Comfort of the Scriptures

February 2025

I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek Thy servant; for I do not forget Thy commandments.

Before we were saved by God’s grace, it is written of us that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” But now, thank God, it is said of us who know the Savior that “ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls,” that One who says that “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” But though we are forever safe in His fold, we still have the capacity to go “astray like a lost sheep” and to act like an unsaved person acts, for we still have within us that fleshly nature common to all men, in which “dwelleth no good thing.” Therefore we are exhorted to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” But, thank God, when we who know Him go “astray like a lost sheep,” “our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,” calls us back to His fellowship, when “we confess our sins” to Him.

I’m safe forever in His fold;
No power can snatch me away;
Yet He keeps watch over my soul,
To restore me when I stray.

Psalm 119:176 ~ Isaiah 53:6 ~ 1 Peter 2:25 ~ John 10:27‑28 ~ Romans 7:18 ~ Romans 13:14 ~ Hebrews 13:20 ~ 1 John 1:9

Thursday, February 27, 2025

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For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

When we recognize that the Bible is the very Word of God, when we can truthfully say to the Lord that “my heart standeth in awe of Thy word. I rejoice at Thy word, as one that findeth great spoil,” then we shall find God’s Word doing a work in our hearts, for it “effectually worketh ... in you that believe.” We will know its cleansing power, for, as our Lord said to His own, “Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” We shall experience its guiding power, for “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” We shall know also the “comfort of the Scriptures.” So “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,” thus finding that your actions are affected, so that your desire will be that “whatsoever ye do in word or deed,” you will “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” Then earnestly “desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
That I might not sin against Thee,”
That I might show forth His praises,
And that more like Him I may be.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 ~ Psalm 119:161‑162 ~ John 15:3 ~ Psalm 119:105 ~ Romans 15:4 ~ Colossians 3:16‑17 ~ 1 Peter 2:2

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

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I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.

“First of all” could mean first in time, in order, in place, or in importance. Here it evidently means “first of all” in importance. Our Lord Jesus Christ said “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” He also said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” “Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.” “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.” In the Christian’s life, if there is little prayer, there is little blessing. It is “first of all” in importance that we “watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” So “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” “Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.” Let us then be “praying in the Holy Ghost.”

Much blessing we miss in our lives,
Just because we fail to pray,
Blessings we could bring to others,
Helping to lighten their way.

1 Timothy 2:1 ~ Luke 18:1 ~ Matthew 7:7‑8 ~ Lamentations 2:19 ~ Psalm 55:17 ~ Matthew 26:41 ~ Colossians 4:2 ~ Psalm 62:8 ~ Jude 20

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

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Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty.

Our Lord came to earth nearly 2000 years ago, “God ... manifest in the flesh,” and offered Himself to His people Israel as their King. But “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” To them, then, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” But the day is fast coming, after the true church has been taken home to glory and then after the tribulation period, “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” has run its course, that the believing remnant of Israel “shall see the King in His beauty” as He returns to earth in power and glory. But we who know Him now and have been “redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ,” “shall see the King in His beauty.” “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” Blessed prospect indeed, that “they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.” “For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty,” “which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.”

He’s “King of kings, and Lord of lords”;
We’ll “meet the Lord in the air”;
Into the Father’s house we’ll go
“With the Lord” forever there.

Isaiah 33:17 ~ 1 Timothy 3:16 ~ John 1:11 ~ Isaiah 53:2 ~ Jeremiah 30:7 ~ 1 Peter 1:18‑19 ~ 1 John 3:2 ~ Revelation 22:4 ~ Zechariah 9:17 ~ 1 Timothy 6:15

Monday, February 24, 2025

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They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” One of the marks of “the last days” with their “perilous times” is that “men shall be ... covetous,” which means lovers of silver. God warns His children against such covetousness and love of gain. “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them.” “Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” “Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments?” For “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” “But thou, O man of God, flee these things.”

The things of earth don’t satisfy;
They only call for more,
And he who only has such things
Is of all men most poor.

1 Timothy 6:9 ~ 1 Timothy 6:10 ~ Ecclesiastes 5:10 ~ 2 Timothy 3:1‑2 ~ Psalm 62:10 ~ Proverbs 23:4‑5 ~ 2 Kings 5:26 ~ 1 John 2:17 ~ 1 Timothy 6:11

Sunday, February 23, 2025

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Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

“Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” “Them which are without,” outside of God’s family because they are out of Christ, seek to find flaws in the lives and testimonies of those who name the name of Christ, so the believer is to be “providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” “Provide things honest in the sight of all men,” “that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life.” “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

My life ought to show before men
What the grace of God can do
For those who know the Lord Jesus
And give Him their lives to renew.

