Proverbs 15:33 Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we empty our hearts of self, God will fill them with His love. If we desire close communion with Christ, we should remember the word of the Lord: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”1 Stoop if you want to climb to heaven. Is it not said of Jesus, “He who descended is the one who also ascended”?2 So must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven willRead More →

Broad rivers and streams” produce fertility and abundance in the land. Places near broad rivers are remarkable for the variety of their plants and their plentiful harvests. God is all this to His Church. Having God she has abundance. What can she ask for that He will not give her? What need can she mention that He will not supply? On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food.”1 Do you want the bread of life? It drops like manna from the sky. Do you want refreshing streams? The rock follows you, and that Rock is Christ.Read More →

1 John 1:6 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (ESV) When we were united by faith to Christ, we were brought into such complete fellowship with Him that we were made one with Him, and His interests and ours became mutual and identical. We have fellowship with Christ in His love. What He loves we love. He loves the saints – so do we. He loves sinners – so do we. He loves the poor perishing race of man and longs to see earth’s deserts transformed into the garden ofRead More →

Titus 3:9 9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. (ESV) Our days are few and are far better spent in doing good than in disputing over matters that are, at best, of minor importance. The old scholars did a world of mischief by their incessant discussion of subjects of no practical importance; and our churches suffer too often from petty wars over obscure points and unimportant questions. After everything has been said that can be said, neither party is any the wiser, and therefore the discussion promotes neither knowledge nor love, and it is foolishRead More →

Romans 11:36 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (ESV) To him be glory forever.” This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and serve as tributaries to this. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only inasmuch as it may help him to promote this-“To him be glory forever.” He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that he may declare, “To him be glory forever.” You are not acting as you ought to do whenRead More →

Lamentations 3:24 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (ESV) It does not say, “The Lord is partly my portion,” nor “The Lord is in my portion”; but He Himself makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not His grace merely, nor His love, nor His covenant, but Jehovah Himself. He has chosen us for His portion, and we have chosen Him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, orRead More →

John 15:4 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (ESV) How did you begin to bear fruit? It was when you came to Jesus and cast yourself on His great atonement and rested on His finished righteousness. What fruit you had then! Do you remember those early days? Then the vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded, and the beds of spices produced their fragrance. Have you declined since then? If you have, we charge you to remember that time ofRead More →

Deuteronomy 33:27 27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy. (ESV) God-the eternal God-is Himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God until he hardly knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when you are at your worst and lowest, even then “underneath” you “are theRead More →

Deuteronomy 33:27 27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy. (ESV) Dwelling place” may be translated “refuge” or “abiding-place” and provides the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fullness and sweetness in the metaphor, for our home is dear to our hearts, although it may be the humblest cottage or the tiniest loft; and dearer still is our blessed God, in whom we live and move and have our being. It is at home that we feel safe: We shut the world out andRead More →

2 Corinthians 12:9 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (ESV) A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God’s warrior marches out to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, “I know that I will overcome-my own ability and my self-confidence will be enough for victory,” defeat is staring himRead More →