Thursday 7 November 2019

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Three - January

1st January: Psalm 77:1-20
Sometimes, we have more questions than answers (7-9). The questions keep flooding into our minds. We wonder where the answers are going to come from. What are we to do when this happens? We must remember what the Lord has done for us (11-12). Look back over the 'years' - and remember how the 'hand' of the Lord has been upon you (5,10). Think of how the Lord has led you on your journey through life. He has been your 'Shepherd'. He has led you 'in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake'. Let the memory of God's many blessings fill you with strength - to face the future with confidence in Him: 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for ever' (19-20; 23:1,3,6). Trust in the Lord. He will make you truly happy.
2nd January: Psalm 78:1-39
'Can God spread a table in the wilderness?' (19). We are living in a spiritual wilderness. We wonder, 'Can God continue to bless us in this wilderness?'. How does God's Word answer our question? - 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies'. In the 'wilderness', there are many 'enemies'. There is also the 'table'. At the 'table', God blesses us - 'You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows' (23:5). We are in the 'wilderness', surrounded by many 'enemies'. What are we to do? - We must come to the 'table' - the Lord's Table. We must come to Christ. We must drink from 'the cup of salvation' (116:7). Come to the Saviour. Look to Him for His blessing. He will not disappoint you. You will be 'anointed with the oil of gladness'. His blessing will be poured upon you 'like precious oil' (45:7; 133:2).
3rd January: Psalm 78:40-72
'He brought His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the desert' (52). The Lord brought His people out of Egypt. He brought them safely through the wilderness to 'His holy land' (42-43,51,54-55). He did great things for Israel. He does great things for us - 'He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake' (23:3). Through faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we have 'peace with God'. Our sins have been forgiven. We now 'stand' in His 'grace'. In our new life with Him, there will be times of 'suffering'. None of us is exempt from suffering. It comes to all of us - without exception. In your suffering, remember this: We will not be disappointed in 'our hope of sharing the glory of God' - 'God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit...' (Romans 5:1-5).
4th January: Job 38:39- 40:14
'I am unworthy - how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth...I have no answer...I will say no more' (40:3-5). God speaks to us about our sin: 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'. He tells us that 'all our righteous acts are like filthy rags'. Why does God speak to us like this? He speaks 'so that every mouth may be silenced' (Romans 3:23, 19; Isaiah 64:6). We must stop talking about our own righteousness and start listening to what God is saying to us. He speaks to us of 'His love'. He tells us that, 'while we were sinners, Christ died for us'. This is Good News - 'the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin'. No more excuses - 'I'm not such a bad person. I'm really quite good'! Let's 'confess our sins' and receive God's forgiveness (Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:7-10).
5th January: Job 40:15-41:34
'Who can stand before Me?' (41:10). God puts this question to every one of us. God's Word gives two answers to this question. The first answer speaks to us of our sin. The second answer speaks to us of our Saviour. The first thing God says to us is this: 'There is no-one righteous, not even one' (Romans 3:10). The question is asked, 'Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place?'. The answer is given, 'He who has clean hands and a pure heart...He will receive blessing from the Lord' (Psalm 24:3-5). We read these words, and we wonder, 'Is there any hope for us?'. Our situation seems hopeless - until we look to Jesus, the Man 'without sin', the beloved Son with whom God is well pleased', the Saviour who 'died for our sins' (Hebrews 4:14-16; Matthew 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:3).
6th January: Job 42:1-17
After so much suffering - a happy ending! Job has been brought closer to God (5-6). His 'friends' have been forgiven by the Lord (7-9). Everybody is happy about the way things have turned out for Job (10-11). Is there always a happy ending? In this earthly life, we will never reach a stage where there will be no more problems and everything will be just fine. For God's people - 'redeemed with the precious blood of Christ' - , there will be a 'happy ending - but not until 'the last time'! For now, we must face many 'trials'. Beyond our 'little while' of suffering there is a 'happy ending' - 'salvation ready to be revealed in the last time'. We must pray that our 'faith, more precious than gold, will be proved genuine and will result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed'. (1 Peter 1:3-7,18-19).
