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  Morning, January 31 Go To Evening Reading “The Lord our Righteousness.” —Jeremiah 23:6 It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ. How often are the saints of God downcast and sad! I do not think they ought to be. I do not believe they would if they could always see their perfection in Christ. Some are always talking about corruption, the depravity of the heart, and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not go a little further and remember that we are “perfect in Christ Jesus.” It is no wonder that those dwelling upon their own corruption should wear such downcast looks, but indeed if we call to mind that “Christ is made unto us righteousness,” we shall be of good cheer. Though distresses afflict me, though Satan assaults me, though there may be many things to be experienced before I get to heaven, those are done for me in the covenant of divine grace; nothing is wanting in my...

  January 31: Discipline Genesis 49–50; Hebrews 12–13; Ecclesiastes 12:9–14 I was a stubborn child. When disciplined by my parents, I would sulk for hours afterward. I didn’t see discipline from my parents’ perspective—as something that would mold me into a mature, loving person. Hebrews 12 teaches people like me with a history of wallowing in self-pity when disciplined. Here, the writer of Hebrews tells us that God, a Father to us through the work of Jesus, disciplines us for our good. To emphasize this, the writer of Hebrews draws on the book of Proverbs, where the Father instructs His own Son. “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or give up when you are corrected by him. For the Lord disciplines the one who he loves, and punishes every son whom he accepts” (Heb 12:6; compare Prov 3:11–12). The author tells us that being disciplined is a sign of God’s love. It means He is working and active in our lives (Heb 12:8). Like a chastised child, we might not always ...

  January 31st Do you see your calling? Separated unto the Gospel. Romans 1:1. Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women but to be proclaimers of the Gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the Gospel of God should be realized as the abiding Reality. Reality is not human goodness, holiness, heaven, or hell, but Redemption, and the need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker today. As workers, we have to get used to the revelation that Redemption is the only Reality. Personal holiness is an effect, not a cause, and if we place our faith in human goodness in the development of Redemption, we shall go under when the test comes. Paul did not say he separated himself, but—“when it pleased God who separated me.….” Paul had not a hypersensitive interest in his own character. As long as our eyes are upon our own personal whiteness, we shall never get near the Reality of Redemption. Workers break down because their desire is for their own...

  January 31 Christ is all and in all Col. 3:11 The service of Christ is the business of my life. The will of Christ is the law of my life. The presence of Christ is the joy of my life. The glory of Christ is the crown of my life. Selected  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

Morning, January 30 Go To Evening Reading “When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt bestir thyself.” —2 Samuel 5:24 The members of Christ’s Church should be very prayerful, always seeking the unction of the Holy One to rest upon their hearts, that the kingdom of Christ may come, and that his “will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven;” but there are times when God seems especially to favor Zion, such seasons ought to be to them like “the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” We ought then to be doubly prayerful, doubly earnest, wrestling more at the throne than we have been wont to do. Action should then be prompt and vigorous. The tide is flowing—now let us pull manfully for the shore. O for Pentecostal outpourings and Pentecostal labors. Christian, in yourself, there are times “when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” You have a peculiar power in prayer; the Spirit of God giv...

  January 30: Difficult Definitions Genesis 47–48; Hebrews 11 ; Ecclesiastes 12:1–8 As an editor, I love definitions. The field of lexicography can be complex, but when a report is finally solidified, there’s a comfort to be found. It becomes something stable. This is also why I love the book of Hebrews: the author is keen on definitions, clarifying terminology, and using analogies to prove his points. “Now faith is the realization of what is hoped for, the proof of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). In this succinct definition, I have a perspective on the essence of faith. There is no room for doubt or error. The hope referred to is Jesus. And the proof is in an assurance that even though we cannot see Him, we have confidence in His work both presently and in the future. The author goes on to say, “For by this [faith] the people of old were approved [by God]. By faith, we understand the worlds were created by the word of God so that what is seen did not come into existence from wha...

January 30th The dilemma of obedience And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 1 Samuel 3:15. God seldom speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand, and we say, ‘I wonder if that is God’s voice?’ Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of circumstances. Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence? Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance. Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak, Lord”; make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline, it is meant to get me to the place of saying, “Speak, Lord.” Recall the time when God did speak to you. Have you forgotten what He said? Was it Luke 11:13, or was it 1 Thess. 5:23? As we listen, our ear gets acute, and, like Jesus, we shall hear God all the time. Shall I tell my ‘Eli’ what God has shown to me? That is where the dilemma of obedience comes i...

  January 30 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. Rom. 6:4 That is the life we are called upon to live, and that is the life it is our privilege to lead; for God never gives us a call without its being a privilege, and He never gives us the privilege to come up higher without stretching out to us His hand to lift us up. Come up higher and higher into the realities and glories of the resurrection life, knowing that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Shake yourself loose of every encumbrance, turn your back on every defilement, give yourself over like clay to the hands of the potter, that He may stamp upon you the fullness of His own resurrection glory, that you, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, maybe changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. W. Hay Aitken  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman ...

