Friday, January 24, 2025
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Galatians 5
Galatians 5
5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Spurgeon gems for the new year!
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C.H. Spurgeon
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.
Or you may want to WATCH the Video on either YouTube or SermonAudio)
"Every moment of the year is another step toward your eternal destiny—tread it wisely."
"Time is a golden gift—waste not a single hour in trifling pursuits."
"Let the new year's resolution be this: More of Christ in every thought, word and deed."
"God's mercies are fresh each day, each moment."
"A year is but a drop in the ocean of eternity; live it for the One who loved you, and gave Himself for you."
"The past year's sins are forgiven; let the new year's path be trod in righteousness."
"The year's opening is a call to fresh consecration—dedicate it all to Christ."
"Resolve this year to be rich in faith—not in earthly treasures."
"Each year's dawn is an opportunity to leave behind whatever hinders us in the heavenly race, and press on toward the goal to win the prize."
"In God's calendar, the year is not measured by worldly success, but by faithfulness."
"The year's first step must be taken with Christ—or the path will lead astray."
"The clock's tick is a summons to holy diligence—heed it, for time is short."
"The year's joys are sweetest, when shared with Christ as your dearest Friend."
"A year lived for pleasure of profit is a year lost; a year lived for Christ is eternal gain."
"God's faithfulness has kept you through the past year. His promises shall keep you in the year to come."
"Begin the year with gratitude for mercies past, and hope for blessings yet to come."
"The year's trials are God's chisels, shaping you for eternal glory."
"The year's path is unknown, but our Guide is sure—trust Him fully."
"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chron. 16:9).
Streams in the Desert
God is Looking
"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chron. 16:9).
God is looking for a man, or woman, whose heart will be always set on Him, and who will trust Him for all He desires to do. God is eager to work more mightily now than He ever has through any soul. The clock of the centuries points to the eleventh hour.
"The world is waiting yet to see what God can do through a consecrated soul." Not the world alone, but God Himself is waiting for one, who will be more fully devoted to Him than any who have ever lived; who will be willing to be nothing that Christ may be all; who will grasp God's own purposes; and taking His humility and His faith, His love and His power, will, without hindering, continue to let God do exploits. --C. H. P.
"There is no limit to what God can do with a man, providing he will not touch the glory."
In an address given to ministers and workers after his ninetieth birthday, George Mueller spoke thus of himself: "I was converted in November, 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later, in July, 1829. The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God, God alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else. And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, an exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God. I ask affectionately, my beloved brethren, have you fully surrendered the heart to God, or is there this thing or that thing with which you are taken up irrespective of God? I read a little of the Scriptures before, but preferred other books; but since that time the revelation He has made of Himself has become unspeakably blessed to me, and I can say from my heart, God is an infinitely lovely Being. Oh, be not satisfied until in your own inmost soul you can say, God is an infinitely lovely Being!' --Selected
I pray to God this day to make me an extraordinary Christian. --Whitefield.
"I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day."--Isaiah 27:3
J. C. Philpot - Daily Portions
"I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day."--Isaiah 27:3
The Lord Jesus Christ, who lives at God's right hand, has to send down supplies of his grace continually to keep your soul alive unto himself. Without this life being kept up and maintained by these continual supplies of his grace, you cannot pray, or read, or hear the word, or meditate with any feeling or profit. You cannot love the Lord and his blessed ways; you cannot submit to his righteous dealings; or hear the rod and him who appointed it. You may approach his throne, but your heart is cold, clouded, and unfeeling; your spirit sinks under the weight and burden of the trials and difficulties that are spread in your path; nor are you able to do anything that satisfies yourself, or that you think can satisfy God.
By these painful but profitable lessons, you are experimentally taught that you want the life of Christ as well as the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ as much as the crucifixion of Christ; Christ as an ever-living, ever-gracious, ever-glorious Mediator, to send down supplies of his love and power into your soul, as much as you needed him to die upon the cross for your redemption.
Friday, January 10, 2025
"He hath made me a polished shaft" (Isa. 49:2).
Streams in the Desert
Polish Comes Through Trouble
"He hath made me a polished shaft" (Isa. 49:2).
There is a very famous "Pebble Beach" at Pescadero, on the California coast. The long line of white surf comes up with its everlasting roar, and rattles and thunders among the stones on the shore. They are caught in the arms of the pitiless waves, and tossed and rolled, and rubbed together, and ground against the sharp-grained cliffs. Day and night forever the ceaseless attrition goes on--never any rest. And the result?
Tourists from all the world flock thither to gather the round and beautiful stones. They are laid up in cabinets; they ornament the parlor mantels. But go yonder, around the point of the cliff that breaks off the force of the sea; and up in that quiet cove, sheltered from the storms, and lying ever in the sun, you shall find abundance of pebbles that have never been chosen by the traveler.
