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.
daily devotional
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.
Recent Devotions
LET US BE WARNED | January 19
“… Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Romans 12:9).
When Jehoshaphat returned to Judah in peace (2 Chron. 19:1-8), he tried to recover the loss which had
come upon him through his friendship with Ahab. The Lord was gracious to him, and again began to help
him to deliver him from his enemies (2 Chron. 20:1,3,22,25). The Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites
came against him as a united force. Jehoshaphat was afraid: so he proclaimed a fast and set himself to
see the Lord. God heard his prayer, and brought confusion in the army of the enemy, so that they utterly
destroyed one another, and the whole army lay dead on the battlefield. Jehoshaphat and his people had
only to go and gather the spoil, which was so much that it took them three days to remove the same.
Later on again Jehoshaphat began to reply upon his own wisdom. He entered into an alliance this time
with Ahab’s son Ahaziah. Is it not sad that Jehoshaphat should make such a mistake after all the bitter
experiences of the past? There are many like him even today. They fall into the same sin again and again,
and each time they say they will never do it again. To them life is one great cycle of falling and rising, and
confession and falling again. Jehoshaphat entered into a league with Ahab’s son!
Although at the beginning of his reign king Jehoshaphat had removed all high places, now he had become
so weak spiritually that he allowed them to remain. This brought more darkness into his life, and he
entertained his friendship with Ahab’s son Ahaziah, who compelled him to become a partner with him in
sending ships to gather gold from far-off places.
Thus we see king Jehoshaphat, who began his reign well in the fear of the Lord, making a complete failure
of his life towards the end, and even undoing the good work which he had begun. The cause of all this
was the love of money which had crept into his life, and affinity with ungodly people like Ahab which
slowly weakened him and brought about his downfall. LET US BE WARNED.
Recent Devotions
Children of Israel | January 18
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14).
In the days of Joshua the children of Israel failed to obey God fully and did not drive out the Jebusites. The
Benjamites also allowed these people to stay with them as servants to draw water and cut the wood. That
is where they made a big mistake. Now they became so strong that they were mocking David. “… Except
thou take away the blind and the lame, though shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in
hither” (2 Sam. 5:6). Before David could become king over all, these Jebusites had to be defeated.
Later on we read how there was one Jebusite who still remained in the land. When he was removed then
God showed David the pattern of the Temple. 2 Sam. 24:15-25. David had used his own wisdom at that
time to count the number of fighting men in his kingdom. Rather than depending upon God’s Word for
strength, his eyes went upon the number of soldiers. That is why God brought him to the threshing floor.
The same place became the site for the Temple which was built by Solomon. “Then Solomon began to
build the House of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his
father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chron. 3:1).
That was the place where Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar. Thus all the Jebusites had to be
completely sent away from the land before David could become the king over the whole kingdom.
These Jebusites speak of men who are not born again. They are worldly people. When they are given some
authority in the House of God, like the Jebusites they become strong. Those who are not born again have
no part or share in the House of God. Similarly those who are not called by God also have no share in the
work of God. Among some groups some people are brought into position in the Church by voting and
election. That is why there is a spiritual barrenness in their midst.
God had to use force to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem. Even though they made fun of David, God
helped him and his men to conquer them and drive them out. After he had driven out the Jebusites, he
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began to prosper and went on becoming great. “And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God
of hosts was with him” (2 Sam. 5:10). It says in the margin. “went on going and growing”. That speaks of
complete victory. So we have to see that no Jebusite comes into our life, either in friendship or in
marriages or in any other relationship. In the same way, no Jebusite should be given any part in the House
of God. Those who are not born again and are not called for God’s service have no share in the House of
God.
Recent Devotions
Face of Jesus!
Jan 18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light …
—Acts 26:18
The blind man, Bartimaeus, threw off his cloak and ran trembling to Jesus. And Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” In that moment as he said, “Lord,” his spiritual eyes were opened. And Jesus said, “Your faith has made you whole.” Notice—not your intellectual understanding, not your money, not your works—but your faith. Faith! That’s all it takes! Immediately Bartimaeus, who had been blind all of his life, began to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the face of Jesus. What an experience—to open one’s eyes and look straight into the strong, tender face of Jesus! Bartimaeus met Jesus and the record says he “followed Jesus in the way.” When you go back to your business, or your home, or your neighborhood, or your friends, or your school, you don’t go alone. Christ goes with you.