Daily Bible Notes: May, 15th
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
All that believe are justified.
Acts 13:39
The believer in Christ receives a present justification. Faith does not produce this fruit by-and-by, but now . So far as justification is the result of faith, it is given to the soul in the moment when it closes with Christ, and accepts Him as its all in all. Are they who stand before the throne of God justified now? - so are we, as truly and as clearly justified as they who walk in white and sing melodious praises to celestial harps. The thief upon the cross was justified the moment that he turned the eye of faith to Jesus; and Paul, the aged, after years of service, was not more justified than was the thief with no service at all. We are to-day accepted in the Beloved, to-day absolved from sin, to-day acquitted at the bar of God. Oh! soul-transporting thought! There are some clusters of Eshcol’s vine which we shall not be able to gather till we enter heaven; but this is a bough which runneth over the wall. This is not as the corn of the land, which we can never eat till we cross the Jordan; but this is part of the manna in the wilderness, a portion of our daily nutriment with which God supplies us in our journeying to and fro. We are now - even now pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we had never been guilty. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." There is not a sin in the Book of God, even now, against one of His people. Who dareth to lay anything to their charge? There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing remaining upon any one believer in the matter of justification in the sight of the Judge of all the earth. Let present privilege awaken us to present duty, and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus.
Evening
Made perfect.
Hebrews 12:23
Recollect that there are two kinds of perfection which the Christian needs - the perfection of justification in the person of Jesus, and the perfection of sanctification wrought in him by the Holy Spirit. At present, corruption yet remains even in the breasts of the regenerate - experience soon teaches us this. Within us are still lusts and evil imaginations. But I rejoice to know that the day is coming when God shall finish the work which He has begun; and He shall present my soul, not only perfect in Christ, but perfect through the Spirit, without spot or blemish, or any such thing. Can it be true that this poor sinful heart of mine is to become holy even as God is holy? Can it be that this spirit, which often cries, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this sin and death?" shall get rid of sin and death - that I shall have no evil things to vex my ears, and no unholy thoughts to disturb my peace? Oh, happy hour! may it be hastened! When I cross the Jordan, the work of sanctification will be finished; but not till that moment shall I even claim perfection in myself.
Then my spirit shall have its last baptism in the Holy Spirit’s fire.
Methinks I long to die to receive that last and final purification which shall usher me into heaven. Not an angel more pure than I shall be, for I shall be able to say, in a double sense, "I am clean," through Jesus’ blood, and through the Spirit’s work. Oh, how should we extol the power of the Holy Ghost in thus making us fit to stand before our Father in heaven! Yet let not the hope of perfection hereafter make us content with imperfection now. If it does this, our hope cannot be genuine; for a good hope is a purifying thing, even now. The work of grace must be abiding in us now or it cannot be perfected then . Let us pray to "be filled with the Spirit," that we may bring forth increasingly the fruits of righteousness.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Jeremiah 1:7-19
7 But the LORD said to me, "Don't say, 'I am a child;' for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you.
8 Don't be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you," says the LORD.
9 Then the LORD stretched out his hand, and touched my mouth. Then the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 Moreover the LORD's word came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."
12 Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it."
13 The LORD's word came to me the second time, saying, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a boiling cauldron; and it is tipping away from the north."
14 Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north, evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For, behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the LORD. "They will come, and they will each set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah.
16 I will utter my judgements against them concerning all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burnt incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17 "You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don't be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.
18 For, behold, I have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you", says the LORD, "to rescue you."
GOD IS WIDE-AWAKE
"Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree."
And through the almond tree the Lord gave the trembling young prophet the strength of assurance. The almond tree is the first to awake from its wintry sleep. When all other trees are held in frozen slumber the almond blossoms are looking out on the barren world. And God is like that, awake and vigilant. Nobody anticipates Him. Wherever Jeremiah was sent on his prophetic mission the Lord would be there before him. Before the prophet's enemies could get to work the Lord was on the field. In the wintriest circumstances of a prophet's life God is wide awake: "He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."
And still the almond tree has its heartening significance for thee and me. Our God is wide-awake. He looks out upon our wintry circumstances, and nothing is hid from His sight. There is no unrecognized and uncounted factor which may steal in furtively and take Him by surprise. Everything is open. He is wide-awake on the far-off field where the isolated missionary is ploughing his lonely furrow. He is wide-awake on the field of common labour where some young disciple finds it hard to keep clean hands while he earns his daily bread.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
May 15th.
Heavenly Father, help me to see some of the ministry of the darker things of life. May I discover a friend even in
the cloud! May my clouds drop fatness! May my disappointments bear rich fruit!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Psalms 91:14
Does the Lord say this to me? Yes, if I have known his name. Blessed be the Lord, I am no stranger to him. I have tried him, and proved him, and known him, and, therefore, do I trust him. I know his name as a sin-hating God, for by his Spirit's convincing power I have been taught that he will never wink at evil. But I also know him as the sin-pardoning God in Christ Jesus, for he has forgiven me all trespasses. His name is faithfulness, and I know it, for he has never forsaken me though my troubles have multiplied upon me.
This knowledge is a gift of grace, and the Lord makes it to be the reason why he grants another grace-gift, namely, setting on high. This is grace upon grace. Observe that if we climb on high, the position may be dangerous; but if the Lord sets us there, it is safe. He may raise us to great usefulness, to eminent experience, to success in service, to leadership among workers, to a father's place among the little ones. If he does not do this, he may set us on high by near fellowship, clear insight, holy triumph, and gracious anticipation of eternal glory. When God sets us on high, Satan himself cannot pull us down. Oh, that this may be our case all through this day!
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
The day of the Lord is at hand.
Isaiah 13:6
The Day of the Lord is at hand, at hand!
Its storms roll up the sky;
The nations sleep starving on heaps of gold;
All dreamers toss and sigh;
The night is darkest before the morn;
When the pain is sorest the child is born, -
And the Day of the Lord at hand.
Who would sit down and sigh for a lost age of gold,
While the Lord of all ages is here?
True hearts will leap up at the trumpet of God,
And those who can suffer, can dare.
Each old age of gold was an iron age, too,
And the meekest of saints may find stern work to do,
In the Day of the Lord at hand.
- C. Kingsley
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
As He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him.
Luke 9:18
The paradox is a revelation. He was not actually alone, for the disciples were with Him. But He was praying apart. A careful study of the Gospel narratives has led to the justifiable conclusion that our Lord never prayed with His disciples. Often He left them when He would pray. When in their company He prayed, it Was not in association with them, but in separation. He commanded them to pray. He taught them to pray, He promised them the widest franchise in prayer. But His praying was on a different plane. When referring to His own communion with His Father, He never employed some words which He did employ in speaking of their praying. His approach to God was different from that of sinning humanity. He had claims which men have not; those of identity of Being, and equality of Sovereignty. Thus He ever prayed alone; and thus He ever intercedes alone. His intercession is of a different nature from all others. That is why the idea of the intercession of His Mother and of all the saints, as being of use or of value by comparison with Him, is utterly false. It is right that we should pray for each other. It is conceivable, and most probable, that the glorified saints are still praying for those that are yet in the midst of earth's trials and temptations. But at last there is One only Intercessor within the veil, and He has a right of access and intercession which can never be shared by any of His creation. There is our rest and confidence. We may ever be with Him as He prays, but He prays alone.
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.