August 7

"The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing." John 5:19

Like our Lord Jesus, we should listen and wait on God before we try to speak or act for him. Only they who live in God’s presence and learn of him are really qualified to speak for him. May I say frankly to my fellow servants that the fault today with many of us is that we are either too bold, too strict, or too overbearing. We dare to speak what we have not heard from God. But by what authority do we thus speak? Who grants us this authority? In what are we superior to other brothers and sisters?

Authority belongs to God alone: no one else possesses it. The man who is to exercise the authority that God delegates to him must first live in his presence, commune with him continually, and study to know his mind. Then, because it is not his own but God’s authority that he meditates, others will be enriched, not crushed, by his utterances.

August 6

"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22

The greatest of God’s demands upon man is not for him to bear the cross, to serve, to make offerings, or to deny himself. The greatest demand is for him to obey.

The sacrifices offered here by Saul were those called in Leviticus sweet-savor offerings. These had nothing to do with sin, for the sin offerings were never described as a sweet-savor offering to the Lord. These were offered to God for his acceptance and satisfaction.

Why, then, did Samuel insist that it would have been better to have obeyed rather than to offer them'? Because, as the story makes clear, even in a sacrifice there can be an element of self-will, and that can never honor or please God. Obedience alone is absolutely honoring to him, for obedience makes God’s will its only center. 

August 5

"The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed." Genesis 28:13

Look what God says to Jacob! It would not surprise us if he had said these words at the end of Jacob’s life, but here they are at the very outset! The whole blessing is presented to him, even while he is still his natural, contriving, crafty self. How is this possible?

Surely only because God knew himself. He had great confidence in what he himself would make of this man. He knew that Jacob, so committed to him, could not escape his hands, and sooner or later would become a vessel unto his honor. “I will give it," he said, There was nothing for Jacob to do. How wonderful that God is a God of such confidence! For God’s expectation is in himself, never in us. Oh, that we might learn the invincibility of our God!

August 4

"And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

If a man can trust God, let him go out and work for him; if not, let him stay at home, for he lacks the first qualification for that work. There is an idea prevalent that if a Christian worker has a settled income, he can be more at leisure for the work and consequently will do it better; but as a matter of fact, in spiritual work there is need for an unsettled income because that necessitates intimate fellowship with God, constant clear revelation of his will, and direct divine support.

God wishes his workers to be cast on him alone for financial supplies, so that they cannot but walk in close communion with him and learn to trust him continually. A settled income does not foster trust in God and fellowship with him; but utter dependence on him for the meeting of one’s needs certainly does.

August 3

"And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove." Luke 3:22

After the Flood, Noah’s dove failed to find a resting-place, but after Christ’s baptism the dove of the Spirit rested and remained on him. Notice—it rests on him and not on us apart from him. Our experience of the Spirit comes through Christ, for he is the only One who has fully pleased the Father.

Apart from the Lord Jesus, we should never come up again from the waters of baptism. He it is who carries us safely through the flood and raises us up from the tomb into newness of life. In ourselves we can never please the Father, but we are accepted in him. And we could never be anointed by the Holy Spirit unless it were by our being found in Christ, the Anointed One. With Christ as our Head, we know the anointing power of the Spirit.

August 2

"The place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Exodus 3:5

The tabernacle of Moses had its proper setting in the wilderness. It was God’s dwelling among his pilgrim people, a movable tent, never fixed, never settled. By contrast, the Temple that Solomon built for God in his capital city of Jerusalem was fixed, settled, final. The one is the Church today; the other is the Church in the kingdom of God. Today we only have the earnest, represented by the tabernacle, of the coming age.

In the Temple everything was new: a new altar, a new laver, a new table, a new lampstand, a new incense altar. But one thing was not new; namely, the ark of testimony that came to rest there. And everything was enlarged to give greater glory to God; but there is one thing that cannot be enlarged, and that is the ark, the testimony of God’s Son. He is "the same yesterday and to-day, yea and for ever."

