Daily Meditations for January

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January 11

TRUE BLESSEDNESS
Psalm 1:1-2

It certainly is a blessing to have one's sins forgiven. But with that blessedness always comes a life that flees from sin and walks in God's law. No, our flesh does not consider hatred of sin to be a blessing. Our flesh is happy when we walk in sin. It never wants to sing:

    That man is blest who fearing God,
    From sin restrains his feet,
    Who will not stand with wicked men,
    Who shuns the scorner's seat.
    Yea blest is he who makes God's law
    His portion and delight,
    And meditates upon that law
    With gladness day and night.

Now, when it comes down to it, he who simply counts it a blessing to escape the punishment his sins deserve, and calls that heaven, does not really want forgiveness. Yes, he wants to escape misery and have joy for his flesh, but in the measure that he delights in sin he hates God. Listen! He who is only interested in escaping the punishment of sin is interested in sin. Such love self and not God. Being happy with sin and being happy about forgiveness of sin just cannot go together. You can hate the bitter taste of the medicine but be happy that it is bringing relief from a far more serious condition. But you cannot love sin and love being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. And that is the positive side of forgiveness of sins.

God, Who sent His Son to fulfill the law for us, and to suffer the punishment of our sins, not only removes our guilt but implants His love in those for whom Christ died. Such will not sit with those who ridicule God and His law. Of them David says in Psalm 1:1 2: ''Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the  ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.''

Remember that not to keep God's law is to scorn and ridicule it. Those who ridicule His law do not want to be covered with Christ's law-abiding righteousness but simply with an armor — that does not exist — to keep them from God's holy wrath while they continue in sin. No, a sincere desire for forgiveness also wants a life that loves God.
 

Read: Psalm 1
Psalter versification: 1:1

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 234
Why not sing along??

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 24:52-67 ; Genesis 25 ; Genesis 26:1-16
Matthew 8:18-34
Psalm 10:1-15
Proverbs 3:7-8

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Quote for Reflection:

How, then, shall we judge that any man has been sent by God, and is guided by his Spirit? By “anointing; “ that is, if he is endued with the gifts which are necessary for that orate. If therefore, having been appointed by the Lord, he abound in the graces of the Spirit and the ability which the calling demands, he actually has the Spirit. And if he wish to make profession of enjoying that teacher, and if he have no doctrine, let him be held as an impostor.        – John Calvin

 


January 12

A WORTHY WALK
Psalm 1:1,2
 

Regardless of our occupation, and whether we be man or woman, we either walk, stand, or sit to perform our work. And it is also while walking, sitting, or standing that we commit our sins. That is why David in Psalm 1:1, 2 declares, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night."

The positive side of this is walking in God's counsel, standing in the way of the righteous, and sitting with those who praise God and delight in His law. Now God's counsel is His advice; and that advice you will find in His law. The advice there is that you love Him with all your being. The way of the righteous is to do that — love Him — every moment of your life. And sitting with those who praise Him and delight in His Word is being friends with those who walk according to His advice and stand four-square upon His holy law. It is enjoying their company and seeing eye to eye with them, working with them to praise and extol God's name. It is meditating in God's law day and night.

Shame should cover our faces then when we realize how little there is of this in our lives. By God's grace there is a small beginning. Therefore, we are able to sing sincerely:

    Blest is he who loves God's precepts,
    Who from sin restrains his feet,
    He who will not stand with sinners,
   
He who shuns the scorner's seat.
    Blest is he who makes the statutes
    Of the Lord his chief delight,
    In God's law, divinely perfect,
    Meditating day and night.

We do well therefore to examine ourselves to see how true this is of us. It will be there to some degree in every believer. But we must find growth through the years. We should strive to walk more vigorously in the counsel of Jehovah, to stand more firmly in His law with the righteous, and sit down meaningfully with those who praise and extol His holy name.

Never, no never, should we be satisfied until we are perfect, and our walking, standing, and sitting please God every moment of our lives.

Read: Proverbs 4
Psalter versification: 2:1-2

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 219
Why not sing along??

