Morning, May 7 Go To Evening Reading
“Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.”
—Matthew 12:15
What a mass of hideous sickness must have thrust itself under the eye of Jesus! Yet we read that he was not disgusted but patiently waited on every case. What a singular variety of evils must have met at his feet! What sickening ulcers and putrefying sores! Yet he was ready for every new shape of the monster evil and was victor over it in every form. Let the arrow fly from what quarter it might; he quenched its fiery power. The heat of fever, the cold of dropsy, the lethargy of palsy, the rage of madness, the filth of leprosy, or the darkness of ophthalmia—all knew the power of his word and fled at his command. In every corner of the field, he was triumphant over evil and received the homage of delivered captives. He came, he saw, and he conquered everywhere. It is even so this morning. Whatever my own case may be, the beloved Physician can heal me, and whatever may be the state of others whom I may remember at this moment in prayer, I may have hope in Jesus that he will be able to heal them of their sins. My child, my friend, my dearest one, I can have hope for each, for all, when I remember the healing power of my Lord, and on my own account, however severe my struggle with sins and infirmities, I may yet be of good cheer. He who on earth walked the hospitals still dispenses his grace and works wonders among the sons of men: let me go to him immediately in earnest.
Let me praise him this morning as I remember how he wrought his spiritual cures, which bring him the most renown. It was by taking upon himself our sicknesses. “By his stripes, we are healed.” The Church on earth is whole of souls healed by our beloved Physician, and the inhabitants of heaven confess that “He healed them all.” Come, then, my soul, publish the virtue of his grace abroad, and let it be “to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.”
Go To Morning Reading Evening, May 7
“Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”
—John 5:8
Like many others, the impotent man had been waiting for a wonder to be wrought and a sign to be given. Wearily did he watch the pool, but no angel came, or came not for him; yet, thinking it to be his only chance, he waited still and knew not that there was One near him whose word could heal him in a moment. Many are in the same plight: waiting for some singular emotion, remarkable impression, or celestial vision; they wait in vain and watch for naught. Even supposing that, in a few cases, remarkable signs are seen, yet these are rare, and no man has a right to look for them in his own case; no man, especially who feels his impotence to avail himself of the moving of the water even if it came. It is a somber reflection that tens of thousands are now waiting in the use of means, ordinances, vows, and resolutions and have so waited time out of mind, in vain, utterly in vain.
Meanwhile, these poor souls forget the present Saviour, who bids them to look unto him and be saved. He could heal them simultaneously, but they prefer to wait for an angel and a wonder. To trust him is the sure way to every blessing, and he is worthy of the most implicit confidence, but unbelief makes them prefer the cold porches of Bethesda to the warm bosom of his love. O that the Lord may turn his eye upon the multitudes who are in this case tonight; may he forgive the slights which they put upon his divine power, and call them by that sweet constraining voice, to rise from the bed of despair, and in the energy of faith take up their bed and walk. O Lord, hear our prayer for all such at this calm hour of sunset, and ere the day breaketh may they look and live.
Courteous reader, is there anything in this portion for you?
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
May 7: Making Good out of Bad
Judges 11:1–12:15; Philippians 3:1–11; Psalm 68:15–35
God is renowned for working through unlikely means with the most unlikely people. During the period of the judges, there were few candidates less likely for God’s work than Jephthah himself: “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father” (Judg 11:1). The man is the son of a prostitute and an adulterer who had other sons with his wife (compare Judg 11:2). It can seem odd that details like this are included in the Bible. This one is there because God is about to do something unexpected.
When Jephthah is told that he won’t inherit anything from his father, he flees and assembles a motley crew of other outlaws (Judg 11:3). If you’ve seen The Magnificent Seven, you might be tracking with this Wild West story: “After a time the Ammonites [a threatening nation of strong warriors], made war with Israel [a small nation with a reserve army at best]. When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. And they said to Jephthah, ‘Come and be our commander’ ” (Judg 11:4–6). Like in The Magnificent Seven, the fates are about to turn: the misfit rebels will rise to defend the people who don’t understand them.
Jephthah goes to war against the Ammonites and wins, but he makes an impulsive and tragic mistake (Judg. 11:29–40). God had prepared him for this great work, but he fumbles, resorting to vows made to foreign gods. He rebels against Yahweh and, as a result of his mistakes, kills his daughter.
Although Jephthah was unexpectedly called to a great purpose, he didn’t respond to that call with a proper understanding of God. Jephthah could have repented from his rash vow, for God would not have wanted him to do such a thing as kill his daughter, but instead, he chose to view Yahweh like every other foreign god that demanded child sacrifice. In return, the life of Jephthah’s daughter was lost, and the spiritual life of Jephthah and the people he led was compromised.
What can we learn from Jephthah and his tragic mistake? Follow God’s calling, even when it’s unexpected. But in doing so, we must understand and embrace who He is and how He works among us.
What does God want to do through you? How can you obey Him with a proper understanding and knowledge?
John D. Barry
John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).
May 7th
Building for eternity
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Luke 14:28.
Our Lord refers not to a cost we have to count but to a price which He has counted. The price was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the deep unfathomable agony in Gethsemane, and the onslaught at Calvary—the pivot upon which the whole of Time and Eternity turns. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. Men will not laugh at Him at last and say—“This man began to build and was unable to finish.”
The conditions of discipleship laid down by Our Lord in vv. 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He will use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If any man come to Me, and hate not …, he cannot be My disciple.” Our Lord implies that the only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth. The conditions are stern, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. Is God going to detect in His searching fire that we have built some enterprise of our own on the foundation of Jesus? These are days of tremendous enterprises when we try to work for God, and therein is the snare. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus takes us over for His enterprises and building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986).
May 7
The Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon.… They … gladly received [Peter’s] word, and the same day, there were added unto them about three thousand souls
Luke 24:34; Acts 2:41
Before the Lord can use us in His service, we must have close individual dealings with Him. He will always have to do secretly what He intends to use to bless others with that soul.
Do you want to speak for Jesus to those around you? Then, you must go to Jesus Himself for your message. What you say for Jesus must be got from Jesus.
Oh, how much breath falls powerless on every side because it has not been inhaled in the sanctuary! We want more secret dealings with the living God. We run without being sent, and we speak before God has spoken to us. No wonder we so often fail. Oh, what secret prayer and heart-searching discipline the heart needs before God can use it!
F. Whitfield
Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).
Comments