I like to think of the floor of the tabernacle, which was desert sand. This is the fitting scene of our pilgrim life before God. It is here that the testimony of Christ is to be borne by us on dusty feet today.

August 1

"[God] raised us up . . . to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:6

Redemption is comparable to the valley between two peaks. As one descends from one peak and proceeds to ascend the other, he encounters redemption at the lowest part of the valley. Man has fallen, man has departed from God, and the distance between him and God’s eternal purpose, represented by the straight line between the peaks, has become greater and greater. To redeem simply means to prevent man from falling any further and to uplift him.

Because Jesus came into the world and died and rose again, man need plunge no lower. Praise God—redemption has brought us back to God’s eternal purpose. What God has not obtained in creation and what man has lost in the fall are completely regained in redemption. The redemption that is in Christ Jesus has restored us to our place in the economy of God.

July 31

"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 13:14

When we go to visit people, we always think of our dress. Now in the same way, when anyone thinks of approaching God he knows he must be clothed with righteousness, because without it he cannot meet God. For this reason, righteousness is a fundamental issue in Christian living.

Forgiveness is like taking a bath; whereas righteousness is like wearing a robe. Among men we are clothed so that we may appear before them. So, too, God clothes us with righteousness so that we may live before him. Does God’s Word say that he will clothe us with the righteous robe of the Lord Jesus, or that he will clothe us with the Lord Jesus as our righteous robe? In point of fact, what we do read is that we are to be clothed with the Lord Jesus himself. We are to put him on. Thus clad, we can walk before God with boldness at all times.

July 30

"Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him . . . And if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him." James 5:14-15

This seems a peculiar kind of forgiveness. Can you find elsewhere in the Bible that if the elders pray for you, you will be forgiven? No, if you sin you must confess to God and you will receive his forgiveness direct. Why does James advise you to call for the elders of the church to pray so that you can know forgiveness?

In the Scriptures it is clear that there is what can be called the government of God, the chief principle of which is that you reap what you have sown. It seems that James writes for the man who may be suffering sickness because of God’s governmental hand upon him. No one knows clearly, so he and the elders meet and confess and pray together in the fellowship of the Body. The hand of God is lifted then, and fellowship is restored.

July 29

"God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:17

I delight greatly in the New Jerusalem, not because it has a street of pure gold and twelve gates of pearl, but because there will be the presence of the Lord and the absence of any more tears. We may die and rest in Christ, yet we are not just waiting for death but for the coming day when the world shall weep no more.

The New Jerusalem is coming very soon, and this tearful world will pass instantly away. On that day the Lord will give us a resurrection body. I think that that body will be similar to the one we have today, possessing all the different members it has now. But it will be a transformed body. And in this transformed body one thing will be missing—tears in the eyes. The Lord has borne our pain so that we may not suffer again in the future. Thank God for the prospect of no more tears forever.

July 28

"Fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged." Colossians 3:21

There is more instruction in the New Testament for parents than for children. This may be because the occupation of being a parent is harder than any other. It requires a God-given sensitivity. Authority must be used with restraint, because its excessive use may stiffen resistance. This verse warns us that insensitive parents can easily provoke their children to the point of discouragement.

In every way you are stronger than your child. You may subdue him by an overbearing will or simply by your physical strength. If you goad him to such an extent, then he will just wait for the day of liberation. When that day comes, he will throw off all restraint and claim freedom in everything. Ask yourselves, therefore, what kind of home it was that led the needy son to resolve, "I will arise and go to my father."

July 27

"Then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

When we come before the judgment seat of Christ we shall stand there, not only to be assessed by God, but that he may explain certain things to us—things which seem all wrong now, but which are his perfect will. In many cases we will have to confess that where we had thought we were right, it is clear now that we were quite wrong. In other cases, however, the Lord will assure us that in fact we were right, but that he was right also.