Colossians 4:5 ~ 1 Timothy 3:7 ~ 2 Corinthians 8:21 ~ Romans 12:17 ~ Philippians 2:15‑16 ~ 1 Peter 2:11‑12 ~ 1 Peter 2:15

Saturday, February 22, 2025

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Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

God desires for His children that all our words and actions be “with grace.” It was written prophetically of our Lord Jesus Christ that “grace is poured into Thy lips,” and when He was here on earth, men “wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.” All of us who know Him can say with Jacob that “God hath dealt graciously with me,” and this grace ought to be reflected in our speech. “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty,” and “speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.” “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak.” “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue.” “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

“Let your speech be always with grace,”
As God has shown grace to you,
Showing forth daily His praises,
Like Him in all that you do.

Colossians 4:6 ~ Psalm 45:2 ~ Luke 4:22 ~ Genesis 33:11 ~ James 2:12 ~ Titus 2:1 ~ Ephesians 4:29 ~ 1 Peter 3:15 ~ James 1:19 ~ Psalm 39:1 ~ Psalm 141:3

Friday, February 21, 2025

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Never let Satan cause you to doubt this, dear believer. “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.” “The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him,” for “He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.” “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.” “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His,” and His Word to His own is, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” “For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men,” “for He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” Never forget: “He careth for you”!

The Lord is full of compassion;
His mercies are new each day;
“He careth for” all His people,
And cheers them along the way.

1 Peter 5:7 ~ Psalm 9:9‑10 ~ Lamentations 3:25 ~ Psalm 9:12 ~ Psalm 147:3‑5 ~ 2 Timothy 2:19 ~ Isaiah 43:2 ~ Lamentations 3:33 ~ Psalm 103:14

Thursday, February 20, 2025

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Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The word “conversation” above is a word that means “commonwealth” or “citizenship.” For the saved sinner, “our citizenship is in heaven.” Our Lord said to His own, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” He said to His Father, on the night before the cross, that “they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,” and “I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” We who know Christ in the forgiveness of sins “are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Like Abraham, who “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” we “are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” “for our citizenship is in heaven.”

We are no longer at home on earth;
Our citizenship is above,
For He has put all our sins away;
We shall dwell in that land of love.

Philippians 3:20 ~ John 15:19 ~ John 17:16 ~ John 17:14 ~ 1 John 2:17 ~ Ephesians 2:19 ~ Hebrews 11:10 ~ Hebrews 12:22

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

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Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High.” “Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely” for us who have been redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation,” and “who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” “Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.” “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful,” “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” “Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise and with Thy honor all the day.” “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Ought not we who have been favored
By God’s grace so rich and free,
With His overflowing mercy,
Ought we not to thankful be?

Psalm 50:23 ~ Psalm 92:1 ~ Psalm 147:1 ~ 1 Peter 1:19 ~ Psalm 68:19 ~ 1 Timothy 6:17 ~ Psalm 33:1 ~ Colossians 3:15 ~ Ephesians 5:20 ~ Hebrews 13:15 ~ Psalm 71:8 ~ Psalm 34:1

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

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He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by His understanding. When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth: He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures.

And through “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” who “washed us from our sins in His own blood,” “this God is our God forever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death.” Whatever the situation or whatever the need that may face us, let us remember that “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God,” “for with God nothing shall be impossible.” “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” Or “is anything too hard for the Lord?” “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” He says to His own, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?” “Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.”

He doeth the impossible
For those who trust His name;
He hears them when they call to Him;
He’ll not put them to shame.

Jeremiah 51:15‑16 ~ 2 Corinthians 8:9 ~ Revelation 1:5 ~ Psalm 48:14 ~ Luke 18:27 ~ Luke 1:37 ~ Numbers 11:23 ~ Genesis 18:14 ~ Mark 10:27 ~ Jeremiah 32:27 ~ Psalm 33:20‑22

Monday, February 17, 2025

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This is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

Dear reader, how do you stand with God? Are you seeking to stand before Him in your own merit? Are you relying on church membership, baptism, confirmation, lodge membership, or your good reputation? None of these can give us a place before God. It must be, and can only be, “the true grace of God wherein ye stand” before Him. We can only stand before God in the merits of Another, His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We read in God’s Word of a coming time when “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?” “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Be sure that you stand before God in Christ, “accepted in the Beloved,” entering “by faith into this grace wherein we stand.”

