December 23 Friend, move up higher.(Luke 14:10) When the life of grace first begins in the soul, we instinctively draw near to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul, conscious of guilt and humbled by it, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is prostrated by a sense of…
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DECEMBER 22 I will strengthen you.(Isaiah 41:10) God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this responsibility, for He is able to do everything. Believer, until you can drain the ocean dry of omnipotence, until you can break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, you never need to fear. Do not think…
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DECEMBER 21 For he has made with me an everlasting covenant. (2 Samuel 23:5) This covenant is divine in its origin. “He has made with me an everlasting covenant.” Oh, that great word “he”! My soul, consider—God, the everlasting Father, has personally made a covenant with you; yes, the God who spoke the world into…
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DECEMBER 20 I have loved you with an everlasting love.(Jeremiah 31:3) Sometimes, the Lord Jesus tells His Church His love thoughts. “He does not consider it sufficient to declare them behind her back, but in her very presence, He says, ‘Behold, you are beautiful, my love.’1 It is true, this is not His ordinary method….
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DECEMBER 19 The sea was no more.(Revelation 21:1) We can hardly rejoice at the idea of losing the magnificent ocean. The concept of new heavens and a new earth becomes less appealing if it means that there will literally be no vast, beautiful sea with its gleaming waves and sandy shores. Should we not consider…
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DECEMBER 18 Rend your hearts and not your garments.(Joel 2:13) The tearing of garments and other outward signs of religious emotion are easily displayed and are frequently hypocritical; but to feel true repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Men will pay attention to the most minute ceremonial regulations—for those things are…
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DECEMBER 17 I remember the devotion of your youth.(Jeremiah 2:2) Let us note that Christ delights to think upon His Church and to look upon her beauty. As the bird returns often to its nest, and as the traveler hurries to his home, so the mind continually pursues the object of its choice. We cannot…
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DECEMBER 15 Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.(Ruth 1:14) Both of them had an affection for Naomi and therefore set out with her upon her return to the land of Judah. But the test came: Naomi unselfishly set before both of them the trials that awaited them and encouraged them if they…
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DECEMBER 14 They go from strength to strength.(Psalm 84:7) “They go from strength to strength.” These words have various renderings, but all contain the idea of progress. “They go from strength to strength.” That is, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we start fresh and…
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DECEMBER 13 … Salt without prescribing how much.(Ezra 7:22) Salt was used in every offering made by fire to the Lord, and with its preserving and purifying properties, it was the grateful emblem of divine grace in the soul. It is worthy of our careful attention that when Artaxerxes gave salt to Ezra, the priest,…
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