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August 7, 2019

8/14/2019

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses (Joshua 1:3).

    Joshua was leading the Israelites into the land of Canaan. Untrained and inexperienced, they were going up against fierce enemies behind great fortifications. God's promise was that every place on which their feet should tread would be theirs. God had given it to them. It was their country.

    In our spiritual warfare God leads us into victories step by step. By His grace, through His strength, in His guidance, and at His command we must conquer our spiritual enemies. Then the Promised Land of glory will be ours. The life of the Christian should be a series of uninterrupted victories. There is no need for defeat. Clad in the scriptural armor, we are to go forward, ever forward in faith.

    During one of Napoleon's early battles, his army was broken and ready to retreat. Escape was the only thought in the minds of the shattered ranks. The drummer boy was asked to beat a retreat. "I do not know how to beat a retreat," he said, "but I can beat a charge!" And he did. The disheartened, wavering men rallied, and with one magnificent thrust broke the power of the surprised enemy, cleared the field, and won the day.

    The whole world belongs to God's children now, but after the second coming of Christ and the purification of this earth they will enter into their inheritance (Dan. 2:44), for the saints of the Most High shall possess the kingdom and shall dwell therein forever (Dan. 7:27).

    Be of good courage, Christian, for you are in the battle for your soul. Even the battlefield itself belongs to you by God's promise. He who put "to flight the armies of the aliens" (Heb. 11:34) will put to flight all your spiritual enemies and give you victory in Christ.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us" (Ps. 44:5).

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August 6, 2019

8/14/2019

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Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven (Matt. 10:32).

    Let us never be ashamed to own our Lord. In one of D. L. Moody's meetings a little towhead Norwegian boy who could hardly speak a word of English stood up and came to the front. Trembling and with tears trickling down his cheeks, he said, "If I tell the world about Jesus, He'll tell the Father about me." That was all he said, and all he needed to say. In fact, it was more than all the rest said that day. That's what it means to confess Him.

    "Ye shall be [my] witnesses," said Jesus in Acts 1:8. In this world and in the great court of eternity we are to confess the Lord Jesus, and He will confess us before the Father. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ," declared the apostle Paul in Romans 1:16, "for it is the power of God unto salvation." In other words, "It has done something for me. It has changed my life and the lives of others."

    In a certain hospital a little fellow had a piece of bone removed from his arm. The operation was successful, and he recovered completely. On leaving the hospital he asked to see the doctor. "You wished to see me, Billy?" asked the surgeon.

    The little fellow lifted up his hand and laid it on the doctor's shoulder--it was just as high as he could reach. With his face beaming, he said, "My mama will never hear the last about you."

    If we fully realize what Christ has done for us, we should say to Him, "My friends will never hear the last about You."

                                Give us grace to follow fully
                                        Vanquishing our faithless shame,
                                Feebly, it may be, but truly
                                        Witnessing for Thy dear name.
                                                                    __Frances R. Havergal

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people" (Ps. 35:18).

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August 5, 2019

8/5/2019

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  The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken (Deut. 18:15).

    In these inspired words Moses, the servant of God, plainly and specifically prophesied of the Messiah to come. And God promised, "I...will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him" (verse 18).

    In fulfillment of this prophecy Jesus Christ came into this world as the Son of God, and took to Himself the divine name "I AM," for which attempts were made to stone Him.

    His words were the words of God, which no one can neglect except at their own peril. He declared, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). The Temple officers who heard Him said, "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:46). "And all...wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth" (Luke 4:22). He Himself said, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the words that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). He declared that the heavenly Father had given Him a commandment, what He should say and what He should speak (verse 49). Jesus came in fulfillment of the prophecy made through Moses. He spoke the words of God. If we reject Him, we reject God Himself as well as His Son.

    Solomon B. Freehof, distinguished Jewish preacher, said: "The consciousness of the presence of God has come to millions of men and women through Jesus. No Muslim ever sings, 'Muhammad, lover of my soul,' nor does any Jew say of Moses, the teacher, 'I need thee every hour.' He [Jesus] brought God near to men through His presence. He made the Divine personal for myriads of worshippers."

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth" (Ps. 83:18).

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August 4, 2019

8/4/2019

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  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Ps. 23:4).

    How often has this precious promise strengthened Christians as they were finishing life's journey. The rod and staff of Holy Scripture were their stay. The presence of God was with them, and they were as unafraid as a child falling asleep on its mother's breast. All the promises of the heavenly Father were theirs, and His loving-kindness and tender mercy, which had followed them all the days of their life, were with them still.

