March 31

“We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?” Romans 6:2

Let us be careful not to separate into two the death of the Lord Jesus as our substitute and our death with him. Those who find pleasure in intellectual distinctions are apt to confuse us by doing so, but in spiritual life these two are one. His substitutionary death for our sins and our death with him to sin and self should be distinguished but never separated. Paul clearly affirms here in Romans that those who believe in the death of the Lord Jesus as their Savior have already died to sin.

The penalty for my sin is death. The Lord Jesus suffered this death for me; therefore, I have died in him. There can be no salvation otherwise. To say that he died for me is to say that I have already suffered sin’s penalty and died in him. Everyone who lays hold of this reality will experience its power of deliverance from sin and self in his daily living.

March 30

“Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my soul keep them.” Psalm 119:129

There is something about the Lord Jesus which is altogether more than his work. He is himself a testimony to the nature of God. He is the only One who could say, “I delight to do thy will, O my God.” That is why God has entrusted the outworking of the eternal purpose to him.

How, then, do we bear testimony? By putting the Lord Jesus in the central and supreme place. Of course he will be supreme in the kingdom of God that is to come, but we must not wait for everything to happen then. The faithful witness to God’s kingdom is careful to give Christ that place of supremacy here and now.

March 29

“These are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast and bring forth fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15

The question has been raised, how do you reconcile God’s requirements of “an honest and good heart” with the statement that “the heart is deceitful above all things”? But the point in the parable of the sower is not that the man who receives the Word is a perfectly honest man in God’s eyes, but that he is honest toward God. Whatever is in his heart, he is prepared to come to God frankly and openly with it. It is possible for a man with a deceitful nature to turn honestly to God.

This is what God seeks in men, and something of this meaning is contained in the Lord’s promise to “show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” The basic condition of a sinner’s salvation is not belief, but just this honesty of heart toward God. God requires nothing of him but that he come in that attitude. Into that spot of straightforwardness that lies in the midst of much deceit, the good seed falls and brings forth fruit.

March 28

“But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the some image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Not only does the Spirit of God indwell regenerate man; he is ceaselessly at work refashioning him according to the image of Christ. We are wrong to treat the Holy Spirit merely as an honored guest when in fact he has been living in his house for ten or twenty years. He is the active owner-occupier, fashioning, building, reshaping, until the marks of his workmanship are unmistakable. That is how it should be.

When a house has been occupied by someone for a long while, it begins to reveal his personality, his tastes, his pleasures and fulfillments, and we see this often when we go into homes. Just so, the fruits of the Spirit begin to appear where he is dwelling, as old features of the believer give way, step by step, to the likeness of Christ. The man is changed from glory to glory when the Lord the Spirit is at work.

March 27

“And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11

This world is unreal. Rejection of the truth has produced a state of affairs in which men are so deceived that they are confident that they are right. The deliberate liar cannot bear to be questioned; but the blinded do not mind, because their deception has become the truth to them.

It is terrible to believe a lie. To believe the lies of others is bad enough, but it is much worse to believe one’s own lies. Thank God for his illumination which can quickly dispel all such darkness. We need never fear deception if we maintain “the love of the truth” (verse 10) by which men are saved. The one great mistake is to avoid God’s light, so closing our minds to him who is the Truth.

March 26

“Though he slay me, yet will l wait for him.” Job 13:15

What God expects of us is that we will not make personal enjoyment the purpose of our lives. As we run the spiritual race, we are to carry on whether or not we feel comfortable. Feelings and emotions are not to influence our attitude toward God. The life of faith is a life lived believing God under all circumstances.

It is always possible for us to know in our hearts that a certain course is God’s will for us, yet to feel no enthusiasm for it. We may even feel dry and parched in spirit when we perform it. Worse still, the sense of the Lord’s pleasure and the conscious experience of his blessing may be absent. It is as though we are passing through a dark ravine with the enemy contesting our way. Emotion begins to doubt when it enters such a valley of shadow, but faith trusts God and obeys even in the face of death.

March 25

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.” Philippians 3:10

When the Lord Jesus was here on earth, people knew him in a variety of ways. Some had received things from his hand, some had leaned on his bosom, some had touched the border of his garment, and some had had their feet washed by him. There were even those who, knowing him already before his public ministry, might tell how he advanced in wisdom and stature in those thirty years. It was all very local and close at hand.

