December 22 - Morning"I will strengthen thee." — Isaiah 41:10
God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for He
is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of
omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of
almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength
of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth's
huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The
same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace
of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee
with daily strength.
While He is able to uphold the universe, dream not
that He will prove unable to fulfil His own promises. Remember what He
did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how He spake
and it was done; how He commanded, and it stood fast. Shall He that
created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall
He who doth this be unable to support His children? Shall He be unfaithful
to His word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth
not He ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds His chariots,
and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand? How can He fail thee? When
He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a
moment indulge the thought that He has outpromised Himself, and gone
beyond His power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer.
O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise
shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of Thy grace can never be
exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of Thy strength can never be
emptied by Thy friends or rifled by Thine enemies.
"Now let the feeble all be strong, December 22 - Evening"The spot of His children." — Deuteronomy 32:5
What is the secret spot which infallibly betokens the child of God? It were
vain presumption to decide this upon our own judgment; but God's word
reveals it to us, and we may tread surely where we have revelation to be
our guide. Now, we are told concerning our Lord, "to as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to as many
as believed on His name." Then, if I have received Christ Jesus into my
heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as
believing on the name of Jesus Christ.
If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ's
name — that is, simply from my heart trust myself with the crucified, but
now exalted, Redeemer, I am a member of the family of the Most High.
Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege to become
a child of God. Our Lord Jesus puts it in another shape. "My sheep hear
My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Here is the matter in a
nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to His own sheep, not to others. As
soon as He appears, His own sheep perceive Him — they trust Him, they
are prepared to follow Him; He knows them, and they know Him — there
is a mutual knowledge — there is a constant connection between them.
Thus the one mark, the sure mark, the infallible mark of regeneration and
adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in
doubt, are you uncertain whether you bear the secret mark of God's
children? Then let not an hour pass over your head till you have said,
"Search me, O God, and know my heart." Trifle not here, I adjure you! If
you must trifle anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter: your
health, if you will, or the title deeds of your estate; but about your soul,
your never-dying soul and its eternal destinies, I beseech you to be in
earnest. Make sure work for eternity. December 22 |