Day 2 - Monday | Daily Devotions | Morning and Evening| Daily Reading | Connect the Testaments | My Thoughts for His Utmost | Thoughts for the Quiet Hour |

 Morning, January 27 Go To Evening Reading

“And of his fulness have all we received.”

—John 1:16

These words tell us that there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead.” There is a fulness of perfect manhood, for in him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. His blood has a fulness of atoning efficacy, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in his life, for “there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” His plea contains a fulness of divine prevalence: "He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” There is a fulness of victory in his death, for through death, he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. There is a fulness of efficacy in his resurrection from the dead, for “we are begotten again unto a lively hope.” His ascension is full of triumph, for “when he ascended high, he led captivity captive, and received gifts for men.” There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fulness at all times, a fulness of comfort in affliction, a fulness of guidance in prosperity. A fulness of every divine attribute, wisdom, power, and love; a fulness which it was impossible to survey, much less to explore. “It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Oh, what a fulness must this be of which all receive! Fulness, indeed, must there be when the stream is constantly flowing, yet the good springs up as free, rich, and complete as ever. Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask broadly, and thou shalt receive essentially, for this “fulness” is inexhaustible and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel—God with us.

Go To Morning Reading Evening, January 27

“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

—Luke 2:19

There was an exercise, on the part of this blessed woman, of three powers of her being: her memory—she kept all these things; her affections—she kept them in her heart; her intellect—she pondered them; so that memory, affection, and understanding, were all exercised about the things which she had heard. Beloved, remember what you have heard of your Lord Jesus and what he has done for you; make your heart the golden pot of manna to preserve the memorial of the heavenly bread whereon you have fed in days gone by. Let your memory treasure everything about Christ you have felt, known, or believed, and then let your fond affections hold him fast forevermore. Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken, and let all the precious ointment of your affection come streaming on his pierced feet. Let your intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon what you read: stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be not as the swallow which toucheth the brook with her wing, but as the fish which penetrates the lowest wave. Abide with your Lord: let him not be to you as a wayfaring man that tarrieth for a night but constrain him, saying, “Abide with us, for the day is far spent.” Hold him, and do not let him go. The word “ponder” means to weigh. Make ready the balances of judgment. Oh, but where are the scales that can weigh the Lord Christ? “He taketh up the isles as a tiny thing:”—who shall take him up? “He weigheth the mountains in scales”—in what scales shall we weigh him? If your understanding cannot comprehend, let your affections apprehend; if your spirit cannot grasp the Lord Jesus in the grasp of experience, let it embrace him in affection.

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

January 27: Revenge Isn’t Sweet

Genesis 42:29–43:34, Hebrews 5:11–7:28, Ecclesiastes 10:10–20

It’s easy to revel in vigilante justice, be joyful in the irony of someone getting “what’s coming to them,” or feel satisfied when “bad Karma comes back around” to others. The colloquialisms around the subject alone demonstrate our infatuation with justice. Joseph is similarly impassioned; he schemes against his brothers, who sold him into slavery. At the beginning of Gen 43, Joseph’s brothers must return to Egypt to request food from him—their younger brother, whom they do not recognize. Joseph waits for the youngest, Benjamin, to join them. What Joseph intends to do when he does, we’re not told.

When Benjamin and the other brothers arrive, Joseph is either moved with empathy or chooses to act upon his original plan of revealing himself in front of all his brothers (Gen 43:16, 29). Joseph even helps them financially, signaling that he still cares for them (Gen 44). Yet it doesn’t seem that Joseph has forgiven them yet because, in Genesis 44, more evil schemes emerge.

The thought of others feeling the same kind of pain they have inflicted can cause us to feel remorse. But we’re always aware of the choice; we can fight our instincts. We recognize that the best answer is turning the other cheek instead of lashing back. This may be easy for some, but for others—especially those who have been deeply hurt—abandoning the urge to inflict injury will require spiritual strength, prayer, and self-control.

Whom do you currently desire to see hurt? How can you let that feeling go? How can God help you release the situation to Him?

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).

January 27th

Look again and think.

Take no thought for your life. Matthew 6:25.

A warning that needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the riches, and the things enteringers the lust of oth deceitfulness will choke all that God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides of this encroachment. If it does not come on clothes and food, it will come on the line of money or lack of money, of friends or lack of friends, or on the line of difficult circumstances. It is one steady encroachment, and unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise the standard against it, these things will come in like a flood.

“Take no thought for your life.” ‘Be careful about one thing only,’ says our Lord—‘your relationship to Me.’ Common sense shouts loud and says—‘That is absurd; I must consider how I am going to live; I must consider what I am going to eat and drink.’ Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing the thought that this statement is made by One Who does not understand our particular circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to make them the one concern of our life. Whenever there is competition, put your relationship with God first.

“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” How much evil has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little imps have been looking in and saying—‘Now what are you going to do next month—this summer?’ ‘Be anxious for nothing,’ Jesus says. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the ‘much more’ of your Heavenly Father.

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

January 27

Are there not twelve hours in the day

John 11:9

The fact that a Christian is here and not in Heaven proves that some work awaits him.

William Arnot

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