Morning, April 14 Go To Evening Reading
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.”
—Psalm 22:7
Mockery was a great ingredient in our Lord’s woe. Judas mocked him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed at him to scorn; Herod set him at naught; the servants and the soldiers jeered at him and brutally insulted him; Pilate and his guards ridiculed his royalty; and on the tree, all sorts of horrid jests and hideous taunts were hurled at him. Ridicule is always hard to bear, but when we are in intense pain, it is so heartless, so cruel, that it cuts us to the quick. Imagine the Saviour crucified, racked with anguish far beyond all mortal guess, and then picture that motley multitude, all wagging their heads or thrusting out the lip in the bitterest contempt of one poor suffering victim! Indeed, there must have been something more in the crucified One than they could see, or else such a great and mingled crowd would notour unanimously hon him with such contempt. Was it not evil confessing, in the moment of its greatest apparent triumph, that it could do no more than mock that victorious goodness that was then reigning on the cross? O Jesus, “despised and rejected of men,” how couldst thou die for men who treated thee so ill? Herein is love amazing, love divine, yea, love beyond degree. We, too, have despised thee in the days of our unregeneracy, and even since our new birth, we have set the world on high in our hearts, and yet thou bleedest to heal our wounds and diest to give us life. O, we could set thee on a glorious high throne in all men’s hearts! We would ring out thy praises over land and sea till men should as universally adore as once they did unanimously reject.
“Thy creatures wrong thee, O thou sovereign Good!
Thou art not loved, because not understood:
It grieves me most that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of thy smile.”
Go To Morning Reading Evening, April 14
“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.”
—Isaiah 3:10
It is well with the righteous always. If it had said, “Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity,” we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour of peril. It is a gift from heaven to be secured from its snares, or if it had been written, “It is well with him when under persecution,” we must have been thankful for sustaining an assurance, for persecution is hard to bear. Still, when no time is mentioned, all time is included. God’s “shalls” must always be understood in their most significant sense. From the beginning to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until the day star shines, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it shall be well with the righteous. It is so well with him that we could not imagine it to be better, for he is well fed, he feeds upon flesh and blood of Jesus; he is well clothed, he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ; he is well housed, he dwells in God; he is well married, his soul is knit in bonds of marriage union to Christ; he is well provided for, for the Lord is his Shepherd; he is well endowed, for heaven is his inheritance. It is well with the righteous—well upon divine authority; the mouth of God speaks the comforting assurance. If God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it ill, but we laugh them all to scorn. Blessed be God for a faith that enables us to believe God when the creatures contradict him. It is, says the Word, at all times well with thee, thou righteous one; then, beloved, if thou canst not see it, let God’s word stand thee instead of sight; yea, believe it on divine authority more confidently than if thine eyes and thy feelings told it to thee. Whom God blesses is blest indeed, and what his lip declares is truth most sure and steadfast.
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
April 14: Tearing Down to Build Up
Deuteronomy 28:1–68; 2 Corinthians 7:2–7; Psalm 41
It’s difficult to take rebuke, especially when it’s unsolicited. We feel exposed and embarrassed when our sin is brought to light. And if we don’t have the humility to accept rebuke, the experience can leave us at odds with the brave soul who assumes the task.
For Paul, who rebuked the Corinthians, news of their love was a relief and comfort to him: “But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted among you because he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me so that I rejoiced even more” (2 Cor 7:6–7).
We form a community when others challenge us and encourage us to live for God. While community can fulfill our social needs, this common purpose draws us together. When we take rebuke graciously and seek forgiveness from God, it forges the community bond. When we rebel or are sensitive and prideful, it creates a rift. Because the Corinthians felt sorrow for their sin and expressed concern for Paul, it solidified their relationship. And it comforted him and brought him incredible joy during conflict and trial.
Surprisingly, the rebuked person often has to intentionally extend love and comfort to the one who brings the rebuke. Paul tells the Corinthians to “make room for us in your hearts” (2 Cor 7:2). We should do the same for those in our community. Not all people possess Paul’s zeal and boldness, so we should prepare to graciously accept correction when it comes to solicited or not. Reaching out to those around us and letting them know we appreciate their rebuke will help build a community authentically following Jesus.
Do others approach you about your sin? How can you make yourself more approachable if you haven’t been rebuked recently?
Rebecca Van Noord
John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).
April 14th
Inspired invincibility
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me. Matthew 11:29.
“Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.” How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us into the place where we can have communion with Him, and we groan and say—‘Oh Lord, let me be like other people!’ Jesus asks us to take one end of the yoke—‘My yoke is easy; get alongside Me, and we will pull together.’ Do you identify with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God for the pressure of His hand.
“To them that have no might, He increaseth strength.” God comes and takes us out of our sentimentality, and our complaining turns into a psalm of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and learn of Him.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Where do the saints get their joy from? If we did not know some saints, we would say—‘Oh, he or she has nothing to bear.’ Lift the veil. The fact that God's peace, light, and joy are there proves that the burden is there, too. The burden God places squeezes the grapes, and out comes the wine; most of us only see the wine. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God in a human spirit; it is an inner unconquerableness.
If you have the whine in you, kick it out ruthlessly. It is a positive crime to be weak in God’s strength.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986).
April 14
My soul, wait thou only upon God
Ps. 62:5
Did it ever occur to you that if you do not hear God’s answer to prayer, it may be not because He is dumb but because you are deaf; not because He has no answer to give, but because you have not been listening for it? We are so busy with our service, so busy with our work, and sometimes so busy with our praying that it does not occur to us to stop our own talking and listen if God has some answer to give us with “the still small voice”; to be passive, to be quiet, to do nothing, say nothing, in some true sense think nothing; simply to be receptive and waiting for the voice. “Wait thou only upon God,” says the Psalmist, and again, “Wait on the Lord.”
Selected
Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).
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