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 26:17-35 ; Genesis 27:1-46
Matthew 9:1-17
Psalm 10:16-18
Proverbs 3:9-10

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Quote for Reflection:

this aspect of the Truth is utterly ignored by the great majority of preachers and “Bible teachers” today, who instead of pressing the holy claims of God and rebuking self-indulgence, are seeking either to amuse or soothe their hearers in their sins. It is not that we are inculcating a strange doctrine, introducing that which opposes divine grace. No, those servants of God in the past who most extolled the grace of God, also maintained the requirements of His righteousness.    – A. Pink


January 13

MEDITATING IN GOD'S LAW
Psalm 1:2

What a small beginning of that new obedience that God gives to His children do we have! David, speaking of the man who is truly blessed, says that ''His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night" Psalm 1:2.

That is not the picture which we see of ourselves, if we take a good look into the mirror of God's law. Meditating in the law is one thing. Doing so day and night is something else. Yes, we do sing:

But singing these words is one thing, and living them is quite another. We do well today to search our hearts. Do we really take as much time to read and meditate in God's Word as we do to read our newspaper? Are we really so interested in that Word that we not only read it but meditate upon it? Is that true also of God's law?

Meditating in God's law is thinking about what we read, turning it over in our minds, asking ourselves what is required of us in the present situation and circumstances, trying to delve more deeply into the meaning of that law for us personally. It means that what God demands of us does not get a quick thought, which is soon brushed aside because we have "more important" things to do. It means that we study His law so that we are sure that today and tomorrow, yea the rest of our lives, we will walk in love to God. It means that we delight in that law and want to walk in it more perfectly than yesterday. Meditating in God's law means that we want to know our calling in every circumstance of life so that we can improve our walk in it. We do not merely want to see what that law says of our past deeds, but also what we are to do tomorrow, should we meet with adversity. Yea we must also know how to react to prosperity and an increase in this world's goods.

And surely it means that we meditate in the fulfillment of that law of God by His own Son. Surely day and night that truth brings us comfort as our sins so up before us day and night.

Read: Psalm 119:97-112
Psalter versification: 1:2

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 42
Why not sing along??

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 28 ; Genesis 29:1-35
Matthew 9:18-38
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 3:11-12

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Quote for Reflection:


when the Lord regenerates us by his Spirit, he likewise makes us free, so that, loosed from the snares of Satan, we willingly obey righteousness. But regeneration proceeds from faith, and hence it is evident that freedom proceeds from the Gospel.       – John Calvin


January 14

WORKS THAT ABIDE
Psalm 1:3

One prospers when one succeeds in what one sets out to do. We call it prosperity when everything goes well and we go forward in enjoying life. The opposite of prosperity is adversity. Then all goes against us, and we lose the things we were enjoying.

David in Psalm 1:3 gives us a beautiful picture of prosperity. He writes of the man who delights in God's law, "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that bringeth forth its fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

This does not mean that we are going to prosper materially when we keep God's law. It does not mean that our flesh is going to have a good time, and that we are going to succeed financially. The very opposite will in most instances be true. Walk in God's law and you may be ridiculed. That is especially true when you keep the first table of the law. Hallow the Sabbath and you may lose your job, when the unbelieving employer insists that you desecrate the Sabbath by working for him. Be honest in your business dealings and you will not be able to compete with those who break God's law. But even apart from what men may do to us, we have no promise from God that if we keep His law we will not have sicknesses and diseases. And we all are going to die and lose all our earthly goods.

Yet note that David speaks of a tree planted where it will get plenty of water and bring forth abundant fruit. It gets what it needs for life and does what it was created and designed to bring forth, and remember that we depend upon God's grace and were created and designed to love and serve Him every minute of our lives. The ungodly are not so. They receive none of God's grace and bring forth not one good work.

Of the one who keeps God's law we may sing:

That man will receive God's grace and prosper in good works.

Read: Jeremiah 17:1. 14
Psalter versification : 1:3

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 353
Why not sing along??

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 30 ; Genesis 31:1-16
Matthew 10:1-23
Psalm 12:1-8
Proverbs 3:13-15

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Quote for Reflection:

Yet he grew to an immeasurable height, like a large tree from a small and feeble seed, as he himself shows, ( Matthew 13:31,32 ; Mark 4:32 ) and as we see by daily examples; for in the uninterrupted progress of his kingdom the same things must happen as were seen in his person.       – John Calvin


January 15

A CALL TO PRAISE GOD
Psalm 150:1

Psalm 150 speaks of the calling of every one of us. In verse one the psalmist says, "Praise ye the Lord, Praise God in the sanctuary: praise Him in the firmament of His power." And we ought to take note of the fact that he speaks of two groups of persons and of two places where they abide. He speaks of those in His sanctuary here below, and those in heaven, whore He reveals Himself more fully. This is beautifully expressed in our Psalter with these words:

Surely this includes you and me today. We are quite ready when troubles come, to run to God for help. But did you lift your heart and soul in praise to Him today? You may have praised your employer or employee, your children, or a friend for his or her kindness. But have you praised God for all the blessings of salvation which He has showered down upon you? Did you, the first thing this morning, praise Him for the care and protection He gave you last night?

Your newspaper may have informed you of a fire that destroyed a home last night, of a person rushed to the hospital, or of a family bereaved of a loved one. You and I did not suffer any of these disappointments. But did we thank God for watching over us and our loved ones? Or did we just take it all for granted? Truly God is not in all our thoughts. For that matter, He is so seldom in our thoughts.

And what about all the rich gifts of salvation that He unceasingly gives to us? He keeps us in the faith, preserves in us the life from above that He gave us the moment we were born again. He deals with us from moment to moment on the basis of what His Son did for us on the cross. And today His Son is working all things, without exception, together for our good. What a multitude of reasons there are to praise Him.

Praise Him then. And if you want music in your home or at work, let it not be silly noise the world makes and calls music; but let it be songs of praise. With the angels sing: "Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah."

Read: Psalm 150
Psalter versification: 409:1

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 353
Why not sing along??

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 31:17-55 ; Genesis 32:1-12
Matthew 10:24-42 ; Matthew 11:1-6
Psalm 13:1-6
Proverbs 3:16-18

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Quote for Reflection:

“Those who are truly humbled in their hearts, and brought to place their confidence in God, shall experience how much care He has for His children,
and how well He provides for their necessities… after He has afflicted and tried us, He does not forsake us; but after He has molded and trained us by the cross to humility and meekness, He still shows himself to be a wise and provident Father in guiding  and directing us through life.”
--John Calvin


January 16

MIGHTY ACTS AND FITTING PRAISE
Psalm 150:2

We do well today to take note of the fact that the psalmist in Psalm 150:2 exhorts us to lift our voices to God and "Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness."  Let it not be misunderstood, however. We are not to praise Him merely for those works that make this life more comfortable and enjoyable. That is the tendency of our flesh; and that creeps so easily into our prayers. Then, too, His mighty act of bringing up the sun every morning, after guiding the stars in their courses all night, can fill us with amazement. All this is so very superhuman. But the mighty act of God in our salvation calls for endless and heavenly praise.

What a mighty act that God sent His Son by a virgin birth! How marvelously He sent Him as our representative. What an awesome and mighty act that He poured on Him all the vials of His wrath against our sins! What excellent greatness He manifested in raising Him from the dead and in lifting Him to His right hand in heavenly glory, giving Him power over all things in heaven and on earth! Surely all this calls for constant lofty praise.

Do you know of anything that reveals His ''excellent greatness'' more richly and brings us more blessedness? His creating the universe and all its multitude of creatures was a mighty act. No one else could do that and sustain it as He does. Surely the works of His providence are mighty acts. However, that which reveals the greatness of His love, mercy, and grace is the salvation He wrought for us in His Son. Creation reveals the greatness of His wisdom and power. Salvation draws us close to Him to enjoy His love, mercy, and grace in covenant fellowship. Here are mighty acts which eye (including Adam's) hath not seen, ear hath not heard, and were never revealed to man apart from Christ.

Did you give much thought to this today? Have you praised God for it today, or have you reserved only Sunday for singing His praises?

Let this be your daily song:

    Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah
    For His mighty acts of fame;
    Excellent His might and greatness:
    Fitting praises then proclaim,

Read: Psalm 33
Psalter versification: 409:2
(Words and Music of the Psalter)

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Genesis 32:13-20 ; Genesis 33 ; Genesis 34:1-31
Matthew 11:7-30
Psalm 14:1-7
Proverbs 3:19-20

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Quote for Reflection:

"Three things there are which men ought never to trifle with: a little poison, a little false doctrine, and a little sin." J. C. Ryle


January 17

A CALL TO SING GOD'S PRAISES
Psalm 150:3-5

What an array of musical instruments or symphony orchestras have today! What rich music they are able to produce compared with the instruments the psalmist mentions in Psalm 150:3-5! There, concerning God, he writes, "Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and organs.  Praise Him upon upon loud cymbals praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals."

