Daily Meditations for December

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December 11

That Absolutely Necessary Gift

What do you want? Yesterday we considered what God promised to give us, namely, new hearts. Without that new heart there will be nothing spiritually new in our lives, but sin will continue and abound. But there is something of deeper need than a new heart, and David presents that in Psalm 23 .

In Psalm 23:1 he wrote, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want." We need Christ as our shepherd so badly. For our new hearts to beat in love of God we need Christ as our shepherd. For we are God's sheep, and we are greatly in need of a shepherd. Let us go back to that first promise that God gave us the day we fell into sin in Adam.

In Genesis 3:15 the whole human race is presented as consisting in two spiritual parts. One is the seed of the woman, and the other is the seed of the serpent. What is more, the seed of the serpent will do all in its power to try to kill the seed of the woman. That does not mean merely to kill physically, as Cain killed his brother Abel. But the seed of the serpent is Satan's tool whereby he tries to kill us spiritually and make us hate God and His Christ.

From that point of view let it be understood that although the seed of the woman are sheep, the seed of the serpent are wolves who attack and try to eat up the seed of the woman. Do not overlook the fact which we find presented in Matthew 7:15 , where we are told to beware of false prophets, which come to us in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.

Appreciate then that truth which our God gave us through David. We have been given a shepherd Who will keep us safe. Take hold of that truth in your celebration of Christ's birth. What a wonderful, but also very necessary, gift. That gift is far more important than all the gold and silver in this world. This is a gift which assures us of being kept safe, and sure of entering Christ's kingdom of heaven. He will keep our new hearts in us, and keep the seed of the serpent from stopping those hearts.

Read: Psalm 23 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Amos 4; Amos 5; Amos 6
Revelation 2:18-29; Revelation 3:1-6
Psalm 130:1-8
Proverbs 29:21-22

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Quote for Reflection:

"Not creation, not the fall, not the church, not the predestination of the elect, not even the incarnation, not the cross, are first in the good pleasure of God; but the firstborn from the dead, the glorified Christ, is first. He is the firstborn of every creature ..."   Herman Hoeksema: (Reformed Dogmatics, p. 333).


December 12

That Wonderful and Comforting Truth

It is true that in a physical sense we have many needs. There is so much that is necessary for our lives as creatures. But what is above all necessary is that which our lives from a spiritual point of view stand in need of, and which must be given us. That is why, as we considered yesterday, we have that wonderful truth of Psalm 23:1 that "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."

However, what we ought to take hold of and keep before our minds is that God Himself speaks here through David and tells us that we have no want, for we have a shepherd Who supplies all our needs. Because Christ is our Shepherd, we have what is necessary to bring us from hell to heaven, from sin and guilt to holiness and righteousness. The question before us is whether we want these presents, and whether we will praise and thank God on the day we celebrate Christ's birth for this wonderful, all-important gift.

Take hold of that truth: We want nothing! God has sent His Son to do all that which is necessary to bring us out of all our punishment and guilt, and from all our unholiness and godlessness.

Consider that at it is because of Christ's birth, which took place about 2,000 years ago, that we call the year in which we find ourselves A.D. 1996. That means that we are in the year 1996 of our Lord; for the letters "A.D.," an abbreviation of "anno domini," mean "in the year of our Lord." 1996 years ago our God gave us our Lord, Who is our good shepherd Who took away all our wants, and gave us all that which our salvation calls for or wants for its realization.

We have Christ today as our shepherd, and we lack nothing and no one necessary for our full salvation. He did die for us, rose again and ascended into heaven to prepare places for us.

What a gift! And what a calling we have to celebrate the day of His birth with praise and thanksgiving to God.

Read: John 10:1-18 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Amos 7; Amos 8; Amos 9
Revelation 3:7-22
Psalm 131:1-3
Proverbs 29:23

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Quote for Reflection:

C. H. Spurgeon: "We would ply the Trowel with untiring hand for the building up of Jerusalem’s dilapidated walls, and wield the Sword with vigour and valour against the enemies of the Truth." (from the first issue of The Sword and Trowel magazine, 1865).


December 13

That Gift Of Spiritual Strength

Life is a wonderful gift which our God is pleased to bestow upon us. But how much we are going to use our life depends upon how much strength God is pleased to give us. A paralyzed person has life but is very limited in the strength of some of his members, limited as to what he can do.

It is therefore also so very important that we are given spiritual strength as well as spiritual life, so that we can serve God by walking in good works. In Psalm 29:11 David wrote, "The Lord will give strength unto his people." We must take note of the fact that He is speaking to a special people to whom God had given that special gift of spiritual strength.

