January 10

“Shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee?” Matthew 18:33

We can find many things in the Bible which God does not like. One that he most dislikes is unwillingness to forgive on the part of his children. It is exceedingly ugly in the sight of God for the forgiven sinner to be merciless, and for the recipient of divine grace to be ungracious.

The Lord expects you to treat others as he has treated you. The servant in the parable may have been righteous in his demand for payment, but a Christian’s relationships are based, not on being righteous, but on being also gracious. We must not remember another’s sins, nor should we demand justice, for just though our demands may be, yet to do so is sinful. The basis for a believer’s relations with others is never righteousness alone. It is the grace of God. 

January 9

“When the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.” Matthew 13:6

                        

The real trouble was not the sun, but the lack of roots. In the spiritual life roots represent that part of the life which has a secret history with the Lord. Those who live their lives only before men lack that secret history. May I ask you a straight question? What proportion of your life is lived in secret? Is any of it hidden from the eyes of man? Is your prayer-life limited to the prayers you utter in prayer meetings? Is your knowledge of the Word of God limited to what you preach? Are all your intimate spiritual experiences shared with other people? If so, then you lack roots.

It is those Christians who have a history with God in the secret place who triumphantly survive the fiery trials of the way. If one day we are faced with the option of renouncing our faith or losing our lives, which will we choose? It is not in that day that the issue will be settled; it is now. If in that day we fail him, it will be because we have not sent down our roots deep enough today.

January 8

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom.” Song of Songs 2:15

What are these “little foxes” which are so destructive? Every small appearance of the old life—a habit, a bit of selfishness, uncrucified pride, a tendency to dwell on past grievances—all these and much more are the little foxes.

These are not the grave sins, shameful reversion to the world, but the unobtrusive and often unnoticed contradictions of our calling in Christ. How they spoil what might otherwise be such a delight to God! We are told that in one who has a reputation for wisdom and honor, even a little folly can give what was fragrant an unpleasant odor.

Such follies and foibles threaten to prevent the vines whose blossom is so full of promise from ever realizing their capacity for fruitfulness. Now it might be thought that such minor failings could easily be dealt with, but evidently it is not so. The Beloved does not leave us to cope with them by ourselves. “Let us take . . .,” he whispers. “You need my help. We will do it together.”

January 7

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem.” Isaiah 40:1, 2

The previous chapter tells how all the values of Isaiah's preaching and praying had been thrown away by the foolish conceit of Hezekiah. As a result of the king's display of all his treasures to the Babylonian ambassadors, Isaiah had to speak the sad words of prophecy: “All . . . shall be carried lo Babylon: nothing shall be left.”

A lesser man than Isaiah would have given up in despair. All his life’s work seemed to lie in ruins. But the prophet’s ministry was based upon such a clear vision of the Lord of hosts that he was able to continue with the new task of comforting God’s people and pointing them on to restoration and recovery. Isaiah was a true overcomer.

January 6

 “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24

We Christians often have a wrong concept of faith. The Lord says that he who believes that he has received shall receive, whereas we maintain that he who believes that he will receive shall have it.

Will you permit me to say something out of my own experience? It is that prayer may be divided into two parts. The first is praying without any promise until the promise is given. All prayers begin this way.

The second is praying from the point at which the promise is given until it is realized and the promise is fulfilled. Faith is not just saying that God will hear you; it is coming to the place where because God has promised, you can truthfully claim that he has already heard your prayer. So we may say that the first part is praying from no faith to faith; the second part is praising from faith to actual possession.

January 5

“If I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.” Luke 19:8

Zacchaeus sets us a good example. The power of the Lord was so greatly upon him that he was willing to restore fourfold all that he had gained by cheating. The principle in Leviticus was to add one fifth part only to the whole, but he was moved to do so much more.

His fourfold indemnity was not a condition for becoming a son of Abraham, nor was it a requirement for receiving the salvation of God. It was, however, the result of his being a son of Abraham and the result of having salvation come to his house. Moreover, by making restoration fourfold he effectively sealed the mouth of the critics of Jesus’ actions in visiting him. His act played no part in securing his forgiveness by God. It did, however, have a definite bearing on his testimony before men.

January 4

“Jesus said unto them, Verily. verily l say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I Am.” John 8:58

                   

The Gospel of John is the most profound of all the Gospels, as well as being the last written. In it we are shown what is God’s estimate of Christ. So we are made to understand that it is not a matter of God requiring a lamb, giving his people bread, or providing us with a way. Nor even that Christ can use his power to restore a dead man’s life or a blind man’s sight. In the whole of this Gospel we are confronted with one monumental fact, which is that Christ is all these things.

He did not say that he is able to give people light, but rather that he himself is the Light of the world. He did not only promise us the bread of life, but assured us that he himself is the broad of life. He did not just say that he would guide us in the way, but insisted that he himself is the Way. In Christianity Christ is everything. What he gives is his very own Self.

January 3

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest?” John 4:35

The disciples were prepared to wait four months before tackling the task, but our Lord told them in effect that the time to work is now, not at some future date. “Lift up your eyes and look. . .” he said, indicating the kind of workmen he needed: that is, those who do not stand waiting for the work to come to them, but have eyes to see the work that is already waiting to be done.

Have you ever come across any “Go slow” workmen? They take in hand to do a piece of work, but they dawdle over it and drag it on and on as long as they can preserve any semblance of industry, for they are not seriously bent on working, but are really killing time. How unlike this was the Lord Jesus! “My Father worketh even until now,” he declared, “and I work.”

January 2

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God.” Revelation 1:8

It is God who made the original design, and it is God who will bring it to completion. How can we thank him enough that he is the Alpha, the initiator of all things? “in the beginning God. . .” When the heavens and the earth were created, it was God who purposed it all. All things had their origin in him.

But at the same time he is the Omega. Man can and will fail: he may have good intentions and make fine promises, but always they will lack fulfillment. God. however, never gives up. He will never let any part of his purpose for mankind go unfulfilled. Do you doubt that? If the day should come when you feel that his work cannot be successful, listen to him again as he affirms, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.”

January 1

“Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on.” Philippians 3:13, 14

Because God acts in history, the flow of the Spirit is ever onward. We who are on earth today have inherited vast wealth through servants of Jesus Christ who have already made their contribution to the Church. We cannot overestimate the greatness of our heritage, nor can we be sufficiently grateful to God for it. But if today you try to be a Luther or a Wesley, you will miss your destiny. You will fall short of the purpose of God for this generation, for you will be moving backwards while the tide of the Spirit is flowing on.

The whole trend of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is a forward trend. God's acts are ever new. To hold on to the past, wanting God to move as he has formerly done. Is to risk finding yourself out of the mainstream of his goings. The flow of divine activity sweeps on from generation to generation, and in our own it is still uninterrupted, still steadily progressive.