Why are these left all the years through unsought? For the simple reason that they have escaped all the turmoil and attrition of the waves, and the quiet and peace have left them as they found them, rough and angular and devoid of beauty. Polish comes through trouble.
Since God knows what niche we are to fill, let us trust Him to shape us to it. Since He knows what work we are to do, let us trust Him to drill us to the proper preparation.
"O blows that smite! O hurts that pierce This shrinking heart of mine! What are ye but the Master's tools Forming a work Divine?"
"Nearly all God's jewels are crystallized tears."
"We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."--1 John 2:1
J. C. Philpot - Daily Portions
"We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."--1 John 2:1
This advocacy is here called, as elsewhere, "pleading the cause" of the believer, and is connected with deliverance, for such an advocate can never fail: "O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life" (Lam. 3:58). The figure is taken from a lawyer pleading the cause of a criminal, and using his best endeavours to bring him off uninjured. But such advocacy may fail for two reasons: 1. the incompetency of the advocate; or 2. the badness of the cause.
But there are no such hindrances to the success of the advocacy of Christ. How he can plead his own sufferings, blood, and obedience. His very Person as the Son of God, and yet son of man, gives unspeakable value and validity to every plea of the great Intercessor.
What validity, then, has his intercession in the court of heaven! It is true that he cannot deny the truth of the charge brought by the accuser of the brethren against his client; but he can present his own meritorious sufferings, and the sorrows he endured for the culprit. On this ground he can stand up as his surety and representative, and plead with the Father that he has suffered in his place and stead. On the firm, solid ground, then, of justice and equity, he can plead on his behalf, "Let him go, for I endured the penalty due to him."
Thursday, January 9, 2025
The Collier and his Children
The Collier and his Children
When I was holding meetings a little time ago, at Wharnecliff, in England, a coal district, a great burly collier [coal miner] came up to me, and said in his Yorkshire dialect, "Dost know wha was at meetin' t'night?" "No," I answered. "Why," said he, "So-and-so" (mentioning name). The name was a familiar one. He was a very bad man, one of the wildest, wickedest men in Yorkshire, according to his own confession, and according to the confession of everybody who knew him.
"Well," said the man, "he cam' into meetin' an' said you didn't preach right; he said thou didn't preach nothin' but the love o' Christ, an' that won't do for drunken colliers; ye wan't shake 'em over a pit, and he says he'll ne'er come again." He thought I didn't preach about hell. Mark you, my friends, I believe in the pit that burns, in the fire that's never quenched, in the worm that never dies; but I believe that the magnet that goes down to the bottom of the pit is the love of Jesus. I didn't expect to see him again, but he came the next night, without washing his face, right from the pit, with all his working clothes upon him. This drunken collier sat down on one of the seats that were used for the children, and got as near to me as possible.
The sermon was love from first to last. He listened at first attentively, but by-and-by I saw him with the sleeve of his rough coat, wiping his eyes. Soon after we had an inquiry-meeting, when some of those praying colliers got around him, and it wasn't long before he was crying, "O Lord, save me; I am lost; Jesus, have mercy upon me"; and he left that meeting a new creature. His wife told me herself what occurred when he came home.
His little children heard him coming along; they knew the step of his heavy clogs, and ran to their mother in terror, clinging to her skirts. He opened the door as gently as could be. He had had a habit of banging the doors.
When he came into the house and saw the children clinging to their mother, frightened, he just stooped down and picked up the youngest girl in his arms, and looked at her, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Mary, God has sent thy father home to thee," and kissed her. He picked up another, "God has sent thy father home"; and from one to another he went, and kissed them all; and then came to his wife and put his arms around her neck, "Don't cry, lass; don't cry. God has sent thy husband home at last; don't cry," and all she could do was to put her arms around his neck and sob.
And then he said, "Have you got a Bible in the house, lass?" They hadn't such a thing. "Well, lass, if we haven't we must pray." They got down on their knees, and all he could say was:
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity-
for Jesus Christ's sake, amen." It was a simple prayer, but God answered it. While I was at Barnet some time after that, a friend came to me, and said, "I've got good news for you. So-and-so (mentioning the collier's name) is preaching the gospel everywhere he goes, in the pit, and out of the pit, and tries to win everybody to the Lord Jesus Christ."
He found their hearts estranged from Him!
He found their hearts estranged from Him!
Ezekiel 36:25-27,
"I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit in you and cause you to follow My decrees, and be careful to keep My laws."
Jesus loves His people with everlasting love, and has inscribed their names upon His heart.
He has received them as the jewels of His crown, and the signet ring upon His right hand.