Is it not plain that God gives physical strength to all men? In Him we live and move and have our being ( Acts 17:28 ). What counts, however, is whether God gives us spiritual strength, and how much of this He gives us. Does He enables us to walk in love to Himself. How able are we to walk in love for Him? All the born-again have some strength to do this. But certainly we all must pray for more strength.

We do thank God for earthly things and experiences. That is our calling. But by all means thank God for strength and ability to walk in love to Him. And pray for more strength in order to serve Him in love more fully.

Because that strength is a gift made possible by the gift of His Son in our flesh, we owe God thanks. We should remember this when in a few days we celebrate the gift of His Son. Through His Son that gift of spiritual strength may be and is given us. When, then, we celebrate His birth, let us remember and give thanks to God for spiritual strength. That is more important than the physical strength which He gives us. To be spiritually strong is a wonderful gift through His Son Whom in His grace He gave us to be our King.

Read: Psalm 28 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Obadiah 1:1-21
Revelation 4:1-11
Psalm 132:1-18
Proverbs 29:24-25

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Quote for Reflection:

The Christian life is not a thing of passive luxuriation, but of active "fighting the good fight of faith!" The Christian is not called to lie down on flowery beds of ease, but to run a race, and athletics are strenuous, demanding self-sacrifice, hard training, the putting forth of every ounce of energy possessed. I am afraid that in this work-hating and pleasure-loving age, we do not keep this aspect of the truth sufficiently before us: we take things too placidly and lazily.  - Arthur W. Pink


December 14

That Blessed Gift Of Peace

Yesterday we briefly considered the gift of spiritual strength which our God is pleased to give us, and which is listed in Psalm 29:11 . In this verse we also find the gift of peace. The complete verse declares, "The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace...."

What we should bear in mind first of all is that this peace is given only to those to whom God gives spiritual strength, which strength is mentioned in the first part of this verse. To enjoy this peace we need spiritual strength.

The idea here is not that we have peace with men in this life. No, the day we fell into sin in Adam God told the devil and us that there will be enmity, a war between mankind with crushing of heads and heels ( Genesis 3:15 ).

What is so wonderful is that we, the seed of the woman, have peace with God. Not only does He deal with us in peace, but He strengthens us spiritually so that we can live in peace with Him, walking in love for Him.

Let us then, on the day we celebrate the birth of His Son, remember that He has given us the wonderful change whereby we no longer hate Him and fight against Him and His holy law, but strive to do what pleases Him and glorifies Him as our God and Father.

Indeed, what the psalmist says is so very true. This peace with God is a blessing. David states that God will bless us with peace. The question is whether we are doing that which pleases God. The question is not whether we want God to do what pleases us, but whether we consider it a blessed gift that he has made us able to please Him.

Read: Psalm 29 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Jonah 1; Jonah 2; Jonah 3; Jonah 4
Revelation 5:1-14
Psalm 133:1-3
Proverbs 29:26-27

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Quote for Reflection:

Peace with God is opposed to the dead security of the flesh, and for this reason, — because the first thing is, that every one should become awakened as to the account he must render of his life; and no one can stand boldly before God, but he who relies on a gratuitous reconciliation; for as long as he is God, all must otherwise tremble and be confounded. And this is the strongest of proofs, that our opponents do nothing but prate to no purpose, when they ascribe righteousness to works; for this conclusion of Paul is derived from this fact, — that miserable souls always tremble, except they repose on the grace of Christ.       - Calvin


December 15

Given Our Heart's Desire

We need more and more strength to live in peace with God. And we should more and more be thankful to God for the strength and peace which He gives us. Here are wonderful gifts which only God can give us.

It is understandable that children desire certain toys or other objects as birthday presents and Christmas gifts. But the adult child of God should desire what David desired and presented to us in Psalm 37:4 . There we read, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." The truth here is that when we delight in the Lord, He will grant us what we desire. That limits severely what we are going to get; but it assures us that we will get what we desire.

Surely, it is difficult for a child of God to desire fellowship with God. We came into this world, by nature, as seed of the serpent, those who hate God and want nothing to do with Him and His law. On the day when the church celebrates the birth of Christ, the world very clearly reveals that it does not delight in the Lord but in earthly things and in that which satisfies their sinful flesh. It would be far better for us not to call that day Christmas. What some call their Mass is not taught in Scripture; and although calling it Christmas does not make it our day for celebrating a Mass, we ought to avoid that word.

