July 31

And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:29-30)

Think of the Lord stooping down and taking a poor drunkard right up and out of the gutter, and putting his feet on the rock, and a new song in his mouth, and lifting him up above powers and principalities, above angels and archangels, seraphims and cherubims, up, up, up, on to the throne with Himself!

Do you suppose that an angel flying over the nations of the earth would look at any throne? What a great time they had a few years ago putting the Czar on to the throne of Russia! Nation after nation sent representatives to assist at the ceremonies. But Christ’s is more than that. His is an everlasting kingdom. His is a throne that is going to endure forever; and He says, “Ye shall sit with Me on My throne.” Man, look up! Look at the stars to-night! Our inheritance is above.

July 30

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:15-16)

A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough to-day to last him for the next six months, or take sufficient air into his lungs at once to sustain life for a week to come. We must draw upon God’s boundless stores of grace from day to day, as we need it.

July 29

Give us day by day our daily bread. (Luke 11:3)

If God could set a table for His people in the wilderness, and feed three millions of Israelites for forty years, can He not give us our daily bread? I do not mean only the bread that perisheth, but also the Bread that cometh from above. If He feeds the birds of the air, surely He will feed His children made in His own image! If He numbers the very hairs of our head, He will take care to supply all our temporal wants.

July 28

She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand

to anoint My body to the burying. (Mark 14:8)

I imagine when Mary died, if God had sent an angel to write her epitaph, he couldn’t have done better than to put over her grave what Christ said:

“She hath done what she could.”

I would rather have that said over my grave, if it could honestly be said, than to have all the wealth of the Rothschilds. Christ raised a monument to Mary that is more lasting than the monuments raised to Caesar or Napoleon. Their monuments crumble away, but hers endures. Her name never appeared in print while she was on earth, but to-day it is famous in three hundred and fifty languages.

We may never be great; we may never be known outside our circle of friends; but we may, like Mary, do what we can. May God help each one of us to do what we can! Life will soon be over; it is short at the longest. Let us rise and follow in the footsteps of Mary of Bethany.

July 27

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

We see very few illuminated Christians. If every one of us was illuminated by the Spirit of God, how we could light up the churches! But to have a lantern without any light, would be a nuisance. Many Christians carry along lanterns and say, “I wouldn’t give up my religion for yours.” They talk about religion. The religion that has no fire is like painted fire. These are artificial Christians.

Do you belong to that class? You can tell. If you can’t, your friends can.

July 26

Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! (Numbers 23:10)

The sanctified man and the unsanctified one look at heaven very differently. The unsanctified man simply chooses heaven in preference to hell. He thinks that if he must go to either one he would rather try heaven. It is like a man with a farm who has a place offered him in another country, where there is said to be a gold mine; he hates to give up all he has and take any risk.

But if he is going to be banished, and must leave, and has his choice of living in a wilderness or digging in a coal pit, or else take the gold mine, then there is no hesitation. The unregenerate man likes heaven better than hell, but he likes this world the best of all. The true believer prizes heaven above everything else, and is always willing to give up the world. Everybody wants to enjoy heaven after they die, but they don’t want to be heavenly·minded while they live.

July 25

God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

I have never been able to preach from that text. I have often thought I would, but it is so high that I can never climb to its height, I have just quoted it and passed on. Who can fathom the depth of those words: “God so loved the world”? We can never scale the heights of His love or fathom its depths. Paul prayed that he might know the height, the depth, the length, and the breadth, of the love of God; but it was past his finding out.

July 24

After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1)

Abram might have thought that the kings that he had defeated might get other kings and other armies to come, and he might have thought of himself as a solitary man, with only three hundred and eighteen men, so that he might have feared lest he be swept from the face of the earth. But the Lord came and said:

“Abram, fear not.”

That is the first time those oft-repeated words “Fear not” occur in the Bible.

“Fear not, for I will be your shield and your reward.”

I would rather have that promise than all the armies and all the navies of the world to protect me—to have the God of heaven for my Protector! God was teaching Abram that He was to be his Friend and his Shield, if he would surrender himself wholly to His keeping, and trust in His goodness. That is what we need—to surrender ourselves up to God, fully and wholly.

July 23

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.— (Romans 1:16)

I remember some meetings being held in a locality where the tide did not rise very quickly, and bitter and reproachful things were being said about the work. But one day, one of the most prominent men in the place rose and said:

“I want it to be known that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ; and if there is any odium to be cast on His cause, I am prepared to take my share of it.”

It went through the meeting like an electric current, and a blessing came at once to his own soul and to the souls of others.

July 22

I will be with Him in trouble. (Psalm 91:15)

We are apt to think that young people do not have any trouble, but if they haven’t, there is one thing they can make sure of, that they are going to have trouble later. “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Trouble is coming. No one is exempt. God has had one Son without sin, but He has never had one without sorrow. Jesus Christ, our Master, suffered as few men ever suffered, and He died very young. Ours is a path of sorrow and suffering, and it is so sweet to hear the Master say:

“I will be with you in trouble."

Don’t think for a moment that you can get on without Him. You may say now, “I can get on; I am in good health and prosperity,” but the hour is coming when you will need Him.