Today Jesus is risen, and we know him by the Holy Spirit. The Lord whom we may now know is become what those who touched him, or were touched by him, could not at that time know. For today we meet the Lord of resurrection, the One who transcends all boundaries. The Church has continued on for nearly 2,000 years because there are always people who see the Lord of resurrection.

March 24

“And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept.” 2 Samuel 18:33

Although Absalom was a rebel, he was still a son. When Saul died at the Philistines’ hands, David mourned the death of one who had been his lawful king; but when Absalom was slain by Joab, David was inconsolable, though now it was a traitor that he mourned. The battle had been fought, treason had to be punished; yet David’s father-heart was filled with sorrow at his son’s death. Judgment had been necessary, but the tears flowed.

Judgment that is unmixed with tears discloses in us a grave deficiency of Christian love. If there is condemnation but no distress, then there is a sad lack in the family of God. It is wrong to condone evil, but it is even worse to harbor a vindictive spirit against the wrongdoer. We are told rather to forgive every one his brother from our hearts.

March 23

“And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” 1 Corinthians 14:32

Suppose a musician is capable of playing three instruments, the piano, the organ, and the violin, with equal accomplishment. He may perform the same piece of music on each of them in turn, and since the three instruments possesses each its own distinct character, each performance will be a different work of art. The artist and music are the same, but each instrument in turn will provide its own unique flavor and color and feel.

The Lord’s servants in the New Testament somewhat resemble these musical instruments. The same Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached through the pen of four different evangelists, giving us a picture of him in four dimensions. How this enriches our understanding of him! Under the government of the Holy Spirit, this personal element of each, far from clouding our view of God’s living Word, enhances and interprets it all the more wonderfully. Is it surprising, then, that each of us, reading the Bible, encounters Christ in terms that match his own situation?

March 22

“Ye that are Jehovah’s remembrancers, take ye no rest, and give him no rest, till he . .. make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Isaiah 62:6-7

When the children of Israel commenced to plan for their exodus from Egypt, the reaction of Pharaoh was to double their labor so that they had no time even to think about it. When you begin to plan or practice a more effective prayer life, Satan will counter by making you busier than ever with needs and responsibilities, so that you have no time for prayer.

You must not neglect your duties nor fail to take your responsibilities seriously, but you should put prayer first. In this realm the principle of tithing may also be helpful. After you have given God a tenth, you will discover that you can more efficiently use the remaining nine-tenths of your time. Give God his rightful portion and it may even be that the other nine-tenths is more effective than the ten-tenths which you had before you tithed.

March 21

“I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Genesis 32:30

God uses his light to expose to us our true situation. This is what brings us to our knees. As he did with Jacob at Peniel, God in mercy must bring us there, where we see what is the true spring and motive of our life. For remember, God is dealing with what we really are by nature. There, in the light of God, we must be as we are; we cannot pretend. Pretense is not Christianity. We may very much want to be different, but what we are by nature, we are. Nothing hinders God more than pretending it is otherwise.

The more “humble” some people are, the more one wishes they would show a little pride, because that would give God a chance to get on with the work. For it is never our pretense, but only God’s touch that brings about transformation. If the work is to be done by me, it will get me nowhere. From being “natural” I shall merely become unnatural. But if the work is God’s work, the changes wrought by him have a definite purpose and direction. He starts with a Jacob and ends with an Israel.

March 20

“Ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18

Since there is neither male nor female in Christ, it may be surprising to encounter this distinctive reference to God’s daughters. Perhaps the reason is that the verse refers to a very close personal relationship which is the comforting experience of those who are truly separated to God.

In church government male and female have their respective positions, but in the spiritual realm there can be no peculiar position for either, since Christ is all and in all. But in this highly personal matter of following the Lord and perhaps suffering for his sake, there is a special comfort for any Christian woman to know that she is a beloved daughter of her heavenly Father.

March 19

“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Ephesians 4:26

Of course to get angry and sin is always wrong: but how many of us think that the only way to avoid sinning is not to get angry! We simply do not know how to get angry and yet not sin. When Jesus cleansed the Temple, it was said of him, “The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.” He was stirred with indignation. But alas, how few Christians know that Spirit-controlled stirring within that the Lord knew and consequently, how few know the spiritual authority that accompanied it!