I have no merit of my own
To bring before a holy God;
I must be cleansed by Jesus’ blood,
As God has told me in His Word.

1 Peter 5:12 ~ Revelation 6:15‑17 ~ Psalm 1:5 ~ Ephesians 1:6 ~ Romans 5:2

Sunday, February 16, 2025

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I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only.

The Lord alone knows the multitude of hearts who have through the years found sustaining strength and help in this verse: Hearts crushed by disappointment, bowed down by grief, perplexed and despondent, and without any earthly source of help, they have found that they could “go in the strength of the Lord God,” “and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength,” and He has told His own: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness,” and “I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Therefore, suffering saint, “go in the strength of the Lord God.” “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.”

Has your strength, dear saint, reached its end?
Do you feel you cannot go on?
“Go in the strength of the Lord God,”
And He’ll fill your heart with His song.

Psalm 71:16 ~ Deuteronomy 33:25 ~ Isaiah 40:29 ~ Isaiah 41:10 ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9 ~ Jeremiah 31:25 ~ Isaiah 12:2

Saturday, February 15, 2025

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Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

God wants His children to have boldness before Him, both now in this life and in the presence of the Lord at His coming, for elsewhere He tells us that “herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.” The word “boldness” means freedom of speech or outspokenness and therefore carries with it the thought of assurance. The same word is often translated as “confidence.” “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God,” “and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him,” “according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.” We have “boldness to enter into the holiest,” with “confidence toward God.” “And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”

Then “come boldly unto the throne”
For “help in time of need”;
There we shall find mercy and grace
Given to all who plead.

Hebrews 10:19 ~ 1 John 4:17 ~ 1 John 3:21 ~ 1 John 5:14‑15 ~ Ephesians 3:11‑12 ~ 1 John 2:28

Friday, February 14, 2025

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I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The Lord’s thoughts toward His own are for their welfare and blessing and for their spiritual growth. He desires His best (though we may not see it so) for His redeemed ones, and He plans and works accordingly. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” “Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to usward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered,” and “the Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” “O Lord, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep.” He remembers us now, day by day, and will “give you an expected end.” “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”

The Lord plans always for His own
With thoughts of love and grace,
Daily blessing and providing,
Until we see His face.

Jeremiah 29:11 ~ Isaiah 55:8‑9 ~ Psalm 40:5 ~ Isaiah 14:24 ~ Psalm 92:5 ~ Psalm 73:24

Thursday, February 13, 2025

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My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

What a comfort and encouragement this verse has been to God’s people through the years. And while most people think of it in connection with material things (and Paul was speaking of such in the context), the verse applies to “all your need” of every kind. We may need material supply, and “the Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” We may need comfort or encouragement, and we find Him to be “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” We may need help to endure continuing trial or weakness, and we learn that “He giveth more grace” and that “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” We may need guidance, and His promise is that “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye.” There are times when we need chastening, “for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” Whatever the need in our lives, “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” and “they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”

From all “His riches in glory,”
He promises our supply;
For the sake of Christ our Savior
“No good thing” will He deny.

Philippians 4:19 ~ Psalm 23:1 ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3 ~ James 4:6 ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8 ~ Psalm 32:8 ~ Hebrews 12:6 ~ Psalm 34:10

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

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Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

God does not want His blood-bought people to be the victims of anxious care. He wants us to have the right kind of care about people and situations, but He does not want such care to become worry or anxiety. Such anxiety robs us of our peace, and that’s why He tells us that “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” When all is truthfully committed to Him, our hearts will be filled with peace instead of worry, no matter the circumstances or the burdens. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” Then be “casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you,” for “the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy.” Moreover, amid circumstances that would cause worry, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”

Things that would cause us to worry,
Committed to Him will bring
“Peace ... which passeth understanding,”
And joy to make the heart sing.

Philippians 4:6 ~ Philippians 4:6‑7 ~ Psalm 55:22 ~ Psalm 37:5 ~ 1 Peter 5:7 ~ Psalm 147:11 ~ Isaiah 26:3

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

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Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

This question, yet to be asked by angelic voice in heaven, after the Lord Jesus has come for all His own, is answered in the verse that follows: “No man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.” And as John “wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon ... one of the elders saith ... Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book. ... And I beheld ... a Lamb as it had been slain. ... And He came and took the book.” Then it was that they who were about the throne “sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” We who know Him await “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ... to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.”