Not to be offended with the Lord is the highest form of discipline and carries with it a special blessing. There are times when it really seems to us that God is not acting according to his promise. Somehow he seems less than his Word. In fact, he is always better than his Word. We must trust him now: we shall know it all then.

July 26

“Enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret.” Matthew 6:6

Here the phrase "thine inner chamber" is figurative. ]ust as "synagogues" and "street corners" represent public and exposed places, so "inner chamber" means a hidden place. But let me remind you that you may find a spiritual inner chamber on literal street corners and in literal synagogues.

 You can pray in secret, that is, on a noisy thoroughfare or in a crowded room. Why? Because an inner chamber is any place at all where you commune with God privately, and any circumstance where you can speak with him without a conscious display of your prayer. "Having shut thy door" means shutting out the world and shutting yourself in with God.

Such prayer is an exercise of faith. It requires that although your senses register nothing, you are praying to a Father who is really attentive, taking account of your prayer. And he is not only observing: he is even going to recompense you. Can you believe this?

July 25

“Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers.” 2 Corinthians 6:14

Many people seem to think this warning refers exclusively to marriage. I believe that it includes marriage, but that there is far more to it than that. It comprises all kinds of friendship and association between believers and unbelievers. To see this clearly we have only to read the five questions which follow in this and the next verse. They set forth five contrasts that are totally incompatible.

Consider how unequal is that yoke. You are a man of God, but he has no faith. You believe, but he does not believe. You know God, but he has no such knowledge. Whereas you can trust God for every need, he has no one to trust, so must look to himself. You would place everything you possess or plan into God’s hands, but he is determined to keep all things in his own hand. Believing God is as natural as breathing to you, but is something totally foreign to him. Tell me: What portion has a believer with an unbeliever?

July 24

“I had been entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision.” Galatians 2:7

Paul was a servant of the Lord, but he was different from Peter. No one would suggest that Paul did not preach the gospel. Of course he did. To have done otherwise would have been to repudiate the pioneer work of Peter and throw away the ground gained by him. Do not let us make the mistake of thinking there was some basic conflict between the ministries of these two men, or that the ministries of God’s servants should ever be in conflict.

Paul makes it clear, in writing to the Galatians, that such differences as there were, were related to geography and race, and that in essence their tasks were complementary, not only by mutual consent, but in their value to and attestation by God.

It is very good to read the closing verses of Peter’s last epistle, in which he refers to “the wisdom” given to his beloved brother Paul. He may have needed grace to do that. Do we not sometimes need grace to honor one another like that?

July 23

“Thy gentleness hath mode me great.” 2 Samuel 22:36

It frequently happens that God’s choice of a leader is quite different from man’s ideas of what a leader should be. Even the prophet Samuel had been so influenced by King Saul’s stature and strength that when called to anoint a successor, he was ready to believe that Jesse’s eldest son matched best the kingly pattern. But neither Eliab nor any of his six brothers was acceptable to God, who all the time looked not at the outward but the inward man. David, he affirmed, was his chosen man.

What did David possess that was lacking in the others? Above all he possessed a heart of dependence on God. It was not a perfect heart. In fact, later in life David had to confess that it was a sinful heart. Nevertheless, it was quite different from that of Saul in this respect, that he displayed a humble willingness to learn. The blessing of God’s kingdom is reserved for the poor in spirit.

July 22

“Being also joint-heirs of the graces of life.” 1 Peter 3:7 

God delights in having a husband and wife serve him together. He blessed the joint ministry of Aquila and Priscilla, as he doubtless did that of Peter and his wife, and Jude and his.

There are three basic reasons for Christian marriage. The first two can be common to all marriages; namely, for the mutual help given and received, and for the institution of family life. The third, however, is peculiar to a Christian couple, for they can receive God’s grace together.

This clearly shows the importance to God of such marriages. They provide for God a special avenue of bestowal of his grace upon the shared life and upon humanity. Marriage was instituted by God, not by man. Was it for this reason?