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March 19 |
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Morning Reading |
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Evening
Reading |
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"Strong in faith." |
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Romans 4:20 |
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Christian, take good care
of thy faith; for recollect
faith is the only way whereby thou canst obtain blessings. If
we want blessings from God, nothing can fetch them down
but faith. Prayer cannot draw down answers from God's
throne except it be the earnest prayer of the man who
believes. Faith is the angelic messenger between the
soul and the Lord Jesus in glory. Let that angel be
withdrawn, we can neither send up prayer, nor receive
the answers. Faith is the telegraphic wire which links
earth and heaven — on which God's messages of love fly
so fast, that before we call he answers, and while we
are yet speaking he hears us. But if that telegraphic
wire of faith be snapped, how can we receive the
promise? Am I in trouble? — I can obtain help for
trouble by faith. Am I beaten about by the enemy? — my
soul on her dear Refuge leans by faith. But take faith
away — in vain I call to God. There is no road betwixt
my soul and heaven. In the deepest wintertime faith is a
road on which the horses of prayer may travel — aye, and
all the better for the biting frost; but blockade the
road, and how can we communicate with the Great King?
Faith links me with divinity. Faith clothes me with the
power of God. Faith engages on my side the omnipotence
of Jehovah. Faith ensures every attribute of God in my
defence. It helps me to defy the hosts of hell. It makes
me march triumphant over the necks of my enemies. But
without faith how can I receive anything of the Lord?
Let not him that wavereth — who is like a wave of the
Sea — expect that he will receive anything of God! O,
then, Christian, watch well thy faith; for with it thou
canst win all things, however poor thou art, but without
it thou canst obtain nothing.
"If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth." |
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Evening Reading |
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"And she did eat, and was sufficed, and
left." |
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Ruth 2:14 |
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Whenever we are privileged
to eat of the bread which Jesus gives, we are, like
Ruth, satisfied with the full and sweet repast. When
Jesus is the host no guest goes empty from the table.
Our
head is satisfied with the precious truth which
Christ reveals; our
heart is content with Jesus, as the altogether
lovely object of affection; our hope
is satisfied, for whom have we in heaven but Jesus? and
our desire is satiated, for what can we wish for more
than "to know Christ and to be found in him?" Jesus
fills our conscience till it is at perfect peace;
our
judgment
with persuasion of the certainty of his teachings; our
memory with recollections of what he has done, and
our imagination with the prospects of what he is
yet to do. As Ruth was "sufficed, and left," so
is it with us. We have had deep draughts; we have
thought that we could take in all of Christ; but when we
have done our best we have had to leave a vast
remainder. We have sat at the table of the Lord's love,
and said, "Nothing but the infinite can ever satisfy me;
I am such a great sinner that I must have infinite merit
to wash my sin away;" but we have had our sin removed,
and found that there was merit to spare; we have had our
hunger relieved at the feast of sacred love, and found
that there was a redundance of spiritual meat remaining.
There are certain sweet things in the Word of God which
we have not enjoyed yet, and which we are obliged to
leave for awhile; for we are like the disciples to whom
Jesus said,
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now." Yes, there are graces to which we
have not attained; places of fellowship nearer to Christ
which we have not reached; and heights of communion
which our feet have not climbed. At every banquet of
love there are many baskets of fragments left. Let us
magnify the liberality of our glorious Boaz. |
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