7th January: Psalm 79:1-13
We look at what's going on in our world today. We hear the enemies of the Lord saying, 'Where is their God?'. So many people are turning away from the Lord. They no longer worship Him. We wonder if things can be turned around. It would be so easy to give up and go the way of the world. This is what we must not do.We must keep on praying - 'How long, O Lord? Will You be angry for ever?'. We must look to the Lord for help - 'Help us, O God of our salvation'. We must look to 'our Saviour' for deliverance and forgiveness. We must pray that the Lord's Name will be glorified. How is the Name of the Lord to be glorified in today's world? It must begin with us - 'We, Your people, the flock which You shepherd, will give thanks to You forever. We will praise You throughout every generation.' (5,9-10,13).
8th January: Psalm 80:1-19
'Restore us, O God, make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved' (3). This prayer for salvation is repeated with a growing sense of God's greatness - 'O God Almighty' (7), 'O Lord God Almighty' (19). To those who are asking the question of salvation - 'What must I do to be saved?' - , God gives His answer - 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved' (Acts 16:30-31). What does the Lord say to those who look to Christ for salvation? - 'The Lord will bless you and watch over you. The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you. The Lord will look on you with favour and give you peace' (Numbers 6:24-26). Let us worship Him: 'Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer' (Ephesians 1:3).
9th January: Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26
Without Christ. life is empty. With Him, everything changes. He fills our life with God's blessing. With Him, we have more than life 'under the sun'. We have life 'in the Son' - abundant life, eternal life (1:3,14; 2:11,17; John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). Which life do you want? You can settle for life 'under the sun'. Many people do. They never think about the meaning of life. They never ask , 'What is the purpose of my life?'. There is another life, a better life, a life with meaning, purpose and direction. You can come to Christ and receive life 'in the Son'. This is life 'from above. This is our 'foretaste of glory divine': 'Angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love' 'Looking above', we are 'filled with His goodness' and saved by 'His love'. In our 'Saviour', we are 'happy and blest' (Mission Praise, 59).
10th January: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16
'God has put eternity into man's mind' (3:11). In every human heart, there is a God-shaped blank. It can only be filled by Jesus Christ. Many people try to find true happiness without opening their heart to Jesus Christ. That's like 'trying to catch the wind' (4:16). True happiness keeps slipping through your fingers. There's always something missing - 'an aching void the world can never fill' (Church Hymnary, 663). Jesus Christ stands at the door of every human heart. He knocks. He waits for your answer. He says, 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in...' (Revelation 3:20). Will you invite him into your heart? He is waiting for you to pray, 'Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus'.
11th January: Titus 1:1-2:10
How are we to live? We are not to be 'empty talkers', people who 'profess to know God' and 'deny Him by their deeds' (1:10,16). We must give no one the opportunity to 'speak evil of God's Word'. We must be 'a model of good deeds', showing 'the beauty of the teachings about God our Saviour in everything we do' (2:5,7,10). When we live in a Christlike way, 'those who oppose' Christ and His Gospel will be 'put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us' (2:8). This is how we are to live. How do we live? This is a question for all of us. It is a question which will make us feel uncomfortable. We don't find it easy to look closely at the way we live our lives. We won't get away with glossing over things. God calls us to pray, 'Search me, O God...Cleanse me from every sin...' (Psalm 139:23-24; Mission Praise, 587).
12th January: Titus 2:11-3:15
We read in 2:11,13 of Christ's coming in grace - 'the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all people' - and His coming in glory - 'we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ'. From grace to glory - This is the journey from Christ's first coming to His Second Coming. It is also the journey of our life of faith. We begin with the forgiveness of our sins. our final destination is glory, heavenly and eternal glory, the glory of God. We live by the grace of God. We look forward to the glory of God. God wants us to live as 'a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds' (2:14). If we are to be 'zealous for good deeds', we must first be zealous for Jesus Christ. Do good - but never forget, 'He saved us - not because of deeds done by us...' (3:8,4-6).
