Daily Devotionals for November 22, 2023

What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue or avoid in action. Very earnestly, therefore, should we avoid temptation, seeking to walk so guardedly in the path of obedience, that we may never tempt the devil to tempt us. We are not to enter the thicket in search of the lion. Dearly might we pay for such presumption. This lion may cross our path or leap upon us from the thicket, but we have nothing to do with hunting him. He that meeteth with him, even though he...

The Bible tells about man's being alienated from and an enemy to God. Should this sound harsh or extreme you have only to imagine your closest friend coming to you and stating in cold seriousness that he no longer has any confidence in you. "I do not trust you. I have lost confidence in your character. I am forced to suspect every move you make" - such a declaration would instantly alienate friends by destroying the foundation upon which every friendship is built. Until your former friend's...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 7:13-29

If the men and women of this world took an unbiased look at Jesus as presented to us in the four Gospels, they would see, as Bishop Stephen Neill put it, that "Jesus Christ is not in the least like anyone else who has ever lived." The way He taught, for example, is not the same as that of any other religious teacher....

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

Walking in the Spirit, our faith is heavenly, spiritual; walking in the flesh, our faith is earthly, carnal.

"Is it the mind of the Father which influences my faith and controls my actions, or is it the order...

Not all of the pooled efforts of any church can make a Christian out of a lost man! The Christian life begins with the individual; a soul has a saving encounter with God and the new life is born. All else being equal, every individual. Christian will find in the communion of a local church the most perfect atmosphere for the fullest development of his spiritual life. There he will also find the best arena for the largest exercise of those gifts and powers with which God may have endowed him....

When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, "I shall be victorious again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet...

"In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve." Jeremiah 50:20

A glorious word indeed! What a perfect pardon is here promised to the sinful nations of Israel and Judah! Sin is to be so removed that it shall not be found, so blotted out that there shall be none. Glory...

The word of God affords all possible encouragement to earnest, fervent prayer; men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Believers should ask all they want of God as their heavenly Father; they should ask of Him because He has bidden them, and expect to receive because He is faithful.

Are our wants many this morning? Our God bids us open our mouths wide, and promises to fill them. We should ask largely, for God considers Himself honoured when we ask for much, and expect much. He...

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. § We … have access by one Spirit to the Father.O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.The Spirit … helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,...

Luke 10:25-37

This is one of the great parables which only Luke has preserved for us. If Luke's gospel had not been written, we never would have had this beautiful story. This suggests one reason why we have four Gospels instead of one. No one of the four, tells us all about Christ or records all of His sayings. Each one gives facts and incidents and...

A bruised reed He will not break. § He restores my soul.Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. § No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. § After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our...

Not that we shall be exempt from loss disappointment, sickness, human unkindness, embarrassment, vexation, insult, defamation, humiliation; not that we shall have in this world all the displays of providential favor on which we may have calculated; these are not the things promised; the promise that he hath promised us is eternal life. God may have dealt strangely with thee, my soul; but say frankly, has he at all dealt with thee in a way to hinder the fulfillment of the promise made thee?...

After a young soprano had made her debut on the opera stage, a critic wrote that her brilliant performance would have been even better if she had ever loved. He detected the absence of love. Apparently her singing was technically correct but it lacked warmth.

We too can go through life, doing everything according to the rules. We can be honest, dependable, righteous, generous, energetic and humble. Yet all these virtues cannot compensate for a lack of love.

Many of us have a hard...