There are many things in the world which ought to be rebuked, but how many really know how to administer that rebuke? We have lost the power. To slap a man on the shoulder when he is wrong, turning a blind eye to his deeds for the sake of friendship, is a cheap way out, whereas to rebuke him patiently and in love may be costly.

March 18

“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” James 1:22

In the book of the Acts we find relatively little preaching. Its narrative is preeminently concerned with the works the apostles performed under the leading of the Holy Spirit. We discover what Peter was like, and that is the Word of God. We see also what Paul did, and again it is God’s Word. We read about the beginning of the church in Jerusalem, in Samaria, in Antioch and elsewhere, and these are not merely historical records but the Word of God as well.

                   

Men speak out God’s Word in history, but they work it out in history too, as the Holy Spirit reveals it through their lives. Thus the Word of God is full of the human element. Such is the peculiar feature of the Bible. The Bible is not a collection of devotional articles; it is men performing or living out the Word of God.

March 17

“O Lord, open thou my lips: and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.” Psalm 51:15

A hymn should contain sound truth, poetic form and structure, and a touch too of divine inspiration. In this psalm, which tells of David’s repentance, the truth is right and the psalm is poetically constructed. Moreover, in reading it we are aware of the depth of David’s repentance, for it touches spiritual reality. Hence it draws forth a response from our spirits.

One basic requirement for any creative work for God is that it must command such a response in us. It must bring us into touch with divine reality. A hymn on consecration should excite in us a desire to consecrate ourselves to God. A hymn of worship should stir the heart to adoration. A hymn of thanksgiving should give words to our gratitude. David lived a real life. When he was happy, he leaped for joy. When he was sad, he wept. And when he was forgiven, his lips were opened to show forth the praise of God.

March 16

“The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught.” Isaiah 50:4

These words are written prophetically about the Lord Jesus. They can be rendered, “the tongue of a disciple”; one, that is, who has disciplined himself to learn. The secret of spiritual advance is openness to be taught by God. We must throw heart and mind and spirit wide open to him, preserving always a way for divine impressions to reach us. When in our youth we first engaged in Christian work, we fancied we knew all there was to be known, and were so set in our ideas that friends found it almost impossible to get anything different across to us.

Unteachableness is a barrier to progress. If a person cannot learn, what possibility has he of advance? Oh, may God deliver us from our reluctance to accept instruction! To receive through whatever means, humbly and without hesitation, whatever he desires to teach us is to prosper in the school of Christ.

March 15

“No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it. even as Christ also the church.” Ephesians 5:29

We are told in verse 25 of this paragraph that Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her. The verbs in the past tense point to the purpose of his death, that he might obtain for himself a bride. Although her presentation to him lies in the future, yet his work has already been finished in the past.

In our verse above, however, the verbs are in the present tense. The Lord is at present nourishing and cherishing his Church. The point is made that no man will hate his own flesh. If a normal person has hurt his hand, he carefully cherishes that hand; if his foot is injured, he tenderly cares for it. Knowing our care for ourselves, we can the better grasp how it is that Christ is now engaged in nourishing and cherishing us. We are parts of his Body, the cherished objects of his loving care.

March 14

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15

This Paul, who fought the good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith, called himself the chief of sinners. The words “I am” are in the present tense. This reveals his own unchanging appraisal of himself. He had nothing to boast of. Like all the other sinners to whom he testified, he depended entirely on the grace of God.

More than that! He considered himself worse than the rest, feeling that he was in greater need of God’s grace than anybody else. We may rightly consider him as a man who surpassed all others in having received light from the Lord. Possibly this very fact made him judge himself the more severely. It is the one who lacks divine illumination of himself who imagines he is advancing in holiness. He who has glimpsed the blaze of God’s light has seen himself, too, as he really is.

March 13

“In that some hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.” Luke 10:21

We read only once in the Gospels about the Lord Jesus rejoicing, so it should be easy for us to learn something from this passage. It seemed as though he had failed in his ministry to these cities of Galilee, and yet he rejoiced in spirit, His joy clearly had nothing to do with circumstances, but was only gladness that the Father was doing what seemed good to him. He rejoiced, not in the conscious success of his own work, but just in the will of the Father.

