Morning, April 22 Go To Evening Reading
“Him hath God exalted.”
—Acts 5:31
Jesus, our Lord, once crucified, dead, and buried, now sits upon the throne of glory. The highest place that heaven affords is his undisputed right. It is sweet to remember that the exaltation of Christ in heaven is a representative exaltation. He is exalted at the Father’s right hand, and though as Jehovah he had eminent glories, which finite creatures cannot share, yet as the Mediator, the honors Jesus wears in heaven are the heritage of all the saints. Reflecting on how close Christ’s union with his people is is delightful. We are one with him, members of his body, and his exaltation is our exaltation. He will give us to sit upon his throne, even as he has overcome and is set down with his Father on his throne; he has a crown, and he gives us crowns too; he has a throne, but he is not content with having a throne to himself, on his right hand there must be his queen, arrayed in “gold of Ophir.” He cannot be glorified without his bride. Look up, believer, to Jesus now; let the eye of your faith behold him with many crowns upon his head; and remember that you will one day be like him when you shall see him as he is; you shall not be so great as he is, you shall not be so divine, but still you shall, in a measure, share the same honors, and enjoy the same happiness and the same dignity which he possesses. Be content to live unknown for a little while, and to walk your weary way through the fields of poverty, or up the hills of affliction; for by-and-by you shall reign with Christ, for he has “made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign forever and ever.” Oh! An excellent thought for the children of God! We have Christ for our glorious representative in heaven’s courts now, and soon he will come and receive us to himself, to be with him there, to behold his glory, and to share his joy.
Go To Morning Reading Evening, April 22
“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.”
—Psalm 91:5
What is this terror? It may be the cry of fire, the noise of thieves, fancied appearances, or the shriek of sudden sickness or death. We live in a world of death and sorrow; we may, therefore, look for ills as well in the night watches as beneath the glare of the broiling sun. Nor should this alarm us, for be the terror what it may, the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid. Why should he? Let us put it more closely, why should we? God our Father is here and will be here throughout the lonely hours; he is an almighty Watcher, a sleepless Guardian, a faithful Friend. Nothing can happen without his direction, for even hell itself is under his control. Darkness is not dark to him. He has promised to be a firewall around his people—and who can break through such a barrier? Worldlings may well be afraid, for they have an angry God above them, a guilty conscience within them, and a yawning hell beneath them, but we who rest in Jesus are saved from all these through rich mercy. If we give way to foolish fear, we shall dishonor our profession and lead others to doubt the reality of godliness. We ought to be afraid of being afraid lest we vex the Holy Spirit with foolish distrust. Down, then, ye dismal forebodings and groundless apprehensions, God has not forgotten to be gracious, nor shut up his tender mercies; it may be night in the soul, but there need be no terror, for the God of love changes not. Children of light may walk in darkness, but they are not cast away; nay, they can now prove their adoption by trusting in their heavenly Father as hypocrites cannot do.
“Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from thee;
Thou art he, who, never weary,
Watchest where thy people be.”
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
April 22: Judging Gifts
Joshua 9:1–10:15; 2 Corinthians 10:9–18; Psalm 50
Comparing our gifts to those of the person sitting in the next cubicle or pew is dangerous work. Judging ourselves by this standard denigrates or inflates the gifts we’ve been given, leading to either ungratefulness or pride. Because the assessment method is faulty, we will always miss the mark of success—even if we’re successful.
Paul had been called by God to minister to the Gentiles (see Acts 9:15). When others in the Gentile community questioned his authority, Paul boldly defended his calling. He also pointed out the measure by which these leaders judged their gifts: each other. They were undermining Paul’s authority based on his lack of verbal abilities (2 Cor 10:10). Paul was undeterred by this because he knew his calling: “But we will not boast beyond limits, but according to the measure of the assignment that God has assigned to us” (2 Cor 10:13).
If we judge our gifts and calling, by comparison, we serve the idol of our own pride. But this doesn’t mean we should take them for granted. Instead, we are called to live for God: “The one who boasts, let him boast in the Lord” (2 Cor 10:17).
Thankfulness is the first step to using our gifts for God’s glory. In Psalm 50, the psalmist acknowledges that everything is from God—a reason to sacrifice our pride. God says, “The world and its fullness are mine” (Psa 50:12). But He does delight in the sacrifice of a thankful heart: “Offer to God a thank offering, and pay your vows to the Most High” (Psa 50:14–15).
We’ll always fall short if we judge by comparison; there will always be someone more intelligent or gifted than us. But by thanking God for our gifts (and for others’ gifts) and asking Him for guidance in developing them, we can use them for our own gain appropriately—n but to further His kingdom.
Are you judging your gifts by comparison? How can you judge your life in the light of God’s purposes?
Rebecca Van Noord
John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).
April 22nd
The light that fails
We all with open face beholding … the glory of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18.
A servant of God must stand so much alone that he never knows he is alone. In the first phases of the Christian life, disheartenments come; people who used to be lights flicker out, and those who used to stand with us pass away. We have to get so used to it that we never know we are standing alone. “All men forsook me: … notwithstanding the Lord stood with me” (2 Tim. 4:16–17 ). We must build our faith not in the fading light but in the light that never fails. When ‘big’ men go, we are sad until we see that they are meant to go; the one thing that remains is looking in the face of God for ourselves.
Allow nothing to keep you from looking God sternly in the face about yourself and your doctrine, and every time you preach, see that you look God in the face about things first; then, the glory will remain all through. A Christian worker perpetually looks in the face of God and then goes forth to talk to the people. The characteristic of the ministry of Christ is that of unconscious glory that abides. “Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while He talked with him.”
We are never called on to parade our doubts or to express the hidden ecstasies of our lives with God. The secret of the worker’s life is that he always keeps in tune with God.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986).
April 22
They that wait upon the Lord shall … mount up with wings as eagles
Isa. 40:31
All creatures with wings can escape from every snare set for them if only they fly high enough; the soul that uses its wings can always find a cure, a “way to escape” from all that can hurt or trouble it.
Smith
Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).
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