13th January: Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12
'The man who loves money can never have enough' (5:10). Some people are never satisfied, They're always wanting more. This is the world's way. The more you have, the more you want. The Lord's way is very different: 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...Do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'...Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well'. 'Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?' (Matthew 6:21-23,31-33; James 2:5). There's more to life than 'getting on in the world'. 'Treasures on earth, treasures in heaven' - Which world is most important to you?
14th January: Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
'Do not be over-righteous and do not be over-wise' (16). Christ is 'our righteousness and our wisdom' (1 Corinthians 1:30). We must not take pride in our own righteousness or our own wisdom. We must not be like the arrogant 'Pharisee': 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men...'. If we get 'too big for our boots', we may be 'brought down to earth with a bump'! This is what God says to those who think they're wise: 'Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?' (Luke 18:11-12; 1 Corinthians 1:20). We do not make ourselves righteous. We do not make ourselves wise. 'Through faith in Jesus Christ', we receive 'God's righteousness'. We become 'wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus' (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Timothy 3:14-17).
15th January: Ecclesiastes 8:1-9:10
'Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might...' (9:10). 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart...' (Colossians 3:23-24). These two verses seem, at first, to be saying the same thing - until we read the rest of each verse! The first is describing life 'under the sun' (9:9): 'in the grave where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom'. The second describes life in the Son: 'you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward'. There is more to life than life under the sun. There is life in the Son. In everything we do, we must remember this: 'It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving'. We are 'working for the Lord, not for men'. 'Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord...your labour in the Lord is not in vain' (1 Corinthians 15:58).
16th January: Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
'Wisdom is better than weapons of war' (9:18). We are to seek the better way, the way of wisdom, the way of peace: 'The wisdom that comes from heaven is...peace-loving'... Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness' (James 3:18). We look back over the history of our world. We wish there had been more peace and less war. We pray for a better future - more peace, less war. We pray to 'the God of peace'. We pray for 'the peace of God'. We pray that God will fulfill His promise: 'The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet' (Philippians 4:9,7; Romans 15:33; 16:20). Let us look to 'the Cross of Jesus'. Let us trust in 'Christ, the Royal Master'. He leads us in His victory: 'At the Name of Jesus, Satan's legions flee; On then, Christian soldiers, On to victory!' (Church Hymnary, 480).
17th January: Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:14
'Fear God, and keep His commandments' (12:13). This is 'the heart of the matter'. It's 'the matter of the heart'. How can we even begin to fear God and keep His commandments if our hearts are full of sin? How can our hearts be cleansed from sin? There's only one way we can learn to 'fear God, and keep His commandments'. We must begin by opening our hearts to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must look to Him for forgiveness - 'I will cleanse you'. We must look to Him for a new beginning - 'I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you' (Ezekiel 36:26). Let our fear of the Lord be filled with the love of Jesus. Let our keeping of God's commandments be filled with thanksgiving for Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Let us be devoted to Christ: 'Take my heart - it is Thine own; It shall be Thy royal throne' (Church Hymnary, 462).
18th January: Psalm 81:1-16
God calls us to worship Him with joy - 'Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!' (1). He has blessed us with His salvation - 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt'. He will continue to bless us, as we keep on looking to Him for blessing - 'Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it' (10). God wants to bless us. He wants us to seek His blessing - 'O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in My ways!...I would feed you with the finest of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you' (13,16). Far too often, we can't be bothered with God and are not really interested in seeking His blessing - 'My people did not listen to My voice; Israel would have none of me' (11). 'You will seek Me and find Me; when you seek Me with all your heart' (Jeremiah 29:13).
19th January: Song of Solomon 1:1-17
The Church is the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-33). We are to be presented to Christ 'as a pure Bride', 'a Bride beautifully dressed' for Him, 'the Bride, the wife of the Lamb' (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2,9). Christ says to His Bride, 'You are beautiful, my love'. Let us worship Him: 'You are beautiful, my Beloved, truly lovely' (15-16). Let us look to Christ and see how beautiful He is: 'You are beautiful beyond description, too marvellous for words, too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can fathom Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of Your love? You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty enthroned above...'. Let us pray that His beauty will be seen in us: 'Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, all His wondrous compassion and purity...' (Mission Praise, 788,406).