We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength. It is this joy which upholds us; not that we have to seek to be joyful in imitation of Jesus, but that the very joy which he had is to be ours also, Of course in this life things around us will still cause us sadness. but is it not true that if we lose our joy we lose our strength? We must learn to live by his joy, which means rejoicing in our Father’s good pleasure.

March 12

“The river of God is full of water.” Psalm 65:9

A tide has ebb and flow. Can God’s life and power in the Spirit be characterized by like phenomena? By no means! His life knows no ebb, but is forever flowing. It does not rise and fall as the ocean, but is like a river, always full and strong. The tide must ebb at a certain hour. In the Source of the living water, there is no such “variation or shadow due to change.”

If the fountain of life within the believer ever becomes restrained and ceases to flow, it is not because there is anything wrong with the inlet; it is the outlet which has become obstructed. The water of life must have a way through. It must go somewhere. Others must enjoy it. The answer is simple: first clear the outlet and it will flow again unceasingly.

March 11

“But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:22

Here is an unbelieving father who is still living, and a son who thinks it would be better to go home and wait for his father’s death and burial before he begins to follow the Lord. Jesus counters this idea with the principle of letting the dead bury their dead. The “dead” here can only mean the spiritually dead, and by his words the Lord beckons the disciple to come away and leave burials to such people.

This in no way suggests that, for example, a new Chinese believer should not perform filial duties to his parents. Least of all should he be unmindful of their spiritual needs as they go to meet their God. What it stresses, rather, is the principle of letting the people of this world continue on with their unfinished business. Let us not wait until every earthly affair has been taken care of before coming to Christ. If we do, we may not have the time left to be Christians after all.

March 10

“Because I live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19

God has given to us his Son to be to us our life as well as our substitute on the cross. To understand this, we must first be clear on what life is. When someone who is difficult calls on you, you know at once that the situation requires you to be patient, but whence does your patience originate? To supply it, you know you must draw from your very life. Often to be patient you must call forth the very best that is in you. You know this all too well,

Or let us suppose you have a big task ahead, and you feel you should be diligent and not slothful. To be diligent, too, calls you to put forth all your energies. Or again, someone is in trouble and you know you should show him love and helpfulness. But where does your power to help come from? It is your life, your nature, that causes you to love. The drain upon you is immense, as again and again you exercise your very life to meet outside demands. And here is the wonderful thing: God has given us Christ, with the purpose that he should be to you your life.

March 9

“And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.” John 1:5

There is a great danger today of concentrating attention on questions of dark things and making them the subject of conversation. We invite darkness by discussing it, seeking to deal with it, or even thinking about it. The Christian must learn in this to set aside everything that is negative and be occupied with the positive.

Darkness cannot be driven out of the world, but light can swallow it up. The reverse is never true. There is no such thing as darkness swallowing up light. Light is light wherever it is, even under a bushel. Let me repeat: here even in this dark world, light is light. All the world’s darkness cannot extinguish it, but must itself retreat before even the glow of a tiny candle. When you meet darkness, it is absurd to dispel it, just bring in the light.

March 8

“Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” Exodus 14:15

Paul prayed three times, asking the Lord to remove the thorn from his flesh, but was told. “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Did he then pray a fourth time? NO. Once the Lord had spoken, the issue was settled by his word, If you pray after having received the promise, you will reintroduce doubt. Since God has already given you a word and you are in possession of faith, you ought instead to praise.

If you continue to pray, you will merely dissipate your faith. To pray on is to pray out faith and give place to doubt. By doing so, you show that you do not believe what God has already told you. Even in human relationships, you will certainly ask if you have received no promise; but once the promise is given, do you not then give thanks?

March 7

“A good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith." 1 Timothy 1:19

A ship which is wrecked cannot sail. Whether a Christian can proceed with his service for God depends therefore on whether he has any offense outstanding on his conscience. Confession to God will remove the offense; but as long as the believer accepts the accusation of Satan, his conscience is stuck with it. He cannot effectively serve God until his conscience is at rest once again.

How wrong we are to believe in the devil’s accusations more than we believe in the precious blood! When we commit sin we dishonor God; but when thereafter we fail to put our trust in the death of Christ for our sins, we dishonor him even more. It is a shameful thing to sin, but it is more shameful still to look elsewhere for peace. If we have sinned and do not go to God about it, then we deserve to he accused. If we have confessed our sin, then what more can be said against us?

