Daily Devotionals for May 12, 2024

What is God saying to His human creation in our day and time"In brief, He is saying, "Jesus Christ is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"Why is there rejection" Why do men and women fail to listen"Because God's message in Jesus is a moral pronouncement. Men and women do not wish to be under the authority of the moral Word of God!For centuries, God spoke in many ways. He inspired holy men to write portions of the message in a book. People do not like it so they try their best to avoid it because God...

This is a noble utterance, Habakkuk! Thou hast surely read the book of Job, and art echoing that great word of his - "Though the Lord slay me, yet will I trust in him." Thou believest that the love which God has towards us, rests upon some more solid evidence than the temporal benefits which he bestows upon us; upon evidence so satisfactory, so unimpeachable, that even if the greatly-prospered servant of God saw his flocks and herds rapidly perish, his merchandise carried off by robbers or...

The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. § You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. § He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might...

For Reading and Meditation:     James 3:1-18

We continue meditating on the meaning of the word "meek" as used by Jesus in His third Beatitude. "Meekness," said one commentator, "is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others." If that is so, then meekness involves two things: (1) our attitudes towards...

We may gain much solace by considering what God has not said. What he has said is inexpressibly full of comfort and delight; what he has not said is scarcely less rich in consolation. It was one of these "said nots" which preserved the kingdom of Israel in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, for "the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven." 2 Kings 14:27. In our text we have an assurance that God will...

Some in the church in Corinth were trying to make the Gospel intellectually respectable. Their preoccupation with the wisdom of this world made them sensitive to those aspects of the Christian message which were offensive to the philosophers.

There was no thought of their abandoning the faith, only of redefining it so that it would be more palatable to the scholars.

Paul came down hard on this attempt to marry the world's wisdom to God's. He knew only too well that the achieving...

Zeal, according to Webster, means ardor in the pursuit of anything; ardent and active interest; enthusiasm; fervor. Surely this should describe a Christian, and the better the Christian the more accurately it should apply. The devout soul should and will be fervent. He will pursue the things of God actively and be enthusiastic in his cultivation of the spiritual life. In his attitude toward Christ he will manifest fervid love and burning devotion. So we would seem to go along with the...

We are here taught the great lesson, that to get, we must give; that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that in order to become spiritually vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered. How? Our efforts to be useful, bring out our powers for usefulness. We have latent talents and dormant faculties, which are brought to light by exercise. Our strength for labour is hidden even from...

Is this not the carpenter’s son?” § “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” § “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” § “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” § “We know that this Man is a sinner.” § “He deceives the people.” § “This Man blasphemes!” § “Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. § For this is commendable, if...

"Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof; so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored." Proverbs 27:18

He who tends the fig tree has figs for his pains, and he who waits on a good master has honor as his reward. Truly the LORD Jesus is the very best of masters, and it is an honor to be allowed to do the least act for His sake. To serve some lords is to watch over a crab tree and eat the crabs as one's wages;...

Isaiah 55:1-13

The Bible seeks in every possible way - to make men know the divine love and mercy. A great novelist in one of his stories tells of a child who ran away from her home. Every night when it grew dark a candle was set in the window of the old home and left to burn there all night, that the lost one, if ever she crept back, repentant, desiring to return - might see the light and know that it meant a welcome for her, that...

THE longer the Christian lives, the more he learns; and the more the Spirit teaches him, the more he loathes himself and renounces his own righteousness as filthy rags. He hoped sensibly to grow in holiness, to feel his corruptions subdued, and to enjoy without interruption the presence of his God; but instead of this he seems to grow more like Satan, corruption appears to get stronger and stronger, and the depravity of his nature appears so dreadful, that he enjoys scarcely anything. He...

He knoweth the way that I take; when He hath tested me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).

In every field, whether the arts, industry, sports, or the Christian life and service in general, the necessary training goes far deeper and is much more rigorous than the actual performance. "Now, at the time,...