Daily Bible Notes: July, 13th
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
God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry?
Jonah 4:9
Anger is not always or necessarily sinful, but it has such a tendency to run wild that whenever it displays itself, we should be quick to question its character, with this enquiry, "Doest thou well to be angry?" It may be that we can answer, "YES." Very frequently anger is the madman’s firebrand, but sometimes it is Elijah’s fire from heaven. We do well when we are angry with sin, because of the wrong which it commits against our good and gracious God; or with ourselves because we remain so foolish after so much divine instruction; or with others when the sole cause of anger is the evil which they do. He who is not angry at transgression becomes a partaker in it. Sin is a loathsome and hateful thing, and no renewed heart can patiently endure it. God himself is angry with the wicked every day, and it is written in His Word, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." Far more frequently it is to be feared that our anger in not commendable or even justifiable, and then we must answer, "NO." Why should we be fretful with children, passionate with servants, and wrathful with companions? Is such anger honourable to our Christian profession, or glorifying to God? Is it not the old evil heart seeking to gain dominion, and should we not resist it with all the might of our newborn nature. Many professors give way to temper as though it were useless to attempt resistance; but let the believer remember that he must be a conqueror in every point, or else he cannot be crowned. If we cannot control our tempers, what has grace done for us?
Some one told Mr. Jay that grace was often grafted on a crab-stump. "Yes," said he, "but the fruit will not be crabs." We must not make natural infirmity an excuse for sin, but we must fly to the cross and pray the Lord to crucify our tempers, and renew us in gentleness and meekness after His own image.
Evening
When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
Psalm 56:9
It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, "God is for me ." He was "for us" before the worlds were made; He was "for us," or He would not have given His well-beloved son; He was "for us" when He smote the Only-begotten, and laid the full weight of His wrath upon Him - He was "for us ," though He was against Him ; He was "for us," when we were ruined in the fall - He loved us notwithstanding all; He was "for us," when we were rebels against Him, and with a high hand were bidding Him defiance; He was "for us," or He would not have brought us humbly to seek His face. He has been "for us" in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within - how could we have remained unharmed to this hour if He had not been "for us"? He is "for us," with all the infinity of His being; with all the omnipotence of His love; with all the infallibility of His wisdom; arrayed in all His divine attributes, He is "for us," - eternally and immutably "for us"; "for us" when yon blue skies shall be rolled up like a worn out vesture; "for us" throughout eternity. And because He is "for us," the voice of prayer will always ensure His help. "When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies be turned back ." This is no uncertain hope, but a well grounded assurance - "this I know ." I will direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up for the answer, assured that it will come, and that mine enemies shall be defeated, "for God is for me." O believer, how happy art thou with the King of kings on thy side! How safe with such a Protector!
How sure thy cause pleaded by such an Advocate! If God be for thee, who can be against thee?
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Matthew 4:12-22
12 Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.
13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, towards the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned."
17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
18 Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men."
20 They immediately left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them.
22 They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
PLAIN GLASS
"They were fishers."
And so our Lord went first to the fishing-boats and not to the schools. Learning is apt to be proud and aggressive, and hostile to the simplicities of the Spirit. There is nothing like plain glass for letting in the light! And our Lord wanted transparent media, and so He went to the simple fishermen on the beach. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world."
And by choosing labouring men our Master glorified labour. He Himself had worn the workman's dress, and the garment which the King wears becomes regal attire. Yes, the workingman, if he only knew it, is wearing the imperial robe. He is one of the kinsmen of the Lord of Glory!
Our Lord took the fisherman's humble calling, and made it the symbol of spiritual service. "I will make you fishers of men." And He will do the same for thee and me. He will turn our daily labour into an apocalypse, and through its ways and means He will make us wise in the ministry of the kingdom. He will make the material the handmaid of the spiritual, and through the letter He will lead us into the secret places of the soul.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
July 13th.
Holy Spirit, wilt Thou give to me a quickened sympathy? I do not feel the pains others, nor do I enter deeply into their joys.
Help me to get out of myself, that I may lose myself in others.
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shall not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy
trust in me, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 39:18
Behold the protecting power of trust in God. The great men of Jerusalem fell by the sword, but poor Ebed-melech was secure, for his confidence was in Jehovah. Where else should a man trust but in his Maker? We are foolish when we prefer the creature to the Creator. Oh, that we could in all things live by faith, then should we be delivered in all time of danger! No one ever did trust in the Lord in vain, and no one ever shall.
The Lord saith, "I will surely deliver thee." Mark the divine "surely." Whatever else may be uncertain, God's care of believers is sure. God himself is the guardian of the gracious. Under his sacred wing there is safety even when every danger is abroad. Can we accept this promise as sure? Then in our present emergency we shall find that it stands fast. We hope to be delivered because we have friends, or because we are prudent, or because we can see hopeful signs; but none of these things are one half so good as God's simple "because thou hast put thy trust in me." Dear reader, try this way, and, trying it, you will keep to it all your life. It is as sweet as it is sure.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed.
Acts 4:26, R.V.
As of old, David, the anointed king of Israel, was for a time exiled from his kingdom, ... so, for today, Christ is earth's rejected King, but He is still God's anointed King.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased Him. – 1 Cor. 12:18
What a wonderful chapter this is, in its unveiling of the unity of the Church! The figure of the body which the Apostle employs is surely the most perfect. The Psalmist of the olden time was constrained to exclaim, We are "fearfully and wonderfully made"; and the more carefully we consider our bodies the more we realize the truth of the saying. The astonishing unification of the most diverse powers and capacities, all fitting instruments for our life-realization and expression, is indeed most wonderful. Such is the Church of God, the very Body of Christ, the instrument of the Spirit. The particular words upon which we have fastened our attention are words that should bring to every heart the most perfect rest, and the truest comfort. My place in the Body of Christ is not the result of my own choosing; neither is it the result of the appointment of the other members of the Body. I am where I am in the Body, and I am what I am therein, by the good pleasure and placing of God Himself. To realize this for myself, is to be saved from any dissatisfaction. No place is unworthy, if it be a place God has chosen. No service is mean, if it be a service to which He has called us. To realize that this is true of all others, is to be delivered from the possibility of thinking unworthily of their places within the Body. To realize this, is to take seriously and joyfully whatever our appointed work may be, knowing that purpose; knowing also that, as we do so, we are enabling all the other members to do likewise.
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.