OCTOBER 2 The hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:5) Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy down here today. Our hearts will be stirred by thinking often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are tired and…

OCTOBER 1 Choice fruits, new as well as old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.(Song of Songs 7:13) The spouse desires to give to Jesus all that she produces. Our heart has all kinds of “choice fruits, new as well as old,” and they are reserved for our Beloved. In this…

SEPTEMBER 30 Sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!(Psalm 66:2) It is not left to our own option whether or not we will praise God. Praise is God’s most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of His grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is…

SEPTEMBER 25 Just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.(Romans 3:26) Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Conscience no longer accuses. Judgment now decides for the sinner instead of against him. Memory looks back upon past sins with deep sorrow for the sin, but yet without dreading any…

SEPTEMBER 24 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who…

SEPTEMBER 21 I will rejoice in doing them good.(Jeremiah 32:41) How heartwarming to the believer is the delight that God takes in His saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we do not even take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened,…

September 20 “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” (Judges 7:20) Gideon ordered his men to do two things: Covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he had them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine. Then he had them blow the trumpet, crying, “A sword for the…

SEPTEMBER 19 For freedom Christ has set us free.(Galatians 5:1) This “freedom” is established in heaven’s charter—the Bible. Here is a choice passage, believer: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”1 Here is another: “The mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from…

SEPTEMBER 18 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.(Galatians 5:25) The two most important things in our Christian journey are the life of faith and the walk of faith. The person who grasps this is not far from being a master in experimental [experiential] theology, for they are vital…

SEPTEMBER 17 Encourage him.(Deuteronomy 1:38) God employs His people to encourage one another. He did not say to an angel, “Gabriel, My servant Joshua is about to lead My people into Canaan—go, encourage him.” God never performs unnecessary miracles. If His purposes can be accomplished by ordinary means, He will not use miraculous agencies. Gabriel…