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 August 10: Love, Praise, Forgiveness

Isaiah 20:1–22:25; Luke 7:36–8:15; Job 5:8–16

Our praise for God is often directly connected to accepting and confessing our brokenness. Our capacity to love Him is tied to the realization of how much He has forgiven us.

The woman in Luke 7 who anointed Jesus’ feet is described with one phrase: She was a sinner. We’re not given clarifying detail, but we do know her sin was notorious, and, as a result, she was marginalized by society. She was not only weighed down by her sin; her public identity was grounded in it, and she could not hide it. She knew that she needed to receive forgiveness from the only one who could provide it. Her necessity made her bold: She came to Simon the Pharisee’s house to wash and anoint Jesus’ feet.

Her behavior created quite a spectacle. Simon the Pharisee was quick to condemn her actions and question Jesus’ decision to show her compassion. But Jesus turned the tables on him. While the woman was aware of her brokenness—and was all the more grateful for forgiveness—Simon ran with those who had built up a charade of holiness.

Jesus told Simon, “For this reason, I tell you, her sins—which were many—have been forgiven, for she loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little” (Luke 7:47).

Our praise for Jesus—the way we speak of Him and the way we speak of our sin and forgiveness—is a reflection of the state of our hearts. Because our hearts are inclined to be prideful, it’s often easier for us to defend our sin than to confess it. It’s easier to go about our religious activities while rationalizing our sins. But unless we drop the charade and confess the true state of our hearts, we’ll never honor Him as we should.

Do you “love little”? What holds you back from expressing praise?

Rebecca Van Noord

 Barry, John D., and Rebecca Kruyswijk. Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Print.

Morning, August 10 Go To Evening Reading

“Christ, who is our life.”

—Colossians 3:4

Paul’s marvelously rich expression indicates that Christ is the source of our life. “You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.” That same voice that brought Lazarus out of the tomb raised us to the newness of life. He is now the substance of our spiritual life. It is by his life that we live; he is in us, the hope of glory, the spring of our actions, the central thought which moves every other thought. Christ is the sustenance of our life. What can the Christian feed upon but Jesus’ flesh and blood? “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.” O wayworn pilgrims in this wilderness of sin, you never get a morsel to satisfy the hunger of your spirits, except ye, find it in him! Christ is the solace of our life. All our true joys come from him, and his presence is our consolation in times of trouble. There is nothing worth living for but him, and his lovingkindness is better than life! Christ is the object of our life. As the ship speeds towards the port, the believer haste towards the haven of his Saviour’s bosom. As flies, the arrow to its goal so flies the Christian towards perfecting his fellowship with Christ Jesus. As the soldier fights for his captain and is crowned in his captain’s victory, so the believer contends for Christ and gets his triumph out of the triumphs of his Master. “For him to live is Christ.” Christ is the exemplar of our life. Where there is the same life within, there will, there must be, to a great extent, the same developments without, and if we live in near fellowship with the Lord Jesus, we shall grow like him. We shall set him before us as our Divine copy, and we shall seek to tread in his footsteps until he shall become the crown of our life in glory. Oh! How safe, how honored, how happy is the Christian, since Christ is our life!

Go To Morning Reading Evening, August 10

“The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.”

—Matthew 9:6

Behold one of the great Physician’s mightiest arts: He has the power to forgive sin! While here he lived below, before the ransom had been paid, before the blood had been literally sprinkled on the mercy seat, he had the power to forgive sin. Hath He, not power to do it now that he hath died? What power must dwell in him who to the utmost farthing has faithfully discharged the debts of his people! He has boundless power now that he has finished transgression and made an end of sin. If ye doubt it, see him rising from the dead! Behold him in ascending splendor raised to the right hand of God! Hear him pleading before the eternal Father, pointing to his wounds, urging the merit of his sacred passion! What power to forgive is here! “He hath ascended on high and received gifts for men.” “He is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins.” The most crimson sins are removed by the crimson of his blood. At this moment, dear reader, whatever thy sinfulness, Christ has power to pardon, power to pardon thee, and millions such as thou art. A word will speak it. He has nothing more to do to win thy pardon; all the atoning work is done. He can, in answer to thy tears, forgive thy sins today and make thee know it. He can breathe into thy soul at this very moment a peace with God which passeth all understanding, which shall spring from perfect remission of thy manifold iniquities. Dost thou believe that? I trust thou believest it. Mayst thou experience now the power of Jesus to forgive sin! Waste no time in applying to the Physician of souls, but hasten to him with words like these:—

“Jesus! Master! hear my cry;

Save me, heal me with a word;

Fainting at thy feet, I lie,

Thou my whisper’d plaint hast heard.”

 Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896. Print.

August 10th

The sacrament of the saint

Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing. 1 Peter 4:19.

To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses to suffer; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. No saint dare interfere with the discipline of suffering in another saint.

The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. The people who do us well never sympathize with us; they always hinder us because sympathy enervates. No one understands a saint but the saint who is nearest to the Saviour. If we accept the sympathy of a saint, the reflex feeling is—‘Well, God is dealing hardly with me.’ That is why Jesus said self-pity was of the devil (see Matt. 16:23). Be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy to blacken God’s character because God never answers back; he never vindicates Himself. Beware of the thought that Jesus needed sympathy in His earthly life; He refused sympathy from a man because He knew far too wisely that no one on earth understood what He was after. He took sympathy from His Father only and from the angels in heaven. (Cf. Luke 15:10.)

Notice God’s unutterable waste of saints. According to the judgment of the world, God plants His saints in the most useless places. We say—‘God intends me to be here because I am so useful.’ God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is.

 Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986. Print.

August 10

The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world

1 John 4:14

It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not come forth without His Father’s permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent of the Father that He might be the Saviour of men.… Didst thou ever consider the depth of love in the heart of Jehovah when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy? If not, be this thy day’s meditation. The Father sent Him! Contemplate that subject. Think how Jesus works what the Father wills. In the wounds of the dying Saviour, see the love of the great I Am. Let every thought of Jesus be also connected with the eternal, ever-blessed God.

Spurgeon

 Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.