Today's Verse:
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Today's Psalm:
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Today's Proverb:
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Today's Promise:
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Spurgeon last evening & this morning
Tuesday May 31, 2011
“Who healeth all thy diseases.”
Humbling as is the statement, yet the fact is certain, that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of him awhile to-night. His cures are very speedy-there is life in a look at him; his cures are radical-he strikes at the centre of the disease; and hence, his cures are sure and certain. He never fails, and the disease never returns. There is no relapse where Christ heals; no fear that his patients should be merely patched up for a season, he makes new men of them: a new heart also does he give them, and a right spirit does he put with them. He is well skilled in all diseases. Physicians generally have some speciality. Although they may know a little about almost all our pains and ills, there is usually one disease which they have studied above all others; but Jesus Christ is thoroughly acquainted with the whole of human nature. He is as much at home with one sinner as with another, and never yet did he meet with an out-of-the-way case that was difficult to him. He has had extraordinary complications of strange diseases to deal with, but he has known exactly with one glance of his eye how to treat the patient. He is the only universal doctor; and the medicine he gives is the only true catholicon, healing in every instance. Whatever our spiritual malady may be, we should apply at once to this Divine Physician. There is no brokenness of heart which Jesus cannot bind up. “His blood cleanseth from all sin.” We have but to think of the myriads who have been delivered from all sorts of diseases through the power and virtue of his touch, and we shall joyfully put ourselves in his hands. We trust him, and sin dies; we love him, and grace lives; we wait for him and grace is strengthened; we see him as he is, and grace is perfected for ever.
Wednesday June 1, 2011
“The evening and the morning were the first day.”
Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the blaze of noon even in my soul concerns, I must expect at seasons to mourn the absence of my former joys, and seek my Beloved in the night. Nor am I alone in this, for all the Lord’s beloved ones have had to sing the mingled song of judgment and of mercy, of trial and deliverance, of mourning and of delight. It is one of the arrangements of Divine providence that day and night shall not cease either in the spiritual or natural creation till we reach the land of which it is written, “there is no night there.” What our heavenly Father ordains is wise and good.
What, then, my soul, is it best for thee to do? Learn first to be content with this divine order, and be willing, with Job, to receive evil from the hand of the Lord as well as good. Study next, to make the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises, and for the gloom of evening as it falls. There is beauty both in sunrise and sunset, sing of it, and glorify the Lord. Like the nightingale, pour forth thy notes at all hours. Believe that the night is as useful as the day. The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine forth gloriously amid the darkness of grief. Continue thy service under all changes. If in the day thy watchword be labour, at night exchange it for watch. Every hour has its duty, do thou continue in thy calling as the Lord’s servant until he shall suddenly appear in his glory. My soul, thine evening of old age and death is drawing near, dread it not, for it is part of the day; and the Lord has said, “I will cover him all the day long.”
Faith’s Checkbook
today
Holy Foresight
Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven. (Matthew 26:64)
Oh, Lord, Thou wast in Thy lowest state when before Thy persecutors Thou wast made to stand like a criminal! Yet the eyes of Thy faith could see beyond Thy present humiliation into Thy future glory. What words are these, "Nevertheless-hereafter!" I would imitate Thy holy foresight, and in the midst of poverty, or sickness, or slander, I also would say, "Nevertheless-hereafter." Instead of weakness, Thou hast all power; instead of shame, all glory; instead of derision, all worship, Thy cross has not dimmed the splendor of Thy crown, neither has the spittle marred the beauty of Thy face. Say, rather, Thou are the more exalted and honored because of Thy sufferings.
So, Lord, I also would take courage from the "hereafter." I would forget the present tribulation in the future triumph. Help thou me by directing me into Thy Father's love and into Thine own patience, so that when I am derided for Thy name I may not be staggered but think more and more of the hereafter, and, therefore, all the less of today. I shall be with Thee soon and behold Thy glory. Wherefore, I am not ashamed but say in my inmost soul, "Nevertheless-hereafter."
