April 18

And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. (Luke 19:6)

Did you ever hear of any one receiving Christ in any other way? He received Him joyfully. Christ brings joy with Him. Sin, gloom, and darkness flee away; light, peace, and joy burst into the soul.

April 17

He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me. . . shall not come into judgment. (John 5:24)

In a prairie fire, when the wind is strong, the wall of flame often rolls along twenty feet high, destroying man and beast in its onward rush. The frontiersmen know they cannot run as fast as that fire. Not the fleetest horse can escape it. But they just take a match, and light the grass before them. These flames sweep a space, and men follow and take their stand in the burned district, and are safe.

Over the place where they stand the fire has already passed, and there is nothing left to burn. So there is one spot on earth that the judgment of God has swept over. Eighteen hundred years ago the storm burst on Calvary; and the Son of God endured it: and now, if we take our stand by the Cross, we are safe for time and for eternity.

April 16

Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)

There are constant sounds around us that we cannot hear, and the sky is studded with bright worlds that our eyes have never seen. Little as we know about this bright and radiant land, there are glimpses of its beauty that come to us now and then.

Perhaps nothing but the shortness of our range of sight keeps us from seeing the celestial gates all open to us, and nothing but the deafness of our ears prevents our hearing the joyful ringing of the bells of heaven.

April 15

Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire... (Daniel 3:25)

It does my heart good to think that the worst the devil can do is to burn off the bonds of God’s children. If Christ be with us, the worst afflictions can only loosen our earthly bonds, and set us free to soar higher.

April 14

He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. (John 5:24)

A man once prayed for me that I might obtain eternal life at last. I could not have said “Amen” to that. I obtained eternal life over forty years ago, when I was converted. What is the “gift of God,” if it is not eternal life? And what makes the gospel such good news? Is it not that it offers eternal life to every poor sinner who will take it?

April 13

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee. (Numbers 6:24)

God can do what He has done before. He kept Joseph in Egypt; Moses before Pharaoh; Daniel in Babylon; and enabled Elijah to stand before Ahab in that dark day. And I am so thankful that these I have mentioned were men of like passions with ourselves.

April 12

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

The flesh is weak. Is there any one on earth that dares to dispute that statement? Is there anything weaker under the sun than the human flesh? The spirit is willing. Most men would rather do the right thing, and think they will do it. Tell them that they will do certain things inside of twelve months, and they would say, as the king did, “Is thy servant a dog that he should do such a thing? No, never.” But they will do it just the same. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

April 11

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

These are the men who find Christ—those who seek for Him with all their heart. I am tired and sick of half-heartedness. You don’t like a half-hearted man, you don't care for any one to love you with a half-heart; and the Lord won't have it. If we are going to seek for Him and find Him, we must do it with all our heart.

I believe the reason why so few people find Christ is because they are not terribly in earnest about their soul’s salvation. God is in earnest; everything He has done proves that He is in earnest about the salvation of men’s souls. What is Calvary but a proof of that? And the Lord wants us to be in earnest when it comes to this great question of the soul’s salvation. I never saw men seeking Him with all their hearts but they soon found Him.

April 10

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:39)

When Christ returns, He will not be treated as He was before. There will be room for Him at Bethlehem. He will be welcome in Jerusalem. He will reveal Himself as Joseph revealed himself to his brethren. He will say to the Jews, “I am Jesus,” and they will reply: “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” And the Jews will then be that nation that shall be born in a day.

April 9

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. (Luke 15:18)

One of the greatest battles ever fought was being fought out then. Everything holy and heavenly was beckoning the prodigal home. The powers of darkness were trying to keep him from returning.

“You go back and they'll all laugh at you. What’ll they say?” said the devil.

No doubt there was an angel hovering over him, watching for the decision, and when he said, “I will arise,” the angel bore it on high.

“ Make another crown. Get another robe ready. There’s another sinner coming!”

That “I will” echoed and re-echoed, and there was joy in the presence of the angels. He is saved. His heart has got home already. The battle with pride and sin is over.

April 8

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)

What has been, and is now, one of the strongest feelings in the human heart? Is it not to find some better place, some lovelier spot, than we now have? It is for this that men everywhere are seeking, and they can have it if they will; but instead of looking down, they must look up to find it. As men grow in knowledge, they vie with each other more and more in making their homes attractive, but the brightest home on earth is but an empty barn compared with the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare.