Morning, April 19 Go To Evening Reading
“Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”
—Matthew 27:51
No mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil, but it was not intended merely to display power—many lessons were taught herein. The old law of ordinances was put away and, like a worn-out vesture, rented and laid aside. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished because all were fulfilled in him, and therefore, the place of their presentation was marked with an evident token of decay. That rent also revealed all the hidden things of the old dispensation: the mercy seat could now be seen, and God's glory gleamed above it. By the death of our Lord Jesus, we have a clear revelation of God, for he was “not as Moses, who put a veil over his face.” Life and immortality are now brought to light, and things which have been hidden since the foundation of the world are manifest in him. The annual ceremony of atonement was thus abolished. The atoning blood, which was once sprinkled within the veil every year, was now offered once and for all by the great High Priest, and therefore, the place of the symbolic rite was broken up. No blood of bullocks or of lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered within the veil with his own blood. Hence, access to God is now permitted, and it is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. No small space is laid open through which we may peer at the mercy seat, but the rent reaches from the top to the bottom. We may come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace. Shall we err if we say that the opening of the Holy of Holies in this marvelous manner by our Lord’s expiring cry was the type of opening of the gates of paradise to all the saints by the Passion? Our bleeding Lord hath the key of heaven; he openeth and no man shutteth; let us enter in with him into the heavenly places, and sit with him there till our common enemies shall be made his footstool.
Go To Morning Reading Evening, April 19
“The Amen.”
—Revelation 3:14
The word Amen solemnly confirms that which went before, and Jesus is the great Confirmer; immutable, forever is “the Amen” in all his promises. Sinner, I would comfort thee with this reflection. Jesus Christ said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest.” If you come to him, he will say “Amen” in your soul; his promise shall be true to you. He said in the days of his flesh, “The bruised reed I will not break.” O thou poor, broken, bruised heart, if thou comest to him, he will say “Amen” to thee, and that shall be true in thy soul as in hundreds of cases in bygone years. Christian, is not this very comforting to thee also, that there is not a word that has gone out of the Saviour’s lips that he has ever retracted? The words of Jesus shall stand when heaven and earth shall pass away. If thou gettest a hold of but half a promise, thou shalt find it true. Beware of him, who is called “Clip-promise,” who will destroy much of the comfort of God’s word.
Jesus is Yea and Amen in all his offices. He was a priest who pardoned and cleansed once, and he iss a priest still an Amen a. He was a King to rule and reign for his people and to defend them with his mighty arm; he is an Amen King, the same still. He was a Prophet of old, to foretell good things to come; his lips are sweet and drop with honey still—he is an Amen Prophet. He is Amen as to the merit of his blood; he is Amen as to his righteousness. That sacred robe shall remain most fair and glorious when nature shall decay. He is Amen in every single title which he bears; your Husband, never seeking a divorce; your Friend, sticking closer than a brother; your Shepherd, with you in death’s dark vale; your Help and your Deliverer; your Castle and your High Tower; the Horn of your strength, your confidence, your joy, your all in all, and your Yea and Amen in all.
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
April 19: He’s Dead, But You Can Be Alive
Joshua 1:1–3:17; 2 Corinthians 9:1–5; Psalm 47:1–9
“My servant Moses is dead” (Josh 1:2).
Imagine the shock of this moment for Joshua, Moses’ right-hand man. He probably already knew about Moses’ death before God told him (Deut 34:1–8), but it’s at this moment that he really feels the tragedy.
If you’ve experienced death, you know this feeling—the moment when someone looks you in the eyes and says, “They’re gone.” You can’t prepare for it. It’s death; you can do nothing to change or handle it.
This was also the moment when Joshua was confronted with the excellent leadership burden that he would now carry due to Moses’ passing—equivalent to a vice president's emotional burden as he’s being sworn into office after the president has died.
Yahweh tells Joshua, “Get up and cross the Jordan, you and all these people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel. I have given it to you every place that the soles of your feet will tread, as I promised to Moses” (Josh 1:2–3). There isn’t a moment to spare; it’s time to move. So Joshua leads. Of all the incredible moments in his life—the battles he won and the bravery he showed in the face of danger—this moment is probably the most impressive because he simply does it (Josh 2:1).
Joshua does so in the face of the great fear of foreign warriors: “From the wilderness and Lebanon, up to the great river, the river Euphrates, all of the land of the Hittites, and up to the great sea in the west, will be your territory” (Josh 1:4). He will face these warriors while still overcoming grief.
We all experience moments like these that will shape who we become. We’ll experience grief, pain, and difficult decisions. We may be called to lead people. What we do in these moments defines us; it determines what kind of Christ followers we will be.
Joshua experienced the great comfort of God’s Spirit and guidance, and Christians can do the same (Deut 34:9–12; John 17). That’s something that no one can take away from us, and no circumstance can overcome.
How are you handling grief or pain in your life? What essential moments and decisions are in front of you? How can you incorporate the Spirit into everything you do at this moment?
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 19th
The way of Abraham in faith
He went out, not knowing whither he went. Hebrews 11:8.
In the Old Testament, personal relationships with God showed themselves in separation, symbolized in Abraham's life by his separation from his country and from his kith and kin. Today, separation is more of a mental and moral separation from how those dearest to us look at things, that is, if they do not have a personal relationship with God. Jesus Christ emphasized this (see Luke 14:26).
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading. It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but of knowing Who makes us ‘go.’ The root of trust is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God will surely lead us to success.
The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character. There are many passing transfigurations of character; when we pray, we feel the blessing of God enwrapping us, and for the time being, we are changed, then we get back to the ordinary days and ways, and the glory vanishes. Faith is not a life of mounting up with wings but walking and not fainting. It is not a question of sanctification but of something infinitely further on than sanctification, of faith that has been tried and proved and has stood the test. Abraham is not a type of sanctification but a life of faith, a tried faith built on a real God. “Abraham believed God.”
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986).
April 19
Having the boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus … let us draw near with a true heart.
Heb. 10:19, 22
Oh, the glory of the message! For fifteen centuries, Israel had a sanctuary with a Holiest of All, into which, under pain of death, no one might enter. Its one witness was that man cannot be present and dwell in God’s and cannot abide in His fellowship. And now how changed is all! As then the warning sounded: “No admittance! Enter not!” so now the call goes forth: “Enter in! the veil is rent; the Holiest is open; God waits to welcome you to His bosom; henceforth, you are to live with Him.” This is the message. Child! Thy Father longs for thee to enter, to dwell, and to go out no more forever.
Andrew Murray
Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).
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