From: alfredpreachingthewordof...@juno.com 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)
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daily devotional
Evening...
Job 1:5
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent
and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt
offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my
sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
What the patriarch did early in the morning, after the family festivities, it
will be well for the believer to do for himself ere he rests tonight. Amid the
cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful levities,
and to forget our avowed character as Christians. It ought not to be so, but so
it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified enjoyment,
but too frequently degenerate into unhallowed mirth. There is a way of joy as
pure and sanctifying as though one bathed in the rivers of Eden: holy gratitude
should be quite as purifying an element as grief. Alas! for our poor hearts,
that facts prove that the house of mourning is better than the house of
feasting. Come, believer, in what have you sinned to-day? Have you been
forgetful of your high calling? Have you been even as others in idle words and
loose speeches? Then confess the sin, and fly to the sacrifice. The sacrifice
sanctifies. The precious blood of the Lamb slain removes the guilt, and purges
away the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness. This is the best
ending of a Christmas-day-to wash anew in the cleansing fountain. Believer,
come to this sacrifice continually; if it be so good to-night, it is good every
night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood; to them
sin, great as it is, is nevertheless no cause for despair, since they draw near
yet again to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience is purged from dead
works.
Gladly I close this festive day,
Grasping the altar's hallow'd horn;
My slips and faults are washed away,
The Lamb has all my trespass borne.
Morning...
1 Corinthians 15:45 The last Adam.
Jesus is the federal head of His elect. As in Adam, every heir of flesh and
blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and
representative of the race as considered under the law of works; so under the
law of grace, every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since He is
the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new covenant of
love. The apostle Paul declares that Levi was in the loins of Abraham when
Melchizedek met him: it is a certain truth that the believer was in the loins
of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, when in old eternity the covenant settlements of
grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure for ever. Thus, whatever Christ
hath done, He hath wrought for the whole body of His Church. We were crucified
in Him and buried with Him (read Col. 2:10-13), and to make it still more
wonderful, we are risen with Him and even ascended with Him to the seats on
high (Eph. 2:6). It is thus that the Church has fulfilled the law, and is
"accepted in the beloved." It i s thus that she is regarded with complacency by
the just Jehovah, for He views her in Jesus, and does not look upon her as
separate from her covenant head. As the Anointed Redeemer of Israel, Christ
Jesus has nothing distinct from His Church, but all that He has He holds for
her. Adam's righteousness was ours so long as he maintained it, and his sin was
ours the moment that he committed it; and in the same manner, all that the
Second Adam is or does, is ours as well as His, seeing that He is our
representative. Here is the foundation of the covenant of grace. This gracious
system of representation and substitution, which moved Justin Martyr to cry
out, "O blessed change, O sweet permutation!" this is the very groundwork of
the gospel of our salvation, and is to be received with strong faith and
rapturous joy.
Colossians 3:22-25
(22) Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to
the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart,
fearing God. (23) And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not
to men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the
inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. (25) But he who does wrong will be
repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Is God involved in our lives? Paul is bringing the example of
Christ, and His attitude toward those who were in authority, all the way down
to an employment level. In Ephesians 5:21, he brought it down to a relationship
within a congregation. But in both cases, the submitting was done out of
respect for God—not because the authority was great, not because the person was
a better man or woman—in fact, it had nothing whatever to do with the character
of the person in authority.
Our submission has everything to do with our relationship to God,
what we know of Him, and the purpose He is working out. The biblical definition
of submission is clear. This instruction is in perfect harmony with Romans 12
where he says, "Live with all men in peace," as well as, "Vengeance is mine, I
will repay!"
Submission is an act of faith. It has nothing at all to do with the
quality of character of the person to whom we are submitting. It does not
matter whether he is a good or a bad guy. It does not matter whether or not we
feel what he is doing is unjust. It may be very unjust—as the taking of
Christ's life was very unjust. But Christ submitted to whatever God
permitted—out of fear, out of respect, out of faith that God had Him in His
hands and nothing would happen before its time. He knew God was concerned about
the outcome of His life.
So then, biblical submission is respecting divinely appointed
authority out of respect for Christ.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Submitting (Part 1)
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