Day 5 - Thursday | | Daily Devotions | Morning and Evening: Daily Reading | Connect the Testaments | My Utmost for His Highest | Thoughts for the Quiet Hour |

Morning, January 30 Go To Evening Reading

“When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt bestir thyself.”

—2 Samuel 5:24

The members of Christ’s Church should be very prayerful, always seeking the unction of the Holy One to rest upon their hearts, that the kingdom of Christ may come, and that his “will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven;” but there are times when God seems especially to favor Zion, such seasons ought to be to them like “the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” We ought then to be doubly prayerful, earnest, wrestling more at the throne than we have been wont to. Action should then be prompt and vigorous. The tide is flowing—now let us pull manfully for the shore. O for Pentecostal outpourings and Pentecostal labors. Christian, in yourself, there are times “when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” You have a peculiar power in prayer; the Spirit of God gives you joy and gladness; the Scripture is open to you; the promises are applied; you walk in the light of God’s countenance; you have peculiar freedom and liberty in devotion, and more closeness of communion with Christ than was your wont. Now, at such joyous periods when you hear the “sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees,” is the time to bestir yourself; now is the time to get rid of any evil habit, while God the Spirit helpeth your infirmities. Spread your sail, but remember what you sometimes sing—

“I can only spread the sail;

Thou! Thou! Must breathe the auspicious gale.”

Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale if you want to prepare for it. Seek help of God, that you may be more earnest in duty when made more strong in faith; that you may be more constant in prayer when you have more liberty at the throne; that you may be more holy in your conversation whilst you live more closely with Christ.

Go To Morning Reading Evening, January 30

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.”

—Ephesians 1:11

When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal head of the covenant of grace, he has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of his obedience unto death are the joint riches of all in him and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will. See, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, “Whither the Forerunner is for us entered.” Heb. 6:20. Does he stand in the presence of God?—“He appears in the presence of God for us.” Heb. 9:24. Consider this, believer. You have no right to heaven in yourself; your right lies in Christ. If you are pardoned, it is through his blood; if you are justified, it is through his righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because he is made of God unto you sanctification; if you are kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at last, it will be because you are complete in him. Thus Jesus is magnified—for all is in him and by him; therefore the inheritance is made sure to us—for it is obtained in him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter because it is Jesus our Beloved “in whom” we have received all. Where is the man who shall estimate our divine portion? Weigh the riches of Christ in scales and his treasure in balances, and then think of counting the treasures that belong to the saints. Reach the bottom of Christ’s sea of joy, and then hope to understand the bliss God has prepared for those who love him. Overleap the boundaries of Christ’s possessions and then dream of a limit to the fair inheritance of the elect. “All things are yours, for ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

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

January 30: Difficult Definitions

Genesis 47–48; Hebrews 11; Ecclesiastes 12:1–8

As an editor, I love definitions. The field of lexicography can be complex, but when a definition is finally solidified, there’s comfort to be found. It becomes something stable. I also love the book of Hebrews: the author is keen on definitions, clarifying terminology, and using analogies to prove his points.

“Now faith is the realization of what is hoped for, the proof of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). In this succinct definition, I have perspective on the essence of faith. There is no room for doubt or error. The hope referred to is Jesus. And the proof is in an assurance that even though we cannot see Him, we have confidence in His work both presently and in the future.

The author goes on to say, “For by this [faith] the people of old were approved [by God]. By faith, we understand the worlds were created by the word of God so that what is seen did not come into existence from what is visible.… By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to a place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb 11:2–3, 8).

Abraham's story is an exemplar of actions reflecting faith. It shows us that belief is about hoping in God’s work in Christ and acting on what He has promised, but we have yet to see. That’s lexicography we can all depend upon.

How does this definition of faith (or belief) change your perspective on living a life faithful to Christ?

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 30th

The dilemma of obedience

And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 1 Samuel 3:15.

God seldom speaks to us in startling ways but in ways that are easy to misunderstand, and we say, ‘I wonder if that is God’s voice?’ Isaiah said that the Lord spake to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of circumstances. Nothing touches our lives, but God Himself speaks. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence?

Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance. Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak, Lord,” and make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline; it is meant to get me to where I can say, “Speak, Lord.” Recall the time when God did speak to you. Have you forgotten what He said? Was it Luke 11:13, or was it 1 Thess. 5:23? As we listen, our ear gets acute, and, like Jesus, we shall always hear God.

Shall I tell my ‘Eli’ what God has shown to me? That is where the dilemma of obedience comes in. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences—I must shield ‘Eli,’ the best people we know. God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli; he had to decide for himself. God’s call to you may hurt your ‘Eli,’ but trying to prevent the suffering in another life will obstruct your soul and God. At your own peril, you prevent the cutting off of the right hand or the plucking out of the eye.

Never ask for advice from another about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask for advice, you will nearly always side with Satan: “Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.”

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

January 30

Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death; that, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom. 6:4

That is the life we are called upon to live, and that is the life it is our privilege to lead, for God never gives us a call without it being a privilege, and He never gives us the privilege to come up higher without stretching out to us His hand to lift us up. Come up higher and higher into the realities and glories of the resurrection life, knowing that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Shake yourself loose of every encumbrance, turn your back on every defilement, give yourself over like clay to the hands of the potter, that He may stamp upon you the fullness of His own resurrection glory, that you, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, may be changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord.

W. Hay Aitken

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