Daily Bible Notes: March, 11th
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
Sin... exceeding sinful.
Romans 7:13
Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, "Is it not a little one?" Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: "We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent." So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison?
Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer’s head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."
Evening
Thou shalt be called, Sought out.
Isaiah 62:12
The surpassing grace of God is seen very clearly in that we were not only sought, but sought out . Men seek for a thing which is lost upon the floor of the house, but in such a case there is only seeking, not seeking out. The loss is more perplexing and the search more persevering when a thing is sought out . We were mingled with the mire: we were as when some precious piece of gold falls into the sewer, and men gather out and carefully inspect a mass of abominable filth, and continue to stir and rake, and search among the heap until the treasure is found. Or, to use another figure, we were lost in a labyrinth; we wandered hither and thither, and when mercy came after us with the gospel, it did not find us at the first coming, it had to search for us and seek us out; for we as lost sheep were so desperately lost, and had wandered into such a strange country, that it did not seem possible that even the Good Shepherd should track our devious roamings. Glory be to unconquerable grace, we were sought out !
No gloom could hide us, no filthiness could conceal us, we were found and brought home. Glory be to infinite love, God the Holy Spirit restored us!
The lives of some of God’s people, if they could be written would fill us with holy astonishment. Strange and marvellous are the ways which God used in their case to find His own. Blessed be His name, He never relinquishes the search until the chosen are sought out effectually. They are not a people sought to-day and cast away to-morrow. Almightiness and wisdom combined will make no failures, they shall be called, "Sought out !" That any should be sought out is matchless grace, but that we should be sought out is grace beyond degree! We can find no reason for it but God’s own sovereign love, and can only lift up our heart in wonder, and praise the Lord that this night we wear the name of "Sought out ."
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Psalms 1
1 Blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the LORD's law. On his law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
GOOD AND BAD ROADS
There is nothing breaks up more speedily than a badly-made road. Every season is its enemy and works for its destruction. Fierce heat and intensest cold both strive for its undoing. And "the way of the ungodly" is an appallingly bad road. There is rottenness in its foundations, and there is built into it "wood, and hay, and stubble," How can it stand? "The Spirit of the Lord breatheth upon it," and it is surely brought to nought. All the forces of holiness are pledged to its destruction, and they shall pick it to pieces, and shall scatter its elements to the winds.
"I am the way!" That road remains sound "in all generations." Changing circumstances cannot affect its stability. It is proof against every tempest, and against the most violent heat. It is a road in which little children can walk in happiness and in which old people can walk in peace. It is firm in the day of life, and it is absolutely sure in the hour of death. It never yields! "Thou hast set my feet upon a rock and hast established my goings." "This is the way, walk ye in it."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
March 11th.
My Father, save me to-day from any disposition that would destroy the beauty of Thy family life. Help me to be gracious and
sympathetic, bearing the burdens of others, and stooping to their needs.
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and
he will give you into our hands.
1 Samuel 17:47
Let this point be settled, that the battle is the Lord's, and we may be quite sure of the victory, and of the victory in such a way as will best of all display the power of God. The Lord is too much forgotten by all men, yea, even by the assemblies of Israel; and when there is an opportunity to make men see that the Great First Cause can achieve his purposes without the power of man, it is a priceless occasion which should be well employed. Even Israel looks too much to sword and spear. It is a grand thing to have no sword in the hand of David, and yet for David to know that his God will overthrow a whole army of aliens.
If we are indeed contending for truth and righteousness, let us not tarry till we have talent, or wealth, or any other form of visible power at our disposal; but with such stones as we find in the brook, and with our own usual sling, let us run to meet the enemy. If it were our own battle we might not be confident; but if we are standing up for Jesus, and warring in his strength alone, who can withstand us? Without a trace of hesitancy let us face the Philistines; for the Lord of Hosts is with us, and who can be against us?
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
My Lord and my God.
John 20:28
The Lordship of Jesus is the basis of all Christian life. The Christian graces and virtues all spring from the recognition of that Lordship, and from absolute surrender thereto.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
Mark 2:17
That is, even yet, as surely as when it was first uttered, a startling, solemnizing word. In a general, superficial way, men accept it. All must agree in the more positive aspect of it. He certainly did come to call sinners. It is the negative aspect which startles. He plainly declared that He had no message for the righteous. If any man shall refuse to be reckoned among sinners, then, according to this declaration of the Lord, that man stands outside the circle to which His appeal is made. The context shows the true value of the saying. The moral teachers were criticising Him for consorting with sinners, and in these words He gave His reason for doing so, and at the same time made it clear that He had no message for any men who refused to take their place with those very sinners. In such a saying, under such circumstances, there is discoverable a gentle satire, and a great compassion. These self-satisfied men, who will by no means consent to be counted among the sinners, are taken at their own valuation. They are whole, and so have no need of the Physician! They are righteous, and so do not require His call! And yet the deepest note is that of His compassion. He knew their sickness, and so was willing to heal them. He knew they were sinners, and so was calling them also. When we accept the Divine judgment that "There is none righteous," then we find His call is indeed to us. To resent that finding is to put ourselves outside the number of those to whom the Son of God calls.
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.