Day 3 - Tuesday | Daily Devotions | Morning and Evening: Daily Reading | Connect the Testaments | My Utmost for His Highest | Thoughts for the Hour |

 Morning, December 3 Go To Evening Reading

“There is no spot in thee.”

—Song of Solomon 4:7

Having pronounced his Church positively full of beauty, our Lord confirms his praise with a precious negative, “There is no spot in thee.” As if the thought occurred to the Bridegroom that the carping world would insinuate that he had only mentioned her comely parts and had purposely omitted those features that were deformed or defiled, he sums up all by declaring her universally and entirely fair and utterly devoid of stain. A spot may soon be removed and is the least thing that can disfigure beauty, but even from this little blemish, the believer is delivered in his Lord’s sight. Suppose he had said there was no hideous scar, no horrible deformity, no deadly ulcer. In that case, we might even then have marveled, but when he testifies that she is accessible from the slightest spot, all these other forms of defilement are included, and the depth of wonder is increased. If he had but promised to remove all spots by and by, we should have had eternal reason for joy, but when he speaks of it as already done, who can restrain the most intense emotions of satisfaction and delight? O my soul, here is marrow and fatness for thee; eat thy complete, and be satisfied with royal dainties.

Christ Jesus has no quarrel with his spouse. She often wanders from him and grieves his Holy Spirit, but he does not allow her faults to affect his love. He sometimes chides, but it is always in the tenderest manner, with the kindest intentions: it is “my love” even then. There is no remembrance of our follies; he does not cherish ill thoughts of us, but he pardons and loves as well after the offense as before it. It is well for us, and it is so, for if Jesus were as mindful of injuries as we are, how could he commune with us? Often, a believer will put himself out of humor with the Lord for some slight turn in providence, but our precious Husband knows our silly hearts too well to take any offense at our ill manners.

Go To Morning Reading Evening, December 3

“The Lord mighty in battle.”

—Psalm 24:8

Well, may our God be glorious in the eyes of his people, seeing that he has wrought such wonders for them, in them, and by them. For them, the Lord Jesus upon Calvary routed every foe, breaking all the weapons of the enemy in pieces by his finished work of satisfactory obedience; by his triumphant resurrection and ascension, he completely overturned the hopes of hell, leading captivity captive, making a show of our enemies openly, triumphing over them by his cross. Every arrow of guilt that Satan might have shot at us is broken, for who can lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Vain are the sharp swords of infernal malice and the perpetual battles of the serpent’s seed, for amid the Church, the lame take the prey, and the feeblest warriors are crowned.

The saved may well adore their Lord for his conquests in them since the arrows of their natural hatred are snapped and the weapons of their rebellion broken. What victories has grace won in our evil hearts! How glorious is Jesus when the will is subdued and sin dethroned! As for our remaining corruptions, they shall sustain an equally sure defeat, and every temptation, doubt, and fear shall be utterly destroyed. In the Salem of our peaceful hearts, the name of Jesus is great beyond compare: he has won our love, and he shall wear it. Even thus, we may look for victories by ourselves securely. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. We shall cast down the powers of darkness which are in the world, by our faith, and zeal, and holiness; we shall win sinners to Jesus, we shall overturn false systems, we shall convert nations, for God is with us, and none shall stand before us. This evening, let the Christian warrior chant the war song and prepare for to-morrow’s fight. More significant is he that is in us than in the world.

 C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).

December 3: Facing the Storms on the Horizon

Jeremiah 4:19–5:31; Colossians 2:6–23; Proverbs 11:13–31

Having knowledge or insight into a situation and feeling helpless to act upon that information is one of the most frightening feelings we can experience. It makes us anxious, even pained.

Jeremiah 4 describes this experience: “My heart is restless within me, I cannot keep silent, for I hear in my inner self the sound of a horn, the alarm of war. Destruction on destruction is proclaimed, for all of the land is devastated.… How long must I wait to see the banner and hear the sound of a horn? ‘For my people are foolish; they have not known me. They are foolish children, and they do not have insight. They are skillful at doing evil and do not know how to do good” (Jer 4:19–22).

How should we react in moments like these? How should we operate? There are more complex answers to these questions. But what is certain is that we must depend on God and His provision. We must look at the coming storms in our lives and the lives of others and recognize that Yahweh will be at work—regardless of the difficulties we encounter in the process.

Like Jeremiah, we must speak up, but we must root ourselves in Christ as we do so. Paul writes, “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, live in him, firmly rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding with thankfulness” (Col 2:6–7). We must thank Christ for His work in us and live as He has asked us to live. If we are called to tell others about the ramifications of their actions, we must always be motivated by Christ’s love. As the book of Proverbs tells us, “A gossip walks about telling a secret, but the trustworthy in spirit keeps the matter. Where there is no guidance, a nation shall fall, but there is safety in an abundance of counsel” (Prov 11:13–14).

Let our counsel be godly. Let our words be truthful. Let us see that God will guide us in the events we can change and those we can’t. Let our actions proceed from thankfulness and love.

What storm are you anxious about? How can you depend on God in that storm?

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).

December 3

Not by might nor by power

And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and power. 1 Cor. 2:4.

If, in preaching the Gospel, you substitute your evident knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the Gospel, you hinder people from getting to Reality. You have to see that while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, you are rooted and grounded in faith in God. Never rely on the clarity of your exposition, but as you give your exposition, see that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in souls.

Once you are rooted in Reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith, but nothing can ever upset God or the almighty Reality of Redemption; base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God. Once you get into personal contact with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God puts His disapproval on human experience when we begin to adhere to the conception that sanctification is merely an experience and forget that sanctification itself has to be sanctified (see John 17:19). I have deliberately given my sanctified life to God for His service so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.

 Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986).

December 3

Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost

2 Peter 1:21

The Bible is the writing of the living God. Each letter was penned with an almighty finger. Each word in it dropped from the everlasting lips. Each sentence was dictated by the Holy Spirit. Although Moses was employed to write his histories with his fiery pen, God guided that pen. It may be that David touched his harp and let sweet psalms of melody drop from his fingers, but God moved his hands over the living strings of his golden harp. Solomon sang canticles of love and gave forth words of consummate wisdom, but God directed his lips and made the preacher eloquent. If I follow the thundering Nahum when his horses plow the waters; or Habakkuk, when he sees the tents of Cushan in affliction; if I read Malachi when the earth is burning like an oven; if I turn to the smooth page of John, who tells of love; or the rugged chapters of Peter, who speaks of fire devouring God’s enemies; if I turn aside to Jude, who launches forth anathemas upon the foes of God everywhere I find God speaking; it is God’s voice, not man’s; the words are God’s words; the words of the Eternal, the Invisible, the Almighty, the Jehovah of ages. This Bible is God’s; when I see it, I hear a voice springing up from it, saying, “I am the Book of God. Man, read me. I am God’s writing. Study my page, for I was penned by God. Love me, for He is my Author, and you will see Him visible and manifest everywhere.”

Spurgeon

 Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).