January 30 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. Rom. 6:4 That is the life we are called upon to live, and that is the life it is our privilege to lead; for God never gives us a call without its being a privilege, and He never gives us the right to come up higher without stretching out to us His hand to lift us up. Come up higher and higher into the realities and glories of the resurrection life, knowing that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Shake yourself loose of every encumbrance, turn your back on every defilement, give yourself over like clay to the hands of the potter, that He may stamp upon you the fullness of His own resurrection glory, that you, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, maybe changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. W. Hay Aitken  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thou...

  Morning, January 29 Go To Evening Reading "The things which are not seen." —2 Corinthians 4:18 In our Christian pilgrimage, it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, joy, consolation, or inspiring our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith. Looking into the future, we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of the saints' inheritance in the light. Looking further yet, the believer's enlightened eye can see death's river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which standeth the celestial city; he seeth himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than a conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with him, and made to sit together with him on his throne, even as he has overcome and has sat down with t...

  January 29th But it is hardly credible that one could be so positively ignorant! Who art Thou, Lord? Acts 26:15. “The Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand.” There is no escape when Our Lord speaks. He always comes with an arrestment of the understanding. Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken to you in the language you know best, not through your ears, but through your circumstances. God has to destroy our unwavering confidence in our own convictions. ‘I know this is what I should do’—and suddenly, the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We have shown our ignorance of Him in the same way we determined to serve Him. We serve Jesus in a spirit that is not His; we hurt Him by our advocacy for Him, we push His claims in the spirit of the devil. Our words sound all right, but our spirit is that of an enemy. “He rebuked them and said, Ye, know...

  January 29 The living God Dan. 6:20 How often we find this expression in the Scriptures, yet it is just this very thing that we are so prone to lose sight of! We know it is written the living God ; but in our daily life, there is scarcely anything we practice so much lose sight of like the fact that God is the Living God; that He is now whatever He was three or four thousand years since; that He has the same sovereign power, the same saving love toward those who love and serve Him as ever He had, and that He will do for them now what He did for others two, three, four thousand years ago, simply because He is the living God, the unchanging One. Oh, how, therefore, we should confide in Him, and in our darkest moments, never lose sight of the fact that He is still and ever will be the Living God. George Muell  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

  Morning, January 28 Go To Evening Reading “Perfect in Christ Jesus.” —Colossians 1:28 Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye weeps “imperfection”; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip mutters “imperfection.” You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself . But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you—you are “perfect in Christ Jesus .” In God’s sight, you are “complete in him;” even now you are “accepted in the Beloved.” But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to all the seed. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Om...

  January 28: Carpe Diem Genesis 44; Hebrews 8–9; Ecclesiastes 11:1–4 Taking risks to make your life extraordinary is biblical if done according to God’s plan and principles. The Latin phrase Carpe Diem means “seize the day.” the idea behind this comes from Ecclesiastes: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Eccl 11:1). Bread acts as the symbol for substance in the ancient world; the author of Ecclesiastes suggests that we should follow God’s plan, even at the possible cost of our livelihood. He then means that what we give to God, He will return. This is opposite from a self-protection mentality. The “waters” in the proverb represent chaos, suggesting that in letting go of even the most chaotic circumstances, we learn about God’s ability to give what we need. This is further illustrated when the author says, “Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.… He who observes the wind will not sow,...

  January 28th But it is hardly credible that one could so persecute Jesus! Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? Acts 26:14. Am I set on my own way for God? We are never free from this snare until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. Obstinacy and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set upon our own ambitions, we break Jesus. Every time we stand on our rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Jesus. We systematically vex and grieve His Spirit whenever we stand on our dignity. When the knowledge comes home that it is Jesus, Whom we have been persecuting all the time, it is the most crushing revelation there could be. Is the word of God tremendously keen to me as I hand it on to you, or does my life give the lie to the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan,...

  January 28 Not as I will, but as thou wilt Matt. 26:39 There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God. Faber  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

  Morning, January 27 Go To Evening Reading “And of his fulness have all we received.” —John 1:16 These words tell us that there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead.” There is a fulness of perfect manhood, for in him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fulness of atoning efficacy in his blood, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in his life, for “there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” There is a fulness of divine prevalence in his plea, for “He can save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” There is a fulness of victory in his death, for, through death, he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. There is a fulness of efficacy in his resurrection from the dead, for by it, “we are begotten ...

