January 20
“Then David said, this is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering
for Israel” (1 Chron. 21:28; 22:1).
It was not for a mere earthly kingdom that God was calling David. He had for him a kingdom
far higher and greater than that. We have seen the growth of joy in David’s life, stage by
stage, and we have seen what it was that gave both to God and to David the greatest
satisfaction, even the revelation to him of God’s plan and pattern for His temple.
Before God could reveal His plan to him, He had, as we have seen, to bring David by a path
of sorrow to the threshing-floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. Then David realised that that same
plot of ground upon which he built his altar and burnt peace offerings was wanted by the Lord
to build His temple. God could have told David from the very beginning to build His house in
that place, but David was not ready then to receive such a command or instruction. It is only
when we are truly ready and prepared that God can give to us the instructions of His heart.
daily devotional
Who are you?
Jan 20
For he knoweth our frame …
—Psalm 103:14
It is significant that our first astronauts, while being trained for their moon flights, were required to give twenty answers to the query, “Who are you?” Take the same test yourself. When you have made your list and run out of things to add, ask yourself if you have truly answered. Do you really know who you are? Scientists agree that our desperate search leads all humans to seek heroes and to imitate others, to “paste bits and pieces of other people on ourselves.” We make love as some actor would. We play golf in the style of Jack Nicklaus. Part of this process is natural, for we learn by imitating others. The tragedy is that the person we assemble is not genuine. “Who am I?” you cry as you roam the world looking for yourself. Consider this: there are three of you. There is the person you think you are. There is the person others think you are. There is the person God knows you are and can be through Christ.
Recent Devotions
Remember, it is the Lord’s Table | January 20
“…let a man examine himself” (1 Cor. 11:28).
On the Lord’s Day we gather round the Table of the Lord. Remember, it is the Lord’s Table, and not the
table of any man. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself Who is inviting you to take part. All those who have
been purchased by His precious blood have free access to this Table. If you look into your heart, you will
know if indeed you have been purchased by His blood, and if not, please do not touch the bread or the
cup, even if they are passed to you. These things belong only to those who are born again and are a part
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of His living Body, the Church. They do not belong to those who are not born again. This then, is the first
point of self-examination. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5).
This Table reminds us of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in that death it reminds us also of the
mighty and eternal victory wrought on the Cross. Our Lord wants us, each one, to have a life of victory
and triumph and He has made every provision in His broken body and shed blood to enable us to enjoy
that abundant life. As we partake of the bread and the cup we live by Him. We are reminded also that we
have to be clean before we partake of it. We may have been taking part for many years, but even so, we
need to examine ourselves on every occasion, lest we are unclean, lest we take part unworthily, for
“…whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27). Are we clean and worthy before Him? This is why we need to
examine ourselves before we take part. Are we obeying Him in all things? Is there any matter between
ourselves and a fellow-believer? Is there any envy or jealousy? Is there any disagreement or disunity?
Then, before we partake of the bread or the cup, that matter must be confessed and put right, both before
God and with our fellow-men; that envy and jealousy must be confessed and put under the blood; that
hatred or disagreement must be brought to the light, and dealt with and put right. Every weakness can be
overcome by His life. Every defilement can be washed by His blood and every past loss can be recovered
by humbling ourselves. As we remember His death, we remember that we also are dead to sin, and must
yield ourselves as servants to obey Him (Rom. 6:16-19).
Recent Devotions
The Lord thy God
January 19
“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with
joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).
You have seen human beings looking happy and joyful, but have you ever seen God looking
happy? None of us can dream how our creator looks when He is joyful. Yet it is true that God
rejoices. “The Lord thy God… will rejoice over thee, He will joy over thee with singing.”
Suppose you could hear the Lord Himself singing! How would you feel if you could hear your
loving and living Lord singing over you? After He has loved you, saved you and poured His
love into your heart. He will begin to sing for joy over you. Watch a mother with a new-born
babe. She is so full of Love for the little one, hugging and kissing it all over. Her face lights
up with joy, and her song is sweet as she pours her love into her baby’s heart. God too will
sing over us like this when we are newly born again and ready to receive His Love. Then you
will hear Him singing a song far sweeter than any angel’s song. Such is the joy of the Lord.
Such is the joy that fills us with divine strength.
Recent Devotions
Our relationship to God
Jan 19
Happy is he … whose hope is in the Lord his God.
—Psalm 146:5
Happy is the man who has learned the secret of coming to God in daily prayer. Fifteen minutes alone with God every morning before you start the day can change circumstances and remove mountains! But all of this happiness and all of these unlimited benefits which flow from the storehouse of heaven are contingent upon our relationship to God. Absolute dependency and absolute yieldedness are the conditions of being His child. Only His children are entitled to receive those things that lend themselves to happiness; and in order to be His child, there must be the surrender of the will to Him. Man does not come to know God through works—he comes to know God by faith, through grace. You cannot work your way toward happiness and heaven, you cannot moralize your way, you cannot reform your way, you cannot buy your way. It comes as a gift of God through Christ.