Daily Bible Notes: October, 27th
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
It is a faithful saying.
2 Timothy 2:11
Paul has four of these "faithful sayings ." The first occurs in 1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." The next is in 1 Timothy 4:6, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation." The third is in 2 Timothy 2:12, "It is a faithful saying - If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him"; and the fourth is in Titus 3:3, "This is a faithful saying, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." We may trace a connection between these faithful sayings. The first one lays the foundation of our eternal salvation in the free grace of God, as shown to us in the mission of the great Redeemer. The next affirms the double blessedness which we obtain through this salvation - the blessings of the upper and nether springs - of time and of eternity. The third shows one of the duties to which the chosen people are called; we are ordained to suffer for Christ with the promise that "if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." The last sets forth the active form of Christian service, bidding us diligently to maintain good works. Thus we have the root of salvation in free grace; next, the privileges of that salvation in the life which now is, and in that which is to come; and we have also the two great branches of suffering with Christ and serving with Christ, loaded with the fruits of the Spirit.
Treasure up these faithful sayings. Let them be the guides of our life, our comfort, and our instruction. The apostle of the Gentiles proved them to be faithful, they are faithful still, not one word shall fall to the ground; they are worthy of all acceptation, let us accept them now, and prove their faithfulness. Let these four faithful sayings be written on the four corners of My house.
Evening
We are all as an unclean thing.
Isaiah 64:6
The believer is a new creature, he belongs to a holy generation and a peculiar people - the Spirit of God is in him, and in all respects he is far removed from the natural man; but for all that the Christian is a sinner still.
He is so from the imperfection of his nature, and will continue so to the end of his earthly life. The black fingers of sin leave smuts upon our fairest robes. Sin mars our repentance, ere the great Potter has finished it, upon the wheel. Selfishness defiles our tears, and unbelief tampers with our faith. The best thing we ever did apart from the merit of Jesus only swelled the number of our sins; for when we have been most pure in our own sight, yet, like the heavens, we are not pure in God’s sight; and as He charged His angels with folly, much more must He charge us with it, even in our most angelic frames of mind. The song which thrills to heaven, and seeks to emulate seraphic strains, hath human discords in it. The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a bruised and battered prayer, and only moves that arm because the sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication. The most golden faith or the purest degree of sanctification to which a Christian ever attained on earth, has still so much alloy in it as to be only worthy of the flames, in itself considered. Every night we look in the glass we see a sinner, and had need confess, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Oh, how precious the blood of Christ to such hearts as ours! How priceless a gift is His perfect righteousness! And how bright the hope of perfect holiness hereafter! Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken . It has no dominion; it is a broken-backed snake; we are in bitter conflict with it, but it is with a vanquished foe that we have to deal. Yet a little while and we shall enter victoriously into the city where nothing defileth.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Proverbs 3:1-12
1 My son, don't forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments:
2 for they will add to you length of days, years of life, and peace.
3 Don't let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favour, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
7 Don't be wise in your own eyes. Fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honour the LORD with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:
10 so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 My son, don't despise the LORD's discipline, neither be weary of his correction;
12 for whom the LORD loves, he corrects, even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.
PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING
"Acknowledge Him." But not with a passing nod of recognition. I must not merely glance at Him now and again, admitting His existence on the field. To acknowledge Him is to acknowledge Him as King, with the right to control, and as predominant partner in all the affairs of my life, even the right to give the determining voice in all my decisions. No, it is not the recognition paid to an acquaintance, it is the homage paid to a King.
And if I thus acknowledge Him, He will direct my paths. Life shall always be moving on to its purposed end and glory. The path chosen will not always be the most alluring one, but it will be the right one, and therefore the safe one, and there will be wonderful discoveries on the uninviting track.
How will He let me know which path to take? I cannot say. We can never anticipate God's ways of dealing with us. But if my life is bent to the loving acknowledgment of His will, He will assuredly find a way to make His will known. The light will always reach the willing mind.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
October 27th.
My risen Lord, may I remember that I may even now live with Thee in the heavenly places! May heavenly light be round about
me! May heavenly bread be my continual food! May heavenly companionship be my unfailing support!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
His servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Revelation 22:3, 4
Three choice blessings will be ours in the glory land.
"His servants shall serve him." No other lords shall oppress us, no other service shall distress us. We shall serve Jesus always, perfectly, without weariness, and without error. This is heaven to a saint: in all things to serve the Lord Christ, and to be owned by him as his servant is our soul's high ambition for eternity.
"And they shall see his face." This makes the service delightful: indeed, it is the present reward of service. We shall know our Lord, for we shall see him as he is. To see the face of Jesus is the utmost favour that the most faithful servant of the Lord can ask. What more could Moses ask than - "Let me see thy face"?
"And his name shall be in their foreheads." They gaze upon their Lord till his name is photographed upon their brows. They are acknowledged by him, and they acknowlege him. The secret mark of inward grace develops into the public sign-manual of confessed relationship.
O Lord, give us these three things in their beginnings here, that we may possess them in their fulness in thine own abode of bliss!
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24
The evangelist ... not only preaches the possibility of victory by the indwelling Christ, he is in himself truly optimistic in the power of personal realisation of victory. Pessimism paralyses power in evangelistic preaching; but this great optimism of the indwelling Christ is a perpetual power.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
I am glad for your sakes that I was not there.
John 11:15
That is a revealing word, and full of strength. The supposition which it makes is that if Jesus had been at Bethany, Lazarus would not have died, for He would have healed him. Because He was not there, he had died, and the Lord said that, for the sake of His disciples, He was glad. The sequel gives the explanation of His gladness. Death was no stronger in His presence than disease, but these men did not realize this. They would think of Death as the unconquerable. It was so to them. With disease men may grapple, and fight, and often overcome. But in the presence of death they are helpless. It is beyond their control. Not so with Him, and He was glad that they should have yet another opportunity to see His power. We say "another," for twice already they had seen Him raise the dead, once in the house of Jairus, and once at the city of Nain. How slow we are to believe! And that makes His gladness all the more beautiful, as it reveals His patience. And so we may learn that He often permits us to pass into profounder darkness, and deeper mysteries of pain, in order that we may prove more perfectly His power. Let the thought abide with us, if our pathway lies in some dark valley where for the moment no light is shining, and no path is known. He knows, and all He permits will only serve to reveal Him more perfectly, and so give us a yet stronger confidence.
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.