Daily Bible Notes: June, 28th
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
Looking unto Jesus.
Hebrews 12:2
It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within.
But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee - it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee - it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument - it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee. "My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesu’s blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesu’s name."
Evening
But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Exodus 7:12
This incident is an instructive emblem of the sure victory of the divine handiwork over all opposition. Whenever a divine principle is cast into the heart, though the devil may fashion a counterfeit, and produce swarms of opponents, as sure as ever God is in the work, it will swallow up all its foes. If God’s grace takes possession of a man, the world’s magicians may throw down all their rods; and every rod may be as cunning and poisonous as a serpent, but Aaron’s rod will swallow up their rods. The sweet attractions of the cross will woo and win the man’s heart, and he who lived only for this deceitful earth will now have an eye for the upper spheres, and a wing to mount into celestial heights. When grace has won the day the worldling seeks the world to come. The same fact is to be observed in the life of the believer. What multitudes of foes has our faith had to meet! Our old sins - the devil threw them down before us, and they turned to serpents. What hosts of them! Ah, but the cross of Jesus destroys them all. Faith in Christ makes short work of all our sins. Then the devil has launched forth another host of serpents in the form of worldly trials, temptations, unbelief; but faith in Jesus is more than a match for them, and overcomes them all. The same absorbing principle shines in the faithful service of God! With an enthusiastic love for Jesus difficulties are surmounted, sacrifices become pleasures, sufferings are honours. But if religion is thus a consuming passion in the heart, then it follows that there are many persons who profess religion but have it not; for what they have will not bear this test. Examine yourself, my reader, on this point. Aaron’s rod proved its heaven-given power. Is your religion doing so? If Christ be anything He must be everything. O rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul!
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
2 Corinthians 4:1-6
1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don't faint.
2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3 Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying,
4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
5 For we don't preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake,
6 seeing it is God who said, "Light will shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
THE WAITING LIGHT
I can shut out the sweet light of the morning. I can refuse to open the shutters and draw up the blinds. And I can shut out the Light of life. I can draw the thick blinds of prejudice, and close the impenetrable shutters of sin. And the Light of the world cannot get into my soul.
And I can let in the waiting light of the morning, and flood my room with its glory. And the Light is "a gracious, willing guest." No fuss is needed, no shouting is required. Open thy casement, and the gracious guest is in! And my Lord has no reluctance in His coming; we have not to drag Him to our table. Open thy heart, and the Lord is in!
And when the light is within there will be radiance at the windows. And when the Lord is shining in our hearts there will be a witness in the life. Men will see that we are "with Jesus," because we are "light in the Lord."
Good Lord, deliver me from "the god of this world" lest I be blinded and become unable to see Thee! I open my heart to Thee! Shine in, Thou light of life, and make my soul the radiant witness of Thy grace.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
June 28th.
Holy Spirit, quicken my memory. May I remember Thy mercies and be thankful! May I remember my failures and be
humble! May I remember Thy grace and be hopeful! Lift mine eyes to the hills.
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Judges 6:14
What a look was that which the Lord gave to Gideon! He looked him out of his discouragements into a holy bravery. If our look to the Lord saves us, what will not his look at us do? Lord, look on me this day, and nerve me for its duties and conflicts.
What a word was this which Jehovah spake to Gideon! "Go." He must not hesitate. He might have answered, "What, go in all this weakness!" But the Lord put that word out of court by saying, "Go in this thy might." The Lord had looked might into him, and he had now nothing to do but to use it, and save Israel by smiting the Midianites. It may be that the Lord has more to do by me than I ever dreamed of. If he has looked upon me he has made me strong. Let me by faith exercise the power with which he has entrusted me. He never bids me "idle away my time in this my might.". Far from it. I must "go," because he strengthens me.
What a question is that which the Lord puts to me even as he put it to Gideon! "Have not I sent thee?" Yes, Lord, thou hast sent me, and I will go in thy strength. At thy command I go, and, going, I am assured that thou wilt conquer by me.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men.
Romans 5:12
When man, God's crowning work, first sinned, he dragged down all creation in his fall; but when Jesus shall come again, to reign in the power of His Cross, Passion, and Atonement (for that is to be the strength of His rule), then the whole creation shall feel the touch of His presence, and shall respond to His redemptive work.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Let not them that wait on Thee be ashamed through me, O Lord God of Hosts. Let not those that seek Thee be brought to dishonour through me, O God of Israel.
Psalms 69:6
Here is a Psalm pulsating with pain. The singer cries to God for deliverance from the cruel and evil foes who are persecuting him. He also calls for revenge, in maledictions which to some Christian people seem terrible. In these particular words we discover the deepest note in his suffering, and the reason of his maledictions. His concern was not personal, but relative. He feared lest other believing and loyal souls should be deflected from faith, and dishonoured because of what they saw of his sufferings. Thus his chief concern was for the honour of his God. Let these maledictions be carefully considered in the light of this fact, and it will be seen that their inspiration was that of a consuming passion for the vindication of the righteousness of God, as victorious over all those who rebelled against His government and so insulted His holiness. Nothing in the New Testament revelation proves that this passion was wrong. When it is said that Christ prayed that His murderers might be forgiven, let it be borne in mind that the terms of His wonderful prayer were most explicit. He said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." That was a prayer inspired by His freedom from all personal vindictiveness. Neither in that prayer, nor in any of His teachings, can we find a word of tolerance for those who do evil, knowing that it is evil. Moreover, as these particular words of the Psalmist are considered, let those immediately preceding them be remembered. In them he referred to his own sin, proving that he realized the relation between his sufferings and that sin. His prayer for deliverance from suffering was, in its deepest value, a prayer for deliverance from sin. His desire for purity was the inspiration of his cry for help and the reason of his appeal for the destruction of evil men.
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.