Daily Bible Notes: January, 25th
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
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Morning
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us.
Isaiah 63:7
And canst thou not do this? Are there no mercies which thou hast experienced ? What though thou art gloomy now, canst thou forget that blessed hour when Jesus met thee, and said, "Come unto me"? Canst thou not remember that rapturous moment when He snapped thy fetters, dashed thy chains to the earth, and said, "I came to break thy bonds and set thee free"? Or if the love of thine espousals be forgotten, there must surely be some precious milestone along the road of life not quite grown over with moss, on which thou canst read a happy memorial of His mercy towards thee? What, didst thou never have a sickness like that which thou art suffering now, and did He not restore thee? Wert thou never poor before, and did He not supply thy wants? Wast thou never in straits before, and did He not deliver thee? Arise, go to the river of thine experience, and pull up a few bulrushes, and plait them into an ark, wherein thine infant-faith may float safely on the stream. Forget not what thy God has done for thee; turn over the book of thy remembrance, and consider the days of old. Canst thou not remember the hill Mizar? Did the Lord never meet with thee at Hermon? Hast thou never climbed the Delectable Mountains? Hast thou never been helped in time of need? Nay, I know thou hast. Go back, then, a little way to the choice mercies of yesterday, and though all may be dark now , light up the lamps of the past, they shall glitter through the darkness, and thou shalt trust in the Lord till the day break and the shadows flee away. "Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses, for they have been ever of old."
Evening
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Romans 3:31
When the believer is adopted into the Lord’s family, his relationship to old Adam and the law ceases at once; but then he is under a new rule, and a new covenant. Believer, you are God’s child; it is your first duty to obey your heavenly Father. A servile spirit you have nothing to do with: you are not a slave, but a child; and now, inasmuch as you are a beloved child, you are bound to obey your Father’s faintest wish, the least intimation of His will. Does He bid you fulfil a sacred ordinance? It is at your peril that you neglect it, for you will be disobeying your Father. Does He command you to seek the image of Jesus? It is not your joy to do so? Does Jesus tell you, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"?
Then not because the law commands, but because your Saviour enjoins, you will labour to be perfect in holiness. Does He bid his saints love one another? Do it, not because the law says, "Love thy neighbour," but because Jesus says, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments;" and this is the commandment that He has given unto you, "that ye love one another."
Are you told to distribute to the poor? Do it, not because charity is a burden which you dare not shirk, but because Jesus teaches, "Give to him that asketh of thee." Does the Word say, "Love God with all your heart"?
Look at the commandment and reply, "Ah! commandment, Christ hath fulfilled thee already - I have no need, therefore, to fulfill thee for my salvation, but I rejoice to yield obedience to thee because God is my Father now and He has a claim upon me, which I would not dispute." May the Holy Ghost make your heart obedient to the constraining power of Christ’s love, that your prayer may be, "Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight." Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Matthew 5:17-24
17 "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
21 "You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, 'You shall not murder;' and 'Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement.'
22 But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgement. Whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
23 "If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
FIRST, MY BROTHER!
"First be reconciled to thy brother." We are to put first things first. When we bring a gift unto the Lord He looks at the hand that brings it. If the hand is defiled the gift is rejected. "Wash you, make you clean." "First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
All this tells us why some resplendent gifts are rejected, and why some commonplace gifts are received amid heavenly song. This is why the widow's mite goes shining through the years. The hand that offered it was hallowed and purified with sacrifice. Shall we say that in that palm there was something akin to the pierced hands of the Lord? The mite had intimate associations with the Cross.
And it also tells me why so much of our public worship is offensive to our Lord. We come to the church from a broken friendship. Some holy thing has been broken on the way. Someone's estate has been invaded, and his treasure spoiled. Someone has been wronged, and God will not touch our gift. "Leave there thy gift; first be reconciled to thy brother."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
January 25th.
My Father, I have heard of the river of water of life. May it pour into my life in refreshing flood to-day! May it cleanse me
of my sin! May it revive the withered flowers! May every virtue be restored! May I be like a well-watered garden!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
He Iooketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going into
the pit, and his life shall see the light.
Job 33:27, 28
This is a word of truth, gathered from the experience of a man of God, and it is tantamount to a promise. What the Lord has done, and is doing, he will continue to do while the world standeth. The Lord will receive into his bosom all who come to him with a sincere confession of their sin; in fact, he is always on the look-out to discover any that are in trouble because of their faults.
Can we not endorse the language here used? Have we not sinned, sinned personally so as to say, "I have sinned"? Sinned wilfully, having perverted that which is right? Sinned so as to discover that there is no profit in it, but an eternal loss? Let us, then, go to God with this honest acknowledgment. He asks no more. We can do no less.
Let us plead his promise in the name of Jesus. He will deliver us from the pit of hell which yawns for us; he will grant us life and light. Why should we despair? Why should we even doubt? The Lord does not mock humble souls. He means what he says. The guilty can be forgiven. Those who deserve execution can receive free pardon. Lord, we confess, and we pray thee to forgive!
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Whatsover things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ... think on these things.
Philippians 4:8
Everything that is pure and beautiful, in poetry, art, music and science, is the direct outcome of the unveiling of the Spirit of God ... All mental magnificence that is pure is an inspiration of the Spirit of God.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
Matthew 25:13
This is our Lord's word to His own as to their attitude toward the fact of His Second Coming. That He is coming again He most plainly declared, and all the New Testament writers affirmed the truth. The light and glory of that certainty falls upon all the, darkness of the processes through which the victory of the Kingdom of God is to be won. Nothing will be completed until He come; but everything is working under His mediatorial reign to that consummation. Nothing is more explicit in His references to that glorious end, than the declaration that the day and hour are not revealed. The hiding of that time is part of the Divine counsel. To seek to discover it is to attempt to be wiser than our Lord, in His infinite wisdom, intends that we should be. Our attitude is to be that of those who watch. To know the day or the hour would be to make watching largely unnecessary; and this would rob us of that alertness which is of the very essence of true discipleship both in life and service. Concerning the times and seasons we need have no care. They are within the Father's authority, and there can be no failure with Him. Knowing beforehand both the strangeness of the period of our waiting, and the certainty of His coming, it is ours to have our lamps burning, our loins girt about, and to be so occupied about His business that when He comes we shall be neither surprised nor ashamed. That is patient waiting for Christ, and it is far removed from the fussy impatience that seeks to know what He has chosen to hide, and in such seeking spends time and strength which should be devoted to His service.
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.