“King of kings, and Lord of lords,”
Yet He shed His blood for me,
Undone sinner that I was,
Yet saved for eternity.

Revelation 5:2 ~ Revelation 5:3‑7 ~ Revelation 5:9 ~ Revelation 5:12 ~ 1 Timothy 6:14‑16

Monday, February 10, 2025

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So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Let no saved person imagine that he can disobey the Word of God and not be held accountable. Let no Christian husband think that he can fail to be “giving honor to the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,” or let no Christian wives who do not “submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord,” imagine that God will not hold them accountable. Let no Christian child who does not “obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right,” or fathers who do not follow God’s instructions to “provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” think that the matter is of little importance. If you are employed by someone, you are to “be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,” and if you are the employer, you are to “give unto your servants that which is just and equal.” Equally serious is neglect of and disobedience to other parts of God’s Word, for either here on earth now or in the Lord’s presence at His coming “every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body ... whether it be good or bad.” Let us pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart ... and lead me in the way everlasting.”

To know and do the will of God
Ever be our aim each day,
In spite of all the griefs and trials
That beset us on our way.

Romans 14:12 ~ 1 Peter 3:7 ~ Ephesians 5:22 ~ Ephesians 6:1 ~ Ephesians 6:4‑5 ~ Colossians 4:1 ~ Romans 14:12 ~ 2 Corinthians 5:10 ~ Psalm 139:23‑24

Sunday, February 9, 2025

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Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.

To the Christian who realizes something of the awfulness of sin before a holy God, and how we were spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins,” there is nothing for which we thank God more than for the knowledge that “Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.” When man forgives man, he excuses the penalty; when God forgives, He executes the penalty. This He did, when “Christ ... suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” The believer’s sins, with the condemnation that went with them, are gone forever. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us,” and He says that “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” “Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,” “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Dear believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoice in sins forgiven forever, and in Him who said that “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions ... and will not remember thy sins.”

“Blessed ... he ... whose sin is covered,”
And by “the precious blood of Christ,”
Who put away sin forever,
Payment is not demanded twice.

Isaiah 38:17 ~ Ephesians 2:1 ~ 1 Peter 3:18 ~ Psalm 103:12 ~ Hebrews 8:12 ~ Micah 7:19 ~ Jeremiah 31:34 ~ Isaiah 43:25

Saturday, February 8, 2025

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Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

“The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men,” and “though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly: but the proud He knoweth afar off.” “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones,” for “surely He scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace unto the lowly.” It is written of Manasseh that “when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto Him: and He was entreated of him, and heard his supplication.” “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit,” for “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” He says that “to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.”

“The Lord our God ... dwelleth on high”;
His throne is in the glory;
“His eyes behold the things ... in ... earth”;
He regards man’s sad story.

Psalm 113:5‑6 ~ Psalm 11:4 ~ Psalm 138:6 ~ Isaiah 57:15 ~ Proverbs 3:34 ~ 2 Chronicles 33:12‑13 ~ Psalm 34:18 ~ Psalm 51:17 ~ Isaiah 66:2

Friday, February 7, 2025

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The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

“God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved),” and “how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” But, knowing Him as Savior, “we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,” “that great Shepherd of the sheep,” who “is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.” “O Lord, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep.” “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” “Great things doeth He, which we cannot comprehend,” “which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.” “Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men.”

A gracious God and a Savior
Is our Lord to all His own,
Providing and guiding daily,
Until we are safely home.

Psalm 126:3 ~ Ephesians 2:4‑5 ~ Hebrews 2:3 ~ Hebrews 4:14 ~ Hebrews 13:20 ~ Isaiah 28:29 ~ Psalm 92:5 ~ Psalm 139:17 ~ Romans 11:33 ~ Job 37:5 ~ Job 5:9 ~ Job 9:10 ~ Psalm 31:19

Thursday, February 6, 2025

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I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

God’s Word tells us that God is always faithful, and our Lord’s promise to His own is “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Therefore there are certain things which we who know Him are to do always, at all times, regularly. “He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Moreover, we are to “rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice,” even when “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” and “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” We are to be “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” and to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” And “let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man,” and “be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

Always faithful is the Lord
To all who trust His grace;
May we always seek His will,
Until we see His face.