First published in the late 1800's, Faith's Checkbook is a daily devotional full of wonderful promises from God's Word. Each verse is followed by a brief thought or application you can stand in faith on.
http://bible.christiansunite.com/Faiths_Checkbook/
===============================================================
Dr. Robert A. Cook
Empty Rooms in Empty People
Scripture, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Unless ye have believed in vain. (1 Cor. 15:2)
The church is stacked high with them. Other Christian organizations have more of them than they know how to handle. You may even be one of them yourself. What? A vain professor of religion! An empty person with empty rooms. Hollow, echoing rooms. God has given me a strange, burning burden for a vast multitude of folk who are satisfactorily religious. They have a religious outlook on life and are nominally faithful in their church and to religious duties.
But they "have believed in vain"! They profess, but do not possess. Do any of the following pictures portray the rooms of your heart and life? If they do, ask the Lord Jesus to help you. If they don't, you'll be better prepared to help others who may be having difficulty in some areas.
You deal lightly with sin. You have enough religion to make you feel comfortable among the saints, but not enough to spoil your relationship with sin and sinners. You think that sin is "cute." You don't blush at an off-color remark or dirty story. You play with sin like a cat plays with a mouse. Only when you get caught are you embarrassed. You are perceptive about the faults of others, but are slow to admit your own. You've lived so long with some of your sins that they are not like fumes from hell but like old friends.
Small thought here Beware when you become chummy with sin. When you no longer mourn over it. When you're puffed up about it. When you think you've really gotten away with something!
===============================================================Daily Light on the Daily Path
last evening & this morning
Tuesday May 31, 2011
Little children, abide in him. (1 John 2:28 )
He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (Jas. 1:6-8 )
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another. Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1:6-8 )
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Ye did run well; who did hinder you? (Gal. 5:4 , 7 )
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:4 , 7 ) For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him, Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Cor. 1:20 )
Wednesday June 1, 2011
The fruit of the Spirit is longsuffering, gentleness. (Gal. 5:22 )
The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. (Exo. 34:6 )
Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. (Eph. 4:1 , 2 , 32 ) Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (Eph. 4:32 ) The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (Jas. 3:17 ) Charity suffereth long, and is kind. (1 Cor. 13:4 )
In due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Gal. 6:9 ) Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (Jas. 5:7 , 8 )
==============================================================
Wednesday June 1, 2011
Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 13-14; John 12:1-26
Today's Thoughts: The Thrill of Victory
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4
Did you know that this word "victory" is used only six times in the New Testament? The Greek word for victory is "nike" and it means "a conquest" or "means of success." For many of us, the word Nike refers to the mega-sporting enterprise that sells shoes and clothing. Victory has been skewed by society standards to now mean something of extraordinary achievements. But Jesus would come and tell us to just have faith, for through faith we will be victorious.
How many of us as Christians today have victory in our lives? How awesome to experience the thrill of victory! But far too often we face the agony of defeat. Jesus did not come to earth, give His life, and leave us His Holy Spirit, just so we could enter heaven. Yes, He came to give us eternal life if we believe in Him, but He wants us to experience heaven on earth—today. Heaven on earth in this day and age? Is such a thought really possible?
Today's verse tells us that "whatever is born of God overcomes the world." If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, then you have been born of God and are His child. To even accept Jesus indicates a position of faith on your part, for "by grace you are saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). But real victory does not stop here, it begins here. Faith must be grown, matured and developed by the tests and trials of life. One reason prayer is so important is that our faith is increased every time we see God answer our prayers. And we must plant His word on our hearts and in our minds, for "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Christians who have weak prayer lives and no time in God's Word will face the agony of defeat more than the thrill of victory. But Christians who pray, who read the Bible, and who seek the Lord with all their heart will have victory simply because of their faith. Just remember, however, that victory in Jesus is not always defined the same as victory in the world.
Does your life reflect more victories or more defeats? Where do you spend your time and what are you seeking after? Start today by asking the Lord to increase your faith. Start praying for God's help. Confess and repent from any worldly desires that steal your time and attention away from the Lord. Begin reading His Word and praying for more understanding of how to apply it in your life. At some point, we must decide which way we want to live; and then start acting on the faith given to us through Jesus. Then, and only then, will we have victory.
Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/daily-disciples/ ==========================================================================
Life is God's gift to you. The way you live it is your gift to God.