To delight in the Lord means to find joy in serving Him and in having covenant fellowship with Him. It means that we find delight in spiritual things, and that we agree with David when in Psalm 27:4 he says, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple."

Is that delightful to you? Is that the one thing that controls all the rest of the things which you desire? Will that be the one thing that is in your mind when that day arrives when we will celebrate the birth of our Savior? Is having Him as your Savior the one thing that you desire, and that which characterizes all your walk of life?

Read: Psalm 37 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Micah 1; Micah 2; Micah 3; Micah 4
Revelation 6:1-17
Psalm 134:1-3
Proverbs 30:1-4

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Quote for Reflection:

:  “There are two great vices that hinder us from feeling the power of the Spirit of God and throwing in our lot with the Gospel. One is that we are haughty and full of presumption…It is needful then that this pride rooted in our nature be reproved even in a violent manner because we are too hardened in it. On the other hand, each one feels in himself an earthly sluggishness so that we are preoccupied and wrapped up in this world. Briefly, we are almost stupid so that we can taste neither the Word of God nor the power of His Holy Spirit unless we are awakened, as it were, by force. That is why the Spirit came as a whirlwind raised like an impetuous wind. In the first place we see that His descent was to move all the world and to make all mankind tremble, so that God might be adored and that men might be subject to Him. However, we must be awakened. We must be led to obey God and stripped of all presumption, knowing well that there is only all misery in us, that we are only mud and rottenness, indeed, even that there is only corruption in our souls until God has renewed us.  (John Calvin, Sermon 16 on the Deity of Christ).


December 16

Given All That Which Is Good

Two precious gifts which God gives us are grace and glory. That truth we find presented in Psalm 84:11 . In that verse we read, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."

Now grace is favor. It means that we have not earned salvation and its blessings, but have it given to us apart from anything which we did. And glory is the radiation, the shining forth, of virtue. Take hold then of that comforting truth that God will not withhold from us any good thing, and will always give us that which is good for us.

Since God will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly, we must believe that, in all circumstances of life, what He sends upon us is for our good and serves, bringing us to the glory He promises His people. So very clearly this is revealed in the birth of our Savior. In His grace God sent His own Son to die for us. We do not deserve it. Christ most assuredly is the most precious gift which God gave us in His grace. He, Christ, brings us out of our guilt, and thus out of hell; and He brings us to heaven where the highest glory for human beings will be bestowed upon us.

Christ's birth, then, is that good thing which He in His grace gave us so that we would reach heavenly glory. Joseph supplied nothing, and Mary was God's tool whereby He brought us our Savior. God's grace used Mary so that we could come out of the curse and be raised to glory.

Walk uprightly, then, and you will have the assurance that Christ came for you, and that He most assuredly will bring you to the glory that Christ now has and is realizing for all His people.

Therefore also walk uprightly, and you will have reason to rejoice and have peace of mind on the day when we celebrate Christ's birth. Then you will know that His cross is God's work of grace for your glory.

Read: Psalm 84 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Micah 5; Micah 6; Micah 7
Revelation 7:1-17
Psalm 135:1-21
Proverbs 30:5-6

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Quote for Reflection:

"The apostle takes it here for granted that God designed a ... state of perfection, unto the church; and that as unto its worship as well as unto its faith and obedience. We find, by the event, that it answered not the divine wisdom and goodness to bind up the church, during its whole sojourn in this world, unto a worship so carnal, burdensome, so imperfect, so unsuited to express his grace and kindness towards it, or its sense thereof. And who can but pity the woeful condition of the present Jews, who can conceive of no greater blessedness than the restoration of this burdensome service? So true is it what the apostle says, the veil is upon them unto this present day; yea, blindness is on their minds, that they can see no beauty but only in things carnal: and like their forefathers, who preferred the bondage of Egypt, because of their flesh-pots, before all the liberty and blessings of Canaan; so do they their old bondage-state because of some temporal advantages it was attended withal, before the glorious liberty of the sons of God" John Owen--(Hebrews, vol. 5, p. 419).


December 17

That Blessed Granting Of Salvation

What in your mind does the word "salvation" mean? From what do you want to be saved?

The Hebrew word that we find in Psalm 85:7 means to cause one to be safe. All that which is evil cannot touch those who are saved. That salvation comes fully when Christ returns and we are all taken into the Kingdom of Heaven, and all the seed of the serpent, who are our enemies, will be cast into everlasting torment in the lake of fire!

