Morning, March 3 Go To Evening Reading
“I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
—Isaiah 48:10
Comfort thyself, tried believer, with this thought: God saith, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Does not the word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Is it not asbestos armor, against which the heat has no power? Let affliction come—God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayst stride in at my door, but God is in the house already, and he has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayst intrude, but I have a balsam ready—God has chosen me. Whatever befalls me in this valley of tears, I know he has “chosen” me. If you still require greater comfort, remember that you have the Son of Man in the furnace. In that silent chamber of yours sits by your side One whom thou hast not seen, but whom thou loves; when thou knows it not, he makes all thy bed in thy affliction and smooths thy pillow for thee. Thou art in poverty, but in that lovely house of thine, the Lord of life and glory is a frequent visitor. He loves to come into these desolate places that he may visit thee. Thy friend sticks closely to thee. Thou canst not see him, but thou mayst feel the pressure of his hands. Dost thou not hear his voice? Even in the valley of the shadow of death, he says, “Fear not, I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God.” Remember that noble speech of Caesar: “Fear not, thou carriest Caesar and all his fortune.” Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. His presence is both thy comfort and safety in all thy fiery trials. He will never leave one whom he has chosen for his own. “Fear not, for I am with thee,” is his sure word of promise to his chosen ones in the “furnace of affliction.” Wilt thou not, then, take fast hold of Christ and say—
“Through floods and flames, if Jesus leads,
I’ll follow where he goes.”
Go To Morning Reading Evening, March 3
“He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove.”
—Matthew 3:16
As the Spirit of God descended upon the Lord Jesus, the head, so he also, in measure, descended upon the members of the mystical body. His descent is to us after the same fashion as that in which it fell upon our Lord. There is often a singular rapidity about it; ever we are aware, we are impelled onward and heavenward beyond all expectation. Yet is there none of the hurry of earthly haste, for the dove's wings are as soft as they are swift. Quietness seems essential to many spiritual operations; the Lord is in the still, small voice, and like the dew, his grace is distilled in silence. The dove has ever been the chosen type of purity, and the Holy Spirit is holiness itself. Where he cometh, everything that is pure, lovely, and of good report is made to abound, and sin and uncleanness depart. Peace reigns also where the Holy Dove comes with power; he bears the olive branch, which shows that the waters of divine wrath are assuaged. Gentleness is a sure result of the Sacred Dove’s transforming power: hearts touched by his benign influence are meek and lowly henceforth and forever. Harmlessness follows, as a matter of course; eagles and ravens may hunt their prey—the turtledove can endure wrong but not inflict it. We must be harmless as doves. The dove is an apt picture of love, the voice of the turtle is full of affection; and so, the soul visited by the blessed Spirit abounds in love to God, in love to the brethren, and in love to sinners; and above all, in love to Jesus. The brooding of the Spirit of God upon the face of the deep first produced order and life; in our hearts, he causes and fosters new life and light. Blessed Spirit, as thou didst rest upon our dear Redeemer, even so, rest upon us from this time forward and forever.
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
March 3: It May Seem Bland
Numbers 3:1–39; John 12:1–19; Psalm 3–4
Let’s admit it: genealogies and lists, like the one in Num 3:1–39, are the most tedious elements of the Bible. But they do something for us that other formats cannot—they give us a sense of history and lineage.
With a genealogy, we can do more than just trace people; we can map their relationships to others and the events that happen through those relationships. We can also determine who was involved in those significant events.
Genealogies and lists give us a small glimpse into God’s providential work, even though we may not recognize them as such. God worked among the people on those lists. He chose to use them. They didn’t deserve to be used by God in mighty ways, but they were. Some of the people in Num 3:1–39 were given seemingly insignificant tasks: “The responsibility of the sons of Merari was the supervision of the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, pillars, bases, and all its vessels and all its service,” among other things (Num 3:36). If most of us were given this assignment, we would probably think it lame and ask for another. But the sons of Merari likely understood that anything God asks of us should be followed through with honor.
The people listed in Num 3:1–39 were likely selected because they believed they would see God’s glory. God may ask us to do things that seem insignificant or crazy, but if we don’t, we will miss out on seeing His glory.
What is God asking of you that seems insignificant or crazy?
John D. Barry
John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).
March 3rd
The unrelieved quest
Feed My sheep. John 21:17.
This is love in the making. The love of God is un-made; it is God’s nature. When we receive the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is manifested in us. When the soul is united to God by the indwelling Holy Spirit, that is not the end; the end is that we may be one with the Father as Jesus was. What kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? Such a oneness that the Father sent him down here to be spent for us, and He says—“As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.”
With the revelation of the Lord’s hurting question, Peter realizes now that he does love Him; then comes the point—Spend it out. Don’t testify how much you love Me or profess about the marvelous revelation you have had, but—“Feed My sheep.” And Jesus has some hilarious sheep, some bedraggled, dirty sheep, some awkward butting sheep that have gone astray! It is impossible to weary God’s love, and it is impossible to weary that love in me if it springs from the one center. The love of God pays no attention to the distinctions made by natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business to be guided by natural temperament; I must feed His sheep. There is no relief and no release from this commission. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by working along the line of natural human sympathy because that will end in blaspheming the love of God.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986).
March 3
There is an eleven-day journey from Horeb, through Mount Seir, to Kadesh-Barnea.
Deut. 1:2
Eleven days, and yet it took them forty years! How was this? Alas! We need not travel far for the answer. It is only to like ourselves. How slowly we get over the ground! What windings and turnings! How often do we have to go back and travelround around the same g repeatedly. We are slow travelers because we are slow learners. Our God is a faithful, wise, gracious, and patient Teacher. He will not permit us to pass cursorily over our lessons. Sometimes, we think we have mastered a lesson and attempt to move on to another, but our wise Teacher knows better and sees the need for deeper plowing. He will not have us mere theorists or smatterers; He will keep us if need be, year after year at our scales until we learn to sing.
C. H. M.
Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).
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