Day 1 - Lord's Day (Sunday) | Morning and Evening| Daily Reading | Connect the Testaments | My Thoughts for His Utmost | Thoughts for the Quiet Hour |

 Morning, February 2 Go To Evening Reading

“Without the shedding of blood is no remission.”

—Hebrews 9:22

This is the voice of unalterable truth. In no Jewish ceremonies were sins, even typically removed without blood-shedding. In no case, by no means, can sin be pardoned without atonement. It is clear, then, that there is no hope for me out of Christ, for there is no other blood-shedding which is worth a thought as an atonement for sin. Am I, then, believing in him? Is the blood of his atonement indeed applied to my soul? All men are on a level as to their need of him. If we are never so moral, generous, amiable, or patriotic, the rule will not be altered to make an exception for us. Sin will yield to nothing less potent than the blood of him whom God hath set forth as a propitiation. What a blessing that there is one way of pardon! Why should we seek another?

Persons of merely formal religion cannot understand how we can rejoice that all our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. Their works, prayers, and ceremonies give them inferior comfort; well, may they be uneasy, for they are neglecting the one great salvation and endeavoring to get remission without blood. My soul, sit down, and behold the justice of God as bound to punish sin; see that punishment all executed upon thy Lord Jesus, and fall down in humble joy, and kiss the dear feet of him whose blood has made atonement for thee. It is in vain when conscience is aroused to fly to feelings and evidence for comfort: this is a habit we learned in Egypt of our legal bondage. The only restorative for a guilty conscience is the sight of Jesus suffering on the cross. “The blood is the life thereof,” says the Levitical law, and let us rest assured that it is the life of faith and joy and every other holy grace.

“Oh! how sweet to view the flowing

Of my Saviour’s precious blood;

With divine assurance, knowing

He has made my peace with God.”

Go To Morning Reading Evening, February 2

“And these are ancient things.”

—1 Chronicles 4:22

Yet, it is not so ancient as those precious things that delight our souls. Let us for a moment recount them, telling them over as misers count their gold. The sovereign choice of the Father, by which he elected us unto eternal life, or ever the earth was, is a matter of vast antiquity since no date can be conceived for it by man's mind. We were chosen from before the foundations of the world. Everlasting love went with the choice, for it was not a bare act of divine will by which we were set apart, but the divine affections were concerned. The Father loved us in and from the beginning. Here is a theme for daily contemplation. The eternal purpose to redeem us from our foreseen ruin, to cleanse and sanctify us, and at last to glorify us, was of infinite antiquity and runs side by side with immutable love and absolute sovereignty. The covenant is always described as being everlasting, and Jesus, the second party in it, had his goings forth of old; he struck hands in sacred suretyship long ere the first of the stars began to shine, and it was in him that the elect was ordained unto eternal life. Thus, in the divine purpose, a most blessed covenant union was established between the Son of God and his elect people, which will remain the foundation of their safety when time is no longer. Is it not suitable to be conversant with these ancient things? Is it not shameful that they should be neglected and even rejected by most professors? If they knew more of their own sin, would they not be more ready to adore distinguishing grace? Let us both admire and adore tonight as we sing—

“A monument of grace,

A sinner saved by blood;

The streams of love I trace

Up to the Fountain, God;

And in his sacred bosom, see

Eternal thoughts of Love to me.”

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

February 2: The Problem with Power

Exodus 4–6; John 1:19–34; Song of Solomon 1:5–7

Grasping for power is one of the easiest sins to fall into. At first, it looks like ambition, then it looks like success, and then it quickly becomes about your success and power. This can be costly to you and to all the people you hurt. If anything is done for power, it’s not worth achieving. And don’t let the snazzy word “influence” fool you; it’s just a synonym for the same empty desire.

John the Baptist exemplifies ambition, fueled by passion but constantly checked by God’s calling. He is firm in his words, confident in what he must do, but humble in his understanding of his relationship with God. He is not in it for himself but for Jesus. When asked, “Who are you?” (a leading question, since many believed him to be the Messiah the people expected), he replied, “I am not the Christ!” (John 1:19–20). When further questioned, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” (the supreme prophet besides the Messiah), he says, “No!” (John 1:21). When asked again about his identity, he finally responds, “I am the ‘voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ just as Isaiah the prophet said” (John 1:23).

John affirmed his identity as a prophet, but he assumed nothing. He didn’t even think what ended up being the truth: that he was a type of Elijah, as Jesus would later say (Matt 17:12–13). John said no when allowed to reach for power and be known as the Messiah. He would not claim authority that had not been given to him.

And this is where affirmation can be a scary thing. Just because other people think you’re something special doesn’t mean you should go along with what they say about you. Doing so is dangerous. John the Baptist’s humility sets the stage for Jesus, and he gets one of the greatest gifts of all: the chance to baptize Jesus.

The road between affirming God’s calling and grasping for power is narrow and rocky. But when you’re on the right path, you will feel it in your bones, and the Spirit of God will affirm it.

How are you grasping for power? How is ambition throwing off the alignment of your calling?

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).

February 2nd

The constraint of the call

Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel! 1 Cor. 9:16.

Beware of stopping your ears to the call of God. Everyone saved is called to testify to the fact, but that is not the call to preach; it is merely an illustration of preaching. Paul refers to the pangs he produced by the constraint to preach the Gospel. Never apply what Paul says in this connection to souls coming in contact with God for salvation. Nothing is easier than getting saved because it is God’s sovereign work—‘Come unto Me, and I will save you.’ Our Lord never lays down the conditions of discipleship as the conditions of salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Discipleship has an option with it—“IF any man …”

Paul’s words involve being made a servant of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated unto the gospel” means to hear the call of God, and when a man begins to overhear that call, then begins agony worthy of the name. Every ambition is nipped in the bud, every desire of life quenched, every outlook completely extinguished and blotted out, saving one thing only—“separated unto the gospel.” Woe be to the soul who tries to put his foot in any other direction once that call has come to him. This College exists to see whether God has any man or woman here who cares about proclaiming His Gospel and whether God grips you. And beware of competitors when God does grip you.

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

February 2

In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord

Eph. 2:21

The life tabernacle is a wondrous building; there is room for workers of all kinds in the uprearing of its mysterious and glorious walls. We may do the least if we cannot do the most outstanding work. Our heaven will come out of the realization that it was God’s tabernacle we were building, and under God’s blessing, we were working.

Joseph Parker

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