Take hold of that truth! Read Psalm 85:7 . Here is what we read in it: "Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation." Plainly, then, that for which the psalmist prays here (and for which we should also pray) is that Christ will finish His work, and bring us to that place of glory where there is no sin, or sinners who can touch us. In glory we will even be cut off from their sneers and hateful glances.

But, above all, salvation is safety from God's wrath and the punishment which we deserve. That cross of Christ is, then, such a wonderful gift. Not meaning that it is a day for Mass celebration, Christmas is such a wonderful day, reminding us of such a wonderful gift.

Let us, therefore, as we approach the day when we celebrate Christ's birth, keep that precious gift in mind. That gift opens the way for God to work all things together for our good. This birth of Christ opens the door to our right to all the blessings which God's mercy has realized for us.

Pray to God that He will open your eyes wider, so that you will see more clearly and richly His mercy which grants you salvation as a free gift, with everlasting blessedness. Pray too that He may give a more sinless life, so that you will find the fruit of salvation in you, the evidence that Christ was born in our flesh, and by His cross blotted out your guilt. And, on the day when we celebrate His birth, pray for more power to thank Him for His mercy and gift of salvation.

Read: Psalm 85 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Nahum 1; Nahum 2; Nahum 3
Revelation 8:1-13
Psalm 136:1-26
Proverbs 30:7-9

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Quote for Reflection:


John Calvin on Hebrews 7:12: "As the authority of the Law and the priesthood is the same, Christ became not only a priest, but also a Lawgiver; so that the right of Aaron, as well as of Moses, was transferred to him. The sum of the whole is, that the ministry of Moses was not less temporary than that of Aaron; and hence both were annulled by the coming of Christ, for the one could not stand without the other ... We must then remember, that the Law is that part of the ministration which Moses had as peculiarly his own, and different from that of Christ. That law, as it was subordinate to the ancient priesthood, was abolished when the priesthood was abolished."


December 18

Our Savior Graciously Promised

There are from a spiritual point of view only two kinds of angels. There is Satan and his host that hate God, and there are the holy angels who love Him. Likewise, here on this earth, there are from a spiritual point of view only two kinds of people: believers and unbelievers.

This tremendously important truth is revealed in Genesis 3:15 , which is called the Mother Promise. There God said to the devil, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall crush thy head, and thou shaft crush his heel." In the Hebrew language, as written by Moses, that word is "crush," not merely "bruise."

Here is the first gospel promise, for it is the first promise of the coming of Christ in our flesh. This enmity and spiritual difference of mankind became plain in Adam and Eve's first two children: Cain the unbeliever and Abel the believer. When Cain killed Abel, the believing seed of the woman, Seth, was provided by our God. In the line of Seth were Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And from Jacob came twelve tribes, with believers and unbelievers in each tribe, the tribe of Judah being appointed by God to bring forth the kings. And THE King came when from the virgin Mary Christ was born. Here is a tremendously important truth. Christ is the Seed of the Woman. He will deliver the church completely from the coming Antichrist who is the Seed of Satan. The truth which we should take hold of, as we approach the day when we celebrate the birth of Christ, is that Christmas does clearly reveal to us God's faithfulness to all His promises.

Christmas is coming in a week. As we approach it, let us take hold of the truth that God always fulfills perfectly every promise that He gives us. Satan's head is going to be crushed, as will also the head of his spiritual seed. But ours is the victory, because the Son of God came into our flesh and represented us and saved us by His cross.

Read: Galatians 3:1-16 .

 

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Habakkuk 1; Habakkuk 2; Habakkuk 3
Revelation 9:10-21
Psalm 137:1-9
Proverbs 30:10

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Quote for Reflection:

 "In this verse the apostle evidently declares what he intended by ‘the law’ in that foregoing, which ‘the people received under the Levitical priesthood.’ It was the whole ‘law of commandments contained in ordinances,’ or the whole law of Moses, so far as it was the rule of worship and obedience unto the church; for that law it is that followeth the fates of the priesthood ... Wherefore there is also ... ‘a change of the law;’ that is, an abolition of it: for it is a change of the same nature with the change of the priesthood; which, as we have showed, was its abolition and taking away ... there is ‘made’ a change. It did, indeed, necessarily follow on the change of the priesthood; yet not so, but that there was an act of the will and authority of God on the law itself. God made this change, and he alone could do it; that he would do so, and did so, the apostle proves in this and the verses following. So is the ‘law of commandments contained in ordinances taken out of the way,’ being ‘nailed unto the cross of Christ,’ where he left it completely accomplished" John Owen (Hebrews, vol. 5, pp. 428, 434).


