Daily Devotionals for December 8, 2026

I find therefore the law of my nature to be that when I desire to do what is right, evil is lying in ambush for me" (Rom. 7.21, Wey.).

Struggle in yourself, and be trapped; rest in Him, and be free!

"Many Christians keep themselves in a perpetual foment through hoping they will get into a situation where they can enjoy a better (and easier) Christian...

As I write this, there is a great wave of public indignation over the mounting crime rate in our country. People are calling for law and order. It seems that our laws and courts favor the criminal, while the victims of crime receive little or no redress. Court cases drag on endlessly and often a criminal lawyer can win his case through silly loopholes in the law.

Contributing to the general disorder are the pontifical utterances of liberal sociologists, psychiatrists and other...

Her fault was not that she served: the condition of a servant well becomes every Christian. "I serve," should be the motto of all the princes of the royal family of heaven. Nor was it her fault that she had "much serving." We cannot do too much. Let us do all that we possibly can; let head, and heart, and hands, be engaged in the Master's service. It was no fault of hers that she was busy preparing a feast for the Master. Happy Martha, to have an opportunity of entertaining so blessed a...

"If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor." John 12:26

The highest service is imitation. If I would be Christ's servant I must be His follower. To do as Jesus did is the surest way of bringing honor to His name. Let me mind this every day.

If I imitate Jesus I shall have His company: if I am like Him I shall be with Him. In due...

The best thing that a man can do for his children, is to fear the Lord. Piety is not hereditary; but there is a strong probability that the children of a truly God-fearing man, will be converted and brought to make the Lord their refuge. Yet how many there are who make the alleged interests of their children a pretext for not giving themselves and all they have unreservedly to the Lord. They would lay up treasure in heaven, were it not that they must lay up for their children. Their faith...

God delivers his people from the snare of the fowler in two senses. From, and out of. First, he delivers them from the snare-does not let them enter it; and secondly, if they should be caught therein, he delivers them out of it. The first promise is the most precious to some; the second is the best to others.

"He shall deliver thee from the snare." How? Trouble is often the means whereby God delivers us. God knows that our backsliding will soon end in our destruction, and he in...

For Reading and Meditation:     John 20:24-31

We said a couple of days ago that those who choose to deprive themselves of fellowship with other Christians miss out on life's greatest science - learning about God. I heard one preacher say: "People who neglect attendance at the house of God are fools because on some favoured occasion something special and powerful...

In the kingdom of God what we will is accepted as what we are. If any man will, said our Lord, let him. God does not desire to destroy our wills, but to sanctify them. In that terrible, wonderful moment of surrender it may be that we feel that our will has been forever broken, but such is not the case. In His conquest of the soul God does not destroy any of its normal powers. He purges the will and brings it into union with His own, but He never breaks it. In the diaries of some of God's...

The body is sown in corruption … It is sown in dishonor … It is sown in weakness … It is sown a natural body. § The first man was of the earth, made of dust. § Dust you are, and to dust you shall return. § One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and secure …  Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, never having eaten with pleasure. They lie down alike in the dust, and worms cover them.My flesh … will rest in hope. § After my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in...

The spiritual giants of old were those who at some time became acutely conscious of the presence of God. They maintained that consciousness for the rest of their lives. How otherwise can the saints and prophets be explained" How otherwise can we account for the amazing power for good they have exercised over countless generations" Is it not that indeed they had become friends of God" Is it not that they walked in conscious communion with the real Presence and addressed their prayers to God...

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. § Since you have purified your souls in obeying the...

Matthew 5:1-16

Emerson's advice to Lincoln about hitching his wagon to a star - is the lesson Jesus sets for us in the Beatitudes. These blesseds shine like stars far above us, in their brightness and heavenliness. We may say that we never can reach them and that therefore there is no use in our trying to reach them. But the Master would have us strive after the highest...

Religion is love: the love of God shed abroad in the heart, transforming our nature into love. The blessing is bestowed to be exhibited; we are to let our light shine, and walk in love.

Under the influence of love to God, for His mercy towards us; and love to man for God's sake. By the rule of love, doing unto others as we would they should do unto us. Seeking their spiritual and eternal welfare. Letting it be clearly seen, that we indulge no envy, jealousy, malice, or ill-willin our...