    This promise applies also to the dark valleys we meet in this life. In his Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan puts the valley of the shadow into this pilgrimage long before the traveler passes through the river beyond which rise the celestial hills. Some of us have traversed dark and dreadful valleys many times and can bear witness that the Lord alone enabled us to come through safely.

    Many believers have been pressed, oppressed, and depressed, but still have lived. David said, "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,...and set my feet upon a rock" (Ps. 40:2). The shepherd's rod and staff were for the protection and care of the sheep. So will the Good Shepherd deliver us. Best of all, He will never leave us or forsake us, even in the dark valley. Sometimes the valley is darker than it needs to be because of our unnecessary fear. On the mantel in the ancient Hind's Hotel in Bray, England, is a legend all may read: "Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there."

                                Father, guide us on life's journey,
                                        Be it day or night;
                                In each valley of the shadow,
                                        Find in Thee our light.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee" (Ps. 84:12).

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August 3, 2019

8/3/2019

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  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression (Ps. 19:13).

    Presumptuous sins are defiant sins, sins we commit with our eyes wide open, sins against light. Continuance in such sins finally brings a person into the condition known as "the great transgression," or the unpardonable sin.

    There were some in Christ's day who attributed His mighty healing power to the devil, although they knew it was from God. Our Savior warned them of their danger, and said that God would forgive all manner of sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost never has forgiveness (Matt. 12:31). In attributing the work of the Holy Spirit through Christ to the devil, they were knowingly sinning against light.

    Let us not hold to sin in any form, but seek forgiveness at once, for "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). God has promised to cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), to remove them from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), to put them behind His back (Isa. 38:17).

    The ocean covers 71 percent of the earth's surface to an average depth of nearly 13,000 feet. Two of the deep spots are the one north of Puerto Rico, 30,200 feet; and the one east of the Philippines, about 35,600 feet. God uses the symbol of the depths of the sea for His pardon of our sins. There not even the penetrating cosmic rays can reach them, and they will be not only forgiven but forgotten. God Himself say, "I will remember their sin no more" (Jer. 31:34).

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults" (Ps. 19:12).
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August 2, 2019

8/2/2019

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And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest (Ex. 33:14).

    This is a promise that includes all promises--"My presence shall go with thee." Here we have no continuing city. We just get our roots down and begin to relax when marching orders come. A change in work; another city, another state, another country--marching, marching, forever marching. But here is the promise: The Lord Himself will keep us company. His presence means His fellowship, His favor, His care, His mercy, every day. If God's presence is with us, everything in heaven and earth is ours. He who in His giving "spared not his own Son,...how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32).

    We should learn to practice the presence of God. Edwin Booth once gave this crisp advice to a group of young actors: "A king sits in every audience. Play to the king." The King of kings stands in the midst of all common things of life, and we should play to Him.

    The wilderness journey was too much for Israel without God. With God nothing was too much for them. They could go forward in faith and perfect security and peace because the presence of God was with them, and we can have the same experience today.

    An English cleric once said to a bright little girl in his church, "If you will tell me where God is, I will give you an orange."

    "If you will tell me where He is not," promptly replied the child, "I will give you two oranges."

    God's presence in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire led His people of old into the Promised Land, and He will lead us now.

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways" (Ps. 139:3).

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August 1, 2019

8/1/2019

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He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7).

    Life to the Christian is a battle and a march, a battle and a march. John Bunyan called it "the holy war which rages in and around the city of Mansoul." By grace we may follow our conquering Leader at last into the very center of the Paradise of God, for there is the tree of life. Again we shall be where human beings once were, beyond the cherubim and the flaming sword, and there we may eat and live forever.

    Some unknown writer put a lot of truth in a few words when they said, "If life is a comedy to him who thinks and a tragedy to him who feels, it's a victory to him who believes." Our victory is always in Christ. The apostle says, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ" (2 Cor. 2:14). In Him our weakness is turned into strength, our defeat into victory.

    A French business executive, permanently located in London, desired British citizenship. Many of his friends made light of his desire. "What difference does it make?" they asked. "You're a Frenchman. You have been here for years. Why become a British subject now?"

    But he held to his purpose, and after a long time, by surmounting many problems, he finally received official notice of his citizenship. His friends gathered around him that day and said: "Do you feel any different now? You are the same man, in the same business, in the same city. Everything is just the same. Why have you gone to all this trouble? Really what difference does it make?"

    The new British subject replied, "The difference is this: yesterday Waterloo was a defeat: todayit's a victory!" And so it is with every true believer. "Faith is the victory...that overcomes the world."

MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).

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