Morning, November 29 Go To Evening Reading
“Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people … Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him.”
—Leviticus 19:16, 17
Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison, injuring the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning the tale. Whether the report is true or false, we are forbidden to spread it by this precept of God’s Word. The reputations of the Lord’s people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it a shame to help the devil to dishonor the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many glory in pulling down their brethren as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah’s wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves, one of these dark days, need forbearance and silence from our brethren; let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule and personal bond—Speak evil of no man.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin and prescribes how to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, and Christlike and will be helpful under God’s blessing. Does the flesh shrink from it? Then we must lay the more significant stress upon our conscience and keep ourselves to work, lest by suffering sin upon our friend, we become partakers of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by faithful ministers and brethren's timely, wise, affectionate warnings. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in his warning given to Peter, the prayer with which he preceded it, and the gentle way he bore with Peter’s boastful denial that he needed such a caution.
Go To Morning Reading Evening, November 29
“Spices for anointing oil.”
—Exodus 35:8
Much use was made of this anointing oil under the law, and that which it represents is of primary importance under the gospel. The Holy Spirit, who anoints us for all holy service, is indispensable to us if we serve the Lord acceptably. Without his aid, our religious services are a vain oblation, and our inward experience is dead. Whenever our ministry is without unction, what miserable stuff it becomes! Nor are private Christians' prayers, praises, meditations, and efforts one jot superior. A holy anointing is the soul and life of piety, its absence the most grievous of all calamities. Going before the Lord without anointing is like some common Levite had thrust himself into the priest’s office—his ministrations would instead have been sins than services. May we never venture upon hallowed exercises without sacred anointings. They drop upon us from our glorious Head; from his anointing, we who are as the skirts of his garments partake of a plenteous unction. Choice spices were compounded with the rarest art of the apothecary to form the anointing oil to show us how rich all the influences of the Holy Spirit are. All good things are found in the divine Comforter. Matchless consolation, infallible instruction, immortal quickening, spiritual energy, and divine sanctification all lie compounded with other excellencies in that sacred eye-salve, the heavenly anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the character and person of the man upon whom it is poured. Nothing like it can be found in all the treasuries of the rich or the secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes alone from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every waiting soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it this very evening. O Lord, anoint thy servants.
Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896. Print.
November 29: Revitalization: Moving Beyond the Catch Word
2 Kings 22:1–23:27; Ephesians 5:1–33; Proverbs 9:1–12
Ideally, spiritual renewal wouldn’t be necessary—we would continually grow closer to God. But that’s not the case. There are ups and downs in our walk with Yahweh. We experience times of intimacy and times of distance. We lose focus, energy, or the desire to obey. These highs and lows could result from our fallen world or our taking God for granted, but whatever the reason, we need renewal. Spiritual revitalization is essential. We can always grow closer to God.
During his reign, King Josiah launched a reformation—a revitalization of the way God’s people think and act. He even changed the people’s understanding of God Himself. After finding a scroll (likely of Deuteronomy), Josiah tears his clothes in remorse and repentance and instructs the priests to inquire of Yahweh on behalf of the people (2 Kgs 22:8–13). Yahweh is aware of their misdeeds. Then Josiah immediately does what needs to be done: He reforms the land (2 Kgs 23:1–20).
Josiah makes the difficult choice to do what God requires. He ignites God’s work among His people again. He restores obedience. The work is challenging and exhausting—it means changing how people live.
If we faced an opportunity like this, would we have the strength and dedication to take it? Would we be willing to change what must be changed? Would we be willing to proclaim the word of Yahweh to people who are not ready to hear it—who may resist the change? Would we carry out Yahweh’s work despite its unpopularity? These are issues we face every day.
The time of hypothetical speculation must end, and the time of igniting authentic renewal and real reform must begin. It starts with us, and it doesn’t end until all the lives around us are renewed, changed, and transformed.
In what area is God asking you to lead change?
John D. Barry
Barry, John D., and Rebecca Kruyswijk. Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Print.
November 29th
The absoluteness of Jesus Christ
He shall glorify Me. John 16:14.
The pietistic movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament aboutnothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ; all that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, them; there is and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous; it did not cost the passion of God, it is not dyed in the blood of the Lamb, not stamped with the hallmark of the Holy Ghost. It does not have that mark on it that makes men say, as they look with awe and wonder, ‘That is the work of God Almighty.’ That and nothing else is what the New Testament talks about.
The type of Christian experience in the New Testament is a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration, no being born again into the Kingdom in which Christ lives, but only the idea that He is our Pattern. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is Saviour long before He is Pattern. Today, He is despatched as the Figurehead of a religion, a mere Example. He is that, but He is infinitely more; He is salvation itself. He is the Gospel of God.
Jesus said—“When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, … He shall glorify Me.” When I commit myself to the revelation made in the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who begins to interpret subjectively what Jesus did and does in me what Jesus Christ did for me objectively.
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986. Print.
November 29
With God, all things are possible
Mark 10:27
Unbelief says, “How can such and such things be?” It is full of hows, but faith has one great answer to the ten thousand hows, and that answer is God!
C. H. M.
Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.
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