Psalm 16:8 ~ Matthew 28:20 ~ Luke 18:1 ~ Ephesians 6:18 ~ Philippians 4:4 ~ 2 Corinthians 6:10 ~ 2 Corinthians 4:10 ~ Ephesians 5:20 ~ 1 Peter 3:15 ~ Colossians 4:6 ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

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I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

The last phrase of the above verse poses a question: “From whence cometh my help?” This question is immediately answered: “My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber.” How often God’s children have proven this, that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” And how very often we need His help. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” “For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,” and “because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” “Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.” “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.” “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

The Lord is near when we need Him,
To answer our faintest cry,
Delighting to help and succor
Those who on Him rely.

Psalm 121:1 ~ Psalm 121:2‑3 ~ Psalm 46:1 ~ Hebrews 4:16 ~ Psalm 72:12 ~ 1 Samuel 7:12 ~ Psalm 63:7 ~ Psalm 94:17‑18 ~ Psalm 60:11 ~ Psalm 124:8

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

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Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” These warnings to God’s people have to do with our rewards, not with our salvation. Concerning our salvation, our Lord said that “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” But when the Lord Jesus comes for His own, perhaps today, we believers “must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad,” and our Lord has said that “whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My name, because ye belong to Christ ... he shall not lose his reward.” “So run, that ye may obtain,” when “every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

The Lord says, “I come quickly,”
“And My reward is with Me,”
“To give every man” his wages,
“According as” it shall be.

Revelation 3:11 ~ Colossians 2:18 ~ 2 John 8 ~ John 10:28‑29 ~ 2 Corinthians 5:10 ~ Mark 9:41 ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24 ~ Romans 14:12

Monday, February 3, 2025

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Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

“Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” God wants His redeemed children to have the right kind of thoughts, and He has told us to “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” This is already positionally true of God’s own, for “we have the mind of Christ,” but God desires us in daily experience to “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ,” for it is written of man that “as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” So, “commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” Can we truthfully say to the Lord, “I hate vain thoughts: but Thy law do I love”? “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.” “The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.” “In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul.”

From my thoughts come my actions;
Shape them, Lord, by Thy Word,
That Christ my Lord and Savior
May in me be seen and heard.

2 Corinthians 10:5 ~ Matthew 15:18‑19 ~ Philippians 2:5 ~ 1 Corinthians 2:16 ~ Proverbs 23:7 ~ Proverbs 16:3 ~ Psalm 119:113 ~ Psalm 94:11 ~ Proverbs 12:5 ~ Psalm 94:19

Sunday, February 2, 2025

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A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.

Those who are truly wise, with “the wisdom that is from above [which] is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy,” those who have such wisdom do not need to advertise the fact. “A prudent man concealeth knowledge”; he is “swift to hear, slow to speak.” “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” This wisdom and knowledge which is commended by God is not earthly wisdom, “for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and “let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” True “wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.” Such “wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath” it; he does not need to call attention to it. For “he that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit,” “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”

“If any of you lack wisdom,
Let him ask of God” above;
He “giveth to all men” freely,
Both wisdom and grace, with love.

Proverbs 12:23 ~ James 3:17 ~ James 1:19 ~ Proverbs 1:5 ~ 1 Corinthians 3:18‑19 ~ Proverbs 14:33 ~ Proverbs 17:27 ~ Titus 2:10

Saturday, February 1, 2025

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The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

The statement above is both searching and comforting, depending upon our relationship to the Lord and our yieldedness to Him and His will. “His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings,” and “the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings.” Job, in the midst of terrible suffering, and misunderstood by his friends, comforted himself by asking, “Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?” Indeed He does this, “neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do,” for “the Lord looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men,” and “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect [full] toward Him,” and He says also that “Mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from My face, neither is their iniquity hid from Mine eyes.” “Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways.” “Thou God seest me.”

“The Lord looked down from heaven,
Upon the children of men,”
To help all those who trust Him,
And also to deal with sin.

Proverbs 15:3 ~ Job 34:21 ~ Proverbs 5:21 ~ Job 31:4 ~ Hebrews 4:13 ~ Psalm 33:13 ~ 2 Chronicles 16:9 ~ Jeremiah 16:17 ~ Jeremiah 32:19 ~ Genesis 16:13