20th January: Song of Solomon 2:1-17
Christ comes to us in love: 'The Voice of my Beloved! Look! Here He comes...' (8). He calls us to come to Him: 'My Beloved speaks and says to me, "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away"' (10). He calls us to belong to Him: 'My Beloved is mine and I am His' (16). Let us come to Jesus and experience His love: 'Jesus, how lovely You are! You are so gentle, so pure and kind...'. Let us come to Jesus and give Him our love: 'Jesus, I love You, love You more and more each day; Jesus, I love You, Your gentle touch renews my heart. It's really no wonder why no other love can satisfy; Jesus, I love You, You've won this heart of mine!'. Let us come to Jesus and receive His joy: 'Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart' (Mission Praise, 361,363,362).
21st January: Song of Solomon 3:1-4:8
Jesus says, 'Seek and you will find' (Matthew 7:7). When we have found Him, we say, with joy, 'I found Him whom my soul loves - my true love' (3:4). What does it mean to find Jesus? It means that He has found us. Before we ever thought of seeking for Him, He came seeking for us: 'the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost' (Luke 19:10). He comes to us with words of love: 'you are beautiful, my love' (4:1). Before we ever thought of loving Him, He loved us: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love' (Jeremiah 31:3). In love, He came looking for us. In love, He has found us. We seek. We find. We say, 'Hallelujah! I have found Him'. There is something else - His seeking and finding: 'Amazing grace! How sweet the sound...I once was lost, but now am found...' (Mission Praise, 31).
22nd January: Song of Solomon 4:9-5:16
There are times when the Lord comes very near to us. We pray, 'Let my Beloved come to His garden' (4:16). He answers, 'I come to My garden,...my Bride' (1). There are times when the Lord seems to be far away from us: 'I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved had turned and gone' (6). What are we to do when the Lord's presence does not seem so real to us? We must remember His promise: 'I am with you always' (Matthew 28:20). Sometimes, we don't feel so good. We feel like the Lord has gone away and left us. These are the times when we need His Word of encouragement: 'I am with you always'. In the difficult times, we must hold on to His promise. We must keep on believing that the times of blessing will return: 'His speech is sweet; He is altogether lovely...my Beloved...my Friend' (5:16).
23rd January: Song of Solomon 6:1-7:9
'You are beautiful...How beautiful you are' (6:4; 7:6). What beauty can the Lord possibly see in us? We are sinners - 'We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to go his own way'. There's nothing beautiful about that! Is this the whole story? Thank God! - There's something more. Christ died for sinners - 'the Lord laid all our sins on Him' (Isaiah 53:6). When God looks on us, He does not see our sin. He sees our Saviour, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks at us, and this is what He sees: 'The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin' (1 John 1:7). Through faith in Christ, we are sinners, saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). This is the beauty the Lord sees in us: 'There is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:1). This is not our beauty. It's His beauty!
24th January: Song of Solomon 7:10-8:14
'Love is as strong as death...It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it' (6-7). Here, we see the greatest love of all, the love of God: 'Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future...nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Romans 8:38-39). How can we have the love of God, burning in our hearts 'like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame'? We cannot buy His love - 'If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned' (7). We must receive His love as a gift: 'So freely flows the endless love You give to me...So easy, I receive the love You give to me...Flowing out to me - the love within Your heart' (Mission Praise, 603).
25th January: Isaiah 1:1-31
God invites us to 'come' to Him and receive salvation - 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'. He also warns us - there will be judgment 'if you refuse and rebel' (18-20). God speaks to us of His great purpose of salvation: 'God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him'. He tells us that we can be saved through faith in Christ: 'Whoever believes in Him is not condemned'. He calls us back from the way of unbelief and judgment: 'Whoever does not believe is condemned already because he does not believe in the Name of the only Son of God' (John 3:17-18). In Jesus Christ, there is 'great salvation'. Make sure that you receive God's salvation. 'How shall we escape if we neglect or ignore such a great salvation?' (Hebrews 2:3).
