Daily Bible Notes: July, 12th
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
Sanctified by God the Father.
Jude 1:1
"Sanctified in Christ Jesus."
1 Corinthians 1:2
"Through sanctification of the Spirit."
1 Peter 1:2
Mark the union of the Three Divine Persons in all their gracious acts. How unwisely do those believers talk who make preferences in the Persons of the Trinity; who think of Jesus as if He were the embodiment of everything lovely and gracious, while the Father they regard as severely just, but destitute of kindness. Equally wrong are those who magnify the decree of the Father, and the atonement of the Son, so as to depreciate the work of the Spirit. In deeds of grace none of the Persons of the Trinity act apart from the rest. They are as united in their deeds as in their essence. In their love towards the chosen they are one, and in the actions which flow from that great central source they are still undivided. Specially notice this in the matter of sanctification. While we may without mistake speak of sanctification as the work of the Spirit, yet we must take heed that we do not view it as if the Father and the Son had no part therein. It is correct to speak of sanctification as the work of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit. Still doth Jehovah say, "Let us make man in our own image after our likeness," and thus we are "his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." See the value which God sets upon real holiness, since the Three Persons in the Trinity are represented as co-working to produce a Church without "spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." And you, believer, as the follower of Christ, must also set a high value on holiness - upon purity of life and godliness of conversation. Value the blood of Christ as the foundation of your hope, but never speak disparagingly of the work of the Spirit which is your meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. This day let us so live as to manifest the work of the Triune God in us.
Evening
His heavenly kingdom.
2 Timothy 4:18
Yonder city of the great King is a place of active service . Ransomed spirits serve Him day and night in His temple. They never cease to fulfil the good pleasure of their King. They always "rest," so far as ease and freedom from care is concerned; and never "rest," in the sense of indolence or inactivity. Jerusalem the golden is the place of communion with all the people of God. We shall sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in eternal fellowship. We shall hold high converse with the noble host of the elect, all reigning with Him who by His love and His potent arm has brought them safely home. We shall not sing solos, but in chorus shall we praise our King. Heaven is a place of victory realized . Whenever, Christian, thou hast achieved a victory over thy lusts - whenever after hard struggling, thou hast laid a temptation dead at thy feet - thou hast in that hour a foretaste of the joy that awaits thee when the Lord shall shortly tread Satan under thy feet, and thou shalt find thyself more than conqueror through Him who hath loved thee. Paradise is a place of security . When you enjoy the full assurance of faith, you have the pledge of that glorious security which shall be yours when you are a perfect citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem. O my sweet home, Jerusalem, thou happy harbour of my soul! Thanks, even now, to Him whose love hath taught me to long for Thee; but louder thanks in eternity, when I shall possess thee. "My soul has tasted of the grapes, And now it longs to go Where my dear Lord His vineyard keeps And all the clusters grow. "Upon the true and living vine, My famish’d soul would feast, And banquet on the fruit divine, An everlasting guest."
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
John 1:35-51
35 Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,
36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39 He said to them, "Come, and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is, being interpreted, Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is by interpretation, Peter).
43 On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, "Follow me."
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"
48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!"
50 Jesus answered him, "Because I told you, 'I saw you underneath the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these!"
51 He said to him, "Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
PREPARING HIS SERVANTS
Our Lord does not stumble upon His disciples by accident. His discoveries are not surprises. He knows where His nuggets lie. Before He calls to service He has been secretly preparing the servant. "I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me."
He knew all about Simon. "Thou art Simon" - just a listener, not yet a strong, bold doer: a man of many opinions not yet consolidated into the truth of experimental convictions. "Thou shalt be called Peter." Simon become Peter! Loose gravel become hard rock! Hear-says become the "verilies" of unshakable experience! The Lord proclaims our glorious possibilities.
And He knew all about Nathanael. "When thou wast under the fig-tree I saw thee." "In that secret meditation of thine, when thy wishes and desires were being born, 'I saw thee!'" "When others saw nothing, I had fellowship with thee in the secret place."
And He knows all about thee and me. "I know My sheep." We do not take Him by surprise. He does not come in late, and find the performance half over! He is in at our beginnings, when grave issues are being born. "I am Alpha."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
July 12th.
My Father, may the river of water of life flow plentifully round about Thy people to-day! May dry sorrow be refreshed!
May hard hearts be softened! May barren lives be made fruitful! May the dead be quickened into life!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.
2 Peter 2:9
The godly are tempted and tried. That is not true faith which is never put to the test. But the godly are delivered out of their trials, and that not by chance, nor by secondary agencies, but by the Lord himself. He personally undertakes the office of delivering those who trust him. God loves the godly or godlike, and he makes a point of knowing where they are, and how they fare.
Sometimes their way seems to be a labyrinth, and they cannot imagine how they are to escape from threatening danger. What they do not know their Lord knows. He knows whom to deliver, and when to deliver, and how to deliver. He delivers in the way which is most beneficial to the godly, most crushing to the tempter, and most glorifying to himself. We may leave the "how" with the Lord, and be content to rejoice in the fact that he will, in some way or other, bring his own people through all the dangers, trials, and temptations of this mortal life, to his own right hand in glory.
This day it is not for me to pry into my Lord's secrets, but patiently to wait his time, knowing this, that though I know nothing, my heavenly Father knows.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power.
Colossians 1:10,11
It is infinitely better to have a little power, and use it within the doors He opens in loyalty to His teaching and Himself, than to have much power and use it as abetting the work of those who, robbing Him of His dignity, hinder His coming into His Kingdom.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:28
These words are blazoned over the portal of every place where the members of the Christian fellowship gather together to observe the Holy Ordinance of the Communion. The places vary as to situation and as to structure, from the stately cathedral to the lowliest cottage. The methods may be as far apart as that of a solemn ritual and that of a simple rite. These after all, are the incidental, indeed, the accidental, things. In themselves they do not matter. They are neither essentially right nor wrong. Finally, the differences matter nothing. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, and let him be true to that persuasion, while he respects the persuasion of others which he does not share. The supreme thing, the essential thing, is the sacred act of communion, the practice of a communion which is constant. It is the act in which the soul is called upon to exercise the highest function of its ransomed nature, that of worship in its purity, and in which it is strengthened for the exercise by the fullest realization of fellowship with the Risen Lord. All that reveals the supreme importance of this injunction. Before the holy hour of fellowship and of worship, there should be solemn self-examination. It should not take place in the service, but before it. The Table of the Lord is not the place for the confession of sin; that must precede it. The absolution of our High Priest is to be sought and found before we enter into the Holy of Holies to offer to Him the sacrifices of our adoration. So, we are to eat the bread and drink the cup, as cleansed worshippers, having no more consciousness of sins. It is at our peril that we neglect such preparation.
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.