Daily Bible Notes: December, 22nd
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
I will strengthen thee.
Isaiah 41:10
God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for He is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth’s huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength. While He is able to uphold the universe, dream not that He will prove unable to fulfil His own promises. Remember what He did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how He spake and it was done; how He commanded, and it stood fast. Shall He that created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall He who doth this be unable to support His children? Shall He be unfaithful to His word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth not He ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds His chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand? How can He fail thee? When He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that He has outpromised Himself, and gone beyond His power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer.
O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of Thy grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of Thy strength can never be emptied by Thy friends or rifled by Thine enemies. "Now let the feeble all be strong, And make Jehovah’s arm their song."
Evening
The spot of His children.
Deuteronomy 32:5
What is the secret spot which infallibly betokens the child of God? It were vain presumption to decide this upon our own judgment; but God’s word reveals it to us, and we may tread surely where we have revelation to be our guide. Now, we are told concerning our Lord, "to as many as received Him , to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on His name." Then, if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing on the name of Jesus Christ . If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ’s name - that is, simply from my heart trust myself with the crucified, but now exalted, Redeemer, I am a member of the family of the Most High.
Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege to become a child of God. Our Lord Jesus puts it in another shape. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to His own sheep, not to others. As soon as He appears, His own sheep perceive Him - they trust Him, they are prepared to follow Him; He knows them, and they know Him - there is a mutual knowledge - there is a constant connection between them.
Thus the one mark, the sure mark, the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in doubt, are you uncertain whether you bear the secret mark of God’s children? Then let not an hour pass over your head till you have said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart." Trifle not here, I adjure you! If you must trifle anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter: your health, if you will, or the title deeds of your estate; but about your soul, your never-dying soul and its eternal destinies, I beseech you to be in earnest. Make sure work for eternity.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Luke 2:25-35
25 Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
28 then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 "Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
32 a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel."
33 Joseph and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him,
34 and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
35 Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
THE LORD OF THE WORSHIPPER
And so the good news was taken to the worshipper bowing within the gates of the Temple. The soul of old Simeon was filled with holy satisfaction and peace. The cravings of the heart were quieted, and its desires found the coveted feast in the holy Child of God.
And thus the Lord Jesus was not only to dignify the body but to gratify the soul. He was to be most efficient where He was most needed. And this has been the unfailing experience of the years. There is a hunger in my soul for which I can find no satisfying bread. I have tried many breads; I have tried nature, and art, and music, and literature, and I have tried human fellowship and social service. But my soul is hungry still! And the Lord Jesus comes to me, as I reverently grope in the vast temple, and He "satisfies the hungry soul" with good things. His "bread of life" is very wonderful; it lifts the soul into the restfulness of strength, and gives me a strange buoyancy, and "the glorious liberty of the children of God."
"My soul, wait thou only on Him!" He is thy hope, thy strength, and thy salvation! He is "the desire of all the nations."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
December 22nd.
Lord of all life, wilt Thou quicken me by the ministry of Thy life-giving Spirit? May no part of my being remain in
deadly in-sensitiveness! May I be alive unto God! May all my powers aspire after Thee, as flowers after the sun!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalms 46:1
A help that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be called "very present": they are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our God, he is present when we seek him, present when we need him, and present when we have already enjoyed his aid.
He is more than "present," he is very present. More present than the nearest friend can be, for he is in us in our trouble; more present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon him. He is our refuge, let us hide in him; he is our strength, let us array ourselves with him; he is our help, let us lean upon him; he is our very present help, let us repose in him now. We need not have a moment's care, or an instant's fear. "The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refuge."
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury.
Mark 12:43
He measured the gift then, as ever, by its cost to the giver. The men who had put into the treasury out of their abundance did not forego any luxury when they reached home. There was no self-denial in their giving ... To such, let me say, God does not thank you for your gift.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God.
Revelation 19:1
The unveiling of Jesus Christ now presents Him coming into His Kingdom on the earth. In this chapter, and the first three verses of the next, we have the account of the inauguration of the reign of a thousand years. In this inauguration there are four distinct and august movements. The first is that of the heavenly rejoicing. The second is that of the marriage of the Lamb. The third is that of the actual manifestation of Jesus to the world. The last is that of the binding of Satan. The words we now consider constitute the key-note to everything. They are the words of a song, the expression of adoring gladness. There are three movements in the praise. First, it is the song of a great multitude. Then that of the elders and the living ones, in a great Amen. Finally, in response to a voice proceeding from the Throne, a mighty chorus breaks forth, which is as "the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders." It is the music which celebrates the fall of the false, and the triumph of the true. Let us carefully observe that this music is heard "after these things." This is the vindication of all the terror of the things of wrath. That awful wrath has been working ever towards this song. The only way to the full realization of salvation is that of compelling the mystery of lawlessness to express itself to the fullest extent, in order that so it may be completely overcome.
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.