Daily Bible Notes: October, 29th
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
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, etc.
Matthew 6:9
This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption , "Our Father." There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, "I will arise, and go unto my Father." This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father "in heaven," and ascends to devout adoration , "Hallowed be Thy name." The child lisping, "Abba, Father," grows into the cherub crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy." There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit , which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration - "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God - "Give us this day our daily bread." Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he entreats for mercy , "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:" and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance , "Lead us not into temptation." The man who is really forgiven, is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. "Forgive us our debts," that is justification; "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms. As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise , "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen." We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of His dominion there shall be no end. Thus from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us thus to pray.
Evening
But their eyes were holden that they should not know Him.
Luke 24:16
The disciples ought to have known Jesus, they had heard His voice so often, and gazed upon that marred face so frequently, that it is wonderful they did not discover Him. Yet is it not so with you also? You have not seen Jesus lately. You have been to His table, and you have not met Him there. You are in a dark trouble this evening, and though He plainly says, "It is I, be not afraid," yet you cannot discern Him. Alas! our eyes are holden. We know His voice; we have looked into His face; we have leaned our head upon His bosom, and yet, though Christ is very near us, we are saying "O that I knew where I might find Him!" We should know Jesus, for we have the Scriptures to reflect His image, and yet how possible it is for us to open that precious book and have no glimpse of the Wellbeloved!
Dear child of God, are you in that state? Jesus feedeth among the lilies of the word, and you walk among those lilies, and yet you behold Him not.
He is accustomed to walk through the glades of Scripture, and to commune with His people, as the Father did with Adam in the cool of the day, and yet you are in the garden of Scripture, but cannot see Him, though He is always there. And why do we not see Him? It must be ascribed in our case, as in the disciples’, to unbelief. They evidently did not expect to see Jesus, and therefore they did not know Him. To a great extent in spiritual things we get what we expect of the Lord. Faith alone can bring us to see Jesus. Make it your prayer, "Lord, open Thou mine eyes, that I may see my Saviour present with me." It is a blessed thing to want to see Him; but oh! it is better far to gaze upon Him. To those who seek Him He is kind; but to those who find Him, beyond expression is He dear!
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Deuteronomy 31:7-13
7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
8 The LORD himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged."
9 Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the LORD's covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.
10 Moses commanded them, saying, "At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of booths,
11 when all Israel has come to appear before the LORD your God in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, learn, fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law,
13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it."
THE STORY OF THE PAST
And no ears are more receptive to spiritual story than the ears of a little child. It is not needful to open the gate of interest; it is wide ajar already. And imagination also is there, ready to busy itself about the story. And so, too, is the spirit of homage and adoration. The children are ready for the King! "Suffer little children to come unto Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven."
And, therefore, we have need of wise tellers of the story, who know the story themselves. And in these delicate regions I must ever remember how much my spirit shares in the story I tell. My spirit is a friend or a foe to my power. My words may be well chosen, but they may all be light as empty shells, devoid of all vitality. My words have just the power of their spiritual contents. "You cannot fight the French with 200,000 red uniforms," said Carlyle; "there must be men inside them." And we cannot engage in the evangelization with mere uniforms of words. There must be spirit inside them, even the spirit of pure and consecrated lives.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
October 29th.
Father of all, wilt Thou teach me how to promote the well-being of all Thy children? If my outlook be selfish,
wilt Thou make it brotherly? May my life be like a house with many mansions, with room for the entertainment of my brethren!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to-morrow shall this sign be.
Exodus 8:23
Pharoah has a people, and the Lord has a people. These may dwell together, and seem to fare alike, but there is a division between them, and the Lord will make it apparent. Not for ever shall one event happen alike to all, but there shall be great difference between the men of the world and the people of Jehovah's choice.
This may happen in the time of judgments, when the Lord becomes the sanctuary of his saints. It is very conspicuous in the conversion of believers when their sin is put away, while unbelievers remain under condemnation. From that moment they become a distinct race, come under a new discipline, and enjoy new blessings. Their homes, henceforth, are free from the grievous swarms of evils which defile and torment the Egyptians. They are kept from the pollution of lust, the bite of care, the corruption of falsehood, and the cruel torment of hatred, which devour many families.
Rest assured, tried believer, that though you have your troubles you are saved from swarms of worse ones, which infest the homes and hearts of the servants of the world's Prince. The Lord has put a division; see to it that you keep up the division in spirit, aim, character and company.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.
Psalm 1:5
In the race of life, especially in this keen competitive age, it is the fit man who survives. It is so in the business world. It is so in the professional life. The corrupt man does not survive long anywhere.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Jesus, knowing that His hour was come.
John 13:1
Repeatedly in the Gospel of John reference is found to "the hour" of the Lord. Here the phrase finds explanation. His hour, the supreme hour of His mission, was the hour of His Cross. For that He had come into the world. It was the central fact in His mission. Yet here notice how John refers to it. It was the hour in which "He should depart out of this world unto the Father." There can be no question that this was our Lord's conception of that hour. It was the hour of departure from the world, lonely, dark, full of unutterable anguish; but it was the hour of going to the Father. Beyond the loneliness, there was the restoration of fellowship; beyond the darkness, the eternal light; beyond the anguish the fullness of joy. To Him, in contemplation of the hour, there was no misgiving as to the issue. In all the experience of travail He wrought as God with God, and therefore the triumph was certain. Knowing all this, He loved His own to the uttermost. That love was the inspiration of His going by the way of the Cross; and that going was the full and final expression and activity of that love. His going was with perfect knowledge. He was not groping heroically through darkness, uncertain as to His destination. He was walking in the light, even as He passed through the darkness.
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.