He delights over them, as a bridegroom over His spouse.
He knew that a hellish master had usurped dominion over them. He encountered this diabolical foe, and rescued them from his cruel grasp. So they became His by conquest.
He found them wretched, and pitiful, and poor, and blind, and naked—and He wrought out a glorious robe of righteousness to adorn them for His celestial palace.
He knew that their sins were both abominable and innumerable. So He laid down His life and shed His sin-atoning blood to satisfy each demand of divine justice.
He found their hearts estranged from Him, and their affections given to the worthless baubles of this fleeting world. He sent His Holy Spirit . . .
to win their love,
to create new hearts within them,
to lead them to choose Him as their everlasting all.
Thus they became His by voluntary surrender.
"I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself. I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more!" Jeremiah 31:3, 33-34
This teaches us that . . .
This teaches us that . . .
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Isaiah 53:2-3,
"He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him.
There was nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces—He was despised and we esteemed Him not."
It is astonishing that with such plain prophecies concerning the Messiah, the Jews should have made such a fatal mistake in reference to Him. They looked for a temporal conqueror who would come in splendor, notwithstanding that this and many other Scriptures speak of His coming in humiliation in express terms. Every unprejudiced person might have seen from this passage, that the Messiah when He came, was not to be surrounded with pomp—but would come as "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," and be "despised and rejected by men."
Though this truth was written as with a sunbeam, and the Jewish people were acquainted with their own Scriptures—yet when the Messiah came unto them, they did not received Him. Though favored with the clearest prophecies concerning Him, they rejected His claims and cried, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"
This teaches us that the plainest instruction, however earnestly and forcibly delivered—cannot be rightly understood by the unregenerate mind. The carnal mind cannot discern spiritual things—its eye is darkened, and its ear is heavy. The inspired Word itself, cannot put a spiritual truth so clearly that lost men will understand it—unless their eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit. Vain is the best light to blind men.
How ardently we should adore the Holy Spirit, that He stoops to our spiritual blindness—and is pleased to remove the scales, and pour light into our souls. Whatever we have rightly discerned, has been revealed to us by His teaching, for apart from His illumination, we would have been as obstinately unbelieving as the Jews who crucified their King.
"For the carnal mind is enmity against God;
for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be.
So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Romans 8:7-8
"No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him" John 6:44
"No one can come to Me, unless the Father has enabled him" John 6:65
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Lean hard!
Octavius Winslow, "The Burden Cast upon God"
"Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you." Psalm 55:22
It is by an act of simple prayerful faith, that we transfer our cares and anxieties, our sorrows and needs--to the Lord.
Jesus invites you to come and lean upon Him, and to lean with all your might upon that arm that balances the universe, and upon that bosom that bled for you upon the soldier's spear!
But you doubtingly ask, "Is the Lord able to do this thing for me?"
And thus, while you are debating a matter about which there is not the shadow of a shade of doubt--the burden is crushing your gentle spirit to the dust!
And all the while Jesus stands at your side and lovingly says:
"Cast your burden upon Me, and I will sustain you. I am God Almighty. I bore the load of your sin and condemnation up the steep of Calvary, and the same power of omnipotence, and the same strength of love that bore it all for you then--is prepared to bear your need and sorrow now. Roll it all upon Me!
"Child of My Love! Lean hard! Let Me feel the pressure of your care. I know your burden, child! I shaped and formed it in My own hand, and made no proportion of its weight to your unaided strength. For even as I laid it on, I said 'I shall be near;' and while you lean on Me, this burden shall be Mine, not yours. So shall I keep My child within the circling arms of My own love. Here, lay it down! Do not fear to impose it on a shoulder which upholds the government of worlds! Yet closer come--you are not near enough! I would embrace your burden, so I might feel My child reposing on My bosom. You love Me! I know it. Doubt not, then. But, loving Me, lean hard!"
All things are naked and opened By A.B. Simpson
All things are naked and opened
By A.B. Simpson
The literal translation of that phrase in Hebrews is, "all things are stripped and stunned." Such is the force of the Greek words. The figure is that of an athlete in the Coliseum who has fought his best in the arena, and has at length fallen at the feet of his adversary, disarmed and broken down in helplessness. There he lies, unable to strike a blow or lift his arm. He is stripped and stunned, disarmed and disabled, and there is nothing left for him but to lie at the feet of his adversary and appeal to him for mercy.
Now this is the position to which God wants to bring us, where we shall cease our struggles and our attempts at self-defense or self-improvement and throw ourselves helplessly upon the mercy of God. This is the sinner's only hope, and when he thus lies at the feet of mercy, Jesus is ready to lift him up and give him that free salvation which is waiting for all.
