankful for his office, his success in it greatly
humbled him. The fuller a vessel becomes, the deeper it sinks in the water.
Idlers may indulge a fond conceit of their abilities,
because they are untried; but the earnest worker soon learns his own weakness.
If you seek
humility, try hard work; if you would know your nothingness, attempt some great
thing for Jesus.
If you would feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the living God,
attempt especially the great work of proclaiming the unsearchable riches of
Christ, and you will know, as you never knew before, what a weak unworthy thing
you are.
Although the apostle thus knew and confessed his weakness, he was never
perplexed as to the subject of his ministry.
>From his first sermon to his last, Paul preached Christ, and nothing but
>Christ. He lifted up the cross, and extolled the Son of God who bled thereon.
>Follow his example in all your personal efforts to spread the glad tidings of
>salvation, and let "Christ and Him crucified" be your ever recurring theme.
>The Christian should be like those lovely spring flowers which, when the sun
>is shining, open their golden cups, as if saying, "Fill us with thy beams!"
>but when the sun is hidden behind a cloud, they close their cups and droop
>their heads. So should the Christian feel the sweet influence of Jesus; Jesus
>must be his sun, and he must be the flower which yields itself to the Sun of
>Righteousness. Oh! to speak of Christ alone, this is the subject which is both
>"seed for the sower, and bread for the eater." This is the live coal for the
>lip of the speaker, and the master-key to the heart of the hearer.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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