How emphatic then is the exhortation in verse 2, to praise Him for His mighty acts and excellent greatness!  The piercing sound of the trumpet, the softer music of the timbrel, harp, stringed instruments, and organs, and the emphatic accentuation by the cymbal must all be used to sound His praises. And to make it very emphatic the psalmist adds in the next verse, ''Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord."

That personal note brings this call to praise God to you and me. Do not look at your neighbor and tell him to praise God. With emphasis say that to yourself. Never mind if you have no talent to play those instruments. Do not excuse yourself because you were not born with a beautiful singing voice. Yea, even if you were born as a monotone, this word comes to you. It is the content of your singing and the words that are accompanied by those instruments that counts.

Fittingly the versification of these words declares:

Did you notice how this includes you? Those instruments enrich the music, but praising God means extolling Him for His virtues, and that must be in the minds of those who accompany with musical instruments. Music and musical instruments were designed by God; and we can praise Him for His wisdom, His mighty acts and excellent greatness that gives those to us. But they must be used to praise Him as our God and Savior in Christ. Fill your day then with praise to Him for His love and works of love to those whom He chose in Christ and saved by His blood.

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 35 ; Genesis 36:1-43
Matthew 12:1-21
Psalm 15:1-5
Proverbs 3:21-26

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Quote for Reflection:

   "We must each of us, in our several places, serve the Lord and consecrate our service to Him, separate it from other things that are foreign and interfere with it, and direct and design it for the honor and glory of God. We must make the service of God our business, must fill our hands to the Lord -- so the Hebrew phrase is. Those who engage themselves in the service of God will have their hands full; there is work enough for the whole man in that service. The filling of our hands with the service of God intimates that we must serve Him only, serve Him liberally, and serve Him in the strength of grace derived from Him." --Matthew Henry


January 18

OUR NEED FULLY SUPPLIED
Psalm 23:1

After his profound powerful confession that, "The Lord is my shepherd," David in Psalm 23:1 expresses with absolute confidence: "I want nothing.'' That is a better translation than, "I shall not want.'' For what we need above all is a shepherd who will supervise our whole life, take constant care of us, protect us from all our enemies and lead us to the glory of the kingdom of heaven. Having Jehovah as our shepherd all these needs will be taken care of in full. We shall not want because of what we now have. Having Jehovah as our shepherd we want nothing. All we need is Him, and having Him we want nothing.

This is true because He is the I AM. That is what His name means; and to the believer that means volumes. That name tells us that He depends upon no one and upon nothing. Every creature — and that includes the devil — depends upon Him for all its existence. All creatures must say, "1 will be, if it pleases Him."  Only God can say ''I AM,'' because He has in Himself  all He needs for His life.  He is, therefore, also unchangeable and cannot be changed or influenced by any creature. All creatures depend upon Him completely. Therefore also He has absolute control over them all.

He then is the one Who can and does take care of us, the shepherd who will unerringly lead us to the kingdom of heaven. Put your trust in Him completely. Doubt not for the slightest moment the safety of your body and soul. The first thing to do when you awake every morning is to sing;

    My shepherd is the Lord,
    Who knows my need,
    And I am blest;
    By quiet streams
    In pastures green He leads!
    And makes me rest.
    My soul He saves
    And for His own name's sake
    He guides my feet
    The paths of right to take.

And because Jehovah has given us to His Son, so that we are the sheep of His flock, all is well. Giving us His Son, He supplied all our needs. We may not get all that our flesh desires, and all what we think we need. But we will receive everything we need to arrive presently in the kingdom of His dear Son, where we will not know what want is and will ever be full.

Read: Psalm 23
Psalter versification: 56:1
(Words and Music of the Psalter)

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 37 ; Genesis 38:1-30
Matthew 12:22-45
Psalm 16:1-11
Proverbs 3:27-32

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Quote for Reflection:

...Christ, being innocent even by declaration of an ungodly judge named Pontius Pilate, yet condemned, bore that wrath of God for all the sins of the whole elect race from the beginning to the end of the world. Can you imagine what a burden of guilt and wrath that was?! He suffered, even being crucified, in order to make us all perfect, fitting for the new heaven and the new earth. 
– Rev. Steven Key


January 19

ALL IS WELL
Psalm 23:2

The day is coming when we will not be able to buy or sell, because we refuse to take the mark of the beast. We will then be faced with starvation. Yet the child of God will with David be able to say of Jehovah, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures He leadeth me beside the still waters" Psalm 23:2.

Now a sheep lies down when it has eaten sufficiently. And to lie down in green pastures means that there is still an abundance of food far beyond the present needs. Still waters represent peace, tranquility, complete freedom from fear of any harm.

And although such a wonderful life seems impossible, and we can only wonder how David, a man with such a troubled life, could say this, he does in verse 3 say that God restores his soul. How can he speak that way? How can we sing this truth? Well, remember that David says that Jehovah is his shepherd. And we do well to write that truth in our souls and daily sing:

    The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want;
    He makes me down to lie
    In pastures green: He leadeth me
    The quiet waters by.

Yes, all that which we need will be supplied. All is well, and all will be well every step of our way, because Jehovah is our shepherd.

Just glance ahead a few verses and note that in the last verse David says, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."   Keep that in mind all day and every day. Come what may, even in the days of the antichrist, we will be supplied by our shepherd with all that we need to reach and enter into that house of God. Remember that it is to that house that He is leading us, and is supplying us with that which is necessary for us to reach glory.

What terrible agony His Son suffered to earn a place for us in that house!  But it brought Him there and gave Him power over all our enemies. Behold Him there and put your trust in Him.  At God's appointed time He will return and take you out of this vale of tears and into that house.

Read Ezekiel 34:11-31
Psalter versification: 53:1
(Words and Music of the Psalter)

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 39 ; Genesis 40 ; Genesis 41:1-16
Matthew 12:46-50 ; Matthew 13:1-23
Psalm 17:1-15
Proverbs 3:33-35

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Quote for Reflection:

… since we are expressly forewarned that we must always watch, lest he come upon us when asleep, and we be swallowed up with the ungodly, there is no excuse for our indolence; more especially since there is reason to dread not only a breach of the wall, and a loss of our property, but a deadly wound to ruin our soul, unless we are on our guard.  The tendency of these words therefore is, that the warning of Christ should arouse us; for, though the last judgment be delayed for a long time, yet it hangs over us every hour; and, therefore, when there is ground for alarm, and when danger is near, it is unreasonable that we should be sluggish.  – John Calvin


January 20

FED WITH SPIRITUAL BREAD
Psalm 23:1

Another versification of the truth in Psalm 23:1 which we sang yesterday is the beautiful confession:

    Thou Jehovah, art my shepherd,
    Therefore I no want shall know:
    In green pastures Thou dost rest me,
    Leadest where still waters flow,
    And when fainting,
    Sweet refreshment dost bestow.

And truly every crumb of bread our earthly lives need and every drop of water upon which our earthly life depends will be given us, until the moment when our Good Shepherd brings us to His Father's house, that we may dwell there with Him.

But can you, and do you sincerely sing that your shepherd makes you lie down in pastures of spiritual food, and leads you besides still waters of spiritual refreshment? These, and these above all, our Good Shepherd provides. Therefore, regardless of what day in the week it is, two questions must be answered today. Did you feed in those pastures and lie down in them in your church this past Sabbath day? Are you with hunger and thirst looking forward to enjoying both these green pastures and that cool refreshing, still water this coming Sabbath day?

Remember that Christ is the Bread of Life and supplies us with the water of life. Our spiritual life needs Him. We need the preaching of Him. And we need to eat and drink Him with our souls. The question is whether we have an appetite for them and are faithful in seeking them.

Then, too, how often during the waking hours of the day do you find yourself in these green pastures of God's Word, and do you seek refreshment by those still waters that assure us that being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ? We need spiritual food and drink far more than the bread and water our bodies crave and enjoy.

Is it really true that Jehovah is your shepherd? Is then your Bible an open book out of which you eat and drink daily? In the measure that it is, your soul is restored. Your body may be filled with aches and pains, but your soul shall sincerely say, "I want nothing, God's Word assures me that my Shepherd cares for all my needs."

Read: Revelation 7
Psalter versification 52:1
(Words and Music of the Psalter)

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

Genesis 41:17-57 ; Genesis 42:1-17
Matthew 13:24-46
Psalm 18:1-15
Proverbs 4:1-6

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Quote for Reflection:

amidst all your weakness, distresses and temptations, remember that God will not cast out nor cast off the meanest and unworthiest soul that seeks salvation only in the name of Jesus Christ the righteous.           A. Toplady


Go to: January 21

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Last modified, 10-Jan-2007