March 6

“He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.’ Psalm 15:4

Whatever the nature of the contract, when the word of a Christian has been given, the promise must be honored. Because God keeps his word we have salvation; he is true to his pledge. The Gibeonites craftily deceived Joshua, and he made peace with them before discovering their plot (Joshua 9:19). Nevertheless. God insisted that the terms of the covenant be honored, and later withheld rain because King Saul went back on that undertaking.

God will not permit us carelessly to destroy a covenant. He who insisted that Joshua should spare the Gibeonites, and later that King David should avenge the wrong done to them, expects us to be true to our word, even if it be to our own disadvantage.

March 5

“And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” Genesis 4:4

Cain was a farmer and cultivated the soil. That was what his father had done in Eden. When Adam tilled the land there, we may conclude that he brought the produce of the earth and offered it to God. But now Cain was outside the garden of Eden because of sin. Nevertheless he tilled the soil as before, he received the produce as before, and he offered it to God as before. God not only refused to accept his offering, but also rejected him.

What man did before he sinned was acceptable to God, but nothing can be worse in God’s eyes than for man to do the former things as though he had not sinned. Cain was just like this. He continued to offer things to God as though nothing had happened. To commit sin is bad enough, but not to be conscious of it is more serious. Abel, however, was accepted because he acknowledged that a change had taken place. His offering admitted that he had sinned and that the shedding of blood was needed to satisfy God.

March 4

“The prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me.” John 14:30

When man was tempted and fell, God cursed the tempter. “Upon thy belly shalt thou go,” he said. “and dust shalt thou eat.” The sphere thus allocated to Satan was the earth, and his food was to be the very substance of which man had been made. Satan had gained a clear title to all that man had become by turning from God. He has acquired “squatters rights” in the old creation.

Praise be to God that, through Christ, Satan has now no rights in us. God the Redeemer met the situation by taking the old creation out of the way at Calvary and providing in Christ a new creation. So God has his Man. There is a Man who, even while he was on the earth, could affirm that the prince of this world had no claims upon him whatever. And this Man is now on the throne, guaranteeing that Satan has no claim upon us either, since we have been redeemed. The Son of Man was glorified so that we, the many sons, may also be brought to glory.

March 3

“It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20

God has not constituted Christ our Example to be copied. He is not giving us his strength to help us imitate Christ. He has not even planted Christ within us to help us to be Christlike. Galatians 2:20 is not our standard for record-breaking endeavor. It is not a high aim to be aspired to through long seeking and patient progress. No, it is not God’s aim at all, but God’s method.

When Paul says, “Christ liveth in me.” he is showing us the life that gives God satisfaction in the believer, and there is no substitute. “Not I, but Christ” means Christ instead of me. When Paul uses these words, he is not claiming to have attained something his readers have not yet reached to. He is defining the Christian life. The Christian life is the Christ-life. God gives Christ to become my life and to live his life in me.

March 2

“Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.” Luke 12:30

Many of us have experienced that again and again God has controlled us through money matters. When we have been in the center of his will, supplies have been sure; but as soon as we have been out of vital touch with him, they have become uncertain.

In his own work God must have the sole direction. At times we have fancied God would have us do a certain thing, but he has showed us it was not his will by withholding the financial means to do it. So we have been held under the constant direction of the Lord, and such direction is most precious. If we ceased to be dependent on him, how could such trust be developed? Our living by faith must be absolutely real. We must keep our eyes fixed on the unchanging God whose grace and faithfulness continue forever.

March 1

“When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him he manifested in glory.” Colossians 3:4

Many of us live in constant fear of temptation. We know just how much we can stand, but alas, we have not discovered how much Christ can stand. “I can stand temptation up to a point,” we say, “but beyond that point, I am done for.” lf two children cry, the mother can stand it; but if more than two cry together, under she goes.

Yet it is not really a matter of whether two children cry or three. It is all a question of whether I am getting the victory or Christ. If it is I, then I can stand two only. If Christ, it won’t matter if twenty cry at once! To be carried through by Christ is to be left afterwards wondering how it happened! This is a matter that God delights to bring us to with a new flash of understanding. Suddenly one day we see that Christ is our life. That day everything is changed.