Morning, October 30 Go To Evening Reading
“I will praise thee, O Lord.”
—Psalm 9:1
Praise should always follow answered prayer, as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Hath the Lord been gracious to thee and inclined his ear to the voice of thy supplication? Then praise him as long as thou livest. Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life. Deny not a song to him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the heart's desire. To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude; it is to act as basely as the nine lepers, who returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord after they had been cured of their leprosy. To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves, for praise, like prayer, is one excellent means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, excite our hope, and increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise that quickens the believer's pulse and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service. To bless God for mercies received is also the way to benefit our fellow men; “the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.” Others who have been in like circumstances shall take comfort if we can say, “Oh! magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together; this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.” Weak hearts will be strengthened, and drooping saints will be revived as they listen to our “songs of deliverance.” Their doubts and fears will be rebuked as we teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. They, too, shall “sing in the ways of the Lord” when they hear us magnify his holy name. Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties. The angels pray not, but they cease not to praise both day and night and the redeemed, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, are never weary of singing the new song, “Worthy is the Lamb.”
Go To Morning Reading Evening, October 30
“Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.”
—Song of Solomon 8:13
My sweet Lord Jesus remembers the garden of Gethsemane well, and although he has left that garden, he now dwells in the garden of his church: there, he unbosoms himself to those who keep his blessed company. That voice of love with which he speaks to his beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. A depth of melodious love is within it, which leaves all human music far behind. Ten of thousands on earth and millions above are indulged with its harmonious accents. Some I know and greatly envy are hearkening to the beloved voice now. O that I were a partaker of their joys! Some of these are poor, others bedridden, and some near the gates of death, but O my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine, or die with them if I might but hear thy voice. Once, I did listen to it often, but I have grieved thy Spirit. Return unto me in compassion, and once again say, “I am thy salvation.” No other voice can content me; I know thy voice and cannot be deceived by another; let me hear it, I pray. I know not what thou wilt say, neither do I make any condition, O my Beloved, but let me hear thee speak, and if it is a rebuke, I will bless thee for it. Perhaps to cleanse my dull ear may need an operation very grievous to the flesh, but let it cost what it may I turn not from the one consuming desire, cause me to hear thy voice. Bore my ear afresh; pierce my ear with thy harshest notes, only do not permit me to continue deaf to thy calls. To-night, Lord, grant thine unworthy one his desire, for I am thine, and thou hast bought me with thy blood. Thou hast opened my eye to see thee, and the sight has saved me. Lord, open thou mine ear. I have read thy heart; now let me hear thy lips.
Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896. Print.
October 30: An Obstructed View
Daniel 9:1–10:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–17; Job 42:1–9
We need to see ourselves as we truly are, but we can’t do that ourselves. Our communities can help us glimpse a more accurate reflection, but we truly know ourselves only when we know God. His light brings us understanding.
After suffering incredible loss, Job tries to understand his pain. He speaks some truth but often misunderstands God’s motives and minimizes His love. As his friends try to help him grapple with his grief, they sometimes point out the truth, but more often, they cause even more pain and confusion. Only when God arrives to enlighten Job’s understanding does everything change. First, God questions Job’s knowledge (Job 38:19–21), power (Job 38:25–38), and ideas about justice (Job 40:10–12). Then, He shows Job that He is all of these things.
The realization exposes Job’s heart. “Then Job answered Yahweh and said, ‘I know that you can do everything, and any scheme from you will not be thwarted. “Who is this darkening counsel without knowledge?” Therefore, I uttered, but I did not understand; things too wonderful for me, but I did not know. “Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, then inform me.” By the ear’s hearing I heard of you, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes ” (Job 42:1–6).
We might struggle to understand our frailty before an all-knowing and all-powerful God. We might be blinded by pride and self-righteousness, which can hinder us from seeing our need for God. But it is only then that we discover how we can be redeemed from our needy state.
Although God had never stopped loving Job, He further demonstrated His love by blessing Job again. We can be convinced of God’s love for us because He sent His only Son to die for our sins. Although He is excellent and we are small, He was willing to die for our sins. We can be assured of His love for us.
What area of your life is filled with pride? How can you humbly allow God to expose who you indeed are?
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.
October 30th
Faith
Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Hebrews 11:6.
Faith in antagonism to common sense is fanaticism, and common sense in antagonism to faith is rationalism. The life of faith brings the two into a proper relationship. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual, of impulse and inspiration. Nothing Jesus Christ ever said is common sense; it is revelation sense and reaches the shores where common sense fails. Faith must be tried before the reality of faith is actual. “We know that all things work together for good,” then, no matter what happens, the alchemy of God’s providence transfigures the ideal faith into actual reality. Faith always works on the personal line, the whole purpose of God being to see that the perfect faith is made real in His children. For every detail of the commonsense life, there is a revelation fact of God whereby we can prove in practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first—‘Lord, Thou hast said so and so’ (e.g., Matthew 6:33), ‘it looks mad, but I am going to venture on Thy word.’ To turn head faith into a personal possession is a fight always, not sometimes. God brings us into circumstances to educate our faith because the nature of faith is to make its object real. Until we know Jesus, God is a mere abstraction, and we cannot have faith in Him, but immediately we hear Jesus say—“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,” we have something real, and faith is boundless. Faith is the whole man rightly related to God by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986. Print.
June 30
Let us not sleep, as do others
1 Thess. 5:6
There are many ways of promoting Christian wakefulness. Among the rest, let me strongly advise Christians to converse together concerning the ways of the Lord. Christian and Hopeful, as they journeyed toward the Celestial City, said to themselves:
“To prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse.”
Christians who isolate themselves and walk alone are very liable to grow drowsy. Hold Christian company, and it will keep you wakeful and refreshed and encouraged to make quicker progress on the road to Heaven.
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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