Daily Bible Notes: April, 5th
The following daily bible notes for every day of the year, are taken from six public domain sources:
- "Morning and Evening" by Charles H.Spurgeon
- "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by John H.Jowett
- "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
- "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by Charles H.Spurgeon
- "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan
- An Evening Meditation from "Searchlights from the Word" by G. Campbell Morgan
1. "Morning and Evening" by C.H.Spurgeon
Morning
On Him they laid the cross, that He might bear it after Jesus.
Luke 23:26
We see in Simon’s carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer. But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon’s, it is not our cross , but Christ’s cross which we carry. When you are molested for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ’s cross; and how delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus! You carry the cross after Him . You have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of His blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. ‘Tis His cross, and He goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow Him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership . It is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honour . Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear , when it works out for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
Evening
Before honour is humility.
Proverbs 15:33
Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it . If we empty our hearts of self God will fill them with His love. He who desires close communion with Christ should remember the word of the Lord, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." Stoop if you would climb to heaven. Do we not say of Jesus, "He descended that He might ascend"? so must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by them alone.
God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," with all its riches and treasures. The whole exchequer of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in His holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are kept low for your own safety. When a man is sincerely humble, and never ventures to touch so much as agrain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden. This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise, whether it be work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Luke 24:1-12
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
3 They entered in, and didn't find the Lord Jesus' body.
4 While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing.
5 Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living amongst the dead?
6 He isn't here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee,
7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again?"
8 They remembered his words,
9 returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
10 Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles.
11 These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn't believe them.
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened.
THE EMPTY TOMB
That empty tomb means the conquest of death. The Captive proved mightier than the captor. He emerged from the prison as the Lord of the prison, and death reeled at His going. In the risen Saviour death is dethroned; he takes his place at the footstool to do the bidding of his sovereign Lord and King. And that empty tomb means the conquest of sin. Sin had done its worst, and had failed. All the forces of hell had been rallied against the Lord, and above them all He rose triumphant and glorified. A little while ago I discovered a spring. I tried to choke it. I heaped sand and gravel upon it; I piled stones above it! And through them all it emerged, noiselessly and irresistibly, a radiant resurrection!
And so the empty tomb becomes the symbol of a thoroughfare between life in time and life in the unshadowed Presence of our God. Death is now like a short tunnel which is near my home; I can look through it and see the other side! In the risen Lord death becomes transparent. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
April 5th.
My God, I thank Thee for the opening day, with all its grace and mercy. Help me to remember its lessons. May I not need
to learn them over again! May I carry the treasure of this day into my to-morrow!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
Thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shall not be forgotten of me.
Isaiah 44:21
Our Jehovah cannot so forget his servants as to cease to love them. He chose them not for a time, but for ever. He knew what they would be when he called them into the divine family. He blots out their sins like a cloud; and we may be sure that he will not turn them out of doors for iniquities which he has blotted out. It would be blasphemy to imagine such a thing.
He will not forget them so as to cease to think of them. One forgetful moment on the part of our God would be our ruin. Therefore he says: "Thou shalt not be forgotten of me." Men forget us: those whom we have benefited turn against us: we have no abiding place in the fickle hearts of men; but God will never forget one of his true servants. He binds himself to us not by what we do for him, but by what he has done for us. We have been loved too long, and bought at too great a price to be now forgotten. Jesus sees in us his soul's travail, and that he never can forget. The Father sees in us the spouse of his Son, and the Spirit sees in us his own effectual work. The Lord thinketh upon us. This day we shall be succoured and sustained. Oh, that the Lord may never be forgotten of us!
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Ye are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14
This is one of the most precious values of our relationship to Christ. On the dreariest drab we may cast the golden shining of our Sun, until the very drab yields up its hidden secret of brown, which is, after all, only veiled sunlight; on the most cold grey we may cast a warmth of light that shall enfold it until the possibility of a blue is found therein.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the Name.
Acts 5:41
What a radiant unveiling we have in these words, of the new outlook, conception, motive of life, which Christ gives to those who are His witnesses in fellowship with the Holy Spirit! Notice that it is not said that they rejoiced in suffering, but that they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer. Surely there is a very deep note here. Suffering was suffering. The actual pain of the brutal Roman rods was not lessened. The indignity was very real, and yet it was transfigured for them, and they realized that the dishonour was an honour. The secret was that they constantly remembered that He, too, had suffered exactly in the same way, and now they understood some of the profound meanings of His sufferings. It was by His stripes that they had been healed. And now the result of their witness to Him, the witness of their, words, and of their lives, had brought them into actual participation in like sufferings, through which His redeeming power and purpose were served. Herein lay the high honour of this dishonour. Such suffering was the highest seal of the approval of Him Who had crowned their Lord with glory and honour that He might taste death for every man. That they also were so, in measure, crowned was surely justifiable reason for rejoicing. When the Cross is really endured, the shame is despised, and it becomes the reason for joy.
Note: To the best of our knowledge we are of the understanding that the above material, all published before 1926 and freely available elsewhere on the internet in various formats, is in the public domain.