Morning, April 28 Go To Evening Reading
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.”
—Psalm 119:49
Whatever your particular need maybe, you may readily find some promise in the Bible suited to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and weary? Here is the security—“He giveth power to the faint.” When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and ask him to fulfill his own word. Are you seeking after Christ and thirsting for closer communion with him? This promise shines like a star upon you—“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Take that promise to the throne continually; do not plead anything else, but go to God repeatedly with this—“Lord, thou hast said it, do as thou hast said.” Are you distressed because of sin and burdened with the heavy load of your iniquities? Listen to these words—“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions and will no more remember thy sins.” You have no merit to plead why he should pardon you but plead his written engagements, and he will perform them. Are you afraid lest you should not be able to hold on to the end, lest, after having thought yourself a child of God, you should prove a castaway? If that is your state, take this word of grace to the throne and plead: “The mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed, but the covenant of My love shall not depart from thee.” If you have lost the sweet sense of the Saviour’s presence, and are seeking Him with a sorrowful heart, remember the promises: “Return unto me, and I will return unto you;” “For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.” Banquet your faith upon God’s own word, and whatever your fears or wants, repair to the Bank of Faith with your Father’s note of hand, saying, “Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.”
Go To Morning Reading Evening, April 28
“All the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.”
—Ezekiel 3:7
Are there no exceptions? No, not one. Even the favored race is thus described. Are the best so bad?—then what must the worst be? Come, my heart, consider how far thou hast a share in this universal accusation, and while considering, be ready to take shame unto thyself wherein thou mayst have been guilty. The first charge is impudence, or hardness of forehead, a want of holy shame, an unhallowed boldness in evil. Before my conversion, I could sin and feel no compunction, hear of my guilt and yet remain unhumbled, and even confess my iniquity and manifest no inward humiliation. For a sinner to go to God’s house and pretend to pray to him and praise him argues brazen facades of the worst kind! Alas! since the day of my new birth, I had doubted my Lord to his face, murmured unblushingly in his presence, worshipped before him in a slovenly manner, and sinned without bewailing myself concerning it. If my forehead were not as adamant, more complex than flint, I should have more holy fear and profound contrition of spirit. Woe is me; I am one of the impudent houses of Israel. The second charge is hardheartedness, and I must not venture to plead innocent here. Once I had nothing but a heart of stone, and although I now have a new and fleshy heart through grace, much of my former obduracy remains. I am not affected by the death of Jesus as I ought to be; neither am I moved by the ruin of my fellow men, the wickedness of the times, the chastisement of my heavenly Father, and my own failures, as I should be. O that my heart would melt at the recital of my Saviour’s sufferings and death. Would to God I were rid of this nether millstone within me, this hateful body of death. Blessed be the name of the Lord, the disease is not incurable, the Saviour’s precious blood is the universal solvent, and me, even me, it will effectually soften till my heart melts as wax before the fire.
Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896. Print.
April 28: The Subtle Sinner
Joshua 19:10–20:9; 2 Corinthians 12:11–21; Psalm 57:1–58:11
Some sins slip through the cracks—the ones that emerge in hushed tones between like-minded Christians. Sometimes these sins seem respectable because they occur out of supposed concerns for the Church or others. But they can leave deep gashes in the life of a community because they often go unchecked. And it’s these sins that Paul addresses shortly before closing his letter to the Corinthians:
“For I am afraid lest somehow when I arrive, I will not find you as I want, and I may be found by you as you do not want. I am afraid lest there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, pride, disorder” (2 Cor 12:20).
While the Corinthians were guilty of flagrant sins like impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness, they also sinned in ways that subtly undermined Paul’s authority. Slander and gossip created deep divisions in the Corinthian church, just as they do in our churches today.
We often don’t realize we’re committing these sins until rumors reach the individual we gossip about. Paul had been absent from the Corinthian community for some time. During his absence, dissenters slandered him. The Corinthians should have defended Paul while away, but instead, he was forced to support his own ministry (2 Cor 13:2–3). He anticipated that his return to the community would reveal the actual state of the situation.
Ultimately, these subtle sins attacked the excellent news—not just Paul. Because his integrity was brought into question, the authenticity of his message was also criticized. In addition, Paul was forced to address their sin before he could reach out to other communities with the good news (2 Cor 10:15).
Our daily decisions can lead to division or unity in our community. And choosing to be a faithful peacemaker amid divisive sins might have a more significant impact than we can imagine.
What are your subtle sins that are wrongfully condoned?
Rebecca Van Noord
Barry, John D., and Rebecca Kruyswijk. Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Print. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012.
April 28th
What you will get
Thy life will I give thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. Jeremiah 45:5.
What more does a man want than his life? It is an essential thing. ‘Thy life for a prey’ means that wherever you may go, you will come out with your life; nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in the shows of things, not in the way of property and possessions, but of blessings. All these have to go, but there is something grander that never can go—the life that is “hidden with Christ in God.” This is the unshakable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him—‘I will give thee thy life.’
Are you prepared to let God take you into union with Himself and pay no more attention to what you call the ‘great things’? Are you ready to entirely abandon and let go? The test of abandonment is refusing to say—‘Well, what about this?’ Beware of suppositions. Immediately you allow—‘What about this?’ it means you have not abandoned; you do not really trust God. Presently you do leave; you think no more about what God will do. Abandon means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions. If you abandon entirely to God, He says at once, “Thy life will I give thee for a prey.” The reason people are tired of life is that God has not given them anything; they have not got their life as prey. The way to get out of that state is to abandon God. When you get through to abandonment to God, you will be the most surprised and delighted creature on earth; God has called you absolutely and given you your life. If you are not there, it is either because of disobedience or a refusal to be simple enough.
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986. Print.
April 28
To him be glory both now and forever
2 Peter 3:18
Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying Him now? The apostle’s words are, “To him be glory now and forever.”
C. H. Spurgeon
Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.
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