  January 27: Revenge Isn’t Sweet Genesis 42:29–43:34 , Hebrews 5:11–7:28, Ecclesiastes 10:10–20 The colloquialisms around the subject alone demonstrate our infatuation with justice. It’s easy to revel in vigilante justice, be joyful in the irony of someone getting “what’s coming to them,” or feel satisfied when “bad Karma comes back around” to others. Joseph is similarly impassioned; he schemes against his brothers who sold him into slavery. At the beginning of Gen 43, Joseph’s brothers must go back to Egypt to request food from him—their younger brother, whom they do not recognize. Joseph waits for the youngest, Benjamin, to join them. What Joseph intends to do when he does, we’re not told. When Benjamin and the other brothers arrive, Joseph is either moved with empathy or chooses to act upon his original plan of revealing himself in front of all his brothers (Gen 43:16, 29). Joseph even helps them financially, signaling that he somehow still cares for them (Gen 44). Yet it ...

  January 27th Look again and think Take no thought for your life. Matthew 6:25. A warning which needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, will choke all that God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides of this encroachment. If it does not come on the line of clothes and food, it will arrive on the line of money or lack of money; of friends or lack of friends; or on the line of difficult circumstances. It is one steady encroachment all the time, and unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the standard against it, these things will come in like a flood. “Take no thought for your life.” ‘Be careful about one thing only,’ says our Lord—‘your relationship to Me.’ Common sense shouts loud and says—‘That is absurd; I  must consider how I am going to live, I must hunker  what I am going to eat and drink.’ Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing the thought that this s...

  January 27 Are there not twelve hours in the day John 11:9 The very fact of a Christian being here, and not in Heaven, is proof that some work awaits him. William Arnot  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

  Morning, January 26 Go To Evening Reading “Your heavenly Father.” —Matthew 6:26 God’s people are doubly his children, they are his offspring by creation, and they are his sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to call him “Our Father which art in heaven.” Father! Oh, what precious word is that. Here is authority : “If I am a Father, where is mine honor?” If ye be sons, where is your obedience? Here is affection mingled with authority; an authority which does not provoke rebellion; an observation demanded which is most cheerfully rendered—which would not be withheld even if it might. The obedience which God’s children yield to him must be loving . Do not go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster’s toil, but run in the way of his commands because it is your Father’s way. Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness because righteousness is your Father’s will, and his will should be the will of his child. Father !—Here is a kingly attrib...

  January 26: A Little Folly Genesis 41:38–42:28; Hebrews 3:1–5:10 ; Ecclesiastes 10:1–9 Like dead flies in perfumer’s oil, the writer of Ecclesiastes aptly proclaims that a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. Sometimes fools are elevated to positions of power, while those fit for the position are given no influence. The Preacher says, “I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves” (Eccl 10:7). It’s not challenging to nod our heads and say “Amen” when we come to this example of an “evil under the sun.” We probably all have a story to tell about a leader who wasn’t fit for a position and about the injustices we endured under their authority. When a fool is set up as an authority figure, everyone suffers. The Preacher gives a suggestion, though: “If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest” (Eccl 10:4). This doesn’t just tell us we should have a posture of humility and obed...

  January 26th Look again and consecrate If God so clothes the grass of the field, … shall He not much more clothe you? Matthew 6:30. A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be straightforward with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, life will become amazingly simple. 'Consider,' says Jesus, 'how much more your Father Who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you if you keep your relationship right with Him.' Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion, it has been because we have impertinently known better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the world's cares to come in and have forgotten our Heavenly Fathers much more. "Behold the fowls of the air"—their one aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them, and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and follow ...

  January 26 Despising the shame Heb. 12:2 And how is that to be done? In two ways. Go up the mountain, and the things in the plain will look very small; the higher you rise, the more insignificant they will seem. Hold fellowship with God, and the threatening foes here will seem very, very unformidable. Another way is, pull up the curtain and gaze at what is behind it. The low foothills that lie at the base of some Alpine country may look high when seen from the plain, as long as the snowy summits are wrapped in mist; but when a little puff of wind comes and clears away the fog from the lofty peaks, nobody looks at the little green hills in front. So the world’s hindrances and difficulties look very windy until the cloud lifts. But when we see the tremendous white summits, everything lower does not seem so very high after all. Look to Jesus, and that will dwarf the difficulties. Alexander Maclaren  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour...

Morning, January 25 Go To Evening Reading “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us.” —Isaiah 63:7 And canst thou does not do this? Are there no mercies which thou hast experienced ? What though thou art gloomy now, canst thou forget that blessed hour when Jesus met thee and said, “Come unto me”? Canst thou does not remember that rapturous moment when he snapped thy fetters, dashed thy chains to the earth, and said, “I came to break thy bonds and set thee free”? Or if the love of thine espousals be forgotten, there must surely be some precious milestone along the road of life not immensely grown over with moss, on which thou canst read a happy memorial of his mercy towards thee? What, didst thou never have a sickness like that which thou art suffering now, and did he not restore thee? Wert thou never poor before, and did he not supply thy wants? Wast never thou in straits back, and did he not...