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February 25: The Fear Leviticus 17:1–19:37 ; John 9:13–34 ; Song of Solomon 7:10–13 We often don’t realize that we’re guilty of fearing others. At the time, it can feel definite and look legitimate. Fearing others can also take the form of a meticulous house, staying late at the office, or passing anxious, sleepless nights. When we hold someone else’s opinions higher than God’s, we suddenly find our world shaky and imbalanced. Jesus’ healing of the blind man reveals that the fear of people is not a modern concept. The Pharisees had a stranglehold on Jewish life: “for the Jews had already decided that if anyone should confess him to be Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue” ( John 9:22 ). The blind man’s parents were victims of their mission, but they were willing victims. Even within the ruling ranks, though, opinions were divided, but the fear of people still ruled ( John 9:16 ). John reports elsewhere that “many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Ph...

Morning, February 25       Go To Evening Reading           “The wrath to come.”            — Matthew 3:7 It is pleasant to pass over a country after a storm has spent itself; to smell the freshness of the herbs after the rain has passed away, and to note the drops while they glisten like purest diamonds in the sunlight. That is the position of a Christian. He is going through a land where the storm has spent itself upon his Saviour’s head, and if there be a few drops of sorrow falling, they distil from clouds of mercy, and Jesus cheers him by the assurance that they are not for his destruction. But how terrible is it to witness the approach of a tempest: to note the forewarning of the storm; to mark the birds of heaven as they droop their wings; to see the cattle as they lay their heads low in terror; to discern the face of the sky as it groweth black, and look to the sun which shineth not, and the he...

February 25th The destitution of service Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. 2 Cor. 12:15 . Natural love expects some return, but Paul says— ‘I do not care whether you love me or not, I am willing to destitute myself completely, not merely for your sakes, but that I may get you to God.’ “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.” Paul’s idea of service is exactly along that line— ‘I do not care with what extravagance I spend myself, and I will do it gladly.’ It was a joyful thing to Paul. The ecclesiastical idea of a servant of God is not Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of other men. Jesus Christ out-socialists the socialists. He says that in His Kingdom he that is greatest shall be the servant of all. The real test of the saint is not preaching the gospel, but washing disciples’ feet, that is, doing the things that do not count in th...

February 25   Thy gentleness hath made me great         2 Sam. 22:36 The gentleness of Christ is the comeliest ornament that a Christian can wear. William Arnot Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

The Wise and the Foolish Excerpt Most of the sentences in this unit state contrasting ideas. The exceptions are vv. 10 , 18 , and 22 in which the first thought is expanded in the second. Smith, James E. The Wisdom Literature and Psalms. Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1996. Print. Old Testament Survey Series.

Kiriath Jearim

Walking With God Excerpt John’s readers were confused by two false teachings. The first was the claim that those who choose sin’s lifestyle can maintain fellowship with God. This John labeled as a lie (v. 6 ). The second claim was by those who said they were without sin (v. 8 ). They based their claim to fellowship with God on the belief that they matched God in His moral perfection! John called this claim self-deceit: “We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (v. 8 ). Truth and falsehood are not related so much to the trustworthiness of the teller as they are to correspondence with reality. The problem with the claim of sinlessness is not that the motives of the claimant are unpure. His or her report may be made with honest conviction. But the report of sinlessness is mistaken: it does not correspond to reality. “We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” What is the reality of sin for the Christian? The simple fact is that while in His death Jesus dealt fully wit...