December 19

The Fulfilling Of God's Promise

As we noted yesterday, the very day when man fell into sin, God promised the coming of Christ to save us from Satan's power, and from the punishment we deserve be- cause of our sin and guilt. Today we will look a bit more closely at God's faithfulness to His promises.

To do this let us turn to Isaiah 11:1 , where we read, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Our God, Who told Satan that He would crush his head through Christ, Whose heel Satan would crush, presents to us here a wonderfully comforting truth. Because Satan crushes our heel, that is, persecutes us, and brings death upon the woman's seed, and God's Son has His heel crushed, that is, suffers death on His cross, we will have the victory. On the day when we celebrate Christ's birth we can enjoy this truth.

So often it looks as though God is not keeping His promise to us. The crushing of our heel seems to deny His faithfulness. But it is not so.

In Judah the line of David, which God set aside to bring forth our King, ended in a virgin. That made it look hopeless for a king to be born. It looked, as we read in Isaiah 53:2 , as though the dry ground could not bring forth a tree. Mary, the virgin, could find no husband in that line of Jesse and David. Joseph, whom she planned on marrying, could not bring forth the royal seed of David. He was a dry ground, and she was therefore also dry ground.

But as we look forward to celebrating Christ's birth, let us read those words of Isaiah in chapter 53:2, namely, "For he (Christ) shall grow up before him (God) as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground."

Remember then that this fulfillment of God's promise through the virgin Mary reveals that no matter how dark the future may look, Christ will come, and God's promise to us in Him will be completely fulfilled. Celebrate Christmas then with this comforting truth in your mind.

Read: Isaiah 11 .

 

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Zephaniah 1; Zephaniah 2; Zephaniah 3
Revelation 10:1-11
Psalm 138:1-8
Proverbs 30:11-14

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Quote for Reflection:

"First, the Levitical priesthood was inadequate, incapable of producing ‘perfection’. Second, therefore it was but a temporary institution, and the whole economy connected with it must be set aside. In other words, Judaism as such, was now defunct. Thus ‘a change of the law’ means a change of dispensation, a change of Divine administration. This at once fixes the meaning of ‘law’ in the parenthetic clause of the previous verse. The reference is not to the ten commandments, but to the Mosaic system" A. W. Pink (Exposition of Hebrews, p. 385).


December 20

Our Redeemer's Coming

All over the world, Christmas is celebrated. But it is not celebrated properly by the majority of the human race. What is important is that we observe it as the day when we received the most precious gift that there is. We should hold on to the truth as we find it in Isaiah 59:20 , where we read, "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord."

Here are two important truths for which we must be thankful and which we must remember in our Christmas celebration. Christ is our Redeemer, that is, the one Who bought us salvation by His cross. And He comes for only some of the human race, the part here called Zion.

The sad fact is that our earthly Christmas presents at Christmas time take our thoughts away from this most wonderful gift of Christ and the salvation which He earned for us by His cross, the gift of the forgiveness of our sins and everlasting covenant fellowship with God. He takes away from us our guilt, and gives us an everlasting life with much closer fellowship and friendship with God than the highest angels have. We have that wonderful gift of becoming sons and daughters of the almighty God. He takes from us the guilt and misery into which Satan led us, and blesses us with sweet communion with God.

Whether He came for us and bought this salvation for us to enjoy is revealed in the gift He gives us already in this life. He will cause us to be born again with a new spiritual life which hates sin and wants to walk in a way pleasing in God's eyes. He came from heaven in order to bring us heavenly blessedness. And turning away from transgressions, hating sin and walking in love to God, reveals that this is His Christmas gift to us.

Even as He came once to earn all this, and be raised with a glorified body, He will come again to bring it fully unto us.

Read: Romans 11:22-27 .

 

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Haggai 1; Haggai 2
Revelation 11:1-19
Psalm 139:1-24
Proverbs 30:15-16

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Quote for Reflection:

 "Nor is it only the Aaronic priesthood which must be superseded. That priesthood was instituted under the Mosaic law, and was so integral to it that a change in the priesthood carries with it inevitably a change in the law. If the Aaronic priesthood was instituted for a temporary purpose, to be brought to an end when the age of fulfilment dawned, the same must be true of the law under which that priesthood was introduced" F. F. Bruce on Hebrews 7:12 (Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 145).


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