This, too, is the greatest need of the Christian who seeks a deeper and higher life-to come to a full realization of his nothingness and helplessness and to lie down, stripped and stunned, at the feet of Jesus.
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Ruth 1
1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.
7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
9 The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
The Master Assizes
The Master Assizes
By Oswald Chambers
'For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.'
2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul says that we must all, preacher and people alike, "appear before the judgment seat of Christ." If you learn to live in the white light of Christ here and now, judgment finally will cause you to delight in the work of God in you. Keep yourself steadily faced by the judgment seat of Christ; walk now in the light of the holiest you know.
A wrong temper of mind about another soul will end in the spirit of the devil, no matter how saintly you are. One carnal judgment, and the end of it is hell in you. Drag it to the light at once and say - "My God, I have been guilty there." If you don't, hardness will come all through. The penalty of sin is confirmation in sin. It is not only God who punishes for sin; sin confirms itself in the sinner and gives back full pay.
No struggling nor praying will enable you to stop doing some things, and the penalty of sin is that gradually you get used to it and do not know that it is sin. No power save the incoming of the Holy Ghost can alter the inherent consequences of sin.
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light." Walking in the light means for many of us walking according to our standard for another person. The deadliest Pharisaism to-day is not hypocrisy, but unconscious unreality.
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Saturday, January 4, 2025
Thursday, January 2, 2025
Psalm 6
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6 O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?
4 Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.
10 Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.
"Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps; set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest."--Jeremiah 31:21
J. C. Philpot - Daily Portions
"Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps; set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest."--Jeremiah 31:21
To look at the past is often a blessed encouragement for the future.
If we are travellers in the way Zionward, we shall have our various waymarks. A conspicuous call, or a signal deliverance, or a gracious manifestation of Christ; a promise applied here, or a marked answer to prayer there; a special blessing under the preached word; a soft and unexpected assurance of an interest in the blood of the Lamb; a breaking in of divine light when walking in great darkness; a sweet sip of consolation in a season of sorrow and trouble; a calming down of the winds and waves without and within by, "It is I, be not afraid"--such and similar waymarks it is most blessed to be able to set up as evidences that we are in the road. And if many who really fear God cannot set up these conspicuous waymarks, yet they are not without their testimonies equally sure, if not equally satisfying.
The fear of God in a tender conscience, the spirit of grace and of supplications in their breast, their cleaving to the people of God in warm affection, their love for the truth in its purity and power, their earnest desires, their budding hopes, their anxious fears, their honesty and simplicity making them jealous over themselves lest they be deceived or deluded, their separation from the world, their humility, meekness, quietness, and general consistency often putting to shame louder profession and higher pretensions--these and similar evidences mark many as children of God who cannot read their title clear to such a privilege and such a blessing.
But whether the waymarks be high or low, shining in the sun or obscure in the dawn, the virgin of Israel is still bidden to "set them up," and to "set also her heart toward the highway, even the way by which she came."
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Redeeming the time" (Eph. v. 16).
Days of Heaven Upon Earth
"Redeeming the time" (Eph. v. 16).
Two little words are found in the Greek version here. They are translated "ton kairon" in the revised version, "Buying up for yourselves the opportunity." The two words ton kairon mean, literally, the opportunity.
They do not refer to time in general, but to a special point of time, a juncture, a crisis, a moment full of possibilities and quickly passing by, which we must seize and make the best of before it has passed away.
It is intimated that there are not many such moments of opportunity, because the days are evil; like a barren desert, in which, here and there, you find a flower, pluck it while you can; like a business opportunity which comes a few times in a life-time; buy it up while you have the chance. Be spiritually alert; be not unwise, but understanding what the will of God is. "Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, buying up for yourselves the opportunity."
Sometimes it is a moment of time to be saved; sometimes a soul to be led to Christ; sometimes it is an occasion for love; sometimes for patience: sometimes for victory over temptation and sin. Let us redeem it.
"They ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." Joshua 5:12
Morning and Evening
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"They ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." Joshua 5:12
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 your case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith is in active exercise—it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remains 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 "forever 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—enter into rest." The Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance; He gives us "glory begun below." In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved 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 ate 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!
"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace." Numbers 6:24-26
Miller's Year Book—a Year's Daily Readings
"May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace."
Numbers 6:24-26
In the first days of a new year, we all say to our friends and neighbors, "Happy New Year!" Our hearts are full of generous feelings and wishes for all we meet. But what can we do to give them a happy new year? We cannot compel their circumstances into fortunate adjustments, so as to produce happiness. Besides, we cannot know what would be the truest and best blessings for our friends.
After all, the only really safe thing is to pray that God may be with them through the year, and may bless them in his own best and truest way. He knows better than we do—what is the best blessing.