JULY 13 God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry … ? (Jonah 4:9) Anger is not always or necessarily sinful, but it has such a tendency to run wild that whenever it displays itself, we should be quick to question its character, with this inquiry, “Do you do well to be…

Beloved in God the Father… . Sanctified in Christ Jesus… . In the sanctification of the Spirit. Sanctified in Christ Jesus. Through sanctification of the Spirit (Jude 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Peter 1:2) Consider the union of the three Divine Persons in all their gracious acts. How unwisely do those believers talk who make…

JULY 5 Called to be saints. (Romans 1:7) We are very apt to regard the apostolic saints as if they were “saints” in a more special manner than the other children of God. All are “saints” whom God has called by His grace and sanctified by His Spirit; but we are apt to look upon…

JULY 4 Sanctify them in the truth. (John 17:17) Sanctification begins in regeneration. The Spirit of God implants in man that new living principle by which he becomes “a new creation”1 in Christ Jesus. This work, which begins in the new birth, is carried on in two ways – mortification, whereby the lusts of the flesh…

JULY 3 The ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. (Genesis 41:4) Pharaoh’s dream has too often been my waking experience. My days of laziness have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous endeavor; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of…

JULY 2 Our heart is glad in him. (Psalm 33:21) Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing; and like many birds, they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface…

MAY 31 And the king crossed the brook Kidron. (2 Samuel 15:23) David passed that gloomy brook when fleeing with his sorry company from his traitorous son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble; in fact, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed and the Lord’s…

MAY 30 Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards. (Song of Songs 2:15) A little thorn can cause much suffering. A small cloud may hide the sun. Tiny foxes spoil the vineyards; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These small sins burrow in the soul and fill…

MAY 29 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.(Psalm 45:7) “Be angry and do not sin.”1 There can hardly be goodness in a man if he is not angered by sin; he who loves truth must hate every false way. How our Lord Jesus hated it when the temptation came! Three times it assailed Him…

MAY 28 Whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:30) Here is a precious truth for you, believer. You may be poor or suffering or unknown, but for your encouragement take a moment to review your calling and the consequences that flow from it, and especially the blessed result spoken of here. As surely as…