26th January: Isaiah 2:1-22
God calls us to worship Him - 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...' - and walk in His ways - 'Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord' (3,5). We are moving towards the Day when 'the pride of men shall be humbled and brought low', the Day when 'the Lord alone will be exalted' (11,12,17). How are we to get ready for the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ? God calls us to keep on worshipping Him. We are to encourage one another to keep on walking with God. 'Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching' (Hebrews 10:25). Let our pride be humbled and let the Lord be exalted as we await Christ's Return in 'faith', looking to Him alone for our 'salvation' (1 Peter 1:7-9).
27th January: Proverbs 17:1-28
'A friend loves at all times' (17). We place great value on human friendship. The love of our friends is very special to us. There is, however, a greater Love and a greater Friend. Jesus loves us. Jesus is our Friend. His Love is greater than any other love. There is no better Friend than Jesus. His Love is the best love. He is our best Friend. 'He's my Forever Friend, my Leave-me-never Friend. From darkest night to rainbow's end, He's my Forever Friend. Even when I turn away, He cares for me. His love no one can shake. Even as I walk away, He's by my side with every breath I take...Sometimes, I'm not His friend,but He is always mine...Long ago and far away, upon a Cross, my Friend died for you. So, if you'd like to meet Him and don't know what to do, ask my Friend into your heart, and He'll be your Friend too'. Let Jesus be your best Friend!
28th January: Philemon
'He was useless...now he has become useful' (11). This is the story of Onesimus (the name means 'useful'). A runaway 'slave', he became 'a beloved brother...in the Lord' (16). It appears that Onesimus had stolen from his master, Philemon (18-19). He landed up in prison - and there, he was converted! This is what Paul is telling us when he speaks of 'Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment' (10). Why did God allow Paul, His faithful servant, to land up in prison - for the sake of the Gospel? Part of the reason was Onesimus. God wanted Paul to meet Onesimus. Paul was to lead Onesimus to Christ. Sometimes, our difficult circumstances may feel like a prison sentence. You want to get out, but you can't - until God has fulfilled His purpose: the 'useless' becomes 'useful' - in the service of God.
29th January: Isaiah 3:1-26
God's Word calls us to make our choice. We must choose between the way of 'the righteous' and the way of 'the wicked'. There is a great difference between the two ways - 'Tell the righteous it will be well with them...Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them!...' (10-11). We still need to hear the words of Jesus: 'Enter by the narrow gate...only a few find the narrow gate, the hard way that leads to life'. His words are not popular. Many people dismiss His words as old fashioned. They don't like this kind of talk: 'the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it' (Matthew 7:13-14). They say, ' Jesus said such 'nice' things about love. Why does He spoil it all by saying things like this?'. When will we start listening to all that Jesus says - and not only the 'nice' things we like to hear?
30th January: Isaiah 4:1-5:17
'Those who are left...will be called holy' (4:3). The world speaks of God's people with contempt - 'the holy people who need to learn to live in the real world'. When God calls His people 'holy', He speaks in a very different way. He speaks with affection. He looks upon us with love. We are special to Him. We are precious in His eyes. God loves us and He calls us to be holy. We are to live as those who have been set apart for God. We are not to live for this world only. There is something else, something greater than this so-called 'real world'. There is a world that is unseen and eternal, heavenly and glorious. This is our higher calling, our call to holiness. Let us 'look to the things that are unseen and eternal'. Let us 'press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus' (2 Corinthians 4:18; Philippians 3:14).
31st January: Isaiah 5:18-6:13
God reveals His holiness: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts' (3). In His holiness, we see our own sinfulness: 'I am a man of unclean lips' (5). God is perfectly holy: 'Your eyes are too pure to look on evil' (Habakkuk 1:13). When we look at ourselves in the light of God's perfect holiness, we see the truth concerning ourselves: 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). There is no room for excuses. We must confess our sin. We must pray for God's forgivenss: 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner' (Luke 18:13). To those who come to Him with a true confession of sin, God speaks His Word of forgiveness: 'your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven' (7). The Lord has saved us. Let us serve Him. Let us pray, 'Here am I! Send me' (8). Let us share the Good News of His forgiveness.

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Bible Notes by G. Philip

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